[wb_hunter]

It looks fun, it’s the only thing I don’t like about it is the videos I’ve seen of it the small proprietary bolts seem to break relatively easily.

As I see it, they are standard bolts (perhaps vertical-bow diameters), only shorter, and two-fletched.
I don't own one either, but I've seen the slingshot channel videos.

 

[wb_hunter]

Tried to buy one from Germany or Austria or wherever it was, they would not ship to Canada ...

Most probably an import/export issue.
I had occasionally ordered microchips stuff from the US, and had to answer intimidating questions about it's use. And sign a declaration to not ever use it in a military context. Plus a hefty customs fee and transportation costs.
So, I can easily understand smaller European companies not wanting to go through that hassle.

As far as the technical details, this thing is basically a modified EK Archery Cobra xbow. Not the first choice for the hunting-oriented US customers.

That dealer (a favourite of mine for vertical bows) has the base model:
https://www.bogentandler.at/en/ek-archery-cobra-system-r9-pistol-crossbow-deluxe-package-6103
You could try to contact them, but I don't want to raise hopes ..

 

[wb_hunter]

...for the children to play with...

I think this is the purpose it is good for - if the kids can pull the 90lbs. Or was it 120 ???
It's not quite an option for hunting anything beyond rabbits, and hardly useful for self-defence.
I had seen advertisements claiming the latter ...

And as a tip, I'm pretty sure the bolt/arrow diameter are nothing special. You could make them yourself, from commercial carbon shafts and inserts/tip/nocks. The two-fletch is not a problem.
I recently did the same for modified xbow, I only had to work on the nocks.

 

[wb_hunter]

I have seen the "normal", non-repititive Cobra is available in North America through Coldsteel, especially as "Coldsteel Cheap Shot". Albeit I don't understand this name (or better, the motivation behind it).
And I can only see the 130lbs variant (available in Europe as RX), in that greenish color.
I have a R9 base model with 90lbs, coming only in black.

 

[wb_hunter]

I wouldn't hold my breath for higher draw weights.
The 90 lbs Cobra (which is the same platform) gives you a KE of about 19,5 ft-lbf, with 130 or 150 lbs you get proportionally more. Still not enough to hunt larger game. It is still a "large xbow pistol", with only 7,5" draw length / power stroke.
IMHO it just was not designed with hunting in mind.

 

[wb_hunter]

I'm not really much of a hunter,...

You aren't located in the UK, are you ? The nick would suggest so ...
Anyway, still not sure. The trigger and lever mechanism were designed for the 90/110lbs Cobra base, not sure how far one could wind up poundage before breakages become statistically relevant.
There are videos of guys shooting 40 to 50m, with group sizes I can easily beat with my vertical compound bow every day. One problem, I think, is the relatively low velocity (240fps for the 90 lbs model with 305gn bolts), which means more drop over distance. And the available scopes and sights can only deal with a limited hight adjustment range.
But you could try lighter bolts/arrows. The "proprietary" one's it comes with use the ubiquitary 6.2 mm ID shafts.You can get inserts and fletchings for cheap, and either order replacement Cobra/Adder nocks, or saw off and file cheap standard nocks (as I did).

I think you probably could hunt deer with it using broadheads if you wanted to though.

This is just one half of the truth. With the limited KE of the xbow, you might need to rely on a perfect (lucky) shot.
The other half are the regulations of your country, that use to define minimal requirements for the KE the weapon delivers, for vertical bows mostly defined in a simplified way as draw weight.
The 130 lbs Adder would deliver approximately 28 ft-lbf - about half the KE the average vertical hunting compound bow gives you.

I think with a 150lb draw weight and having a total length of 32" would safely put this in the realms of a carbine crossbow rather than pistol haha

The base model comes without a buttstock, and is a bit shorter in this state.
Your Adder buttstock is removable as well. Try shooting without ...

 

[wb_hunter]

As said, I guessed by the nick. Tesco is big only in the UK ...
And hunting - this is basically illegal here in Austria as well. But besides a hobby, xbows and vertical bows are also a SHTF "insurance", at least for me. So, if we talking about European deer, the Adder is probably o.k. for roe deer. But moose (Scandinavia) or elk / red deer (cervus elaphus) are a different matter. I would rather choose a simple and robust 150 lbs recurve xbow with 12+ inches of power stroke, giving you about 12 / 7,5 = 1,6 times the KE for the same draw weight. The fast cocking / fast shooting feature is useless in this situation anyway ...

I think the bigger problem is that it uses dual vane instead of triple which probably limits the accuracy a bit.

One of the reasons I call the Cobra / Adder a large xbo pistol.

Not sure why you'd ever remove the buttstock though!

