Crossbow Facts

Chongdo’s archery training includes the use of crossbows as a viable hunting weapon. Over time, we have encountered some resistance from non-crossbow users regarding these ancient-yet-modern weapons. This is a list of some of the most common questions and concerns we’re asked.

• Crossbows are illegal to own or operate. While some restrictions apply in many places for crossbow hunting, only New York City, New Jersey, and North Carolina presently outlaw them.
• Crossbows are silent weapons. Films and television often depict crossbows as weapons of stealth or assassination. Crossbows make considerable noise when nocking, and firing a crossbow produces as much noise as a .22 hunting rifle. A traditional bow, by comparison, is the quieter weapon by any measure.
• Crossbows have too short a range to be effective weapons. Crossbows have the same range as any other type of bow, and some powerful models with cocking assist mechanisms can far exceed a compound bow. This notion—popular among hunters who have never used a crossbow—actually stems from Medieval crossbows, whose imperfect technology often found them at the mercy of longbow archers.
• Crossbows have enormous range. This belief is used by bow hunters who want crossbow archery curtailed under the belief that the crossbow has an unfair advantage. In reality, most crossbows have the same range as other bows. While it is not impossible to make a hit from a large distance, this is also true of any other bow.
• Crossbows can impale a target completely through. Films and television have even depicted shooting victims impaled to solid objects by crossbows. Again, the power of a crossbow at close range is very good—but the bolt will stick in the torso.
• They can be fired like a pistol. While crossbow pistols are designed to be fired one-handed, these weapons lack the power of a true crossbow, and while potentially as dangerous as a dart gun, they tend to be more injurious than lethal to anything larger than a child. A true crossbow, like a rifle, could be fired one-handed, but the results would be less than satisfactory: without the other hand to support the weight of the barrel, the weight of the weapon would suddenly transfer forward when firing, and the bolt would strike the ground.
• They can be fired like a rifle. This is concern raised by rifle hunters, who protest that crossbow hunters have a longer hunting season. Although rifles and crossbows are designed to be aimed in a similar fashion (they co-evolved from earlier weapons), the use and functionality of the two weapons are completely different.
• Crossbows require no skill to learn. A concern among some groups is that the crossbow requires little skill to load or fire, and therefore are deadlier than other weapons. As should be obvious, knowing the procedures to load and fire a weapon is considerably different than knowing how to use it.
• Crossbows are too difficult to use. Some archers avoid crossbows because they perceive them to be exceptionally complicated. While some crossbows could be customized to the same extent as a compound bow, they are not nearly as demanding as other types of bows.

The reality is that crossbows represent well-engineered weapons, and can therefore be an excellent weapon in many situations. How do they differ from bows?

• The longer barrel can make them inherently easier to aim over longbows or recurves, based on whether the student has basic ballistics knowledge.
• They can be more dangerous to the archer—they cannot be held in a variety of methods like a rifle: either the bolt will drop out, or the archer could place his fingers or hands in the way of the mechanisms.
• Bolts spin in flight, unlike arrows (which “wiggle” or yaw). This helps their shorter lengths and weights achieve the same range as other bows.
• Changing a bolt from a field tip to a broadhead can have enormous impact on one’s aim. Shooting broadheads requires significant practice to achieve consistent shots.
• Unless the crossbow has been heavily customized, a crossbow lends itself to “sharing” between archers. Often, sharing a longbow, recurve, and more often than not a compound, can be frustrating to other archers: unless the draw lengths, draw weights, and other elements are identical between archers, the person borrowing another bow will find the shooting less than accurate and even frustrating. Crossbows tend to be more uniform between archers, and therefore can be more rewarding in training.