Criossbows

[Rob]

I hope that you agree that this news is encouraging.

Earlier this year, I expressed my concerns to EBAY regarding the sale of Crossbows on their site. They were available for less than £15 (with the P&P) and were beign openly marketed as toys and for hunting in the UK.

I am pleased to have received an email from EBAY, stating that the sale of thsi type of bow will be restricted from 20th December.

Lets hope that this is a step closer to people being able to use crossbows legitimately and safely, and reduce the problems caused by inappropriate use.

Well done EBAY :You_Rock_

 

[Paganwolf]

Well Done Rob! very well done, crossbows are a seriously nasty bit of kit in the wrong hands! good thing you saw them, a very upstanding thing you've done if you ask me :biggthump

 

[Wayne]

Full Marks Rob. :You_Rock_

 

[Tony]

:respekt: :You_Rock_

 

[RovingArcher]

Well done Rob. Many of us here have been trying to rid the woods of the crossbow. Unfortunately, there is a large body of people that see them as a way to get more people into the woods, because they don't require hardly any practice to use. In my opinion, sending a bunch of yahoos into the woods with a lethal weapon and without a bit of savy or ability, is reckless and irresponsible.

 

[arctic hobo]

One of my sister's friends was shot in the stomach by a teen with a crossbow - well done you :You_Rock_

 

[Wayne]

Thats got to hurt. Hope she recovered OK.

My parents house was recently damaged by a teen with an air rifle over a number of days. Police were not interested until my farther threatened to go around and thump him. The police would then arrest my dad. go figure. :?:

 

[Rob]

It is a strange land that we live in. :shock:

 

[CLEM]

Ive no problem with cross bows at all,however i do think that there should be some kind of age restriction on there purchase.Its ridiculous how to buy an air rifle you have to be 18 or is 21 now days but there is no age restriction on bows.I mean which is the more lethal a 12foot pounds air rifle or a cross bow/bow.

 

[Rob]

Dont get me wrong, I am all for people using equipment in a safe and legitimate manner. I think that Crossbows have a bad reputation, due to past incidents.

I come across people shooting them in competitions, and it is a skill in it's own right.

I am not too up on my crossbow speeds, but I have shot bows that send out arrows at over 300 feet per second. That is fast enough for my liking.

What we need on kit like this (along with knives, guns and anything else for that matter) is risk awareness and sensible use. I dont like seeing bows being sold in Army Surplus or gun/fishing tackle shops - and I am pleased to say that I always try and question the shop manager/owner.

If we dont police ourselves, some other b***er will try and do it for us. and I dread to think what that would lead to.

 

[Tvividr]

In the Scandinavian countries crossbows are banned, and you need a license in order to own or use one, which is quite ok IMO, as I don't think that just about anybody should be able to run around with these weapons. But then again, it is virtually impossible to get such a license (at least in Norway) because the crossbow is banned from use for hunting etc, and there are no organised competitive shooting of crossbows (due to the ban, as shooting the thing requires as much paperwork as getting a gun license), which is perhaps not as ok for those who are genuinely interested in the darn thing ( :?: only shot one a couple of times in South Africa, and made two downscaled copies of ancient models for a collector of archery equipment. I don't own one, and at present have no interest of owning one either)

 

[george]

I was on e-bay looking for archery equipment and like Rob I was astonished that they were allowing sellers to advertise crossbows as ideal for hunting. They were selling bolts with broadheads rather than target points.

I have no problem with crossbows and would hate to see them banned from sale - but perhaps there might be some ruling on the way they can be advertised - just like with knives where you'll find yourself in trouble if you advertise fighting knives or combat knives.

The sellers need to take responsibility for what they are doing. How many of these crossbows are being sold to target shooters or enthusiasts and how many to people who think that they're cool to carry a 300fps xbow loaded up with broadheads?

All it takes is someone to use one of these in a robbery or something and the press would be howling for a ban on all archery equipment.

George

 

[Squidders]

I can't see many people trying to use a 300lb crossbow in a robbery given the red face and hard pulling to reload... it's a fair point though.

I happen to have a high power crossbow and use it every once in a while to take pot shots at the target at the end of my back garden, it's fun.

What's everyone's take on using a crossbow or bow for hunting? is one ok and the other not? any explaination would clear some things up for me.

Cheers

Joe

 

[tenbears10]

Well done Rob :biggthump not only for the responsible attitude towards this but also getting ebay to do anything worthwhile is like getting blood out of a stone.

I have contacted them on several occasions about the number of blatant scams and illegal auctions but unless you highlight each one individually they do nothing. Some areas of the site are almost totally scam auctions.

I agree that ebay is no place to sell crossbows and you could include the majority of knives sold on ebay in that as well. Have you seen the amount of so called 'fantasy knives' for sale. I'm sure they are not legal and there is no real system to verify a buyers age in these auctions. It is this crap which leads to people demanding the banning of knives and crossbows altogether.

