The Modern Crossbow

by Terry Stewart

  Stock Weights

  A fairly heavy stock of from 7-8 lb. I feel is an advantage in a target crossbow, being easier to control than a light one, especially on a windy day, as even a slight breeze has considerable effect on the crossbow. For practical hunting purposes a lighter stock is best as it is not so fatiguing to carry around all day when out on a hunt. A difference of even 1 or 2 lb. in weight makes itself known at the end of the day.

  The balance of your crossbow stock is well worthy of consideration as two stocks of identical weight may well feel entirely different according to the point of balance; and a well balanced stock is more comfortable to shoot with. The best point of balance is not perhaps as you may think just ahead of the trigger, but lies at about the centre of the stock between your hands. Should your stock be butt heavy it is possible to throw weight forward by drilling a large hole under the butt plate and hollowing the butt out. The hole should then be plugged with hardwood to match, or covered with a butt plate.

  If your target crossbow is heavy you will most certainly shoot better from the hip rest position than in the usual off hand standing position where the extra weight would soon tire you and greatly affect your accuracy, so if your target crossbow is in excess of 8 lb. be sure it is equipped to be shot from the hip rest position.

  The American market some years ago was flooded with various commercially made crossbows of poor design and poorer performance, making extravagant claims in an attempt to cash in on the rapidly growing crossbow interest. Modern crossbow design in Britain has not reached the point where one may buy with confidence an unseen, untried weapon. There are exceptions of course, but how is the novice to know for certain that he is purchasing an efficiently designed crossbow?

  It is not entirely satisfactory to make your purchase even from some famous name archery firms. One internationally known handbow manufacturer, now producing crossbows, manufactures a weapon of exceptional beauty and poorly designed release mechanism! Another well known firm claim their crossbows to shoot a distance well in excess of the present official world record for crossbow flight shooting! It is wise therefore to purchase a crossbow only from reliable firms, or a good amateur maker of known repute whose claims may be truly justified, bearing in mind the construction principles referred to in this section before making a choice of crossbow. Better still, do not purchase an unseen, untested crossbow from anyone.

  Chapter 5

  PRACTICAL SHOOTING

  All crossbow shots in present day competitions are taken from the offhand position. This term 'offhand' means exactly what it implies; the crossbow is shot off the hands without resting the weapon on any support other than one's own body. No definite set style can be laid down as being best for all crossbowmen. However, certain basic principles do exist and are essential to good shooting.

  Firstly, the body must be balanced steadily and firmly on the feet, and the body turned approximately half right to target, with the greater portion of the body weight above the forward foot and not on the rear foot. This forward weight distribution must on no account be exaggerated to the extent of tipping forward on to the toes. What to aim for is to 'feel' a firm steady balanced position on the flat of the feet, with the weight a trifle forward. Any tendency to throw the body weight over the rear foot will result in an unsteady 'slouching' stance.

  Now raise the crossbow to the shoulder, the butt firm against the shoulder though not pulled in tight, the left hand supporting the stock at the fore-end well down at the base of the hand and not perched on the finger-tips. The right elbow must be well up and out to the side, the bent arm being parallel with the ground, this being the best position for the shoulder to receive the butt to hold the crossbow steady. Do not tilt the stock at an angle when shooting; your bow at all times should remain horizontal.

  The offhand standing position is by far the unsteadiest shooting position of all. However, it is the only one used in competition and so must be mastered. It is impossible to hold aim exactly on the centre of the gold for more than a fraction of a second and it is at that precise moment your bolt must be released if it is to find its mark. During aiming your sight will tend to wander about the gold in a most alarming manner, and your first instinct will probably be to pull the trigger sharply immediately your sights touch the gold. This must be avoided at all costs as it causes one to 'snatch' shots off.

  Aiming from the offhand position

  Certainly the ideal would be to raise the crossbow to the shoulder, take aim, and the first instant the sights rest exactly centre, squeeze the trigger. Unfortunately shooting from the offhand position is not quite as simple as this; by no means take over long when aiming before squeezing the trigger as this will only add to the difficulties by tiring the eyes and hold, and you will probably squeeze your shot off in desperation, ending more unsteady than you were to begin with. In a nutshell, take the shortest time possible to ensure a good aim. Gradually control the waver of your sight on the gold, and for that fraction of a second that it rests exactly on centre, tighten your finger on the trigger. As your sight wavers off keep the trigger finger pressure as it is, but pull no further. As your sight comes on again once more tighten a little on the trigger. Eventually you will be on target with your final squeeze as the trigger releases and your bolt should strike its mark. This may sound a lengthy process, but indeed occupies only a few seconds.

  When aiming, you should look through the rear aperture sight at the foresight bead, which should appear exactly in the centre of the aperture and in line with your point of aim, your point of aim being the gold.

  It is impossible for the eye to focus clearly on three different points at exactly the same moment with equal clarity, so let us eliminate one of these points, the rearsight aperture. Look through the aperture not at it, with the foresight bead on the gold.

