Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Benjamin air bow

Google it, could be interesting if the reviews pan out.

Video of Jim Shockey using it on a buffalo

https://youtu.be/dwqMkjYjmtw

Not bowhunting, but definitely interesting.

Not even remotely bow hunting

I could definitely see one of those for hunting in more "populated" areas.

450 FPS but unfortunately they did not mention the arrow weight?

If it's a 400 Plus grain arrow, that's impressive! They look rather short, like 20" or so, that should really reduce flex so with a heavier arrow that thing would be astonishingly powerful!

I see this as a real option for folks in areas with 5 acre lots or urban developments with bigger then " back yards" which have open hunting but closed to firearms.

This thing could really be the ticket to reduce those deer from running 100 yards and dying in somebody's driveway or back yard. If it's 2" at 50 yards, that relates to 1" at 25 from a solid rest this is head shot drop in their tracks worthy.

I travel and hunt by air way to much to pack around a high pressure tank. Those folks that hunt from home on on there own property would be all set with his stated 8 full power shots. Night pig hunting over a feeder would be amazingly fun and functional with this!

One press release I read stated that it comes with 3 "full sized" 375gr arrows. Did not mention if that was with a broadhead.

http://howldb.com/p/05t3pm

No mention of brand or weight of mechanical broadhead used. Sure looked like a pretty good arc in that arrow/bolt for 450 fps. Great device for out the truck window hunting. I wonder if you have to shoot it to release pressure or can just bleed it off when done hunting. Does it just go "click" if you forget to cock it? Tom

I get right on 300 fps out of my Excalibur crossbow with almost 500 gran arrows. I don't consider it bow hunting, but the state of Minnesota does. I shot four with it this fall in precisely the situation JJHack described, a bunch of five acre lots with an overpopulation of deer.

The crossbow is noisy compared to a compound, no question about that. Both are enough to make Bambi jump and both slow enough that at 30 yards Bambi jumping might make you miss or hit the wrong place. 20 yards for them is pretty safe though. This thing at 450 FPS is going to a lot louder than my Excalibur, and not all that much faster that 50 yards is reasonable.

I can hold inch and a half groups with the Excalibur at 50 yards. The arrows I shoot at that range with a field point will penetrate 3/4 inch of exterior plywood and a 2x4 edgewise, leaving a little of the point protruding from the back side. I don't see this as being much different than the Excalibur. But... for a first cut at something like this it looks pretty good and might be fun to play with.

FWIW my pellet gun that I use to shoot varmints around the house is a lot louder than my Excaliber and not so accurate.

Not the first air powered arrow launcher. Swivel Machine has offered one for years along with a 10/22 barrel that uses blanks to power the arrow. http://www.swivelmachine.com/html/stealth.htm
Also, FX offers an arrow barrel for their Verminator Extreme http://www.fxairguns.com/rifle/the-verminator-mkll-extreme/

Funny calling it air bow

No part is a bow, probably should have called it Bow gun, or Air-row rifle something other then using the word "bow" which no part of it is a bow.

Next Shakespeare will be selling fishing rods called laser swords.

Yep, dang sure not a recurve. Just like modern compounds ain't remotely what bowhunting was.

But somewhere we all draw a line.

This could be cool and fun, but legal for an archery season? Dunno about that.

When you manually have to draw the string hold it and release weather, compound,recurve or long bow that's what I consider bow hunting
Crossbow is boarder line
That thing is an air rifle

I'd say a bow has limbs that thing is a rifle

I can go with that. A shotgun shooting a flechette load isn't a bow by anyone's definition I know of.

Did you see his smile?! Smells like he got paid a lot of money to smile and say how "shocked" he was as the poor penned bison struggled to get up again....

I agree. It's an air rifle.

I guess they figured the danger was too great calling it a BLOW gun.

Especially with Shockey doing the PR work...

Yea, it looked about as exciting as shooting a cow in a pasture to me.

I was just musing... not pointing fingers. I hate crossbows and compounds once I learned the joy of the recurve. But i still barely can use a compound and use a crossbow a lot due to issues... Don't much care what others think either.

The guns firing arrows have been around for a LONG time.

NOt saying they should be put in archery but just musing how far archery has come.

Elitists would say my recurve isn't traditional either.....

Agreed.

I don't think this is an extension of how far archery has come because it has nothing to do with archery.

I'm not a crossbow fan but a crossbow DOES have a bow string and limbs as do a recurve, longbow and compound. This air rifle has neither, so it is not archery.

If we get some arrows to fly from a mortar tube, is that "archery"?

I'm sure you can use a pump- just like the pre-charged air rifles use in lieu of the HP tank. Might take a while to pump up.

Ed Brown made some type of rifle arrow shooter if I recall or maybe it was Brown Precision. Used a charge to shoot an arrow out of a barrel?? Saw them at SHOT one year.

The broadhead:

Rage Krossbow Kore

Seems like an air powered harpoon gun. Might as well launch them with a 12ga blank and be done with it.

This is what Crossman is pushing

They'll sell a bunch of them in states that will allow them as they are in the price range of new, higher end bows.

TAG!

I see one good use for this ....killing walking dead zombies

Bunch of crap. Totally. But then if it were allowed for handicap issues, I'd have zero issue with that. I"ve a soft spot for folks that can't do what we normally can.

Thats been done back in the 70s around here for grins.....

The people replying that it is the same as or might as well as use a firearm cartridge obviously don't get it.


It's a cool invention. It is an air arrow gun. Crossman is in the air gun business. Why would they start using 12 ga. shells?

Agreed

No one said that... just musing it could be done, and actually has been done.... I've seen a lot done over the years... shooting deer with a dove load where you cut the shell and tape it back together and it acts like a slug... take most powder out of a shell and put the wad back in and seat an arrow down in the wad adn shoot...