George IIRC broadhead arrows are illegal in the UK so the police should be taking an interest in those auctions but that would mean squeezing that stone again wouldn't it :?:

Sorry for the rant and topic deviation.

Bill

 

[Tvividr]

Crossbows have been used in crime related shootings in the past here in Scandinavia. Perhaps that was the reason for the banning in the first place ?
One or two years ago a biker was shot dead with a broadheadtipped crossbow bolt in Denmark (the ban was in place a long time before this incident), and I personally know some police officers claiming that they will rather be shot at with 9 mm auto pistols than a crossbow.
Some of you may wonder why, but tests done by both the army and police show that a bulletproof west (standard soft kevlar etc issue to police / army - not the big heavy wests with "ceramic" inserts etc issued to bombsquads) will stop a bullet fired from a high velocity 44 Mag revolver / 45 auto pistol, but not stop a broadheadtipped arrow from a bow or bolt from a crossbow (with a lot less velocity) ! The penetration is mainly due to needlefine point cutting on impact, compared to a "bowling ball round" piece of lead.
I've seen it meself :shock:

 

[tenbears10]

What's everyone's take on using a crossbow or bow for hunting? is one ok and the other not? any explaination would clear some things up for me.

Both are illegal in the UK Joe so no one should be advertising them for that purpose, I think. If they were legal and the people responsible then I don't see a problem using either.

Bill

 

[Tvividr]

.....What's everyone's take on using a crossbow or bow for hunting? is one ok and the other not? any explaination would clear some things up for me. Cheers Joe

A complete explanation will take too long time / space here, but in general a bow is better in theory. A crossbow is more than powerfull enough to hunt with (with sharp broadheads only, but that applies to a bow too !!), I've seen them shoot completely through game as large as zebra and blue wildebeest. But compared to a proper hunting bow they store less energy (even though they may be as powerfull as 300 lb as you say) due to the much shorter powerstroke of the bolt (arrow). Statistics from South Africa show a larger wounding percentace with crossbows than with ordinary hunting bows (both are still below the statistics for firearms though).
One main argument against hunting with the crossbow is the fact that it has to be carried cocked and ready (trying to cock the weapon when you are close to an animal is just the same as shouting "Hey here I am, please wait untill I'm ready". A bow is more easy to draw and shoot under such circumstances), a thing that is potentially dangerous IMO. Sitting still in a groundblind or something like that may be acceptable, but I personally do not like the thought of walking around with a cocked crossbow (I guided a crossbowhunter in Africa once, and was scared as he** when walking in front).
In real life a proper hunting crossbow like the Excalibur's will work as well as a proper hunting bow for hunting - where they are legal weapons for that purpose.

 

[george]

George IIRC broadhead arrows are illegal in the UK so the police should be taking an interest in those auctions but that would mean squeezing that stone again wouldn't it :?:

Bill I'm not sure that broadheads per se are illegal so selling them isn't an offence - context however of possessing a bladed weapon would be important for anyone who wanted to shoot them and certainly their only real purpose is for hunting which as everyone points out is illegal. Difficult to explain to a police officer what legal purpose you had them for if you were out shooting with them. Lots of people collect ancient arrowheads and arrows however so banning their sale would not be legitimate IMO

George

 

[Rob]

There are ways to reduce the risk of selling items on ebay to people under any legal (or self imposed) age. This is more down to how you accept payment and who you accept payment from.

As far as I know, broadheads are not illegal. People like quicks sell them, but only for export. I have brought them in to the country from abroad in the past.

As for legitimate use. You cant hunt, and if anyone wants to try and use them on one of my archery courses then you will soon find out what happens to people who try.

Re the bullet proof vest. A long time ago, a man turned up at the house of Rex Oakes (Saggitarius Bows) and asked him to shoot him. He explained about the vest that he had with him, and couldn't understand why Rex was understandably reluctant to do it. They hung the vest on the washing line and Rex put a arrow right through it.

According to Rex. The man looked a bit pale, and went on his way. :rolmao:

 

[jakunen]

A mate of mine used to own a x-bow, (which I'm still waiting to be delivered to my door), and had a number of different heads that he'd got from the US on his numerous trips over there.

From what I can remember of what he told me, and he did a fair bit of research into it, the only heads that are LEGALLY useable over here are bullet points, fowling punts and fishing heads. Broadheads and fans (which are used for decapitating small prey such as rabbit - gross I know) are illegal for use. And the US game heads that basically feature two scalplel blades that spring out on entering the flesh and are designed to sever arteries are illegal to posses in the UK.

Broadheads can only be used for targetry and in medieval re-enactment work. The kids love them as they are damn lethal and make a real mesh of a pig carcass with a cuirass strapped onto it.