# Modern Crossbow , Part of a survival plan ?



## fordy (Sep 13, 2003)

..........I just did a search for Crossbows at Cabelas and was amazed at the selection and cost of the bows available for sale . A crossbow would seem to be the ultimate , light weight weapon for killing deer for meat . Much less weight than a rifle and a couple hundred rounds of ammo . 
..........After reading the descriptions it seems some of the most powerful bows are accurate out to about 50 yards or a little more and very deadly with the tips of the Arrows\bolts used with them . They are not cheap , by any means . , fordy


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## anniew (Dec 12, 2002)

and they don't make noise...


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## Michael Kawalek (Jun 21, 2007)

And, arrows are recycleable


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## ihedrick (May 15, 2005)

and pretty quiet.


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## snakeshooter1 (Mar 8, 2009)

Michael Kawalek said:


> And, arrows are recycleable



not always, I bow hunt and usually only get 1 deer per arrow. They break them alot when shot. The arrows also usually lose the fletching on a pass thru. My advice stock lots of arrows and fletchings and glue.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

TX is going to have a crossbow/archery season this year.

I was contemplating getting a crossbow... our local gamewarden, which hunts quite a bit more than most wardens, has hunted with xbows, and is selling them off... he had some expensive ones, and never could quieten them down as much as a regular compound bow.

So now, I'm debating... season starts Saturday a week from now... crossbow or stick with the compound... or get an xbow and have both...


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

As with compounds, too rich and fancy for my blood. I just made my kids a crossbow using pvc pipe, a 1"X2" board about 3 ft. long, a clothes pin, and a refill slingshot rubber. Made the crossbow based on a article out of "The Backwoodsman" magazine. 

It's only about a 20 pounder, but after making it and playing with it some, I figured it wouldn't take much to make one big enough to kill deer with. Just have to use your imagination. 

Here in Oklahoma you can only use a crossbow if you have a bad shoulder and can get a doctor to vouch for you.


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## cowboy joe (Sep 14, 2003)

Bought an inexpensive one a few years back for target practice as they aren't legal for hunting in NYS unless you have a physical limitation. While they aren't as quiet as a compound, they do have better range. The one I have came with a red dot scope. Once dialed in, I can consistently place my shots in a 6" circle at ~50 yards. The other plus is far less motion once it's cocked...no need to try to draw or hold while a deer is looking straight at you. The downside is it would be difficult to reload without being seen if you missed.

In my opinion, this would be one of my preferred hunting implements in a survival scenario.

Just an FYI, http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/browse/browse.aspx?c=8&s=261&wh=s&k=crossbow has some decent, inexpensive crossbows. The even have an 80lb crossbow 'pistol' for under $20! Hmmm, wonder how much is in my loose change jar???


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

crossbows can be a little misleading though, they can have there advantages 
though the main being point and shoot.

a compound can have a lot more power though. I shoot both and ya I loose bolts and arrows at a pretty good clip.

the power is computed by the power stroke how far the string travels and the poundage of the draw. bows on average 26-32 inchs crossbows 8-10 inchs, then you have to factor wieght of your projectile. I dont know the exact formula Im sure you can find it if you look. 

the other thing is not all crossbows are quite some are pretty noisey.

I recently saw a reverse limb crossbow that was pretty wicked, its made by
Scorpid the rdt 125 its billed as the longest power stroke in the industry
(19") and one of the quitest. spec are 125lb draw 370 fps 106 pounds of kinetic energy!

if you get a crossbow do a little research you will be greatly rewarded my second pick would be a horton vision. 

heres a write up for a few different crossbows....

http://www.huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=1089


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## ChristyACB (Apr 10, 2008)

cowboy joe said:


> Bought an inexpensive one a few years back for target practice as they aren't legal for hunting in NYS unless you have a physical limitation. While they aren't as quiet as a compound, they do have better range. The one I have came with a red dot scope. Once dialed in, I can consistently place my shots in a 6" circle at ~50 yards. The other plus is far less motion once it's cocked...no need to try to draw or hold while a deer is looking straight at you. The downside is it would be difficult to reload without being seen if you missed.
> 
> In my opinion, this would be one of my preferred hunting implements in a survival scenario.
> 
> Just an FYI, http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/browse/browse.aspx?c=8&s=261&wh=s&k=crossbow has some decent, inexpensive crossbows. The even have an 80lb crossbow 'pistol' for under $20! Hmmm, wonder how much is in my loose change jar???


Thanks for the Tip. I'm currently shopping my heart out on this site right now and I'm gonna clean them out of bolts for that thing. Can you think of anything more fun to do out back?


