Hunting with a "self made" crossbow

I may have started a forum and may have some skill at swinging a metal file and a propane torch without fear, but I'm not much of a hunter. I do have the spark for it thou and I'm planning on going rabbit hunting with my younger brother("Little Rabbit Hunter" crossbow is for him). Almost doneVVV



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I just thought about it...hunting with a crossbow is a well worn topic on other forums, but I have not seen a single topic discussing - Hunting with a "self made" or "DIY" crossbow.

So a name change for the topic and a whole new addition to the initial question.
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I know there are a few members here that are more experienced in the field than I am and I'm in full attention to your advice regarding the subject.

Lets start with the basics...we know we need a weapon and the ability to consistently hit a target at various ranges, you need a hunting license, and a hunting ground to start your hunting...But there is more to it I'm sure and I would love to hear your advice...tracking seems to be the one that bugs me the most and probably for a reason.

Looking forward to hearing your voices sound guys.

Here in Finland, hunting with a crossbow is prohibited, while bow-hunting is quite popular.. I see no sence at all..

Not even during rifle season?

I would assume it would be allowed at least during the rifle season or are the hunting laws different in Finland?

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I just thought about it...hunting with a crossbow is a well worn topic on other forums, but I have not seen a single topic discussing - Hunting with a "self made" or "DIY" crossbow.

So a name change for the topic and a whole new addition to the initial question.
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Ivo wrote:Not even during rifle season?

I would assume it would be allowed at least during the rifle season or are the hunting laws different in Finland?

So would I, but it is not. It's always fobidden, but there is a lot of forest in Finland and very little those who checks..

Actually, for me it's the same, I wouldn't hunt because I dont like to hurt animals No, seriosly, at list not for fun. Indeed, it's perfect way to test you'r crossbow in natural conditions, so this subject is still interesting..

I don't like the idea of hurting animals for fun either, in fact I'm still looking for the asshole that tried to kill my cat.

But I like spending time in the forest, hunting is something I dream about...it's just one of many ways of being a part of nature. Perhaps one day I'll post on my first skinning/hide tanning experience as well as whitening bone and so on...I sometimes like to read my skinning and tanning books out loud and my whole family tells me to go somewhere where they would not hear me or see me. I have a small project planed for the future and it's to make a big chair out of animal bones, skins, and horns...but I'll have postpone this furni project till the day I move to Alaska.

I also want to add on to our topic here...

The main factor that would make a crossbow suitable for hunting is a working mechanical safety...I hear people are hunting big animals with medieval crossbows and using medieval style safety switches.

...also...

For United States, each state has it's own regulations regarding crossbows and they can be found at "department of natural resources"...if you do a search in Google...it would be "DNR **" - where stars are should be the name of your state...then you would need to look up Crossbow regs/rules ...pretty easy.

:arrow: ...For those living in NJ... :arrow:

New Jersey

Crossbows are legal in any bow and arrow hunting season and other hunting seasons for all species where the use of bow and arrow is allowed. Crossbows must have a minimum draw weight of 75 pounds and a minimum stock length of 25 inches.

www.njfishandwildlife.com
609-292-2965

pretty interesting rules we have in NJ...personally I was very surprised :affraid:

Deer respond to variety of calls and sounds. A fairly new DVD titled How to Talk to Deer was very helpful for me to learn the bleats, blats, grunts, and rattling techniques. Look for it on eBay or your local Archery Shop.

Good hunting to you.

Sherwood

Thanks Sherwood,

That is actually pretty cool...and they sell it on amazon...I'll probably order one of these by the end of next week.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Talk-Deer/dp/B0014ZXKFW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1262951234&sr=8-2

From what I know now (been reading little on hunting lately) it is best to find a good tracker giving courses and walk the paths with him...thou I did also ordered a few books on animal tracking (as well as a few on human tracking) and will be comparing them to the tracking/survival courses I have planned with this Alaskan crossbow hunter.

