Posted on 12/10/2013 5:12:07 AM PST by Carriage Hill
"Unless you're fighting zombies, skip the crossbow."
While many preppers are busy stockpiling hordes of rifles, shotguns, and handguns plus cases of ammunition for a looming doomsday scenario, others are thinking more broadly about other weapons options. Thanks to the success of AMC’s The Walking Dead, one of the options that has become popular with preppers is the crossbow. On TWD, one of the main characters (Norman Reedus’s Daryl Dixon) uses a crossbow with quite an astonishing amount of lethal success. But is this even remotely realistic? Let’s take a look at this bolt (arrow) shooting implement to see its implications as a true SHTF tool.
I+’ve never had a close look at that hardware or the costs of it all. I’ll have to stop at Dick’s Sporting Goods and check them out. Won’t be buying one, as I have Class III firearms to to “quiet & fast work”.
From my limited pricing survey,
they cost about was a base AR15 would cost.
Yow-wee, that’s pricey.
Preppers’ PING!!
Hat tip to carriage_hill for the heads up.
I have a Golden Eagle sitting in the corner of the living room.
From pretty close range, though. I wouldn’t want to go after a bear or mtn lion with one, and miss with first shot. Reloading is a long process and could be fatal in that condition.
My Dad used to do a lot of hunting. In our state we have a gun season and a bow season. So he hunted with both. As he got older, he used the cross bow too. He was able to get deer or turkey in each season, even with the cross bow.
One was used for murder in the tony R.I. town of Barrington.A real horror story.
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/family/hightower/1.html
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http://www.bestcrossbowsource.com/barnett-ghost-410-crossbow-review/
“How Powerful And Accurate Is The Barnett Ghost 410? As far as power goes, this is certainly one of the most powerful crossbows available on the market. The majority of other crossbows don’t exceed 340 FPS of shooting speed. The Ghost 410 has a whopping 410 FPS, which means that it can generate up to 150 ft-lbs. of kinetic energy (when using bolts similar to those included with the package) at point blank range! Using a chronograph, I calculated the speed to be 406 FPS, which is as close as it gets to a manufacturer’s statement.”
There is a lot of enthusiasm in that article, but there are good crossbows out there that can hit hard at 70 yards. One particularly nice thing about this tool is that it’s not on the gun-grabbers list (yet).
Field and Stream tested 6 good crossbows in one of their recent issues. The highest rated is here http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/hunting/2013/06/best-crossbow-2013-barnett-bcx
another story on crossbows - http://www.outdoorlife.com/photos/gallery/hunting/2013/01/new-crossbows-2013-first-look-best-new-crossbows-year
Not cheap but quieter than a gun, even a suppressed one.
He used a gun in the last episode.
I’ve been debating between a crossbow and a compound bow. Thanks for the info.
The close range stuff will require a semi-auto weapon with lots of ammo. An AR or pump shotgun are probably the best choices with a backup of a high capacity handgun.
The long range activity will probably be guerrilla activity against a superior force. A good bolt action rifle with a scope is in order here. One shot with a quiet retreat seems appropriate for this type of engagement.
I suppose a crossbow might have some quiet hunting applications, but it would be virtually useless in a close range fight.
Can you still have them shipped to your front door without an FFL?
In a SHTF scenario, it is good to keep in mind unconventional weapons, some which are currently extraordinarily illegal. These include chemical weapons and poisons, and even biological weapons.
If an aggressor harms themselves, even lethally, time is on your side. If you can just evade them long enough, you win, and with minimal risk.
obviously you have to tailor the shooting and weapon to the prey...if I’m going to shoot a bear for food with a crossbow I’ll do it from a tree and have a backup weapon
I would primarily be focusing on deer, turkey and squirrels with a crossbow...and I’m good out to 30 yards or so...the advantage to the crossbow is silence and being able to hunt easier from the ground than using my compound
It sure wouldn’t be my weapon of choice.
With chem and bio, all bets are off.
I missed it.
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