I've always had an interest in archery but it has never really developed into a serious hobby. I've made a few bows (including a pretty nice longbow) in the past but never managed to get any good at shooting them.
So a while ago I finally bought a crossbow. I didn't want to spend any serious money on a hobby that I might only pursue occasionally but then again, I was determined not to buy some Chinese junk either. In the end, I got a great deal for a second hand but pretty much mint Horton Steelforce with lots of accessories. It's something of a low-end mid-range crossbow from what I hear, far from perfect but also perhaps the cheapest still useable crossbow on the market.
http://www.huntersfriend.com/crossbows/horton-steelforce-crossbow.htmOut of the box, the Steelforce comes with a very plain red dot sight. Range adjustment is done with a special knob, which is basically a device that lets you adjust the elevation in regular increments. Straight forward and it actually works.
I really did not expect much from the Steelforce. After all, it costs something like $150 new, several times less than the higher end models. But it's better made than I expected. It took a little fine tuning to assure that everything is aligned properly and that the string is centered on the stock. As I quickly found out, the trigger pull is pretty hard. Not long or wobbly, but pretty hard for sure. I suspect it might be a problem for somebody with poor finger strength, however working my grip with Captains of Crush turned out to be worth the effort.
With decent arrows (2219 Easton 20") I soon shot tight groups even with the cheapo red dot. I wasn't too satisfied with the sight though. Fairly narrow field of view and I especially disliked the fact that it's useless without batteries. So I did some shopping again, getting a Walther MDC 4x32 mil dot scope (which may also see action on my air gun). It's supposedly a pretty decent inexpensive scope for a crossbow but it won't fit the standard Steelforce. Horton sells a separate Weaver mount rail but it wouldn't work of course because the Walther MDC comes with 11mm prism mounts.
No big deal, I milled my own aluminum rail. After some more fine tuning I'm now able to plant consistent groups up to 20 yards with almost pinpoint precision. I'm confident I could do pretty well to at least 40y, but my home range doesn't permit that yet.
What does that have to do with this board? Well, I've been thinking a bit. Access to firearms is quite restricted where I live but crossbows can be bought without a permit. They're really fun to shoot, especially if you are at least somewhat used to guns/air guns.
Now, the Steelforce is cheap. Even a higher end crossbow wouldn't necessarily cost an arm and a leg. You can learn to shoot it reasonably well in a matter of days. With a 150lb steel bow and a simple, robust design it can take some abuse in the field. With a little effort you can improve its performance quite a bit. Penetration is pretty good, too. Definitely no toy - in fact, I ruined several arrows in the beginning because my target simply wasn't thick enough. At 20y, the arrows with target points actually went through 12" of densely packed cardboard and newspaper and 1" plywood and hit the concrete wall behind with so much force that the shafts shattered on impact. There are more powerful crossbows on the market but I'm pretty sure even the Steelforce could do some serious damage.
I'm no hunter, I don't intend to use a crossbow for any purpose other than target practice and I have no Mad Max TEOTWAWKI survival fantasies. Still, it seems it would be pretty useful for harvesting game from rabbits to deer at ranges up to at least 30y. My whole setup weighs a hair over 6lb (crossbow, scope, sling). Arrows can be reused many times and they don't make much noise. That's not all that bad if a rifle is not available. Sure beats an air gun any time and could be of significant value in an outdoor survival situation IMHO.
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