First whitetail buck taken with medieval crossbow

I finally got a shot at a nice 8 pt buck 3 weeks ago. I worked long and hard developing an arrow and aiming gap system this past summer and decided that 25 yards would be my max shooting distance. The buck walked in at exactly 25 yards and that 592 grain arrow with a gigantic 240 grain Grizzly head was on the way (at a miserably slow 145 fps:-). The arrow went through the right shoulder, through the body and lodged inside the left shoulder. He went down within 45 yards. I have photos posted on 3 crossbow forums, Crossbow Nation, Crossbowmagazine.com and Archery Talk's crossbow forum. I know there is very little interest in medieval crossbow hunting here but just in case there are ..............

Good going! What's the draw # on that bow?

Congradulations! You lucky, lucky person. Always like to hear stories of a succesful hunt.
I would like to use my crossbow to do more hunting but first I have to find time to get in the field at all. Its supprising how quickly weekends can fill up with activities.
What kind of crossbow was it?

It's a 15th century Maximilian pattern.

I am interested in medieval crossbow hunting, it's what most of the surviving bows were made for as well, isn't it. Hope you have some photos to share.

I have photos on 3 other crossbow forums. Wierd way of downloading photos here but I think I have it now. Hard teaching old dogs new tricks.

Haahahaaaa...The man did it!!!

Truly wicked Moon! I've seen the pics on other forums, good stuff...the mods and the buck and the overall crossbow collection... all fantastic!

BTW, while you were in the woods, I was at my computer(well almost...I do my best work on company time )...check it out>>> Posting Pictures(Video Tutorial)
Now I raced through the pics, but didn't get a chance to read the topic (I'm at work remember ) ..Do tell more about the hunt.... I remember you worrying about arrow speed and the effective distance being cut down to somewhere in the 15-20 yard range...how did it go?

PS: also...compliments to the chef ... the broadhead looks brutal!!!

Moon wrote:It's a 15th century Maximilian pattern.

Excellent choice of crossbow I have one of those on order so I might be a bit partial. Glad to hear it was up to the job.

I would love to do more traditional hunting, unfortunately around here I believe long (40 -60 yard and longer) shots are the norm. Lots of open land. Of course I need to find the deer first. Deer not being were there supposed to be, grrr. And now it seem finding time to get out in the field is getting difficult. The weekends have filled up fast with activities.

Adding photos here is a task compared to other forums (IVO :-) but I'm close to having it worked out now................I think.

a crossbow fanatic. My reasons for embracing medieval crossbows are probably much different from others here. For me, it's about my love for flinging arrows and bowhunting which started about 48 years ago and the fact that I'm now 68 years old with arthritis which prevents me from shooting and hunting with 70# long bows and recurves. Thank God for crossbows:-) I also enjoy shooting and playing with modern crossbows of all types. The ones in the photos are the Swiss Crossbow Six Pack, which I was involved in designing the riser, the Excalibur Vortex recurve which I use for crossbow 3D competition and a Horton Ultra Lite Extreme compound crossbow. Working for Zeiss for almost 30 years, I'm also an optics fanatic, so the only crossbow I have that has no optics on it is the medieval:-) but from shooting traditional archery and bowhunting for years with no sights, I had no trouble developing a gap system for hunting with the medieval. I'll have to say that the medieval is the most rewarding and fun to shoot because of the challenges it presents. My goal is to familiarize local traditional bowhunters with the medieval as I believe it is the ideal replacement for traditional vertical equipment when older shooters can no longer shoot their recurves and longbows. So far, I'm excited about the interest I'm seeing at traditional 3D shoots. They want to know about the medieval and they want to shoot it. These are the guys that would have absolutely no interest in modern crossbows, shooting 350 to 400 fps, with scopes, etc. They had rather sit at home during bowhunting season than use those crossbows.

I'm trying to get my ducks in row to begin in February. Lots to learn for sure but I'm going to give it a shot.

Grats, Moon! I can't tell from that photo if that Maximilian is one that I made (Geezer and I having slightly different styles) but I am thrilled it works so well for you...
Don't tell Basilisk, but I literally JUST finished HIS Maximilian...Was going to pack it up, but will wait till tomorrow; I want to take some photos, it surely is pretty.
I will wait to post the photos, so he is the first one to see it!

Again, grats to you!

Best;
Lightly.

It has the "doggie's" head on the fore end:-)

Yup, mine! I am very tickled...

