How to set fire to a building with a crossbow. How to make a crossbow with your own hands: manufacturing features and recommendations from professionals. Bow crossbow: what, how, how much
What needs to be said in the very first lines of this article: in Russia, the CIS countries and most countries of the world, hunting with a crossbow is illegal, and the crossbows themselves (if their tension exceeds 40 kg) are equated to melee weapons. There is a fine for wearing and using them. Why, then, do I give recommendations for the manufacture of an objectively dangerous thing that can cause problems for readers? Because the ability to hunt using a wide variety of weapons, including homemade and even illegal ones, may one day come in handy for each of us. Few people think about this while store shelves are full of food - but we live in too unstable times to say with full confidence that this will always be the case.
In one of the previous articles, I wrote about hunting: with the help of this seemingly frivolous weapon, it is easy to get small fur-bearing animals, birds and reptiles. From a crossbow, you can shoot medium-sized game. Of course, we are not talking about toys from legal gun stores: you may have seen them on sale - elegant, light and low-powered. A weak crossbow is designed for sports shooting - you should understand how big the difference is between it and a real combat device. That is why the latter is banned. An arrow fired from a powerful combat crossbow pierces a person right through, even if he is wearing a Kevlar body armor.
But until the BP has struck, we are peaceful hunters, and we are not thinking about the use of deadly weapons against people. Why am I writing now about homemade crossbow for hunting? Why not buy ready-made or order from an experienced craftsman? Because legally nothing worthwhile will be sold to you. And it’s better not to buy illegal weapons at all if you don’t want to get in trouble with the law. Yes, having something killer in the bins and being able to use it is useful, but not a single living soul should know that you have it. It is better not to dedicate even friends and relatives to this - not to mention completely strangers like sellers and couriers.
How to make a crossbow at home?
So, how to make a crossbow with your own hands? First of all, decide what power the weapon you need - its design and materials directly depend on this. For hunting ducks and hares, the simplest device with a wooden arc is suitable. On a larger animal, a metal one is already needed. There are also so-called composite arcs, which are a combination of several materials (traditionally - wood, antler, veins, but now different types of plastic are more often used). Their technical characteristics are excellent, but it is almost impossible for a non-professional to make such a detail “on the knee” with high quality. In order to avoid injury among readers, I will not even give a description of the assembly of the composite arc here.
My opinion: it is advisable to use a metal arc. The power reserve will not be superfluous - in addition, the wooden parts fail faster, which is also fraught with injuries for the shooter himself. Since your goal is to make a sufficiently powerful crossbow, look for springs from Soviet cars through friends or in the secondary market for auto parts. Humanity has not yet come up with anything better to use as an arc. But if you still did not manage to get this rarity, take any elastic metal strip 2-3 cm wide and 3-4 mm thick.
The bed is most often made of wood (spruce, aspen), less often of metal. The more powerful the crossbow is planned, the more durable and massive this part should be. Stock designs may differ, but there should be a groove for an arrow on it, as well as a stock and mounts for a trigger, arc and other functional elements.
As a bowstring, an inelastic rope made of synthetic fibers, a steel cable or a guitar string is used. You may be surprised, but it is the first of the three options that demonstrates the best tensile strength. Durable, cheap and affordable - what else do you need? .. And here's what: beeswax impregnation will extend the life of a synthetic bowstring, protecting it from moisture and friction.
The crossbow mechanism, rollers and mounts are the most interesting. “On the knee” it is difficult to make them if you do not have the skills to work with metal. Below I give drawings of a homemade simple crossbow (1) and a powerful combat one (2). All parts that you cannot make yourself, order in the workshop, providing drawings of the parts of interest.
Drawing of a simple crossbow (1) *click to enlarge*
Combat Crossbow Blueprints(2) *click to enlarge* 
How to make arrows for a crossbow?
Bolts - arrows for a crossbow, it's easy to make with your own hands. For these purposes, wood is most often used, less often plastic and metal. Why is a tree better? A wooden bolt has the optimal weight: a light plastic arrow quickly loses speed, and a piece of steel wire is heavy and will not fly far. The shaft should be planed along the fibers for better flexibility, and then dried well. At the end, leave a cut into which the tip will be inserted.
The tip itself must be cut out of a steel sheet (thickness not less than 0.7 mm) with metal scissors and modified with a grindstone - align and sharpen the edge. We insert the tips into the cut, lubricating it with epoxy. You can also wind it with a thread for strength, and apply a layer of epoxy on top.
There are also many options for making bolt plumage, but the best, in my opinion, is bird feathers. Ideally, goose, but they will fit even from the tail of a dove, which is much easier for a city dweller to find - they roll underfoot. We split the feather in two, cut each half in half and glue it to the arrow. For strength we wrap with threads.
