As the rules are at the moment that compound cross bow could be legal under the rules of shooting. The draw weight is measured at the latch. If the let off is 60 to 70% the peak draw weight could very well be over 200 lbs.It's not the crossbows fault but every time the Police turn up at our shop for help, advice and in the hope of identifying the culprit it is crossbow related - that's why we don't sell crossbows - also unless you have your own land it is pointless as there are very few places to shoot them. Finally of the weekly enquiries we get, the majority want to go out and hunt and do not take it kindly when we dash their hopes.
The funniest but could have been a serious accident so far was an archer who shot a crossbow at 20 yards through a foam boss, two Egertec bosses, a solid wood garage door and finished up in the car door. This was a 190lb crossbow (a compound on its side) looked more like an attack rifle that could reliably put bolts in the 10 ring at 90m - some machine.
Dell the biggest safety feature is that many sold online are so powerful that a good majority cannot cock them and come into the shop asking us to make them less powerful
I'd suggest the archers making errors in their judgement of range rather than the laws of physics not applying to crossbow bolts is a more likely cause for missing.... incredible arrow/bolt speed but the range is poor...
Agreed. My crossbow delivers similar kinetic energy to my recurve which very easily reaches 180 yards for clout. And it's not particularly powerful.I'd suggest the archers making errors in their judgement of range rather than the laws of physics not applying to crossbow bolts is a more likely cause for missing.
Del
You beat me to it by 2 minutes!Many crossbow sights are mounted just above the arrow/bolt, rather like a telescopic sight on a rifle. It isn't possible to elevate a crossbow very far before the stock blocks the view of the target, unless it is close.
So the crossbow might shoot a bolt 800yds, but you wouldn't be aiming through a telescopic sight... just pointing uphill enough to get a good distance.
That presupposes the owner has neither the wit, skill or funds to remedy this fault.Many crossbow sights are mounted just above the arrow/bolt, rather like a telescopic sight on a rifle. It isn't possible to elevate a crossbow very far before the stock blocks the view of the target, unless it is close.
So the crossbow might shoot a bolt 800yds, but you wouldn't be aiming through a telescopic sight... just pointing uphill enough to get a good distance.
I'd normally expect anyone intending to shoot any projectile device in an unmarked range competition would have taken time to familiarise themselves with their chosen device's trajectory up to the maximum allowed range.That presupposes the owner has neither the wit, skill or funds to remedy this fault.
Del
Did the bolts land short or go over the top? Steep angles both up and down require less holdover because gravity is acting at an angle so has less effect on the trajectory, and this is quite hard for some people to grasp.Two guys at our NFAS club use them; incredible arrow/bolt speed but the range is poor.
All of us had a go at a boss up a steep hill about 70 yards away. All recurvers missed. The crossbow couldn’t get to it (three bolts shot) and missed; guess which bow landed an arrow right in the middle? Yep, me and my compound bow.
and this is quite hard for some people to grasp.
It might be slowing it down a little quicker than air resistance on its own would do, but not by much. By a max of 10m/s for a second of travel. (10m/s^2). The major point is it's not moving the arrow as much off line,I remember struggling to get my head round that one. It took ages for the idea to sink in.
Then I considered the steepest uphill shots. The arrow goes straight up and slows down very quickly as gravity is dragging in back. But it doesn't drag the arrow off line causing it to fly in the curve we see when shooting at ordinary targets. It travels in a straight line. If you used your indoor sight mark, you would miss but not by much.
Roughly you just shoot the horizontal distance. It's not quite that simple for extreme angles - there's a good article/paper on it somewhere with the maths. The arrow/bolt doesn't know where it is, it just drops earthward at about 10m/s/s over the time it's in the air relative to line it was shot at. Same as any ballistic arc.I remember struggling to get my head round that one. It took ages for the idea to sink in.
Then I considered the steepest uphill shots. The arrow goes straight up and slows down very quickly as gravity is dragging in back. But it doesn't drag the arrow off line causing it to fly in the curve we see when shooting at ordinary targets. It travels in a straight line. If you used your indoor sight mark, you would miss but not by much.
Amen, but we will always come second to someone who has mastered crossbow. Watch a good one shoot and just keep shaking your head - they don't miss. Others may have done it but XB is the only style I've known max a field course.Okay fair enough but on this particular day, the compound bow won.
I love their power and accuracy even if they are considered the devils work by many.