The Cobra (basic package) I ordered came without, so I tried. The top-heaviness and required trigger force makes it difficult to hit a apple-sized target at 10 yds. So yes, the buttstock is basically a must ...

 

[wb_hunter]

You could judge by the KE.

 

[wb_hunter]

In spite of the warranty warnings I started to make my own bolts almost right away. First, just replaced the damaged vanes (2" Boehning Blazers are perfect imo), then bought and modified a dozen orange variants from Amazon.

As did I.
The factory bolts/arrows have the 0.245" ID of the carbon arrow shafts which are standard for vertical bows, with plenty of inexpensive components (inserts, tips, vanes, nocks). And that's what I used.
Just the standard nocks need a little rework.
And, as mentioned, I shoot the plain "Cobra". The Adder update costs far more than it's worth to me.

 

[wb_hunter]

FYI - found an ad for the next Cobra version, this time a compound one, with 300fps:

Anyone heard of it yet ?
Some shops around here (Europe) have it on their website, with a "coming someday soon" remark.
BTW, there are two identical versions of that ad video, one from EK and one from Poe Lang...

 

[wb_hunter]

If you still have doubt search the net for the Coldsteel Cheapshot... plenty of those for sell on Canadian online stores... if the Coldsteel is legal the Cobra is definetly and 100% legal in Canada.

If I am not mistaken, the Coldsteel Cheapshot is in fact a Cobra - only with a different branding, different color, and 130# limbs. "EK Archery" is just a brand as well, mainly in use here in Europe.
In fact, both are manufactured by PoeLang in Taiwan.
I bought a Cobra last year, and made it into a "Cheapshot" with available upgrades - the 130# limb and the buttstock.
Not the "Adder", though. This is just an (relatively expensive) upgrade of a Cobra for faster shooting I do not need.

 

[wb_hunter]

The coldsteel cheapshot is similar, but not the same. There is no magazine and there are extra parts required to fit the magazine.

I think you are mixing up a few things.
I was not talking about the "Adder" in my post. Nor did Lwee ask about it specifically.
The EK Cobra is no "Adder", and certainly has no magazine.

 

[wb_hunter]

...and what I mentionned about customs agents interpreting or literally disregarding the actual laws is not an urban legend either. ...

Ah, I understand.
This seems a different problem alltogether ...

Democracy, am I right?

You just need to believe the government (and it's custom agents) do your bidding because you elected them - than it's democracy ...
I think I don't need to mark this as sarcasm

 

[wb_hunter]

Finally got a chrono yesterday, and testing the speed of my Cobra was one of the first items on my list.
With my selfmade bolts (about 223...225 grain), I measured 233fps. Which gives me about 26.5 ft-lbf.
One measured with 240fps, but it turned out to be only 205 grain. With the same length, nock and tip, the difference is the shaft. I used all kind of spent vertical bow arrow shafts for this bolts, and this was a lighter one ...

 

[wb_hunter]

I haven't seen an elephant or rhino here lately, and for squirrels and rabbits this gun seems a bit overkill.
But who knows, there is that climate change - either those elephants, or polar bears ...

 

[wb_hunter]

ive seen mosquitos double or triple they size in last few decades...

Move further south ...
Honestly, some here around at swampy places, but nothing compared to the African jungle or the Russian and Finnish tundra.

 

[wb_hunter]

Not new, but this thread seems most appropriate ...
Visiting my parents with their huge backyard over Christmas, I was able to shoot some of my crossbows again without neighbours raising their eyebrows.
One thing I did was testing the Cobra for distance. Using my self-made bolts (about 245gn), I get speeds in the low 200's, which usually results in distances of 250...300 yard.
Shooting 4 bolts at about 45° angle (instinctive, not measured) I got distances between 265m and 285m, translating to roughly 300 yard. Not really unexpected.
The shot distances were measured with a rangefinder.
What surprised me was the stable flight, despite of some stronger gusts of wind.
When doing the same with a vertical bow, there is usually quite some wobble over the first 50 yards.

I also tried the "integrated" iron sight over larger distances, which is 10 ... 20 yards for this crossbow.
The results were mixed, though.
Not that I am unable to shoot with an iron sight, but the Cobra one is a bit problematic - especially the part functioning as "bead".
Here a photo:

The "red dot" functioning as bead is translucent plastic, in a rather fat frontal bar.
Actually there are three in horizontal alignment, but I covered the outer one's with a black sharpie.
But still, with what should I align the notch here ?!?
Results are usually quite consistent, but too high.

For comparison the iron sight I have installed on my Sanlida crossbow, which gives much more consistent results.

The "bead" is part of the sight this crossbow came shipped with.
At least up to 20 yards, accuracy is as good as with a scope.