Here in Alberta the regulations are rather liberal, the crossbow season is the same as rifle season and a minimum draw weight of 100lbs makes it all legal. In my area the best success would be had with blind hunting or "pushing bush"

The actual regulation;

Persons hunting big game with a cross-bow must use an authorized crossbow
and arrow (bolt). An authorized cross-bow is one that requires 100
pounds or more of pull to draw the string or cable to its cocked position.
There is no restriction on arrow length however it must have a tip as
described under the heading “Bowhunting” on page 39-40.

What is generally missed by most folks is the fact that the crossbow is the most appropriate weapon available today for hunting in areas where firearms are perceived to be too hazardous. And despite that commentators insist on using the term "fire" when speaking about crossbows, there is no fire whatsover involved in the release of a crossbow projectile and that is the one very important difference where actual fire is a real risk. And no loud bang, means less disturbance to perhaps sensitive domestic livestock as well as to people who still enjoy peace and quiet.

Pavise

Excellent points Pavise,

Only I suggest we approach this the topic of correctness of terminology with certain level of understanding when accounting for the international status of this forum as some members from other countries will unintentionally use certain terminology that automatic translator software spits out at them. I've mentioned in some other topic that I plan to create a built in dictionary of crossbow terminology on this forum, that's going to be quite a project.

As for hunting...I live next to a stadium and a school that is backed by a bushy/swampy forest area...I would expect some animals to be there. but what I didn't expect(otherwise I'd probably take a picture) was that I would one day walk into my backyard and see a bunch of turkeys running around...before I could say WTF, they flapped their huge wings and were over a ten foot fence in a blink of an eye. I've never seen birds this big and now I know that what we see at the grocery store on Thanksgiving isn't the biggest turkey...the biggest is still out there...probably hanging out in someones backyard.

Hi Ivo,

Whilst I agree with you inasmuch as we should always strive for tolerance, and fully understanding that there are others who perhaps don't have English as their first language, there are some people out there who use every opportunity and sound-bite to discredit the crossbow. I know that the term "fire" has become somewhat acceptable when describing the release of our bolt (Or is it arrow?) but at the same time, "fire" is being used by those who would have the crossbow relegated to the world and restrictions of firearms.

Presumably the beautiful turkeys you saw were wild ones and are a reflection of some good wildlife mangement and conservation club efforts in your area.

Kind regards,

Pavise

"Crossbow Hunting" by Wm. Hovey Smith is a very good and affordable treatment of the subject. As well as covering just about everything one needs to know about hunting with crossbows it also includes many very good and some unusual recipes for wild game. The author has written other valuable hunting books too. These and much more, including his most interesting Blog, can all be found by searching out his name on Google or your favourite search engine.

Pavise

Thanks for the additional hunting resource Pavise, i've seen this book so many times and it's been on my to get list for ever now... I'm ashamed I don'n a copy yet, but I have been reading a bit on tracking lately and taking walks in the woods.....with all the snow on the ground it's a whole other world out there with it's own clever little complexities...reading that world is something indescribably exciting. :albino:

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FIRE

I agree and have heard of this nonsense many times before...here in NJ crossbows have just recently become legal for target shooting and hunting as they've been illegal for that exact reason here for all this time.

It's actually a funny thing if you think about it...how many people on the net and around have we(well I did anyway) heard say they want an automatic crossbow, with explosive/poisoned/electrically paralyzing/etc. arrows ...to "fire" as many times as possible in as little time as possible aiming for distances of over a hundred yards ...man-o-man what is Hollywood doing to the poor children? don't they get enough with the crap level of education we have these days(well at least in my experience with public education)?

I can promise you one thing...if some one will come here to bite something, the only thing he/she/it will bite are the rules of this forum which like many others stand on three legs > Respect, Honesty, and Safety that go both ways.......and well just something I will personally enforce above all is rule number six. if either side fails to comply I will ban their ass to a point of no return

I can say that in Illinois it is not legal to hunt with a crossbow unless you are over 65 or have a disability that prevents you from using a regular bow. Crossbows are of course lumped in with regular bows in the bowhunting season, not in amongst rifles as they may be in some states. With that being said, most archery clubs, ranges, and shops won't let you shoot them either - mostly for liability reasons. I guess the reasoning is that even with a safety, once cocked, a crossbow is a loaded weapon that can accidentally be discharged whereas it is apparently much more difficult to accidentally shoot yourself or someone else with a regular bow. However, I am nominally involved with The Society for Creative Anachronism (medieval recreation group) and the SCA doesn't have restrictions on shooting crossbows so I am able to shoot my medieval crossbow their events at least.

