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The time has come to talk directly about the technique of shooting a crossbow. More precisely, about techniques. The options discussed below are for recreational and hunting applications. Fans of the practice of “survival” can safely equate the latter with their dear martial heart, the difference is not fundamental.

First, about the crossbows themselves. They can be very different both externally and “ideologically,” which is caused precisely by differences in the scope of application and shooting technique.

A little clarification for the authors of requests like “
Crossbow Crossbow ”. “Crossbow” translated from English actually means “Crossbow”. That is, if on the packaging and on the product itself there is only this word without a brand name, then we are talking about anonymous products from an equally anonymous manufacturer with the appropriate quality and shooting characteristics. Read more in the article “The whole truth about the Crossbow Crossbow and a little more about the names.”

What types of crossbows are there?

Sports crossbows

Crossbow sport, which is going through hard times in terms of popularity, should not be completely ignored. If only because, like any other, from fencing to boxing, it contains the basic elements of military equipment.

And also because most newcomers, who have read advertising articles, in their rosy dreams expect to shoot moose-bears from a miracle weapon, well, at least half a mile away. Meanwhile, shooting distances from expensive high-quality match crossbows are 30 and 10 (!) meters.

They shoot from such works of engineering art at a tiny target, with a “tens” diameter of only 4.5 millimeters.

The shooting technique is almost identical to that of match air rifles. And not by chance. Compare the top shot with the "Feinwerkbau Modell 800 X":

The firing distance from it, by the way, is also 10 meters, the caliber is the same 4.5 mm (.177). And titled crossbowmen, as a rule, are also bullet athletes.

Now let's see what professional sports shooting looks like. So, it is carried out using high-quality match crossbows (pictured on the left) and field crossbows (right photo).

Despite some external similarities, the difference is clearly noticeable - match samples do not have a stirrup for manual cocking of the bowstring. And indeed, they carry out this process using various kinds of devices, sometimes built-in. One can understand, because the standard tension force in one case is 80 kgf, which is considerable for a recursive scheme, and in the second, a colossal 120 kgf! Let us emphasize once again: shooting is carried out not at 100 or even 50, but at 10 and 30 meters! At the same time, keep in mind that hitting the “nine” of the target is considered a serious mistake for the athlete, and the diameter of the “ten”, let us remind you, is only 4.5 mm! Bolts, by the way, are also significantly different from the usual crossbow arrows.

Much closer to the sphere of our purely amateur interests are competitions in shooting from crossbows of the “field” division at 35, 50 and 65 meters - that is, not advertising, but real hunting distances. True, high-tech designs are also used here, for example, a trigger mechanism from the same pneumatic “Feinwerkbau”, and precision sighting devices. However, they already have a stirrup and cocking is carried out manually, since the tension force fully complies with the Russian GOST with a threshold of 43 kgf, separating “products structurally similar to weapons” from throwing weapons.

Let us repeat: everything depends on the scope of use of the weapon, or more precisely, on the conditions.

Crossbow for hunting, also known as “combat”

Don’t rush to be indignant in advance :)) - yes, throwing hunting weapons are banned in Russia, but everything is not so hopeless. Quite legal, albeit not very budget-friendly options still exist (see “Hunting with a bow and crossbow - is it possible or not?”)

2020 addition. Attention: On August 2, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed Law No. 280-FZ “On Amendments to the Federal Law “On Weapons” and Article 1 of the Federal Law “On Hunting and on the Conservation of Hunting Resources and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation” " Yes, the same one that formally allows hunting with throwing weapons!

But let's begin. Before you shoot an arrow at a roe deer when hunting from the approach (stealth), you will have to cut a lot of circles through forests, copses and bushes, somewhere hunched over, and somewhere on all fours. Moreover, the most effective hunting happens in the most disgusting weather, which does not allow the animal to detect you. A swamp encountered along the way, “successfully” located on the leeward side of the animal, will also not add health to the delicate mechanisms.

Therefore, the choice of a real field shooter and hunter is, albeit not so highly accurate, but a fairly rough and reliable mechanism, an oak optical sight (see “Sight for a crossbow” and “Parallax: who is to blame and what to do?”), no shoulder fatigue, since a crossbow will have to be kept cocked for a long time.