  You should now be looking through the aperture at the foresight bead in line with the gold, but not directly at the gold. This method of concentrating your vision on one main point, the foresight bead, will enable you to place this bead clearly defined on a slightly hazy gold as you look at it through a slightly hazy aperture. By trying to focus two or three points simultaneously all you will accomplish is strained eyes and nerves, resulting in poor scores.

  Pressing your trigger is perhaps the most vital moment when shooting. With your sights on target and your hold perfect, all that remains to be done is to press the trigger to release the bolt on its way to the gold, yet it is during this simple physical movement of bending the index finger that you are most likely to transmit some of the movement your finger will make to your hand and cause movement of the stock. The movement of bending the finger to release the trigger is simple, but to bend this finger only, without any other slight hand movement is abominably difficult and may never be fully perfected. What must be striven for is that only the trigger finger must move without imparting movement to the rest of the stock, or altering the hold of the other three fingers and thumb. Good trigger pressing practice may be had without actually shooting bolts by cocking the latch (do not cock the bow itself) taking aim and trying to control the trigger finger's movement. This 'dry' practice is also invaluable as an aid to controlling sight 'waver'.

  After the trigger has been pressed and your bolt starts to leave the stock, it is imperative to hold exactly the same after trigger release as it was during release. After release you have the difficulty of your finger pulling against the spring only, as against a 4-5 lb. pressure of the bow when cocked. If you do not allow for this sudden change in pressure, your stock will move during release with adverse effect to your bolt's flight.

  Continue your aim after the bolt is shot and declare your shot to yourself before lowering your crossbow, and prior to your bolt striking the target. Declare to yourself where you think it will strike, that being the place your sights were at the exact moment of release, not where you hope it will, the gold of course; you will know where your sights were at the instant of release, and that may not be where t
hey ought to have been. If not on the gold, why did that shot go out? Misses can only be accounted for by lots of shooting experience. It may lie in your hold, position, trigger pressing, flinching, etc. It is up to yourself to keep striving for perfection, and by constant practice and experiment eliminate any fault or faults you may have. To know of a certain fault in your shooting technique is half way towards correcting it, and to shoot well with the crossbow is a matter of good, consistent style and practice, practice and more practice, together with an efficient crossbow of good design and suitable bolts. The standard of accuracy attainable under these circumstances will depend finally on the individual's temperament and concentration.

  To shoot accurately with the crossbow your bolts must form a good group, falling close together on the target when shot in the same manner. The closer the group the more accurate the crossbow. Groups will be closer at the close ranges than the longer ranges due to the fact that your bolt, if deviating slightly from centre when shot, will be much further out when it strikes at 100 yards than it would be at 50 yards.

  Let us assume that if the crossbow is shot from an immovable rest in exactly the same manner for each shot, the perfect ultimate group would be for every bolt to fail directly on top of its predecessor. If this were possible it could not be called a group. However, the fact that no crossbow possesses perfect accuracy, and no set of bolts is exactly alike, causes the bolts to spread out from the central point of aim to form a group. The same crossbow, using the same bolts and shot by a crossbowman under exactly the same conditions, will not shoot as close a group as that shot from an immovable rest, due to the human error involved in not being able to hold, aim and shoot the weapon without the slightest alteration for each shot.

  A crossbow shows good accuracy if it will group consistently. No matter where on the target they group, the sights may be adjusted to bring the group within the gold; the main thing is to ensure your bolts do group and not shoot a wide and varying pattern for each end shot. If your bolts are widely scattered over the target face either your crossbow, your bolts, or your shooting, is at fault, it's up to you to determine which. If attention has been paid to the earlier chapter on design and construction, and your shooting style is good, it is most probable that the fault is with your bolts. The professional method of group testing a crossbow is to shoot it from an immovable rest at an indoor range, using the same bolt for each of six shots. Ideally the bolt will shoot into the same hole each time.

  Assuming you have neither an immovable rest nor indoor range it is still essential to test your crossbow's accuracy before commencing field or target shooting, and no doubt it will be necessary to zero the sights to suit the individual. At a measured range (not paced) of 25 yards, set up your target and adjust your crossbow sights with the rear sight at its lowest position and the front sight bead as exactly central as you are able to gauge.

  Aim at the centre of the gold for every shot and shoot six bolts at the gold in the same manner with the sights unchanged for any of the six shots. If your group is low, move forward a few yards and once again shoot six bolts. If your bolts group in, or on a level with the gold, you will be able to measure your crossbow's flat trajectory, that being the range at which your crossbow will shoot a particular bolt without having to elevate your sights. It may be that your trajectory at 25 yards is flat, if so move back a few yards to shoot another group until you can ascertain what range your bolts group at before dropping below the point of aim, which is the gold, and is necessary to raise your sights.

