Crossbow Advice

[Steve]

(29 June 2013, 17:06)bigpaul Wrote: it wasn't just rabbits anyhow, there's squirrels-their crazy! pheasants-their just stupid..wont fly unless they absolutely HAVE to, wood pigeons, if it comes down to it post collapse I will eat pretty much any decent size bird that's flying around.

I've hunted and eaten all of those.

Squirrels are hard to kill, not only are they small, they are hard as nails. Hit them in the right place and they die, hit them in the wrong place and they leg it - I've blown one near in half with a rifle and it still tried to crawl away. If it expires with your arrow in it 80ft up a chestnut tree you can consider them both lost.

Pheasants - they are abundant because they are raised and released by the thousand to be shot. Post crash expect them to be rapidly consumed by foxes. Trust me on this, I tried to encourage them on my own land and regularly found piles of feathers and a nearby fox turd.

Wood pigeon - the ones found in woodland not the ones that occasionally visit your garden - you need the patience of Job and damned good camo to sneak up on a woodie, it's difficult with an air rifle and that has a useful headshot range of 40yds. Pistol crossbow ? Forget it.

[SierraCharlie]

(29 June 2013, 15:59)Barneyboy Wrote:

(29 June 2013, 14:58)Steve Wrote: Lots of talk about hunting rabbits with pistol-bows and crossbows, but have any of you actually tried to get close enough to a rabbit to actually use one ? I don't mean actually shoot one, that's illegal, but have you tested your accuracy at a rabbit sized target and then stalked to within your effective range ? It's not as easy as you think, especially in open country, and in winter you are unlikely to even see one in daylight - can you fire your crossbow and hold a lamp ?

All in all, for rabbits, an air rifle is a much better idea.

I have to agree with this in a big way.!!
Thanks again to all you guys who have actually hunted, your advice is well received. Be nice though if anyone had any info on how to make the arrows.When I say this I mean making them as if we were in a post catastrophic sit. Maybe whats the best wood, or other material to look for, various tip ideas etc.




if your up a tree or stand you can get away with a bit of noise and movement and one or two misses,the connies are not that interested what happens up in the air

---

I have to apologise for answers Ive posted, its been years since I used forums hopefully I'll get it sorted real quick !!!!

[Barneyboy]

(30 June 2013, 13:10)SierraCharlie Wrote:

(29 June 2013, 15:59)Barneyboy Wrote:

(29 June 2013, 14:58)Steve Wrote: Lots of talk about hunting rabbits with pistol-bows and crossbows, but have any of you actually tried to get close enough to a rabbit to actually use one ? I don't mean actually shoot one, that's illegal, but have you tested your accuracy at a rabbit sized target and then stalked to within your effective range ? It's not as easy as you think, especially in open country, and in winter you are unlikely to even see one in daylight - can you fire your crossbow and hold a lamp ?

All in all, for rabbits, an air rifle is a much better idea.

I have to agree with this in a big way.!!
Thanks again to all you guys who have actually hunted, your advice is well received. Be nice though if anyone had any info on how to make the arrows.When I say this I mean making them as if we were in a post catastrophic sit. Maybe whats the best wood, or other material to look for, various tip ideas etc.




if your up a tree or stand you can get away with a bit of noise and movement and one or two misses,the connies are not that interested what happens up in the air

---

I have to apologise for answers Ive posted, its been years since I used forums hopefully I'll get it sorted real quick !!!!

any hard wood for arrow shaft,metal heads can be any flat thin metal that can hold a edge,as for the fletchings goose feathers are good

---

(30 June 2013, 13:35)Barneyboy Wrote:

(30 June 2013, 13:10)SierraCharlie Wrote:

(29 June 2013, 15:59)Barneyboy Wrote:

(29 June 2013, 14:58)Steve Wrote: Lots of talk about hunting rabbits with pistol-bows and crossbows, but have any of you actually tried to get close enough to a rabbit to actually use one ? I don't mean actually shoot one, that's illegal, but have you tested your accuracy at a rabbit sized target and then stalked to within your effective range ? It's not as easy as you think, especially in open country, and in winter you are unlikely to even see one in daylight - can you fire your crossbow and hold a lamp ?

All in all, for rabbits, an air rifle is a much better idea.

I have to agree with this in a big way.!!
Thanks again to all you guys who have actually hunted, your advice is well received. Be nice though if anyone had any info on how to make the arrows.When I say this I mean making them as if we were in a post catastrophic sit. Maybe whats the best wood, or other material to look for, various tip ideas etc.




if your up a tree or stand you can get away with a bit of noise and movement and one or two misses,the connies are not that interested what happens up in the air

---

I have to apologise for answers Ive posted, its been years since I used forums hopefully I'll get it sorted real quick !!!!

any hard wood for arrow shaft,metal heads can be any flat thin metal that can hold a edge,as for the fletchings goose feathers are good

oh yeah and flint ,but bloody hell that is hard

[Lightspeed]

(28 June 2013, 18:02)Mortblanc Wrote: I am going to buck the trend here. I hunt with crossbows and regular bow legally here in the U.S. Our deer archery season lasts for 5 months and we have a special crossbow season. One can also hunt with a crossbow during regular gun season, which is a month split into two sessions. I have carried a crossbow in the field for many hours and killed enough deer with them to have stopped keeping score.

I own 150/100/80/50 pound draw crossbows

Anything below the 125 level is good only for using on hay bales, 3d targets or other placebo effects. One might pot a rabbit, squirrel or rat with one of the lightweight models but for any target over 25 pounds weight you need the full montie offered by the 125-150 range. There is also the problem that most of the light weight bows are presented and built as toys and have the quality to match. Poor QC, poor materials, poor design and miniature arrows.