Speed ​​indicators must be at least 100 m/s (304 fps) with original reinforced shoulders.

This is what the real speed indicators of one crossbow with original and GOST (95 lbs/43 kgf) shoulders look like for various arrows:

Necessary explanations for crossbow-bow units of measurement:

1 Lbs (lb) = 0.45 kg

1 grain = 0.0648 grams

1 fps (feet per second) = 0.305 m/s

The more powerful the weapon and the more serious the intended prey, the stiffer and heavier the arrows should be (see “Arrows for a crossbow”).

For walking hunting, relatively lightweight recurve full-size crossbows are preferable. Like the products of the Canadian “Excalibur”:

Or their Taiwanese, domestic or Chinese clones, known under the names “Desert Hawk”, “Mongoose”, “Lancelot”, “Ranger”.

Ambush hunting is not so critical to the weight of the weapon, so my favorite “blockers” would be even preferable here. In any case, they are quieter, faster and (this is subjective) more accurate than their recursive counterparts, in addition, they are much easier to cock.

The “Ten Point Stealth SS” shown in the photo has such a useful thing in the butt as a mechanical bowstring tensioner. It will be of great help to the shooter, for example, in the limited space of a mobile storage shed - a tri-stand placed on tree trunks.

By the way, blockers can also be quite light and compact, such as, for example, unique developments - the R9 model and its super-powerful modification R15, which produces a current record speed of 425 fps (130 m/s) with modest dimensions and weight! In general, the last two or three years have been marked by the release of several models of crossbows that stand out from the orderly ranks of their quite classic counterparts. Moreover, there is a clear trend towards the creation of compact/ultra-compact powerful hunting models (see “Wonderful are your deeds, crossbow-archery world!”).

As in the previous case, high-quality overseas crossbows have much more affordable Taiwanese, Russian and Chinese clones - products from Man Kung, Poe Lang, Interloper, TDR.

(More details in the article “Crossbow for game hunting”)

The shooting technique in this case is practically no different from rifle-rifle hunting.

A few words about the so-called Combat Crossbows. By and large, they are no different from hunting ones.

Let's take the “PSE TAC Elite” (pictured) as an example.

This is a hunting model, which until recently was the leader in power and speed. So, its military version was once ahead of its then civilian counterpart by some unfortunate 2 meters per second. Nowadays, even this has become unimportant, since even more powerful models have entered the market of publicly available crossbows.

However, throwing weapons are still in service. More information about this can be found in the articles “Combat crossbows” and “Combat crossbows. Part II."

And yet - just don’t be surprised! - to accomplish many goals and tasks, it is quite possible to do without bulky crossbows; a slingshot will be enough. Only not quite an ordinary one, but a hunting SlingBow. Details in the article “Hunting and sporting bow-slingshot“.

Crossbows for recreation and entertainment

These are budget models from Russia and Southeast Asia. All of them are designed for short and medium shooting, by crossbow standards, distances from 15 to 40 meters.

If the dacha plot is decent in size, the best choice is compact compound crossbows “Caiman”, MK-250 (pictured) and their clones like “Yarrow model A”. They work quite reliably at distances of up to fifty meters.

When setting the original arms to 150 lbs, they are suitable for feather hunting (“With a crossbow for black grouse”) or some fur-bearing animals. Even for a yearling boar.

(For more details, see the article “The Golden Mean”: crossbows MK-250 and “Caiman”)

Speed ​​characteristics of these crossbows with original and GOST shoulders

Tension force Speed

150 lbs (68 kgf) 265 fps (81 m/s) 95 lbs (43 kgf) 213 fps (65 m/s)

If the area of ​​your “hacienda” does not allow you to turn around properly, pay attention to compact recurve crossbows. These are again numerous “Asians” and adapted “Russians” - MK-150/200, “Scorpion”, “Yarrow”, “Fox” (pictured), etc.

This is what the speed indicators of the Scorpio look like with original and GOST shoulders for various arrows.

For information: the generally accepted minimum arrow speed for game hunting is 100 meters per second (304 fps).

