[hellletloose]

well, I like the crossbow & I feel that its more lethal than a gun, Though Its illegal to hunt in India But, here,in Himachal people do hunt wild Boars ,that harm their crops.crossbows are good for hunting,As they shoot with minimal noise,& gives you the chance of taking an aim again, as the prey wont run away,even if a silent arrow misses the mark & you don't even need a license for using one.It can also be used for self defence & for sport
their are basically 2 types of crossbows:-

1. A recurve crossbow is a bow that has tips curving away from the archer. The recurve bow's bent limbs have a longer draw length than an equivalent straight-limbed bow, giving more acceleration to the projectile and less hand shock. Recurved limbs also put greater strain on the materials used to make the bow, and they may make more noise with the shot.in case of a recurve crossbow the bow-string is tied so their is more possibility of the string breaking from the knot, as it bears a lot of stress.

• A compound crossbow is a modern crossbow and is similar to a compound bow, The limbs are usually much stiffer than those of a recurve crossbow. This limb stiffness makes the compound bow more energy efficient than other bows, but the limbs are too stiff to be drawn comfortably with a string attached directly to them. The compound bow has the string attached to the pulleys, one or both of which has one or more cables attached to the opposite limb. When the string is drawn back, the string causes the pulleys to turn. This causes the pulleys to pull the cables, which in turn causes the limbs to bend and thus store energy.the bow string lasts long as the their are no tied knots in this case.

I have even seen wild,boars,deer, bears, & elephants being killed by a crossbow,on you tube.barnett,excalibur & horton are the famous crossbow brands.
Draw weight & arrow speed in foot per second are the two ways to assess the power of a crossbow. A draw weight of 150 lbs generates a speed of 210 fps (in the first photo)
& in the case of the barnett predator crossbow (2nd photo) the draw weight is 225 lbs & the arrow speed is 350 fps( this one can even take down an Dragon)

we can always carry one in our jeeps,just in case the jeep breaks down in a jungle at night.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by hellletloose

( this one can even take down an Dragon)

?

i'm not hating but i'm just saying you know

[hillram]

Very interesting subject.Though i possess a recurve and a long bow,im yet to lay my hands on a good crossbow.I have seen good ones in London,Paris and Melbourne.
What are the legal rules to carry them in your check in luggage?

[deepclutch]

Indian laws considers it as a dangerous weapon if I'm not mistaken. "Arms other than firearms" where these Archery items may belongs to. I wanted to have a look at crossbows through any dealers of the same in Kochi which I am unable to find yet.

[hellletloose]

deathwalkr:I was going to type an elephant & then just typed dragon instead.thanks for pointing that out mate.

A crossbow can be dismantled & carried along by road or train but not in an aircraft. I know of an exporter here in India who has a powerful compound crossbow in stock , with a draw weight of 185 lbs & a speed of 310 fps.He told me that it can be couriered anywhere in India.

Here is a link to his site: http://www.gsmithco.com/archery.htm