Here's what happened in the end:
It is important that all the bolts are the same in weight and length - this will make it easier to shoot your homemade crossbow. And it is necessary to shoot him: the hunt will wait, first you need to master the new weapon well, to feel it. Even if you have experience shooting a crossbow, this one will be a little different, more "yours" - like any thing made by yourself.
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It turned out quite powerful, as for training shooting. It uses double shoulders, which increases the rigidity of the bow and allows you to throw wooden arrows at high speed. The author uses self-tapping screws as an arrowhead, but you can show your imagination and come up with something more interesting.
Materials and tools used
List of materials:
- timber;
- PVC pipe;
- two self-tapping screws;
- strong rope;
- wooden rods for arrows;
- adhesive tape (for plumage).
List of tools:
- hacksaw or pendulum saw;
- jigsaw;
- belt sander;
- drill;
- marker;
- roulette;
- screwdriver;
- building hair dryer;
- vice;
- oil for wood processing;
- paint for painting onions (optional).
The process of making a crossbow:
Step one. Cut out blanks
First of all, we will cut the wooden beam, it will be used to make the base. We also need to cut the pipe. You should have two pieces, a long one and a short one. See the photo for dimensions.
Step two. We make a bed
We make a bed from a wooden beam. First of all, we will make the necessary markup using a marker. Well, then we cut out the extra parts using a jigsaw, an electric jigsaw will do an excellent job with this task.
Step three. Let's make a bow
Our bow consists of two parts, which increases its rigidity. Everything is made of PVC pipes that need to be made flat. To do this, we need a vise with a wooden insert so that there are no prints on the pipes. We heat the pipe with a building hair dryer until it becomes soft, and then squeeze it in a vise. Step by step we heat the sections and compress. At the end, we form the desired bow profile.
Step four. Bow mount
To attach the bow, we are looking for its center, and then we drill two holes, like the author. For fastening we use two self-tapping screws, as well as washers. But do not fasten the bow tightly yet, it still needs to be finalized.
Step five. We finalize the bow
The essence of the refinement is to make grooves at the ends of the shoulders, to which it will be possible to tie a bowstring. We make the markup and cut out the extra parts with the help of a jigsaw. As for the short shoulder, then grooves must be made at the ends so that the bowstring does not fly off.
Step six. Setting the bowstring
As a bowstring we use a strong synthetic rope. We cut off two pieces of the desired length and melt the ends with a lighter. Well, then we tie the main bowstring to the ends of the shoulder with a little tension. As for the extra shoulder, you will need another rope to use it. How everything is connected, you can see in the photo.
Step seven. Arrangement of the trigger mechanism
The trigger mechanism is of the trigger type. It consists of two parts, one is a trigger, and the second is a part with teeth, one of which holds the bowstring, and the other rests on the trigger. These parts can be cut out of plywood using a jigsaw.
Step eight. Arrow making
We make arrows from wooden rods. To stabilize the flight, make plumage for them, the author used adhesive tape for this. Well, at the end of the arrow you need to install some kind of weight, the author wrapped a self-tapping screw there. If desired, you can cut off the head and sharpen the rod.
Step nine. Tests
You can test the crossbow! The author showed excellent results. Pretty good power for such a small crossbow is perfectly combined with high accuracy.
A hunting crossbow is a fairly effective weapon, which, if necessary, can serve as a worthy replacement for a rifle. The main advantage of the weapon is the noiselessness of firing. Therefore, during its use it is quite difficult to scare the beast.
Design features
What is a hunting crossbow made of? The photos presented in this material allow you to see that the following components can be distinguished in it:
- The body is the main power unit, which bears the load when lowering the bowstring. Serves as the basis for the installation of functional parts.
- Blocks - part of the design for installing bowstring tension arcs.
- stock - a part of a crossbow that is used to place an arrow.
- A bowstring is a functional part that serves to set the used projectiles in motion.
- Shoulders - an elastic structural element that gives off energy when the bowstring is pulled.
- The stirrup is a part that facilitates loading the crossbow.
- The trigger mechanism is a device due to which the lock opens and the bowstring is released when fired.
- Sight - mounted on a crossbow to facilitate targeting.
Hunting crossbow with wooden shoulders
It is the simplest design. As follows from the definition, the shoulders here are made of wood. Such a crossbow cannot be called a model of reliability. Products in this category are frankly short-lived and therefore are not in very high demand. Most often, such a hunting crossbow is used as a collectible, decorative weapon.
