Crossbows

CROSSBOWS

The crossbow is believed to be an invention of China, where it began to appear in the 5th century BC. It was undoubtedly invented as a weapon of war. However, the crossbow is thought to have originated in several places in the world earlier. Already at the beginning of AD, the Chinese invented the repeating crossbow, which was capable of firing up to 20 arrows in a few seconds and was used, for example, to defend the Great Wall of China. It was called the Chu-ko-nu and was the first so-called repeating crossbow, it had a magazine that actually fed the arrows. The rate of firing was thus much higher, but it was a smaller pistol crossbow, i.e. it was not as effective as the large single-shot crossbows. In Europe, the crossbow began to appear in the 5th-4th centuries BC in the Greek city states. Like the bow, the crossbow was gradually supplanted as a weapon of war from the 15th century onwards by the invention of firearms. Currently it has mainly sporting and hunting uses. However, not every country allows the use of bows and crossbows for hunting or the pursuit of hunting.

The crossbow uses the principle of operation of a bow, which is mounted on a body similar to the body of a pistol or the stock of a rifle. The frame of the crossbow is duralumin, its stock can be made mainly of wood, hard polymer or metal. Today, crossbows are almost indistinguishable in appearance from long rifles. The width of the limb, often referred to as ATA (Axle to Axle distance), is becoming narrower and narrower, and the design takes on the contours of long firearms. Until a few years ago, compound crossbows had a standard limb width of around 20". Today, the limb is narrowing and upgrading its standard to a width of under 12". But otherwise, the crossbow has a number of fundamental differences than the bow. For example, it generally uses shorter arrows than a bow and has greater kinetic energy. Crossbow bolts are sorted in such a wide spectrum that you can get by with their basic categorization according to the type of crossbow they are intended for. That is, for pistol, compound or recurve crossbows. But even that's not an accurate division. Crossbow bolts are further subdivided by the material they are made of. The most commonly used types of bolts are duralumin, then carbon, composite fiberglass-laminate or, more recently, MIX-carbon (a mixture of carbon and fiberglass). Wooden bolts are no longer used in crossbows. Modern types of crossbows achieve high speed, accuracy and are silent. This is the reason why they are so popular. When fired, the noise is lower than from an air rifle. And it is also a mechanical weapon that is by its nature very simple and easy to operate, maintain and store..

The difference between a crossbow and a bow is also in power. With a crossbow, the draw weight is higher due to the design and cocking mechanisms. When cocking a large crossbow, both the lower and upper half of the body are involved in the process. With a bow, it is only the upper half. The cocking is sophisticated and relatively safe. Crossbows have such tension that you can't cock them with your own hands. A tensioning rope, called a rope cocker, is used for this.

These are special nylon cables, which are mounted on the crossbow in a way to create a mechanical pulley, thus reducing the string tension by about 50%. This way you can cock a high-performance compound crossbow in a few seconds. There are also so-called crank winches, which reduce the tension of the string by up to 90-93%.

The cocking is almost effortless and even a weaker shooter, or a shooter with a medical problem of the hands, etc., can handle this task.

Powerful crossbows have strong penetration and big arrow range.The effective range of the crossbow is several hundred meters. The range of the bolt is not given and the bolt can fly more than 500 meters. For recurve crossbows, the effective range is usually up to 50 meters. For pistol crossbows, something different applies, because today we have various hybrids, such as compound pistol crossbows with special bolts, which achieve similar performance to the larger and more dangerous compound crossbows. For example, the powerful Supersonic pistol compound crossbows with over 330 fps - 100.6 m/s.

Short crossbows are also commonly referred to as pistol crossbows because their body and size resemble pistols. They are usually cocked by a direct cocking mechanism or by a break action mechanism, which is usually referred to as COBRA SYSTEM. Nowadays, the Cobra system R9 pistol crossbow and its newer versions are also very modern, which are cocked atypically but simply by a lower lever like a pair of scissors.

The draw weight of pistol crossbows ranges from about 50 lbs to about 130 lbs. We have variants with recurve limbs or with compound limbs. Compound crossbows release more kinetic energy thanks to the cams. Recurve crossbows, i.e. traditional crossbows that work only on the principle of tension and bending, have lower kinetic energy. Although it depends on several factors that determine the overall performance of the crossbow. On some models of crossbows, it is also possible to install various tactical accessories, such as a red dot sight, laser, tactical flashlight, front grip, rear stock, quiver and more.

Of course, there are other types of crossbow mechanisms on the market, for example pneumatic, but they are classified in a different category of weapons and are not so freely available.

However, the most popular crossbows remain the generally categorized crossbows, i.e. pistol, reflex and pulley. Crossbow and bow archery is a wonderful sport, you will have a lot of fun, relaxation and adventure. However, remember that it is a weapon that may look innocent but can cause serious injuries.

In our offer, there are quality crossbows from world manufacturers such as EK Archery, Poe Lang, Steambow, Man Kung, Barnett and others. The most popular models of pistol crossbows are definitely Hori Zone Redback 80 lbs and Cobra R9 90 lbs. The best selling and popular recurve models are the Jaguar I and II Pro crossbows. In the compound crossbow category, the best selling models are the HEX 400 and the Guillotine. For more demanding and experienced shooters, we also offer the Barnett brand, which is an American leader and a sign of high quality. Their crossbows are detailed and have their own patented technologies.

If you choose a crossbow from our assortment, don't forget to buy spare bolts, targets, bullseyes and other accessories, or let us advise you and build an order according to your needs.