That is, even with reinforced shoulders installed, such crossbows are still unsuitable for real hunting. But they are light, easy to maintain and cheap. They have their own niche, and a considerable one.

(For details, see the article “Compact Recursive”)

Here, the choice of shooting technique will depend on how we are going to have fun, what to play - “sport” or “hunting”.

There is also a whole entertainment segment, interesting primarily for children - pistol-type crossbows .

The shooting technique from them is indeed much closer to short-barreled firearms.

Homemade crossbow

Just a few words about them. Because the tactical and technical characteristics of the product completely depend on the author’s preferences, access to equipment, availability of materials and, of course, knowledge, skills and abilities. In principle, nothing prevents you from creating a miniature souvenir crossbow today, and tomorrow - a real monster with a monstrous tension force and an iron crowbar :)) instead of a bolt. True, in the latter case, claims from the Law are very likely...

In our “Useful Links” section you can find the way to the online community of DIYers “Arbalet Info”. There are examples of truly wonderful designs there. Well, like this one in the photo below - isn’t it really great!?

And one last thing. If you think that do-it-yourselfers are now only left in Russia, since in much richer countries people are spoiled by the widest choice of goods and level of income, then this is not so. And these traditions have been laid there for a long time (see the article “Homemade crossbow: greetings from 1940”).

Attention! If the article breaks off at this point, temporarily disable your ad blocker. Some of them manage to cut off the actual advertising screensavers along with the rest of the text. Moreover, they block the viewing of videos with stories about weapons, scenes of shooting or hunting.

Crossbow price or how much a recreational crossbow might cost?

The first crossbow designed for recreation and entertainment does not have to be expensive. But too cheap examples of handicraft Chinese production are not suitable, since they are only a semblance of real weapons.

A good quality crossbow, made by yourself, is much better than cheap fakes. After all, the main task of a crossbow is to give joy.

In addition to the price of the crossbow you are purchasing, you need to inquire about the availability of components and their cost. The crossbow will sooner or later require repairs, and it should be inexpensive.

A budget crossbow must be of high quality, with a guarantee of safety and reliability. You should pay special attention to crossbows from Interloper and Man Kung. These are quite good crossbows, the cost of which is low.

A sufficient number of arrows must be purchased immediately. Since the four arrows that come with the crossbow are not enough for recreational shooting. Their minimum number is ten to twelve pieces. Otherwise, all that will remain in your memory is an endless cross-country run, wound from the firing line to the target and back.

The cost of arrows should also not be high. They are often lost, especially by novice shooters, over time or due to circumstances, break down, and become unusable. Therefore, aluminum or plastic arrows are a good place to start. Read about what is important to consider and how to choose the right arrows in a special article on our website.

To prevent arrows from breaking and extend their service life, you should use special targets, purchased or made by yourself.

Crossbow shooting technique

Leaving aside all the issues of configuration, adjustment and shooting, discussed in the relevant articles, we proceed directly to shooting. To the very beginning - loading.

And we immediately come across the specifics of different approaches. Athletes would never dream in their wildest dreams that they can walk around with a loaded weapon for more than one hour. Even the design includes one feature that is unusual for mass-produced crossbows. Compare the T-shaped stirrup of sports models and the loop-shaped stirrup of ordinary ones.

The fact is that in sports there is an accepted order of actions in which all of them are performed directly at the “firing line”: we cock the crossbow without removing the foot from the stirrup, insert the arrow into the guide, raise the weapon to the firing position, put it in, aim, shoot. To prevent the inserted arrow from piercing the shooter’s foot in the event of an accidental break of the bowstring, the stirrup “pedals” are offset from the axis of the guide.

An ordinary shooter, and even more so a hunter, is sometimes forced to cock a crossbow in an extremely uncomfortable position, even while sitting on a tree branch, so you can’t do without a frame stirrup; your leg will definitely slip off the T-shaped one.

Now let's compare our actions during recreational and hunting shooting in parallel. But before that, I strongly recommend that you read the article “Where to shoot with a bow and crossbow?”. So to speak, in order to avoid...

