Crossbow; The Easiest And The Most Dangerous!

The crossbow is the easiest of the bows to learn and I am sure that this is the aspect that has tempted you. A handful of practice shots and you are ready for the real thing! But, unlike other bows, it is far more dangerous and deadlier; for the archer as well as others.

A crossbow doesn’t need a license or registration to own and is available freely even online. But, not only does it resemble a firearm, it can cause an equal amount and or even more damage than a firearm.

You will understand how powerful/harmful the arrow/bolt which you fire through a crossbow is when I tell you that it is a high-velocity piercing projectile that can pass straight through 1′ plywood or even  body armor!

 Information About the Crossbow:

Crossbows are considered under the category of ‘survival weapons’. The difference between a firearm and a crossbow is, a firearm is much louder but faster and has less piercing capacity.

In a crossbow, a short bow is horizontally attached to the muzzle. The bow is drawn by a crank mechanism. The string is attached to a trigger mechanism and left locked in place till you are ready to fire. Various types of heads for the arrow are available in the market.

Crossbows are heavier to handle. They have a much smaller draw length than bows. This means that for the same energy to be imparted to the arrow (or bolt), the crossbow has to have a much higher draw weight.

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The Attractions For You in a Crossbow:

• You could release a draw force far over what you would get from a bow.

• The crossbow can hold the tension for a longer time, whereas there is a limitation to how long even the strongest longbowman can hold a drawn bow.

• Shooting with a crossbow is just a trigger away. You can use a crossbow with very little training, while other types of bows take far more skill and practice.

• You can shoot so accurately that you can hit a target smaller than an inch which is at, say, 100 yards away from you.

• The arrow has tremendous velocity, viz., 300 to 400 FPS. Even up to 500 FPS; the heavier the bolt, the more is the FPS.

• It is useful while shooting a game because shooting through a crossbow is noiseless whereas shooting a firearm entails some noise and a loud bang.

Dangerous Situations You May Encounter While Using/Learning The Crossbow:

To avoid injuring yourself or others through a crossbow, I would advise that you learn what not to do rather than what to do, when you learn to shoot a crossbow. These safety rules are so imperative that they should become second nature to you:

• Though this may sound silly, never point your bow anywhere except at a target (even if the safety is on or it is not loaded) like you would never hold a firearm on the muzzle end. Otherwise, you may end up badly injuring yourself or others.

• Some crossbows may not come anti-auto-engaging mechanism. Always put the safety ‘on’ before loading to avoid mishaps resulting in life-threatening accidents.

• Never, ever, have your fingers or hand in the path of the string either from the top or from the bottom when your crossbow is cocked, because:

1) You might grip the barrel and your fingers or thumb or fingers could just above the rail and in the way of the string. The string has so much force that the fingers can get severed clean. Some manufacturers take care to design the crossbow so that it is physically impossible to have your fingers in the way. However, in other types of crossbows, it pays to take care. Else you may have to pay dearly; with your life or limbs.

2) Generally, it will be convenient for you to carry around your crossbow with your hand on the middle of the barrel to balance it properly. In such a case, if, perchance, it is cocked or if the cocking system fails and it fires, you can imagine the deadly outcome: For you and/or for anyone who may be on the path of the crossbow.

• Partial or Full dry-fire and dangers:

Manufacturers provide guidelines regarding the size, variety, weight etc. of the head that can use. If you deviate, it could result in partial dry-fire because,

1) When the string gets released by the latch, it may not make proper contact with the back of the bolt/arrow.

2) Then the string will pass underneath or over the arrow, which will cause partial dry-fire.

If you forget to load an arrow and cock your crossbow, then a full dry fire will happen. There is tremendous energy stored in the bow’s limbs which is used up by an arrow when released. If there is no arrow, all this energy will get transferred to the bow and its parts. The result could be broken strings, cables, cracked limbs of your bow. Practically trashed! In the process, you injure yourself badly too.

Why The Crossbows Are Dangerous and How They Can Prove Deadly Too:

Since they are very easy to use with success, even by a novice, the crossbows have been gaining popularity again.

The shorter and a little thicker arrow you use in a crossbow can hit almost (or even more than) at twice the power of the arrow shot through a compound bow.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, there are varieties of heads that can be used with the arrows which can be used with a crossbow. Regretfully, some of them can prove to be quite dangerous and deadly.

E.g.,

Multiple bladed broadheads produce a radiating incised wound.

Conical field tips produce circular to slip-like defects.

In an experiment conducted to gauge the power of the crossbow, it was found that the arrow from a crossbow could even pierce a body armor generally used for protection against firearms.

Also, it is proven that the velocity with which the crossbow releases the arrow is so tremendous that the arrow pierces the target far more effectively and multiple times deeply as compared to a bullet, which basically pierces and disintegrates the surrounding matter and loses its momentum thereafter to a large extent.

Proven also is the fact that the bolt from a crossbow has the damaging power to disintegrate a much greater number of even very hard substances like clay, plywood etc., than a typical bullet fired through a firearm.

Needless to mention that taking care to see to it that there is no one in the space between you and the target is just not sufficient in case of a crossbow. Since the arrowhead exhibits such tremendous piercing capacity, it becomes imperative to:

assess and gauge the softness/denseness/permeability of the target

depending on the above, try to calculate how far the arrowhead could travel beyond the target

and keep a clear field beyond the target as per the above calculation.

You will agree that this aspect greatly increases the risk and danger through shooting from a crossbow.

Recovery from injury through crossbow arrow is rare and mortality is quite high. Also, the type of arrowhead dictates and pattern of injury and proves decisive in the outcome of treatment.

There have been 6 recorded injuries employing crossbow arrows/bolts (Source: Fatal and non-fatal injuries caused by crossbows- A research study by W. Grellner and others)

Out of these, 4 were fatalities (2 Homicides and 2 suicides).

2 were non-fatal but injuries of serious nature.

In 2010, in Saanich in Toronto, a father was hit in the back by an arrow, and the son was tried and punished under second-degree murder.

In the East-end of Toronto, 3 persons were killed by crossbow bolt injuries, possibly through misfired arrows by urban poachers.

These depict only the recorded cases, whereas, there could be more instances that went unrecorded.

The above goes to prove that a crossbow is a serious matter and could prove to be very deadly and very dangerous.

The Crossbow Or Some Other Gadget?

The crossbow is a survival weapon, like a firearm.

So, the basic thing which you would do well to mull upon is, for a person like you who is looking at archery or shooting game as a hobby, whether your choice warrants a survival weapon. In fact, a longbow, recurve bow or compound bow would serve the purpose, without the dangers which entail a crossbow.

However, if you want to choose the path of the easiest way out with hardly any difficulty in learning your hobby, and harbor a fancy for a firearm-type gadget, then you can choose the crossbow.

But this easy, aim-and-shoot gadget comes with its  dangers, as I have already told you. So, if you do decide to choose the crossbow, firstly, beware of its deadly nature. Then but it, by all means.

Go ahead, live dangerously; aim easy, shoot with deadly precision, and enjoy the thrill.