Crossbow. Is it really necessary?

[the-gnole]

It's a 150lb draw weight, and we tried it at about 100mtrs, then an adjustment took the bolt about 200mtrs into the woods the other side of the road, we made sure it was clear to do so first, didn't even try looking for it

[TeeDee]

It's a 150lb draw weight, and we tried it at about 100mtrs, then an adjustment took the bolt about 200mtrs into the woods the other side of the road, we made sure it was clear to do so first, didn't even try looking for it

Was that with added elevation? Ie a Parabolic flight?

[the-gnole]

Second one was, first one was down a slope.

I'll have to dig it out and have another go sometime

[skippy]

No crossbows are not necessary.


Yes crossbows are a lot of fun


We shot a bolt from our 225lb Ibex almost right through a big bale of hay . . . we had to unroll it to find the bolt (it was almost out the other side). Crossbows are lots of fun for target shooting (as we all know - bowhunting is not legal in the UK) and they also make a fine tool for linethrowing.

I will say no more

[TeeDee]

No crossbows are not necessary.


Yes crossbows are a lot of fun


We shot a bolt from our 225lb Ibex almost right through a big bale of hay . . . we had to unroll it to find the bolt (it was almost out the other side). Crossbows are lots of fun for target shooting (as we all know - bowhunting is not legal in the UK) and they also make a fine tool for linethrowing.

I will say no more

Skippy , as you know I'm considering the Ibex or Equinox as a possible high end purchase , would love to hear ( or see via phot ) your experience and experiments with what they will and won't do.

Many thanks

[skippy]

Hi Teedee
I got the Ibex as a replacement for an aging recurve bow at christmas time and was immediatly impressed with two things.
1) it is impossible to cock without a string cocker to give you the mechanical advantage
2) it is an increadibly powerful and accurate tool

In our first outing we were shooting at a hay bale backed target at 40 meters and got fairly consistant results of 3 inch groups except for one shot that went way off course???
In the second day we got better results with a little fine tuning at 30 meters including one "robin hood" in a general 2 inch group

A few pointers -
Get loads of bolts and set up several targets .
take your time with the zeroing of the scope
dont use wood or metal backstops as you will break bolts
have fun

Skippy

[nickdutch]

I personally don't see the point of using up time and energy researching crossbows as we can perfectly legally get or make slingshots. Some of which have a 35 lb draw weight, and some are reported (on some website or other) to go up to 50 lb draw weight (or more) and can only be pulled by the strongest of men.
"Good" slingshots are supposed to deliver a force that is 3 - 4 times the legal maximum of an air rifle in the UK, although they might be lower in range due to the higher mass of the projectile.
Some slingshots can be modified into slingbows which fire arrows (illegal for hunting in the UK at the moment as all arrow hunting is), but slingshots might be a good place to start.
Powerful, legal, accurate, home make-able and great fun.

[TeeDee]

I personally don't see the point of using up time and energy researching crossbows as we can perfectly legally get or make slingshots.

Much in the same way we can legally own and use Crossbows then.

Some of which have a 35 lb draw weight, and some are reported (on some website or other) to go up to 50 lb draw weight (or more) and can only be pulled by the strongest of men.

I don't really see what the point of what your saying there is? All you seem to be reporting is that Catapults have less poundage then Crossbows. Crossbows go from anything between 100lbs to 250lbs draw weight which means that they are capable of propelling something further with more energy. Great distance available to hunt means greater chance of a productive hunt.

"Good" slingshots are supposed to deliver a force that is 3 - 4 times the legal maximum of an air rifle in the UK, although they might be lower in range due to the higher mass of the projectile.
Some slingshots can be modified into slingbows which fire arrows (illegal for hunting in the UK at the moment as all arrow hunting is), but slingshots might be a good place to start.
Powerful, legal, accurate, home make-able and great fun.

Likely to be all true however the Crossbow has a distinct advantage that it remains cocked and ready to fire with no extra additional energy expended , it is also arguably a more accurate method of launching a projectile ( other than a firearm ) because the missile has a constant flight groove which it always follows. With a catapult , due to the nature , you have a greater margin of error.