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## ChristyACB (Apr 10, 2008)

Luckily, before I hit "enter" on the purchase, I decided to look up some reviews. Found on Amazon that this particular pistol is pretty much a toy with a tendency to break.

Now, I've got my heart all ready to play in the back yard. Anyone know of a particular crossbow pistol model that is good, durable and suitable?


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## fordy (Sep 13, 2003)

ChristyACB said:


> Luckily, before I hit "enter" on the purchase, I decided to look up some reviews. Found on Amazon that this particular pistol is pretty much a toy with a tendency to break.
> 
> Now, I've got my heart all ready to play in the back yard. Anyone know of a particular crossbow pistol model that is good, durable and suitable?


 http://www.ultimatecrossbows.com/crossbows-s/26.htm


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

I have a little Barrnet trident crosbow pistol. It's a toy but not one you play at friends with! It'd pull down a squirel or tack a rodent to the floor for ya. A point to remember is the compound cross bows need a special bench tool to restring and there are some very powerful recurves that don't. Just like buying a rifle try before you buy!

Had to laugh Fordy the rifle could be as light and (or even more) effective as the crossbow if you left most of your couple hundred rounds of ammo at home!!


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

A good 22 rifle would be a far better survival weapon than any type of crossbow.


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## oldcj5guy (Jul 24, 2006)

I have hunted with a crossbow and killed several deer with one. I wouldn't hesitate to go after any animal with one. It does have several drawbacks a few of which were already mentioned.

Average joe can't restring it on a bench, much less the field

slow second shots

In a SHTF situation, can you get replacement parts and install them?

I highly doubt that a modern crossbow could throw homemade bolts without problems

I love my compound bow, but I have invested in a good recurvethis last year and will be attending a class this summer to learn how to make my own with very basic handtools.


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## WildBillTN (Feb 1, 2006)

I shoot/hunt with recurve, compound, and now just bought a crossbow. Yes, they are possibly a bit noisier than the compound, but with a bolt zipping at 345 ft. per second, I don't worry about a deer "jumping the string". By the time the deer hears the string twang, he is already dead.


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## two_barking_dogs (Sep 17, 2002)

I have an Excalibur crossbow on which I use either a fiber optic sight or a scope and like Cowboy Joe said these things are great out to about 50 yards although I won't go out past 30 yards after a deer as I don't want them to jump the string. But a crossbow is like shooting a rifle which to me is a big plus -vs- having to learn to shoot a bow.

I went with the Excalibur because this is one of the few that does not use a pully system to increase the draw weight. Mine is 225 lbs. When you have to exchange the string on a compound you most likely need a special tool or take it to a shop. I just swap the string, 2 ends and its on. And you will go through arrows with these things. Mostly what happens is the vanes, feathers, get messed up when you sink an arrow into either a target, the ground or a deer. So get a jig to allow you to refletch the arrows.


Here in Ga anyone can use a crossbow while archery season is on plus you can hunt in areas which legally you can not use a rifle in like subdivisions. And yes I've had coworkers every year ask me to come to their neighborhoods to get the deer thats eating their flowers. I do a lot of my bow hunting now in coworkers neighborhoods because its just so much easier then going out to the woods. Alpharetta which is outside of Atlanta is perfect for this as you have a lot of 1+ acre homes neighborhoods with treelines surounding the creeks and gullys. And a backyard deck makes a perfect treestand. 

Prices for mine ran about $450 at the time a couple of year ago for the bow and I think another $50 for a starter kit which contained extra strings,a pull, extra arrows and a scope. There are several bow hunting superstores on the net so shop around for price. At the time my local gunstore wanted about $725 for the same setup. Also these are like cars and a new model always comes out. This means you can get a good deal on last years model. Mine was a last year, don't really know what that means with these things.

If you have any questions just ask.


.


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## Jolly (Jan 8, 2004)

anniew said:


> and they don't make noise...


Yes, they do. Just not as much as a rifle or shotgun.

The sound of a modern, compound crossbow going off in the woods, sounds a lot like a limb breaking, but with its own unique sound. 

And you are only as good as your supply of arrows...with the speed of modern archery, arrow tolerances have to be very tight, and most bows and crossbows are not very forgiving.

A good recurve will do most of what the crossbow will do, but be a lot quieter and you can make arrows for it, if you have to...


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## chronic66 (Feb 19, 2005)

I've got a crossbow that I made in high school. Aluminum bow, etc. I just made the stock out of a chunk of walnut. It is kind of rough, I probably deserved a D for it but it is very strong. I thought it was like a 50 lb pull bow. Worse come to worse I would shoot something with it. I also have a blow gun I ordered many years ago in my younger day. It will kill a bird or something on that order.


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