Crossbows are big worldwide. These days especially, but they probably have been for a long time. So many niches thrive outside the limelight. The limelight being reserved for big money sport.
Crossbows make sense to me for the kind of suburban hunting that I often do. Since they don’t make gunlike noise but require only gunlike practice and give gunlike accuracy. I need reliability. (Knowing someone who has a tracking dog doesn’t hurt either, if you’re going deer hunting. Why following tricky bloodtrails is left up to coarse, relatively-blind humans is beyond me. Losses just aren’t acceptable.)
I’m impressed that the Australian company at this link makes both hightech tourney bows … and medieval versions. It’s an interesting combo of worlds.
I’m personally attracted more to the simplicity, curves, quietness and lightweight of a recurve cossbow. They can easily be made as fast as compounds. All a compound does is let you store a more controlled and steady energy profile — it can start out strong and stay that way, storing a lot of energy in a flat-line curve (if you plot it). If you don’t go compound you just use thicker limbs and a stronger string-cocker — a recurve limb starts out easier, storing less energy then gets harder — giving a curved power-curve. If the recurve limb stores as much energy in the end then it’ll shoot as hard. OK, the efficiency of a heavier recurve limb might be less, but compounds have more parts which in turn hurts their efficiency, so it can even out.
There are re-enactor “war bow” crossbow makers out there (one making a neat yew selfbow crossbow). I wonder if any are just plain making nice wood crossbows apart from the replica scene. I’ve only seen wood replicas and then plastic moderns.
I suppose that the traditional archery gang is against recurve crossbows. They’re almost as old as regular bows, so what’s the fuss. Oh well, I suppose they’re not against them, they just don’t consider them to be the same. Fair nuff. Many trad-bow shooters ALSO shoot other things, they just don’t call it trad-archery. I like it all, too. Each has its place. I do love shooting wood arrows from an osage selfbow. I’d probably like primitive arrows, too. That stuff sure does feel good. But for my hunting these days, I don’t mind a crossbow.
Here’s a link to Tod’s Stuff — the Yew Selfbow Crossbow maker. He also makes amazing re-enactor bows. His bows pull 500 lbs! www.todsstuff.co.uk/crossbows/self-yew-crossbows.htm
Here’s a link to some Crossbow tournament pics — from Croatia! www.crossbow-croatia.hr/eng_picture_gallery_index.htm
https://www.ausbow.com.au/
