Crossbow Aiming and Hunting Techniques

Crossbow Aiming and Hunting Techniques

Always cock your crossbow consistently in the same place. Failure to do so can lead to off setting of your site. Marking your string while it is at rest with two marks on either side of the stock should remedy this problem.
The accuarcy of the arrow is two dimensional. The proper combination of arrow and broadhead is needed.
- The smaller the broadhead the better the accuracy, in general.
- The task for the arrow is to correct any play the broadhead might introduce to the flight. It accomplishes this by spinning. A slight offset with straight clamps works very well.
Trajectory is the key to any good shot. Remember most shots are under 20 yards. There's no point in shooting past that because the variation in the shot will vary too much for any regular sized target or game.
- Assuming you set your site at 20 yards then your trajectory will be one or two inches high at fifteen yards, and two or three inches low at twenty-five yards.

*Note: Care should be taken when shooting from a tree stand since the crossbow stock will kick in a upward direction. Make sure the area around your crossbow is clear of any limbs or other objects before firing.

History of the Crossbow
Literary and physical evidence suggest that the crossbow originated in China during the 4th century BC, though a type of crossbow called the gastraphetes may have been independently invented in Greece at about the same period. It wasn't until the 10th or 11th centuries AD that the crossbow became a significant military weapon in Europe. It passed from general military service in the 16th century, but its use for hunting and target shooting has continued to the present day. The most of following chronology is abridged from GUIDE TO THE CROSSBOW by Paterson:

341 BC	Earliest reliable record of crossbow use at battle of Ma-Ling in China.
228 BC	Earliest crossbow artifact, a bronze lock mechanism from the tomb of Yu Wang.
0-100 AD	Heron of Alexandria describes gastraphetes.
300-700	Roman carvings of crossbows.
385	Vegetius mentions crossbows in DE RE MILITARIA.
1066	Crossbows introduced to England by Normans.
1096	Anna Comnena describes Norman crossbows.
1100-1200	Composite crossbow lath appears.
1139	2nd Lateran Council interdict forbids use of crossbow among Christians.
1192	Crusader victory at Jaffa aided by crossbows.
1314	Earliest reliable record of steel lath.
1346	Genoese crossbowmen defeated at Crecy by English longbowmen.
1373	Earliest illustration of cranequin.
1503	First of many English laws restricting possession and use of crossbows.
1550-1600	Firearms replace crossbows in most Weatern armies.
1860	Photographic evidence from Chinese shows repeating crossbows still used there as military weapons.
1939-45	"Arrowspeed" crossbow used by Austrailian commandos in Pacific Theatre.
1945-1975	Crossbows employed by Montagnard peoples and US special forces during Vietnam conflict.
1960?-present	Crossbows used to shoot anesthetic darts for capturing and treating wildlife; also used to obtain tissue samples from marine animals for obtaining genetic information.

Crossbow Terms

ARBALIST	Latin language term for crossbow, derived from arcuballista (also spelled ARBALEST).
ARMBRUST	German language term for crossbow which is often preferred in international circles.
ARROW	Synonym for bolt which is preferred by some modern crossbow manufacturers.
BACK	Side of bow or lath facing target.
BALLISTA	Roman seige engine similar to oversized crossbow.
BARREL	Section of the stock between the latch and lath; sometimes used as synonym for track.
BARRELED CROSSBOW	Crossbow having a tubular barrel rather than a track; used to shoot balls, usually of lead; synonym for slurbow.
BASTARD STRING	String to brace a crossbow for installation of bowstring; synonym for bracing string.
BELLY	Side of bow or lath facing shooter.
BELT HOOK	Metal hook(s) attached to belt to aid cocking.
BENDING LEVER	Hindged lever to aid cocking; pushes string back using lugs or a ring mounted at front of crossbow; provides mechanical advantage of about 5:1, varying with lever length.
BINDING	See BRIDLE.
BOLT	Short projectile for crossbow resembling arrow.
BOLT CHANNEL	See TRACK.
BOW	See LATH.
BOW IRONS	Metal fittings used to secure lath to stock; usually tightened with metal wedges.
BOWSTEEL	Steel lath.
BOWSTRING	String used on all archery weapons to transfer force from bow to projectile.
BRACED	Position of bowstring when mounted on bow or lath, but not cocked.
BRACED HEIGHT	Distance between braced bowstring and belly side of riser, measured from the bowstring's center.
BRACING STRING	See BASTARD STRING.
BRIDLE	Binding, usually of twisted sinew cord, used to tie lath to stock on medieval crossbows.
BULLET CROSSBOW	Crossbow designed to shoot bullets; generally used in reference to double-string types.
BUTT	Rearmost portion of crossbow stock; also refers to earthen mound used in long range target shooting, and as a general term for backstop.
CATCH	See LATCH and SAFETY.
CENTER-SHOT	Bow or crossbow lath designed so that the arrow/bolt passes through its center; center-shot crossbows often have two separate limbs.
CLEAN DRAW	See POWER STROKE.
CLIP	Spring used to retain bolt to cocked crossbow prior to shooting; usually made of horn or metal.
CLOUT	Long range archery shooting. Modern practice uses a horizontal target 15 meters in diameter outlined with flags; scoring is determined by measuring distance from center.
COCK	To draw bowstring from braced position to latched position.
COCKING LUGS	Metal protruberances on crossbow for anchoring bending lever, cranequin or goat's foot.
COCKING PEG	Peg required to set some crossbow trigger mechanisms prior to cocking.
COCKING RING	Metal ring bound to the front of the lath to anchor bending lever.
COCKSCOMBING	Method of serving sometimes used on loops of crossbow bowstrings.
COMPOSITE	Combination of materials used to construct lath including horn, wood, sinew and baleen.
COMPOUND	Modern lath construction using cables and eccentric pulleys.
CORD AND PULLEY	Cocking aid consisting of cord with ends attached to crossbow butt and user's belt running through a pulley attached to bowstring; provides mechanical advantage of 2:1.
CRANEQUIN	Cocking device using rack and pinion; can provide mechanical advantage of about 145:1, varying with size and number of teeth.
CROSSBOW	Archery weapon consisting of a lath mounted to a rigid stock, having a mechanical means to hold and release the drawn bowstring. See also ARBALEST, ARMBRUST, BARRELED CROSSBOW, BULLET CROSSBOW.
DOG'S FOOT	See GOAT'S FOOT
DOUBLE STRING	Complex form of bowstring designed to launch round projectiles from crossbow; has leather pouch at center to hold ball.
DRY-FIRE	To release cocked bowstring without projectile; term borrowed from firearms.

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