Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Youth Crossbow?

I've been asked by a friend if I know of any youth crossbows, which, I do not. This would be for a youth who's proficient with a 30# regular bow (either traditional or recurve, I'm not sure which).

Anyway, if anyone knows of such I'd appreciate learning about them. Thanks.

If he / she is proficient with a traditional bow.....why the desire for a crossbow? Sorry to seem harsh, but I just had this argument in another thread (actually that one was about inline muzzleloaders, but the idea is the same). If someone wants to use a crossbow.....just because.....that's fine, but if the use of a crossbow is an attempt to bypass the "spirit" of the special archery laws and take advantage of the special seasons without making the effort to become proficient with the tools intended when those laws were written......I can't go along

A 30# traditonal bow is maybe just a little light, but with only a bit more work.......soon you can work up to 45# or so, and that's a very effective weapon. Then you will have accompished something to be proud of and not get around the law with a "technicality"

If I'm wrong about your reason for wanting a crossbow......I appologize. Once I get on my soapbox it's hard to get off sometimes.

No sweat.

As far as I can tell he wants a crossbow because he thinks it's cool. I don't think it's for hunting. His parents asked me if I know anything about them, and I don't know much. Thus far the only ones I see are full-blown adult models.

A crossbow is very inefficient compared to a traditional or a compund bow. And this includes compound crossbows.

I didn't know this until I looked up crossbows on the web. The site where I found it dealt with modern crossbows.

I think it's because the draw length is so short, but never-the-less, there it is. A short draw gives a very shallow force-draw curve.

The medieval crossbows were designed to penetrate plate armor, and they were probably 300-400# pull. It took forever to load one.

I've only shot one crossbow in my life...I'm not a fan of them...but I was amazed at how weak it was and also how inaccurate it was. I know there are very accurate ones, and the inaccuracy was possibly my fault, but it was about a 90# bow and my 50# 21st Century longbow seemed to shoot faster.

I agree that the crossbow isn't a "best choice" for hunting.......but you can't discount that "coolness" factor. That's the reason I own half of the guns I do.....just because I like them.

I guess for a youth it's a cool thing. Every kid wants a crossbow at one time.

I have thought about building one from a medeival pattern. Takes a lot of sinew and horn, though it would be fun.

The trick is to pre-stress them, like a Turkish (and Korean) bow is pre-stressed. That will throw an arrow, but still not like a pre-stressed bow.

A regular longbow or recurve starts off on a force draw chart at, say, 15 pounds for the first inch of draw, and rises evenly at about 3# per inch.

A Turkish bow, which is recurved to the maximum so the tips overlap when it's unstrung, starts off at about 50# the first inch of pull, and each inch thereafter is maybe only one pound. It's a lot harder to pull, but stores a tremendous amount more energy, as you can see on a curve.

So while the maximum amount of draw on both bows can be, say, 65 pounds, the super-reflexed bow is storing three or four times the amount of energy.

Same with a crossbow. Except they're shorter, and the draw is not as long, so they should be reflexed even more.