Walnut stock inserts were trimmed and shaped to mate with the stock on either side of the shoulder extension. The bow, or prod, is set into the nose of the forestock, and the two-piece trigger mechanism, cut from 1/4″ plate steel, is pinned between the right and left flank pieces just below the receiver. As a bolted-together unit, this flat-aluminum assembly serves as a combination barrel (or chase in crossbow terminology), trigger housing, handgrip, and shoulder extension. The stock of our crossbow consists of a center spine covered on each side by a strengthening flank. We chose the path of least resistance and used the simplest common denominators in our design. And although these developments represent improvement in most cases, they’re beyond the ability of all but the best-equipped crafts people to duplicate. Over the past few years, crossbow design has received considerable attention from various manufacturers, with the result that the old standard has been modified to run the gamut from a paramilitary-looking assault piece to an artistic expression of classical physics.
Though both launch arrows (bolts) by means of a short bow transversely fixed to a stock, the superiority of modern materials - along with the improved geometry made possible by the use of such lightweight plastics, alloys, and composites - has turned what was a crude but effective weapon of war into an admirable piece of fairly uncomplicated technology. The contemporary crossbow shares little beyond a basic design with its forebear, the medieval arbalest. With several avid bowhunters on the staff, and a research department eager to take on such an interesting challenge, it wasn’t too difficult to get the ball rolling on a project that we figured might be a first in the field: designing and building a quality crossbow from scratch testing its range, accuracy, and overall effectiveness and then comparing its performance to that of traditional recurve and compound bows. That trend hasn’t gone unnoticed here at MOTHER EARTH NEWS. In short, there’s not much doubt that the modern crossbow suffers an “identity crisis,” but regardless of the mystery that still surrounds this curious hybrid, it’s been gaining in popularity among hunters and targeteers alike. To the general public, you wouldn’t need a poll to know their feeling: It looks sinister enough to be a lethal weapon! A shooter, on the other hand, most likely would think it a stock-mounted bow. NOTE: Though we did build and test both of our crossbows, the potential for injury from any weapon is enough to compel us to say that whoever decides to make a crossbow does so at his or her own risk.Īn archer might consider it kin to a firearm.
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