  The next requirement is to adjust your lateral sight to move your group into the gold, if it is not already there. All that is required here is to move your foresight to the side your bolts are grouping to bring them into the gold. If your bolts are grouped to the right of the gold, move your sight to the right. If they are grouped to the left move your sight to the left.

  To group well it is necessary to aim every bolt at the gold irrespective of where on the target they strike, then from where the entire group is you will be able to adjust your sights to group all your shots within the gold. Do not attempt to correct on each single bolt; correcting on single shots is a waste of time. Shoot six bolts and correct on the group as a whole; this applies to shooting on a windy day, judge the effect of the wind on the entire group. If particularly heavier gusts of wind occur, try to shoot between these gusts if at all possible but without rushing your shots to beat the wind. It is far better to shoot in good, relaxed style irrespective of wind than to worry about when the next gust may come along, and snatch the trigger off.

  The hip-rest technique is a very good position from which to shoot the crossbow, and is particularly suited to competitive target shooting where one would tire rapidly in shooting dozens of bolts from the standard offhand position. The stance in relation to the positions of the feet and body are identical to that of the previously described standard position with the hold and position of the right hand and arm also the same. The left elbow is placed firmly on the left hip just above the joint and below the ribs, the stock supported by the finger-tips and thumb just in front of the right hand; or if using a palm ball rest, the ball of this rest is cradled in the palm of the hand. This position firmly locks the stock to the body in a similar manner to which a rifleman would use a sling. Strictly speaking the hip-rest position is also shooting 'offhand' as the weapon is not rested on or supported by anything other than the body, and is permissible in competition.

  Aiming from the hip-rest position

  Chapter 6

  HUNTING WITH THE CROSSBOW

  The crossbowman of the Middle Ages was greatly esteemed, especially in Spain, where some of the finest crossbows were made. The following extract translated from a manuscript on field sports written in Spain by Alonzo Martinez Del Espinar in 1644 may well show that the crossbowman was considered the true hunter and sportsman of his day.

  Only those sportsmen are called ballesteros (crossbowmen) who hunt every kind of game. The ballesteros hunt the stag and deer on horseback; they know how to stalk and they know the tracks and habits of all wild animals and where they may be killed. The ballesteros make hunting parties for every kind of animal and they know the haunts and habits of each one, according to its nature, and everything that belongs to the craft of forestry and hunting.

  The crossbow when used for hunting is the weapon of the true sportsman, the stalker, the hunter in every sense of the word. The man with the shotgun knows little of stalking. He walks up to his game using the superior senses of his dog to flush it out and dispatches his quarry with a spread of shot. With the crossbow you will hunt alone and in silence, seek out your quarry, stalk it within range of a clean shot, and dispatch it silently with a single bolt. For every animal a man shoots with the rifle there are ten you won't even get close enough to for a shot with the crossbow. Your stalking skill will be your thrill, with the kill being proof of your ability to outwit the superior senses of your quarry. A close miss at 20 yards with the crossbow is a greater thrill than a kill at 100 yards with a rifle.

  The crossbow is not the weapon of wholesale destruction, and to succeed with it for hunting calls for a knowledge of the animal you are hunting, where they may be found, and at what times. A haphazard stroll through unfamiliar country in the hope of a shot at anything that may come along is largely a waste of time. The passage quoted from the Spanish writer of 1644 applies to this day. Know your game, its habits, its haunts, and develop skill at stalking. Then and only then will you be assured of regular kills with the crossbow.

  To make the most practical use of your crossbow under hunting conditions it is essential to know your weapon's potential as to range, trajectory, etc., with the particular types and weights of bolts to be used, and to be an accurate judge of what range your game is at. Due to the high trajectory of a crossbow bolt (in comparison with a rifle bullet) the majority of killing shots will be made within the flat trajectory range of up to about 30 yards. At ranges greater than 30 yards your sights would
have to be raised; thus, if you estimate your quarry at 50 yards, raise your sights accordingly and shoot well, you will hit your target. If, however, your range estimation was from 10 to 5 yards out either way, your bolt will strike either behind or in front of your target. This shows the desirability ofa hunting crossbow to have the flattest trajectory possible.

  The accurate estimation of ranges cannot be too strongly stressed and, believe it or not, without practice, the average person is unable to tell the difference between 75 yards and 100 yards, particularly over rough country. The hunting crossbowman will only suffer bitter disappointment unless he is able accurately to estimate ranges over varying terrain. The answer lies in two things, practice at range estimation and a system.

  The British Army teaches a good system of range estimation that comes surprisingly close and is known as 'bracketing'. You see your game and estimate what range you think is just too much, then estimate the range you think would be just too short. Add the total of both ranges and divide by two. For example, you see a rabbit and calculate it at no further than 60 yards at the most, and certainly no closer than 40 yards. Now add both ranges together. This makes a total of 100 yards which divided by two is 50 yards. Set your sights at 50 yards. take a shot and if you do not score a hit you will be surprised how close you were. With practice at this system you can expect a large number of kills provided your aim is good.