Crossbows

4d4m

Active member
A few weeks ago to pass the time in lockdown, I bought a crossbow for some plinking at home in addition to my hand bows. No safety issue as I already had a 90cm bag target for my other bows that will stop most things and I shoot into my concrete garage. It's not some monster bow either, at a fairly modest 130lbs. Not GNAS legal I know and appears it's not NFAS legal either as it has lever cocking. That doesn't matter though as I wasn't intending to shoot it competitively.

Anyway I'm really enjoying shooting it but curious why there's so little discussion on here about them. There's no section under Bowstyles and very few posts indeed. It's almost like they're the black sheep of archery and it's a case of shhh we don't talk about those :)
 

geoffretired

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I think crossbows are great, but I also see what it is that folks don't like about them. They can be carried around fully ready to shoot, and I find that frightening.
For some, the compound bow was seen as cheating; crossbows... even more so.
It's not "ordinary " archery. In the same way that darts from a blowpipe would not be "darts" that we see at the pub.
 

dvd8n

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I'd love to play around with a crossbow but the difficulty seems to be finding somewhere to shoot them.

All the local clubs that I am aware of don't allow them.
 

bimble

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well, because of the AGB restrictions, I think there's only one or two AGB legal crossbows on the market, and as the rules also say that they must shoot on their own targets which makes them less popular. I think I've only been to one AGB shoot where I have seen crossbows, and that was the National Flight Champs.

Though if you are interested probably the group to look at would be the National Crossbow Federation though there equipment rules are the same as those for AGB if I recall.
 

4d4m

Active member
I think crossbows are great, but I also see what it is that folks don't like about them. They can be carried around fully ready to shoot, and I find that frightening.
For some, the compound bow was seen as cheating; crossbows... even more so.
It's not "ordinary " archery. In the same way that darts from a blowpipe would not be "darts" that we see at the pub.
Hmm they're just like guns in that respect, except very difficult to carry around concealed but ready to shoot, and very obvious when in a ready to shoot state. They need the same level of respect as firearms, always treat as if loaded, don't point at something you don't want to shoot, only load when in position etc.

It's not "ordinary archery" of course because the act of shooting them is more akin to firearms than bows.

Seeing other bow styles as "like cheating" always seems bizarre to me. Ironically that allegation is often thrown at compounds by recurvers who themselves use sights and modern materials to increase accuracy. , and at recurvers by barebowers, and at barebowers by longbowers etc etc. Cheating is deliberately breaking rules of a game or sport to gain an advantage. Different technologies bring advantages, so there are equipment classes.
 

dvd8n

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Seeing other bow styles as "like cheating" always seems bizarre to me. Ironically that allegation is often thrown at compounds by recurvers who themselves use sights and modern materials to increase accuracy. , and at recurvers by barebowers, and at barebowers by longbowers etc etc. Cheating is deliberately breaking rules of a game or sport to gain an advantage. Different technologies bring advantages, so there are equipment classes.
I've heard loads of people say that, although I've never heard anyone say it seriously.

Am I sheltered?
 

geoffretired

Supporter
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I think the idea of calling it cheating is quite natural. It's why sports have rules, other than the ones that the event is run under. It is human nature to look for better ways and also human nature to disallow anything that gives others an advantage.
First time you see a compound bow, you either day " wow, must have one," or " they're cheats bows." Depends on whether you look ahead or backwards.
 

4d4m

Active member
well, because of the AGB restrictions, I think there's only one or two AGB legal crossbows on the market, and as the rules also say that they must shoot on their own targets which makes them less popular. I think I've only been to one AGB shoot where I have seen crossbows, and that was the National Flight Champs.

Though if you are interested probably the group to look at would be the National Crossbow Federation though there equipment rules are the same as those for AGB if I recall.
Thanks for the link. They do seem to have a "Sport Crossbow" class that doesn't have the same restrictions as AGB, but as I say I'm not that interested in competing. I imagine if I did go to an NCF club, to be taken seriously I'd end up forking out £££ for a full house match bow. I can't afford another expensive hobby. :D

As for AGB, I get they're not popular under that umbrella but that by itself can't be the reason they're hardly mentioned on the forum.
 

4d4m

Active member
First time you see a compound bow, you either day " wow, must have one," or " they're cheats bows." Depends on whether you look ahead or backwards.
It's not a binary concept; I would say "wow, interesting from an engineering perspective, but right now I'm not interested enough in having one to actually spend money on one".
 

4d4m

Active member
Hi i shoot both crossbow and compound bow. I think we should have a crossbow section on this site.
Hi, what do you shoot and where?