Sports and recreational shooting

The above procedure for a sports crossbowman is perfect for entertaining target shooting. By and large, this is an amateur competition, with the same approaches to safety. All actions related to loading, preparing for a shot and the actual shooting are carried out without leaving the firing line.

In this case, enthusiastic spectators and pets are located behind the shooter's position. To the left and right of the shooting line and behind the target there is also no one or anything valuable. The shooter has a table or a bucket of sand at hand. where the arrows are stuck.

Loading a crossbow with GOST shoulders of 95 lbs (43 kgf) is carried out without auxiliary devices - any teenager is capable of this. In this case, it is advisable to grab the bowstring not with the joints, you can pinch the nerve, but with the pads of the second phalanges of the index, middle and ring fingers. In this case, the index fingers should be pressed quite tightly against the sides of the guide (left picture, wrong hand position on the right). Then the bowstring will not skew towards the “weak” hand.

Then the crossbow is pointed forward and down and an arrow is inserted into the guide.

The shooting stance, as already mentioned, is practically no different from the sports rifle stance.

It allows, by shifting the body back, to compensate for the peculiarities of the weapon’s weight distribution; the placement of the feet and the position of the hands form rigid triangular figures, which contributes to a stable shot.

Of course, this kind of rack can be used exclusively for weapons that do not have serious recoil - crossbows, small sports guns and pneumatics. A shot from a shotgun or normal rifle using powerful ammunition will simply sweep away the shooter who is in fragile balance, so in these cases the recoil is compensated by the appropriate position of the body and legs.

Summing up a kind of summary of the consideration of sports shooting techniques, I give its general provisions:

Shooting technique from a prone position

When shooting from a prone position, the shooter's body has the largest area for support and is in the most stable position. This pose ensures immobility, the legs are spread out to the sides without tension, the right one is slightly bent at the knee, and the left toe rests on the ground. The left arm is bent at the elbow and brought forward more, supporting the fore-end of the crossbow*. The right hand covers the neck of the butt, the elbow is lowered to the shooting line. The butt fits snugly to the right side of the chest, in the area of ​​the collarbone. The position of the butt should be checked every time. Before firing, the right hand is placed on the neck of the butt, and the right elbow is lowered to the ground. The head tilts slightly forward and the cheek rests on the ridge of the butt.

The correctness of the position is checked as follows: the shooter, having found the most comfortable position, closes both eyes and stops the crossbow, then opens his eyes. If the barrel deviates from the target, you should turn your body in the right direction so that the crossbow is aimed exactly at the target.

*Note : In the photo we see a rifle insert; when shooting from a crossbow, the holding hand must be located below the fore-end, outside the zone of movement of the bowstring and cables - otherwise your fingers will be knocked off or even cut off (alas, this is also possible).

Shooting technique from a standing position

When shooting from a standing position, the shooter does not have a large area of ​​support, being in an extremely unstable position. The shooter stands with his left side in the direction of shooting, feet shoulder-width apart, the left hand holds the crossbow, the right hand freely holds the neck of the crossbow butt.

The butt touches the right shoulder joint, and the weight of the shooter’s body with a crossbow, as a rule, is distributed evenly on both legs.

The back is curved slightly to the right and back, for better balance, which reduces muscle tension when holding the weapon, and also provides additional stability to the shooter. The shooter's head is held freely, straight, without tilting.

Shooting technique from the kneeling position

When shooting from the kneeling position, the shooter also has a fairly large area for support: the support under the right foot, the bend of the right knee and the left foot, which rests on the ground.

However, it should be remembered that the overall center of gravity is above the right leg. The left leg should be placed so that the shin is almost vertical.

Most often, the left foot is brought forward about half a step, with the toe turned to the right of the direction of fire. The crossbow is in almost the same position as when preparing it “prone” - it is supported by the left hand, bent at the elbow. The elbow of the left hand is placed on the knee of the left leg. The back of the butt is adjacent to the right side of the chest, in the area of ​​the collarbone

The right arm, bent at the elbow joint, covers the neck of the butt with the hand and is freely lowered down with the elbow.

When taking a pose, you should ensure that the weight of the body with the weapon is distributed evenly, the body should be stable, without unnecessary muscle tension.

