Ballistics and Bracing

Crossbows can be shot from a rest.
The crossbow has rigidly controlled internal ballistics.
The truth revealed.

If you have not noticed a pattern by now then you may never. In the inclusion arguments the points are becoming thinner with less merit. Crossbows can be shot from a rest. It is my personal belief that this statement is made to point out another option that a firearm can enjoy. My tree stand does not include a rest. There are many tree stands that do however. I know my bow has a range limitation of 40 yards. My personal limitation for taking a shot is within 30 yards. With that in mind the bar that allows you to brace for a shot is virtually useless for a crossbow. I literally find it to be an obstacle that must be navigated around for such a close shot. When a deer is standing directly under you the bar is in the line of sight that is a comfortable shooting position for me. A firearm hunter may find this feature to be a bonus when taking a shot at 100+ yards but I do not. When a deer specifically is right under you the brace requires that you lean your body over the bar in a partially crouched position or maneuver under it. I would rather stand or remain seated. My experiences as a vertical bow hunter make this brace type stand an obstacle as well. The style of stand I choose for bow hunting is the one on the left. The one on the right includes a brace bar that is common to many tree stands. When stand shopping I looked specifically for the one that would not have additional obstacles in front of me or to either side of me. There are many stands available with adjustable braces but I personally am more comfortable without it. If I decide to hunt with my vertical bow there is nothing in the way or that needs removed.

Now that you know what I am comfortable with let us discuss the topic of shot bracing and body bracing. Both weapons can be braced prior to a shot. One is braced vertically and one is braced horizontally. Each hunter also has the ability to brace their body for a steadier shot as well. Shot bracing and body bracing should be practiced and encouraged by either hunter when the situation will allow it in order to ensure a more humane harvest. The option to brace either weapon is optional to the individual hunter and hunting situation. I am right handed. If I am using a vertical bow and have the opportunity to lay my body and or left arm against a tree immediately to my left I am going to do so. If I have an object under my crossbow that allows me to brace on it I will do so. Usually placing my elbow on my knee does the trick. To make the task of body bracing or shot bracing sound like a bad thing for the purpose of harvesting game or to look like something that should not be practiced is pure stupidity. If you can brace then you should brace. And you should brace to your fullest ability where the shot dictates. Even the vertical hunter hunter can take advantage of bracing if they desire to do so.

And this brings us back to my thinner with less merit comment. They went from comparing equipment and word play for definitions to shunning shot accuracy techniques. Shame on them!

The last and final point in this series is the "crossbow has rigidly controlled internal ballistics." This is a fact. While the internal ballistics are rigidly controlled there are still obstacles to overcome to be efficient with the crossbow. One such obstacle and probably the most important is the string must me drawn into the exact same position on every pull. Favoring one hand over the other during the draw can have a drastic effect on accuracy down range. This can be the difference between a wound or a kill shot especially in the 30 yard ranges. Most archers using the crossbow overcome this by making index marks on the string. The vertical bow uses small clips or knots to force the nock of the arrow into the same place on the string each time. Here is a sample of three of those devices.

The nocking points on the left are a crimp on style. The illustration in the middle shows a knot type being tied. The loop style on the right is for the purpose of a trigger release. This in conjunction with indexing your thumb on the square part at the back of your jaw when drawing a vertical bow is actually pretty close to what a crossbow does for you by design. But we can agree here that string placement is critical to accuracy for both weapons.

Another issue common to both bows is tilt. The crossbow must be held perfectly level in the horizontal position much like a vertical bow must be held perfectly in the vertical position. There are devices that aid with this problem on vertical bows. Such as sighting systems with built in levels or scopes with built in levels.

This one is actually available with 6x magnification. Pretty cool scope but I don't like the single dot sights.

Many technological advancements are being made for the vertical bows in order to make the internal ballistics more rigid. The addition of stabilizers, high tech mechanical arrow rests, whisker biscuits, peep sights, optics (scope) or advanced sights and trigger releases are all designed for the sole purpose of improving the internal ballistic controls of the vertical bow. A goal that should be strived for by both vertical bow and crossbow manufacturers in order to achieve the most humane harvest possible. That is the most pro inclusive statement that the anti crossbow groups can use and one of my favorite comments. It is because I get to use their tactic in the full inclusion argument. I could spin it 180 degrees back at them with this:

"It could be said that the vertical bows and especially the compound bows of this day and age are too complicated for an individual to use without proper professional training and the completion of an archery proficiency exam. The compound bow is finding it's way into inexperienced hands on a regular basis and the result is unrecovered animals or less than mortal wounds injuring and crippling the deer."

But I would never do such a thing. Let's compare some equipment here. On a crossbow your options for an arrow rest or rail are part of the bow itself. Not much you can do on a crossbow with the rest. What is available to the vertical archer?

Oh my! These 2 rests have snub nose barrel like qualities. I could compare them to this but I wont.

Here are some other mechanical style rests commonly accepted and used

These devices look a lot more high tech than what the option on a crossbow is. It's a long rail with a groove in it.

I have already covered optics and triggers in the Optics and Triggers section. So there is no need to go over that again.

The facts are: Both bows can be shot from a rest. Body bracing and shot bracing should be encouraged. The crossbow does have rigidly controlled internal ballistics. A goal that manufacturers of any weapon should strive for in order to insure a humane harvest.

Part of Buckeye Dan's Survival Guide To Full Inclusion

by Buckeye Dan