[nickdutch]

I personally don't see the point of using up time and energy researching crossbows as we can perfectly legally get or make slingshots.

Much in the same way we can legally own and use Crossbows then.

Some of which have a 35 lb draw weight, and some are reported (on some website or other) to go up to 50 lb draw weight (or more) and can only be pulled by the strongest of men.

I don't really see what the point of what your saying there is? All you seem to be reporting is that Catapults have less poundage then Crossbows. Crossbows go from anything between 100lbs to 250lbs draw weight which means that they are capable of propelling something further with more energy. Great distance available to hunt means greater chance of a productive hunt.

"Good" slingshots are supposed to deliver a force that is 3 - 4 times the legal maximum of an air rifle in the UK, although they might be lower in range due to the higher mass of the projectile.
Some slingshots can be modified into slingbows which fire arrows (illegal for hunting in the UK at the moment as all arrow hunting is), but slingshots might be a good place to start.
Powerful, legal, accurate, home make-able and great fun.

Likely to be all true however the Crossbow has a distinct advantage that it remains cocked and ready to fire with no extra additional energy expended , it is also arguably a more accurate method of launching a projectile ( other than a firearm ) because the missile has a constant flight groove which it always follows. With a catapult , due to the nature , you have a greater margin of error.

My point was that slingshots provide perfectly useable power and accuracy for what the average "prepper" might want to use them for and it therefore IMHO made better sense to have built up skills and knowledge of slingshots in the scarce quantity of time and energy that most modern people have available rather than that of crossbows.
Although you may disagree, I feel that slingshots are therefore a better investment of the afore mentioned time and energy (which are a resource and need to be spent wisely).
I was making a point that you can agree with or disagree with depending on yur stance and personal priorities, but i still personally don't see the accumulation of crossbow skills as useful as that of slingshot.

Each to their own.
No harm meant.

[jansman]

I personally don't see the point of using up time and energy researching crossbows as we can perfectly legally get or make slingshots.

Much in the same way we can legally own and use Crossbows then.

Some of which have a 35 lb draw weight, and some are reported (on some website or other) to go up to 50 lb draw weight (or more) and can only be pulled by the strongest of men.

I don't really see what the point of what your saying there is? All you seem to be reporting is that Catapults have less poundage then Crossbows. Crossbows go from anything between 100lbs to 250lbs draw weight which means that they are capable of propelling something further with more energy. Great distance available to hunt means greater chance of a productive hunt.

"Good" slingshots are supposed to deliver a force that is 3 - 4 times the legal maximum of an air rifle in the UK, although they might be lower in range due to the higher mass of the projectile.
Some slingshots can be modified into slingbows which fire arrows (illegal for hunting in the UK at the moment as all arrow hunting is), but slingshots might be a good place to start.
Powerful, legal, accurate, home make-able and great fun.

Likely to be all true however the Crossbow has a distinct advantage that it remains cocked and ready to fire with no extra additional energy expended , it is also arguably a more accurate method of launching a projectile ( other than a firearm ) because the missile has a constant flight groove which it always follows. With a catapult , due to the nature , you have a greater margin of error.

My point was that slingshots provide perfectly useable power and accuracy for what the average "prepper" might want to use them for and it therefore IMHO made better sense to have built up skills and knowledge of slingshots in the scarce quantity of time and energy that most modern people have available rather than that of crossbows.
Although you may disagree, I feel that slingshots are therefore a better investment of the afore mentioned time and energy (which are a resource and need to be spent wisely).
I was making a point that you can agree with or disagree with depending on yur stance and personal priorities, but i still personally don't see the accumulation of crossbow skills as useful as that of slingshot.

Each to their own.
No harm meant.

Trouble is ,this whole thread is full of euphemisms. The whole crossbow thing is about WEAPONS. So you cannot criticise Nick Dutch. I am a fan of catapults,they are simple and effective.