Mini Crossbows?

[ChaoSS]

Are any of those small crossbows you see here and there any good? I see them running 20-50 bucks, are any of them decent for pest control stuff?

 

[Sam1911]

They can be fun for the kids. We bought one for about $30 last Christmas that is surprisingly powerful, though the bolts are not up to more than a few shots.

They aren't really "for" anything but plinking. But there's nothing wrong with that.

 

[zhyla]

I had one 20 years ago. Cheap gun show special. It worked well enough and I found some plastic bolts that seemed to hold up better. Trigger was terrible and the safety was sketchy.

 

[Sam Cade]

If it works for Wez...

 

[Zeeemu]

Mostly my crossbow is used to launch thin trailing cords over tree tops to string long wire radio antennas for field day camp outings. However, when launched from a crossbow pistol, well made fiberglass / aluminum bolts with razor sharp broad heads are effective for small and intermediate sized game at distances up to 25 yards or so, provided one first becomes proficient. For small game such as birds and tree rats I prefer a blow gun.

 

[theotherwaldo]

I use them (with a modified bolt and attached reel) for carp fishing.

 

[CA Raider]

Sam ... Hahahahaha!!!

CA R

 

[lemaymiami]

In the past week we had a double murder/ suicide (domestic type) where the press info stated that the father used a small crossbow to kill his wife and daughter before later taking his own life the hard way (slashed his own throat...). What wasn't mentioned was the make/model of the crossbow used... This occurred here in Florida -I'd be interested to find out what size crossbow was used if anyone has that info...

 

[Sam1911]

taking his own life the hard way (slashed his own throat...)

Not to belabor a grisly point, but that is indeed ... REALLY ... the hard way.

 

[lemaymiami]

I was on the scene towards the end of my career at a boyfriend/ boyfriend dispute that turned bloody (serious understatement)... The one with all the knife wounds was still flopping around on the floor when I arrived, and to make things truly urban... was an AIDS patient so the officers on the scene were being extremely cautious with him.

Funny thing, after he expired and the investigation was complete it turned out that the stabbing victim (with somewhere between 10 and 20 wounds that I could see) was actually a suicide in the heat of the argument with his live in. Not what I'd have expected at all. I'm sure every cop has these kind of horror stories.... glad I'm no longer in that world.

 

[stickwhistler]

I'd be interested to find out what size crossbow was used if anyone has that info...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMGtsPZOZso

There is a mini-crossbow shown in the report of the incident,
which appears to be an 80lb model.

 

[Dirty Bob]

The big limitation is that the tiny limbs just can't store all that much energy. I think of the Wez mini crossbow as just a movie thing. Scale it up a bit, though, and you would probably start getting big improvemants in performance in a hurry.

Regards,
Dirty Bob

 

[theotherwaldo]

I used to sit in my kayak and shoot carp to use as bait. It was usually a near-contact shot. I've never shot one of these at anything except a target at more than five yards.

 

[CA Raider]

lemay .. didn't didn't need to know that. TMI.
yeah I'm sure all cops have horror stories like those.
that's why many cops come to hate knives. can't really blame them.

CA R

 

[lemaymiami]

yes, it's a horror story -but with a point (if you'll excuse the feeble pun...). I was at the end of a 22 year career, thought I'd seen it all (more fool me), and never would have guessed on that scene that the terrible wounds I was looking at were self-inflicted.

That was the entire story and the reason I told it. I've actually seen far worse and will never speak about most of it to anyone... There's a reason that most of the cops I've known werent very keen on their kids entering that line of work.