hunting with a crossbow

[NorthernRaider]

(2 October 2012, 08:58)BeardyMan Wrote:

(1 October 2012, 22:51)Metroyeti Wrote: Also a lot quiter.

Yes, much. Plus if you do miss and don't spook the quarry you cah get a second go. If you miss with a shotgun, unless you've found yourself a deaf dear, it's off.

Forgot to mention, on American guns on Sky 520 last night they modified arrows to be fired out of single barreled .410 shotguns very effectely.

[Hrusai]

(2 October 2012, 11:52)NorthernRaider Wrote: Forgot to mention, on American guns on Sky 520 last night they modified arrows to be fired out of single barreled .410 shotguns very effectely.

they did a similar thing on mythbusters as well surprising how efficiently they can be fire

[BeardyMan]

(2 October 2012, 11:52)NorthernRaider Wrote:

(2 October 2012, 08:58)BeardyMan Wrote:

(1 October 2012, 22:51)Metroyeti Wrote: Also a lot quiter.

Yes, much. Plus if you do miss and don't spook the quarry you cah get a second go. If you miss with a shotgun, unless you've found yourself a deaf dear, it's off.

Forgot to mention, on American guns on Sky 520 last night they modified arrows to be fired out of single barreled .410 shotguns very effectely.

I've seen somewhere you can take a used round and put that into the shotgun case - so if you were to shoot someone with it it would look like the original firearm the shot the round would have been used to shoot the person...

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Actually, thinking about it, I may have seen that on Columbo

[Hrusai]

(2 October 2012, 11:59)BeardyMan Wrote: I've seen somewhere you can take a used round and put that into the shotgun case - so if you were to shoot someone with it it would look like the original firearm the shot the round would have been used to shoot the person...

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Actually, thinking about it, I may have seen that on Columbo

lol was gonna say, sounds like you've been watching too much CSI xD

[BeardyMan]

(2 October 2012, 12:08)Hrusai Wrote:

(2 October 2012, 11:59)BeardyMan Wrote: I've seen somewhere you can take a used round and put that into the shotgun case - so if you were to shoot someone with it it would look like the original firearm the shot the round would have been used to shoot the person...

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Actually, thinking about it, I may have seen that on Columbo

lol was gonna say, sounds like you've been watching too much CSI xD

In theory it will work though. It probably wouldn't be that accurate, but close range it'll still do the trick.

[UncleFester]

20" drop at 30yrds, that's pretty hard to judge especially when your aiming for a 4" killzone possibly on a moving target, there's gonna be a lot of wounded deer walking round. Deer can run far further thn you think when shot with a bow even if you hit the heart or lungs, if you don't hit them it can be very long death and if you don't hit anything vital it's probably not gonna drop at all and end up dying of infection.

Bleeding out is when you get a lung shot its basically the time it takes the deer to suffocate or pass out caused by it bleeding into its lungs.

[Highlander]

I think a lot of this misses the point,... its not so much the weapon as what it fires,.... its not so much the bow as what arrow head is used, a large enough broad head is going to knock most deer down through shock alone, it will tear a hole 2 inches across and go almost through the body, [ depending on how close you are of course ],.. and depending on where its hit, that animal will go down.

A crossbow is an accurate weapon, so unless you are trying to hit the beast from too far away, you are going to hit the main part of the body at least,.. you will make a kill and usualy a quick one,... certainly on par with any firearm

[UncleFester]

(2 December 2012, 22:16)Highlander Wrote: I think a lot of this misses the point,... its not so much the weapon as what it fires,.... its not so much the bow as what arrow head is used, a large enough broad head is going to knock most deer down through shock alone, it will tear a hole 2 inches across and go almost through the body, [ depending on how close you are of course ],.. and depending on where its hit, that animal will go down.

A crossbow is an accurate weapon, so unless you are trying to hit the beast from too far away, you are going to hit the main part of the body at least,.. you will make a kill and usualy a quick one,... certainly on par with any firearm

An arrow doesn't create shock in the same way an expanding bullet does, an arrow with a broadhead will only damage what it makes contact with, if you miss anything vivtal it's no different to a knife wound a long slow bleed. A bullet as it comes into contact with meat starts to mushroom outwards caused by the impact this sends shock waves through the nearby area and even if you miss the heart the shockwaves can still cause massive trauma to it and killing quickly. With a bow you have to hit it in the heart or lungs and even then a deer will run more often than not.

To say an arrow is as effective as a bullet is daft there completely different and a bullet transfers its energy far more efficiently, an arrow pierces and is really poor at transferring its energy purely because there is no expansion so no shockwaves so relies on perfect placement so it's nowhere near as effective as a bullet.

If its all you've got it's the best tool for the job but if you had both a rifle would always get you more meat for the table. As for noise modern sound moderators can be extremely effective. I regularly fox shoot with a guy who uses a .22hornet he homeloads bullets pushing out at 3000fps so roughly 300ft/lb and if you was indoors you'd struggle hear him shooting in your back garden when he's got his mod on the end of it.

[Mortblanc]

I think everyone got distracted right after post #1 !!!

The correct answer to how long will it take for a deer to bleed out is;

"No one knows"

Things being different over here in the U.S. and in my part of it in particular, I have taken 6-10 deer each year for the past 37 years using gun, bow and crossbow and using arrows ranging from the expensive razorheads to knapped stone tips.

I have seen deer shot with a bow drop in their tracks. I have also heart shot deer, cutting away their entire aorta, and had them run 1/2 mile.

You never know what the result of your shot is going to be. Best to count on having some tracking skills or a good tracking dog.

[NorthernRaider]

I shot a white tail on the Cimmeron grasslands in 94 with a 30-06 rifle smack back in the heart area, I was using a soft lead home reloaded round that should and could drop an elephant, the deer was knocked over by the rounds impact, then it got up and ran for over 200 yards before falling !! Morts spot on with his appraisal.