The crossbow normally equals the power of a normal bow with 1/3 the draw weight, so an 80 pound crossbow has no more power than a 25+- pound normal bow, a device generally regarded as a toy. Yes I realize there are people here that think they can hunt with a 25 pound bow, they can do so, just not effectively.

If you find cocking the 150 pound bow difficult you might consider a mechanical device, there are many available or you can make one.

I have had three back surgeries and I use a simple device that allows me to cock the 150 pound bow with no difficulty.

Thanks MB. Very useful reply based on your real experience.

Not many of us here in UK have experience of hunting large game with our crossbows. ( again legality issues)

Out of interest, at what range do you usually take deer with your 150 lb bow? What length, material, weight darts do you use? I'm assuming broadheads are always used?

Looks like I'm going to have to progress to 150lb prods quickly.

Thanks again

[NorthernRaider]

Did you all note the guy murdered last week with a crossbow?, according to the media the bolt passed straight through him and he bled out, Accuracy is as important as power and of course a two or three bladed broaded is going to cause more blood loss than a target point.

[Mortblanc]

(1 July 2013, 07:10)Lightspeed Wrote: [quote='Mortblanc' pid='63376' dateline='1372438968']
Thanks MB. Very useful reply based on your real experience.

Not many of us here in UK have experience of hunting large game with our crossbows. ( again legality issues)

Out of interest, at what range do you usually take deer with your 150 lb bow? What length, material, weight darts do you use? I'm assuming broadheads are always used?

Looks like I'm going to have to progress to 150lb prods quickly.

Thanks again

Not many archers over here have experience killing big game with a bow either. That is one of the reasons I am skeptical of the prospect of the inexperienced hunters in GB attempting to stay alive with a bow SHTF.

Even with our long hunting season, profuse availability of equipment and easy access to hunting areas, only 1 out of 10 hunters fills his license. And those figures are skewed because some hunters take multiple deer, meaning that only perhaps 1 out of 50 hunters actually makes a kill.

It is not lack of accuracy that hinders the success of a hunt, it is usually lack of hunting knowledge and experience. Primitive peoples do not have access to the equipment we have, but they navigate their short lifespans using the knowledge of the terrain and the game they seek. Then hit a rough patch or a drought and starve to death at 35.

And those dinky little toy looking bows they use??? Well fellows, they are shooting poisoned arrows! They are not killing by shock, penetration or blood loss, they are killing with chemicals.

I do not know what my bolts weigh to the gram. I cut 5/16" dowels at 14" and split the tip using a band saw. The broad heads are cut from sheet metal that was formerly the jacket of a clothes washer. The blade is shaped with tin snips and a belt sander and fitted to the arrow with epoxy and a single rivet. I use two slender feathers set at 180 degrees for fletching and the job is done.

I set a 30 yard restriction on all my regular and crossbow shots. I hunt from a ground blind or tree stand and arrange the situation to my range needs.

Your success at slithering through the woods looking for the majestic stag will be useless. The stag can hear better, smell better, has better camouflage and better reflexes than you do. Approaching the game to a range of 30 yards is a near myth attainable only in a petting zoo.

All those game animals you see from your automobile every day become invisible as soon as you walk out the door with a weapon. I have actually chased deer out of my barn lot the day before hunting season opens and then had to search high and low to find a target deep in he forest the next day.

About 15 years ago I had to kick wild turkey off my porch to enter my home the day before hunting season opened. I did not see another turkey for the entire season and failed to fill my tag that year.
(wild turkey are a game bird that goes around 10-20 pounds and make a very tasty roast)

Even with every factor stacked to my advantage I have had deer that were seemingly unsuspecting and relaxed jump faster than my arrow could travel and dodge the missile at the sound of the string release.

It sounds impossible but it happens. That means all the "club activity",lessons and practice one can muster will have only minimal connection to success in the hunting field. As I said before, we have excellent hunters in the field using excellent equipment in pristine forests among massive deer herds and only 1/10 fills his tag. There is more to it than simply walking out and killing what you need like they do on the "canned hunts" you see on TV.

[NorthernRaider]

It didnt take me more than a few days of missed shots with a bow in Kansas before I started hitting about 1 in 3 cottontails and the odd gopher, Its not to difficult a subject to become basically proficient at, maybe not expert but in time good enough to add meat to the menu.

---

And of course we will be doubling or tripling our bets with snares and ferrets.

[Barneyboy]

as we have said on here before MB it is against the law to hunt with bows.so to say that maybe some people on here do go hunting with xbows or bows would be very silly ,as we in the uk cant have any fun unless your happy to brake the law .most of the land here in the uk is owned by lord and lady posh twat which would be very bad to take bird ,rabbits deer from them now wouldn't it

[NorthernRaider]

Of course as Barney will agree we in the UK always operate within the law !!1

[Highlander]

MB,.. you are dead right in your description of the ability of deer, I dont know of any other animal that has the ability to get out of trouble better than one of those,.. even when you think you could just reach out and almost grab

I know that deer could be taken with a crossbow, but you would never do it by sneaking up to it,... experienced Estate shooters here need to show skill when stalking to within rifle range.

.... The best way to take deer would be from an ambush setting, you need to know where they go, the point they enter the wood for example, and lay in wait for them,.. getting high keeps your smell to a minimum, but trying to make a downward shot wouldn't be easy, best dig yourself in, and roll in the peat a bit so that you smell like the hole you are in