and will be be ready to tackle my main 2011 project by mid January. My goal is to build 2 medieval crossbows similar to the Lightly's Maximilian style but with some changes with hunting in mind because that's my main interest in crossbows of any kind, with shooting fun running a close second. I want to ultilize a 2 piece split drop in roller nut/tickler/safety housing that will be held in a close fitting inletted stock by use of 2 brass through pins. The housing and roller nut will be a Delrin type material in black or gray. The 2 peice housing will be held together by screws with counter sunk heads. I'm going to make the foot stirrup larger to handle insulated boots for cold weather hunting. All metal parts will be a conventional blue/gray finish with nicely rounded edges. There will be no side plates on the crossbow. The crossbow will be devoid of any period decorations and the bow irons will not be the decorative type but with rounded edges. The arrow retention spring will be longer than normal to assure the arrow is being held in place during rough hunting use. I've not yet decided on the arrow groove material. I may just groove the walnut stock. I have not decided how to handle the fore end bolt that is used to prevent splitting of the wood behind the prod. I want to hide it somehow. I'll be working on that. I will inlet a new moon/quarter moon plaque, either in a copper metal or a contrasting maple color wood under the fore end. I will be weighing the draw on my Maximilian today and whatever it is, is where I want to keep mine.
I made a 48 strand BCY Dacron B50 material string for the Maximilian shortly after I got the crossbow. I served the end loops and center serving with .030" Spectra, both in a tan/brown color. I now have over 250 shots on the string with no signs of any real wear, just a very slight serving separation where the end loops come off the edge of the metal limb. Serving the string extremely tight is the key to long lasting strings. My string is a bit smaller in diameter than the period string but not noticeably more and has proven to be very durable for a hunting crossbow.

I know some folks will be thinking "yuk" because I will be getting away from the period bit, but my goal is to make this crossbow as hunter friendly as possible and still be viewed and considered a medieval patterned crossbow by most folks.

Well Durn: I was composing a reply to Moon,but my computer ate the letter. It seems to do this when I hit tab.
Anyhow I was gonna say the mortised drop-in lock should work fine. Many medieval bows used such locks... in fact, the original Maximilian bows in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna may well have mortised locks. The medieval ones were permanently installed, but if you do a clean job of pinning yours in place, it should be safe and efficient.
As for arrow-groove, a well polished and straight self-groove should work very well, particularly if you set your bow up for minimal string-drag.
Most medieval bolt-clips actually press on the bolt between the lugs of the nut, whereas I generally set mine up to press just ahead of the nut, mostly to facilitate loading. The fact is, there are plenty of 17th century crossbows that feature very long bolt-clips that press down on the bolt about half way along the track. I know a number of shooters who prefer it that way and get good results. You certainly won't get any grief from me for doing things that way.
A 48 strand Dacron string should work fine for a 150-170 lb. bow, like the ones from Alchem or Darkwood. In fact, Barnett has been using substantially thinner strings for comparable bows for a number of years. Of course medieval strings were thicker, but they had to make do with weaker string-materials and thicker bolts. And yes, if you use hard serving materials and get the serving on good and tight, you'll be able to get hundreds, maybe thousands of shots per string... assuming you don't have a sharp bit somewhere from roller-nut, lockplates, or something.
So your project sounds promising... I'm looking forward to seeing how things work out. Geezer

Sounds like an interesting project. I can't wait to see the results. What is the goal for these crossbows and why 2? I get the hunting thing but making an extra so you can bring a friend with you? Just wondering more than anything. Getting more people to understand crossbows is important.

How do you like the sling arrangment on your current bow? Did you make that or buy one? I was just thinking of doing something similiar and wondering how you liked and if it got in the way of anything. You know with the new bows you could go all crazy and put in permenant swivel sling mounts

As for bolt clips, some of the crossbow shooters I have talked to down here have put more ridgid clips on there bow to make the clip a more reliable rear sight. Not sure what you plan on doing with them but somethign to think about

For me hunting has to be the complete package and there is nothing quite like doing it all yourself. A medieval style crossbow goes a long way towards achieving this goal. To have taken game with a crossbow that is hand made, as in, one of a kind, one at a time, is undoubtedly as rewarding as taking an animal with any other self made hunting tool. This is how our ancestors did it and despite what our detractors would have us believe, we are still very much evolving and our instincts continue to influence some of our thinking. And just as in other tools down the ages, crossbows can be an art form where the maker or eventual user can express themselves through the interpretation of materials and or embellishment. Modern materials and technology can provide oft superior products and performance, but there can be no denying the utter pureness of fine wood, metals and fibre that have been blended into a functioning thing that is both beautiful to behold, and yet purposely deadly in every respect.



Hunting with such things is to be encouraged and as long as we remember that it is the humane delivery of the sharp blade which is paramount, there should be no conflict between one way or another.



Sincerely,



Pavise

My goal is to build 2 so I can have one to experiment with while hunting with the other, starting next October.
The leather strap was a left over from some long rifle stuff I've had for years. It's great for carrying the crossbow.
Geezer/Lightly, I would like to know what draw weight prod you used for my Max. I do not have accurate scales but I think the draw weight is quite a bit less than I anticipated BUT, I like it the way it is. That 592 grain arrow did its job on a mature deer at 25 yards. It is point on at 25 yards which works out great.

Very nice crossbow Moon and one very nice Deer as well,hunting with a medieval crossbow must be the most challenging and highly rewarding sport especially when a great plan come's together.Is that medieval made by David of Wyvern Creation's if so he most certainly has done an outstanding piece of craftsmanship.I myself love medieval crossbow's as they have so much more charm to them than today's crossbow's and i was inspired by medieval crossbow's to make some of mine especially the Dark Angel crossbow that has a shoulder butt.I want to make a true medieval one day soon when i can with the same prod as on your crossbow,is it made by Alchiem if so then i will purchace one for my medieval bow,thank's for the lovely pic's Moon.