I agree about the crossbow section, but a post on one of the few crossbow threads on here implied there used to be one, which itself implies it was deleted for some reason.
 

dvd8n

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Though if you are interested probably the group to look at would be the National Crossbow Federation though there equipment rules are the same as those for AG.B if I recall.
I can't say that I'm impressed. The one thing that you want to know when starting out (where to shoot / have you a local club) is the one thing that they don't tell you.
 

geoffretired

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Hi Lion. I meant they would be seen as cheating; not dangerous. The blowpipes would have an advantage and that would upset ordinary darts players.
 
D

Deleted member 7654

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IMO a crossbow is safer than a compound 🤔 :eek: :devilish: .
There is a vast amount of nonsense spoken about them and they have gained a bad reputation because occasionally animals are seen with crossbow bolts in them. Of course you can't see a shotgun pellet or an airgun slug, so JoePublic isn't so horrified and it doesn't make the papers.
Man killed in car crash, man injured with beer glass doesn't make the news... but if someone gets an arrow or bolt in them... that's news.
I've been making crossbows and bows for over 55 years. (First bow I ever sold was a crossbow with detachable shoulder stock, to a game keeper!) I'd test my crossbows by cocking them (not loading) and dropping them onto grass from shoulder height. Contravercially I don't believe in safety catches... most people don't even understand what they do! (oh yes I do... you are thinking!)
A shotgun safety catch doesn't stop it firing... it merely stops the trigger being pulled, so a sharp impact can still make it fire by shocking the bent to disengage from the sear. TBF I can't actually comment on most crossbow safeties, but I expect they are still safer than a release aid.
Safety is the responsibility of the person with the weapon... don't cock it until you are ready to shoot and certainly don't load it until the last moment, and only load it with it pointing down. (Plenty of videos with idiots pointing crossbows skywards as they load the bolt!)
Anyhow, enough ranting here's a pic of my stash which I sorted out on a sunny afternoon, as I had now't better to do!
Oooh, and yes I've been shooting some of my crossbows (into the garage at 10 yards) . Such fun!

Dels stash.JPG
Del
 
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geoffretired

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Del, I agree, crossbows are safer than compounds.
I could say that a penknife is safer than a compound, too.
But, that doesn't answer the question about why there is so little mention of crossbows in archery circles.
It seems to me that crossbows attract the attention of non archers in ways that look frightening. Often they are sold from places that also advertise and sell knives that look deliberately as if they were designed to inflict serious injuries. They seem to be part of the same "umbrella".
It isn't the weapon but the user... a small crossbow seems far more of a threat than a recurve or compound, all packed away in a massive bag on wheels.
 

AndyW

Well-known member
A few weeks ago to pass the time in lockdown, I bought a crossbow for some plinking at home in addition to my hand bows. No safety issue as I already had a 90cm bag target for my other bows that will stop most things and I shoot into my concrete garage. It's not some monster bow either, at a fairly modest 130lbs. Not GNAS legal I know and appears it's not NFAS legal either as it has lever cocking. That doesn't matter though as I wasn't intending to shoot it competitively.

Anyway I'm really enjoying shooting it but curious why there's so little discussion on here about them. There's no section under Bowstyles and very few posts indeed. It's almost like they're the black sheep of archery and it's a case of shhh we don't talk about those :)
4d4m, They're a staple of NFAS shoots and a lot of clubs accept them. There aren't as many as other classes but there's generally a few at most shoots with some exceptions for whatever reason. They're not for me but I quite like the things. Most shoot them because they prefer them but the aspect I like about them is that they allow some who would not be able to continue archery to still partake / go on shoots. There are a couple of people I know who would not be continuing with archery if not for crossbows one of who suffered a stroke and could not shoot recurve or compound. As for a section on here - why not? It would be a good addition.
 

Whitehart

Well-known member
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 :)
 

Berny

Active member
i've a few 60s-'80s crossbows - those with wooden stocks primarily - i've only shot a few of them (in my garden),
not really interested in taking them anywhere else e.g. 3ds etc.
.... only aware of 1 place near (2 hrs drive) that allows them - Butsfield Bowmen in Co. Durham (NFAS).

I was running out of wooden handled 1-piece bows to collect & wanted to see what i'd missed.
Here a nice late '60s Barnett "Rapier" - think i've shot 4 bolts out of it ;-) Rapier-1-(2) (Large).JPG
 

upinsmoke

Member
Hi, what do you shoot and where?

I agree about the crossbow section, but a post on one of the few crossbow threads on here implied there used to be one, which itself implies it was deleted for some reason.
Hi I shoot a Jandao Chace Star in 150 lbs not bad for the money, and am fortunate to have my own land to shoot on. I don't think any of the clubs in Kent allow crossbows,
 
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