Hunting and recreational shooting

Let's start again with loading. Now we are dealing with original shoulders that are twice as strong as GOST ones. This is especially noticeable when you cock a powerful full-size “recurve” more than a dozen times, which not only does not have any force release, but it also increases with every centimeter of stroke of the bowstring.

Therefore, we have to resort to various kinds of devices. Here is the simplest thing, the so-called “cable”:

The thing is not bad, especially considering that it self-centers the bowstring when cocked. The cable works like this:

In this case, the cocking force, according to the laws of mechanics, is reduced by half, although the amplitude of hand movement increases by the same amount.

In cramped conditions, using the “cable” is extremely inconvenient. For such cases, mechanical tensioners are provided - in fact, small winches, analogues of medieval gates.

They can be either relatively universal, installed on the butt of various crossbows (pictured), or branded built-in, as on the already mentioned Ten Point products. There are even electric tensioners designed for people with disabilities - they make up the majority of overseas crossbow hunters; the majority of bowhunters prefer bows.

We can generally talk about a shooting stance only in relation to recreational shooting that simulates hunting, for example, at 3 D targets. Since the plastic and rubber “game” will not run away anywhere, no one bothers you to take a beautiful pseudo-sports pose, take your time, thoughtfully aim and shoot an arrow. On a real hunt, everything is not so good:

As the hero of the famous film said: “If you want to live, you won’t get so excited.”

Walking hunting is still more fun. It was not for nothing that I compared it to combat operations; by and large, the only possible use is an ambush shot in the back of a lone adversary. The approach, accordingly, is the same: there is camouflage, and the ability to move silently, instantly freezing, and many kilometers of forced marches along the intersection. Moreover, the more “chepyzhnik” the hunter crawls along, the greater the chances of success. And also the lousier the weather: “rain is a saboteur’s assistant.” And all in order to finally reach the distance of a confident shot (see “Hunting for deer with a crossbow by stealth”).

Crossbow shooting

Now about the shot itself. The requirements for aiming, breathing and triggering are no different from firearms.

In short.

Aiming

When aiming, you must carefully ensure that there are no shadows in the field of view of the sight; it must be completely clean

If the eye is closer or further than the eye distance, then a circular darkening occurs in the field of view, which reduces it and complicates aiming. If this darkening is the same on all sides, then there will be no deflection of the bullets

If the eye is positioned incorrectly relative to the main optical axis of the sight (displaced to the side), moon-shaped shadows are observed at the edges of the eyepiece during aiming. They can be on any side, depending on the position of the eye axis in relation to the optical axis of the sight. The bullets will be deflected in the direction opposite to these shadows (Fig.). If, while aiming, the shooter notices shadows at the edges of the field of view, he needs to find a position for the head in which the eye clearly sees the entire field of view of the sight.

Rice. Deviation of the point of impact to the side when the eye is positioned incorrectly in relation to the main optical axis of the sight

Breath

A person can easily hold his breath for 12-15 seconds without experiencing any discomfort. This time is more than enough to fire a shot. However, you need to keep the following in mind. In general, you can hold your breath for the longest time while inhaling rather than exhaling. Consequently, the total holding of breath during inhalations has a less negative effect on the general condition of the shooter’s body, since he experiences less oxygen starvation. Observations indicate that holding your breath to fire a shot by prolonging the natural respiratory pause (i.e. while exhaling) is not at all necessary. As the practice of leading shooters has shown, before shooting you need to take two or three deep breaths and exhale, and then, after taking almost half an inhale, gradually hold your breath (Fig.).

Crossbow for women and girls

The modern woman experiences virtually no physical activity. Many muscle groups are left without the necessary loads. As a result, women face a host of diseases, such as osteochondrosis, excess weight, and muscle atrophy.

Shooting from a crossbow will help prevent and even defeat these and many other diseases, and solve problems not only with health and physical fitness.

A crossbow will help unite a family, arouse the husband’s interest, find friends, and perhaps a future life partner. Many models of crossbows do not require great physical strength; they are designed taking into account the fact that they will be used by girls. Such crossbows are easy to use and maintain.

You will always be interesting, young and attractive!