I am Hovey Smith, and some of you know me as the author of "Crossbow Hunting." I just found you fellows, and am struck with admiration for your work and interest in these instruments. I am a writer and do not have fabrication skills, but one thing that I do very well and frequently is hunt with crossbows, muzzleloaders, spears, knives and other stuff.

Because of the presently dismal economy we have some 50,000,000 folks here in the U.S. who are going hungry as well as about 8,000,000 who are out of work. For some of these the notion of using wild game for food has become increasingly attractive. To answer this need I wrote, "Backyard Deer Hunting:Converting deer to dinner for pennies per pound." Not only do I cover the very basics of how to hunt deer, I also discuss hunting bear, larger game, fowl and fish with crossbows, blackpowder guns and inexpensive single-shot rifles. There is even a section on how to clean, butcher and eat road-killed animals. The general concept is to put good wild-game meals on the table as inexpensively as possible.

If you have never been exposed to hunting or cooking wild game this is exactly the book that you need. If you can turn on a stove, you can cook my recipes.

The book is available in hardcover, softcover, and in all E-book formats. All of these versions may be ordered from AuthorHouse.com and most from Amazon.com and other on-line retailers. You can find out more on my website. www.hoveysmith.com and blog, www.hoveysmith.wordpress.com.

I do and have done all of this stuff; but I do not take myself all that seriously. There is a lot of good info in the book and it is written in an interesting and intertaining style.

I have invited a Britt who now lives in Canada to bring his homemade crossbow here to GA and hunt with me this fall. As those who have read my crossbow book know, I have a replica instrument made by David Watson, in Austin, Texas. I got this one, because I felt the book could not be complete without access to something approaching an original.

There are increasing numbers of Europeans who bring their bows and crossbows to participate on public hunts in Georgia. There are some hunting areas that are open for particular hunts, (Blackbeard Island), other WMAs that are open all archery season and also hunts available for muzzleloading. At the moment I am bowfishing, which can be done with a crossbow, but is a bit cumbersome. I do take alligators with a crossbow and have a video of such a hunt on my blog. If you can't hunt with a crossbow in your home country, and have an instrument that has an honest pull of about 175-pounds (for replica period instruments, 150 for modern designs shooting modern shafts and points), these can do well on deer at various ranges, depending directly on the strength of the crossbow, accuracy and shooter's skills. Whatever is used, nothing can take the place of putting that projectile where it needs to go; regardless of what propells it. A powerful instrument, by itself, is not sufficient.

Good work guys. If I can help with some particular hunting, wild-game cooking questions, ask?

Best regards,

Wm. Hovey Smith

Welcome Aboard Hovey!
Good Blog! Now I'll have to buy your book.
Be careful with that Canadian Englishman. I hear he will drink ALL of you beer.

Regards

James.

Good Day Mr. Hovey,

I didn't get a chance to personally welcome you as I was out for my health, but now that I'm here I would like to say that you are most welcome here and that a copy of your book is well on it way to becoming a part of my library.

As for questions about hunting...I think I'll have a few along the way....now off to check out your blog.

Hey guys, in any archery the term is not "Fire." It is "Loose."

In British Columbia we get an early 'archery only' season, Aug 25 – Sept 9th. Crossbows are considered archery. There are a few minimum rules regarding broad head width and draw weight, but all very reasonable.

I have only ever hunted with a rifle to date (the old 303) but I will be afield with the bow in my avatar this August. Maybe slowbow will have my 250lbs prod to me, if not, the 175 will get the job done.

An hour ago there were two black tails reclining in my backyard like they owned the place, ruminating on the neighbours highbred-tea roses (damn municipal bylaws!)...