As the Stasi clamp down on anything that looks like a gun and we watch as stage 1 of the next stage in the demonisation of air rifles hots up in Scotland. Remember Scotland is where everything is rolled out first. That was where the Smoking Ban started and the Minimum drink pricing is next. I find that I am looking more at older weapons as a basis for my survival arsenal. Not that I’m giving up my guns, just the opposite, I’m keeping those updated, it is just I look at alternatives due to the risk in our socialist government clamping down even further on legitimate law abiding citizens. You know it makes sense to have backup plans.
After my visit and a chat with Northernraider I have looked very closely at archery and crossbows as a viable alternative to firearms and I find that currently they are completely unlicensed. I’ve looked at several models on the websites and they are viable alternatives to breaking the law. It is really this that triggered the Bow and Arrow weekend on the 9th June and that was before the latest legal bollocks.
NR supplied me with a book, Archery Fundamentals, which I am currently working my way through with a view to improving, (which won’t be difficult), my current archery skills. Couple that with the existing crossbows then I have a fall back for my licensed guns. Not ideal but if I practise and improve it will work out OK.
Some of the broadheads I have look vicious, they will be next on the list, and I think I’d rather be shot with a gun than with those.
This latest bit of news means that the Bow and Arrow weekend is a lot more important. It is a chance to see these in action. Wielded by someone who knows and then we can have a go.
In addition to the licensing issue it is a hell of a lot cheaper too. I think well worth stocking up with just in case.
Have a look at bladesandbows.co.uk. They sell a very powerful 175 pound armex crossbow for £75. I have one and it is very powerful. That leaves enough for extra bolts, string and assorted pieces. Highly recommended. Not as well made as a £300 pound one but still very effective. I would advise not to go for a compound bow as when the string goes you need a specialist press to replace it. The normal bow is easier to fix and spare prods are quite cheap from armex. For £200 you can get the bow, a spare prod spare strings and a decent quantity of bolts and broad heads. If you are feeling flush then go wild, but the cost shoots up with the extras. The cheaper bows may not look as good and may not be as smooth, but they still shoot a heavy bolt fast enough to go straight through a small deer. Oh you can’t hunt with them, but after an event I don’t think thats an issue.
I agree in general with Tommys comments about buying Recurve bows instead of compound bows, I have a Petron Sniper 150 Lb Draw which was about £75 from Ronnie Sunshines and its a superb bow. However I think that modern compound crossbows are just to darn good to be left out of our kit choice, I believe that people wanting to invest in a compound should do so but must include a bowpress in their budget planning.
I also have a 3 piece recurve long bow that you can buy more powerful limbs for as your strength and skill develops, they have zero use for security but could feed your family after TSHTF.
Crossbows are fine if you’ve got the time to reload.
Takes me about 15 seconds to fast reload, most of that time being eyes off the target.
I went on a tactical shotgun range with my crossbow for a bit of fun. NEVER AGAIN.
Ever tried to run through a 30 inch doorway with a bow?
Shooting round a corner is “interesting” too with a wide prod. you are so exposed.
Personally I love the sheer knockdown power of a catapault with 3/8 lead ball. Hit a bunny or squirrel and it’s devistating over 15 yards.
I got hit by a rebound off a fir tree a few years ago. Broke two teeth. Lucky it missed my eyes because even wearing my standard shooting glasses, I can’t help think that i’d have been in serious trouble if it had hit them , my neck, or thick skull.
As I read on a US forum “It takes a brave soul to face a ball fired from a catapault at close range”. I have to agree with that.
With a handful of lead, as an area denial weapon its brutal, and fast. (Proof being the 3 holes in my shed door from 20 yards!)
Don’t waste your time with the latest craze though i.e. the slingbow. Accuracy is only fair with practice but dead slow and unless you use magnum power bands, the penetration is poor. (3″ at 20 yards with a broadhead into straw bales).
For speed with small game and I suspect humans, a box standard slingshot is plenty capable.
You just needs loads of practice!
Damn you Tommy all of my disposable income is now going on that site the mrs is gonna kill me! Also hi everyone this is my first post.
BigDan,
Welcome.
That is a problem we all have. Especially when it comes to toys.
a catapault !!!! are you serious ??????????? try hitting a bunny with one if you can get close enough big difference to hitting a shed door plus in a shtf scenario the small game population will be even harder to get due to the sheer number of people hunting them so yr liable to starve . as a defence weapon they are even worse if yr close enough to use a catapault then an agressor is close enough to lob half a housebrick at you and at 20 yards youll only get one shot and if the guys got a thick coat on he wont even feel it. pull a catapault out on a druggie in withdrawal and see the total lack of concern on his part for yr catapault .my crossbow spits out a bolt at 330 fps and with a broadhead will put a 2 inch wide wound channel through tissue causing massive damage and blood loss and accurate enough to hit a football at 100 yards ….or a larger target at 150 . whoever relies on a catapault for survival/ defence is in for a seriously unpleasant suprise
Against a human, pretty nasty but will only slow them down, against small game, incredibly effective if you can shoot them accurately, I’ve been shooting catapults for 4years hunting on a weekly basis for 2 and I am successful too, pigeon squirrel rabbit pheasant and duck, don’t discount the humble catapult, they are concealable, quiet and in the right hands, powerful hunting tools, and impossible for big brother to regulate
Just so you know Tom, technically hunting with a bow or catapult is currently illegal in the UK.
I hunt for small game and do pest control so I’m regularly out shooting and have lost count of the number of little furry lives that I’ve ended but there are things that you just don’t do…hunting with a catapult is one of them. The likelihood of a clean kill is very low with a catapult so they inflict unnecessary suffering. Maybe to prevent starvation after the shtf but not before, it’s just not done.
We all know that, but I can’t buy a shotgun without getting a licence so a crossbow is a much better proposition.
If you know it would be illegal why are you even asking? This is a public forum and this kind of thing reflects badly one those of us who take hunting and shooting seriously.
I don’t have an issue with people asking about illegal use of legal items. This site is actually about prepping for when TSHTF and as such any laws like this will be moot. Therefore he can plan for then. It would be different if he asked about purchasing a gun illegally and asked for contacts.
In this case he asked a question about performing an illegal task as the Stasi have made it almost impossible to actually get the tools to do what he needs. We answered it and did our civic duty by pointing out that in our mickey mouse country it is currently illegal. What is wrong with that?
I’m new to hunting and looking at buying a crossbow. I have a pesky fox which is the first target on the list, it’s taken around 20 of my chickens over the past 5 years. Will a crossbow be powerful enough to kill a fox from a distance of around 50 feet?
You can buy crossbows that have enough power to kill a fox over that distance. You need to use the right head though not the simple pointy end that comes as default. Although you want to be a lot closer as, unlike a bullet, you want to retrieve your bolt and they get lost very easily. However as has been pointed out hunting with crossbows is illegal.
There are crossbows, air bows compound bows etc all capable of killing a fox but none of them legal for hunting with in the UK.
Probably better to get someone in with a silenced .22 or use a fox trap, trap comb and humane dispatch gun that uses blanks
George, Another answer to your problem is to build a better chicken run and take better care to shut them in earlier and only let them out later in the morning..