Crossbows , the new bow .

I have literally been behind a bow for over 52 years. Once I had a short fling with a sight, but just couldn't come to love it. Although I started with a longbow (sans recurves), the recurve could do something for me that the longbow couldn't. Being a card carrying Neanderthal has its disadvantages; try a shirt size 20/39. Try overdrawing a longbow, and the draw weight stacks up uncontrollably past 33".....my draw length is an honest 35". I have literally pulled the string off the ends of one longbow, destroying the upper limb in the process! So I discovered that a well made 66" to 72" recurve will tolerate a 35" draw, stacking about 3 lbs/inch above 30" to 34" and about 4 lbs more to get to 35". If the bow was made for 40 pounds @ 28" draw, you wind up with a 65 to 67 pound bow at 35".....just about right for a big guy to hunt with.

So here's what I really wanted to share with you...Eight years after heart bypass surgery and after five years of fighting cancer, YOU can still use the bow as an excellent upper body workout. Pulling the bow is not aerobic, and does not leave you gasping.....I have trouble walking 200 yards, but I can still pull the bow. I assemble my own arrows because the local shop won't, but that's part of the fun....Oh, and if you can get a 6'5" man thru the woods, a 6' bow is no problem....just stay on the ground :D
 
Shirt size 20/39 is nothing . Mine is 40-42 . L:O:L

Man I,m drawing 32 inches . 1/4 inch longer and I couldn,t get cedar long enough .

You must be using carbon or aluminum to get them that long ?

My buddy routinely makes self bows as long as 74 inches . A couple more inches wouldn,t be too much of a problem . Of course these are much less efficient in most senses of the word . I keep one in my car as my back up in case I break my laminated longbow .

The self bow has enough hand shock to cause an earthquake . Mu buddy has one with over 300,000 shots out of it .
 
Great links & book suggestions, thanks much! Now I can have my very own desktop trebuchet, and ballista, and mangonel, and.. my coworkers are never going to forgive me. :D
 
Kevin the grey said:
Shirt size 20/39 is nothing . Mine is 40-42 . L:O:L

Man I,m drawing 32 inches . 1/4 inch longer and I couldn,t get cedar long enough .

You must be using carbon or aluminum to get them that long ?

My buddy routinely makes self bows as long as 74 inches . A couple more inches wouldn,t be too much of a problem . Of course these are much less efficient in most senses of the word . I keep one in my car as my back up in case I break my laminated longbow .

The self bow has enough hand shock to cause an earthquake . Mu buddy has one with over 300,000 shots out of it .
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A 40" neck would just about make you the bull of the woods!! And how does a guy with 42" sleeves pull only 32"....you must be arcing your left elbow something fierce to "shorten up". Forget about getting the proper spine, the only aluminium arrows long enough are 2514's and 2419's (the former fly better for me) and arrive at 35 1/2 to 35 1/4.....unless one comes in short, I try not to use the cutoff saw, just champher and fit the insert. No carbon long enough yet....but once upon a time I could get GOOD 35" fiberglass shafts....I still have a half dozen left after all these years. Oh, Kev, is that 40-42 Centimeters??? or inches???:D
 
hmmmm...

I have many opinions on the topic at hand....

First off, the problem with the errrr....uhmmmm.....(insert word for donkey) at the range wasn't the crossbow, but rather the errr....uhmmmm....yeah...that word again...who was wielding it. they shoulda been booted outta there.

If someone has no more respect for game than those you've mentioned, I don't think it would be doing any game a favor by limiting them to a long bow or a recurve either. Someone that inspipid probably shouldn't be trusted with the finest sniper rifle the military has to offer either.

I don't necessarily think a crossbow is more evil than the latest and greatest compound bows coming out these days.

I do believe that the forementioned compound bows and the in-line muzzle loaders violate the ethic and spirit of primitive arms season, if not the letter of the law.

I do believe a crossbow should remain legal (in most places) for the physically impaired, and during rifle season. There should also be an education and qualification standard to be met by an individual who wishes to hunt with such a weapon.

I'm ashamed to say that when I was younger I once killed seven spruce hen with one of those el-cheapo 40 lb crossbows. (they are capable of tremendous accuracy, BTW)

It was like shooting empty beer cans off the porch rail. None of them saw or knew what was happening until I'd killed the last one. Never again would I do that. I hope my son lives up to a higher standard of hunting ethics than I did as a young man.:(
 
Oh, Kev, is that 40-42 Centimeters??? or inches???
Quote .

Oh dems fighting words . L:O:L

I am just shy of a 74 inch wingspan . I think my drawlength may be due to the fact I have a rounded back .

Allegheny arrow works may have shafts long enough but thats some long arrows .

There are two ways you could do it and that is footed arrows or bamboo arrows . Unless you did the footings yourself you are talking some real cash for a dozen arrows . Jap Kopeldreyer(sp) of Ontario makes both bamboo bows and arrows . His arrows are incredible . My buddy won one as a door prize .

If you didn,t want to go that route you can get bambbo shafts and make your own arrows . You are talking beaucoup work .
 
Aluminum sure ain't class, but they're long enough and they work. Sure, I'd like to shoot works of art like footed shafts....but 2514's fit my budget...not cheap, but not $10 a shaft either. :D
 
That Ralph Payne Gallwey book is very good.Although its fairly old it gives you an idea what can be done ( historically speaking).I have hunted with crossbows/recurves/compounds and find myself always returning to my 55lb recurve.I have seen utter pillocks with crossbows who couldn't hit a barn - even if they were standing inside it.Yet again I have also seen some crossbow folks who are really really good shots.A lot of people think that crossbows are really easy to shoot - when in fact they have more shooting variables than you can shake a stick at.As for the trebuchet there is bunch of loonies here that fling cars with theirs - not to sure if they hunt with it...
 
Crossbows and today's modern compounds aren't too much different performance-wise, are they? Anyway, shots over 20 yards with noisy bow or crossbow demands a high level of skill and prayer that the quarry doesn't jump the string.
 
Well, any weapon deserves practice. And some folk can be unsafe with anything. I remember being much younger, and with no experience on a range. Five minutes of instruction would have prevented unsafe actions there for life. (I already knew not to point firearms at people and such, just didn't understand that touching even an unloaded firearm with people downrange makes them understandably nervous, and is a serious range safety violation!)

Oddly enough, I just mentioned using a crossbow in another thread. :) I don't remember how much I practiced, but I can say that my first shot at a deer put the bolt in his throat as he faced me. Perfect shot, if I'd known to just leave him alone to bleed...:(

Those of you with experience, at least attempt some instruction for those who'll listen, huh? Not everyone has a good mentor to clue them in.

John
 
I concur Gentlemen. A crossbow can be an effective tool. Where the problem lies is with the shooter's education. I can tell you looking at a loaded one pointed in roughly your direction is not fun. Supposedly they will have to now go through both a bowhunter's and crossbow/hunter's course. I imagine there will be a melding of sorts somewhere along the way.

A compound crossbow is a funny old dog. It can be fairly efficient. There are also so many adjustments and machines on them as to make their breakdown/inaccuaracy more common.

I find the average citydweller not to be up to the challenge. This could be said of many things.
 
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