Crossbow with arcs of metal
An extremely common option. Hunters pay attention to such crossbows, as they demonstrate high power when fired. Hunting bows and crossbows with metal arcs are suitable not only for training, but also for use in the field when tracking down prey. For manufacturing, both solid arcs and composite structures are used, which are assembled from several symmetrical parts.
Recurve crossbow
Classic version with curved shoulders. Such a hunting crossbow is an extremely easy to use and easy-to-use device. It has small dimensions and improved characteristics. Easily disassembled and transported.
Recurve crossbows contain reinforced shoulders, the tension force of which can reach about 50 kg. This, in turn, opens up the possibility for hunting small and large animals.
Block crossbow
The design includes a whole system of eccentrics, thanks to which the process of loading the weapon is facilitated and the arrow is accelerated. Compared to recursive models, a block hunting crossbow is more compact. The power figures here are also on top.
Insignificant dimensions are ensured by the installation of short arcs. The application of this solution contributes to the easy overcoming of the areas covered with thickets and shrubs by the owner of the weapon.
The characteristics of the block-type hunting crossbow provide a simple cocking of the bowstring and a slight return, which is achieved due to the rational distribution of the force vector.
type
- due to the reduced dimensions, they are an extremely convenient weapon for transportation;
- have high power and allow you to hit targets both at medium and long distances;
- they have less lethal force compared to block systems, but they throw arrows at a higher speed;
- in addition to arrows, they can fire darts, harpoons, metal balls.
sights
The main feature of shooting from a crossbow is a significant shift in the aiming line. In other words, after the shot is fired, the fired projectile begins to gravitate towards the ground rather quickly. Therefore, it is advisable to install optics with a special crossbow net on such weapons. For effective aiming at the target, it is enough to equip crossbows with optical sights with a 4x zoom.
Some hunters prefer collimator systems, which also prove to be quite effective. Moreover, this option makes it possible to hunt both in the daytime and in the evening. Collimator sights are extremely convenient to use when pointing at moving targets.
Do-it-yourself hunting crossbow
Having decided on the necessary parameters and characteristics of the future weapon, it is worth moving on to the development of the appropriate drawing. As a sample, you can use a ready-made scheme or draw up the latter yourself. Be that as it may, a do-it-yourself made hunting crossbow will eventually have to be customized.
In the course of preparing the drawing, it is worth focusing not only on personal wishes, but also take into account the availability of the necessary materials, proceed from their cost, and the complexity of processing.
How to make a hunting crossbow with your own hands? Usually, to begin with, a bed is prepared, on which the shoulders, stirrup, guide, and trigger are subsequently attached. Arcs are a difficult element for self-manufacturing. Therefore, in some cases it is better to purchase them ready-made.
They will help to make hunting drawings, examples of which are shown in the photos below.
Frame
The base on which the bed and shoulders of the product are fixed is the body. It is desirable to cut it out of a metal blank with a thickness of about 2.5-3 mm.
In the central part of the body and at the end, the crossbow bed is fixed with bolts. The use of such a solution contributes to the rapid assembly of weapons for bringing into combat condition and disassembly during transportation.
A stirrup is welded to the body in the lower part. The latter makes it possible to hold the crossbow with the foot when the bowstring is pulled. It is recommended to use a wire with a diameter of 6 to 8 mm as a material for the manufacture of the stirrup.
Shoulders
The material for the manufacture of a structural element can be an automobile spring. In such metal shoulders, semicircular recesses are made for bolts, with the help of which the part will be screwed to the body.
A common opinion is that the use of metal springs as the basis for the manufacture of shoulders is a rather dangerous decision. And in fact, when using a homemade crossbow in conditions of low ambient temperature, the likelihood of part breakage increases, especially at the attachment points. Such cases are accompanied by the ejection of small fragments. Therefore, you should use the idea at your own peril and risk.
Blocks
Ready-made drawings of a hunting crossbow often provide for the presence of block devices. The latter facilitate tension and give an advantage in strength. It is easier to bring such a crossbow into a combat state than with a simple connection of the ends of the bowstring with the ends of the shoulders. Moreover, during the descent, the starting speed of the arrow increases, which is reflected in the increase in the range of the weapon. The main disadvantage of installing a block system is the complexity of manufacturing and an increase in the total weight of the crossbow.
bowstring
As a bowstring, you can use a metal cable with a diameter of about 2-3 mm. A thicker bowstring will be more difficult to fix on a weapon, and a thin one will stretch as the product is used.
To fix the bowstring at the ends of the shoulders, it is enough to make a regular loop. Under the cable mounts, it is better to place pieces of leather or any other dense material in advance. This solution avoids chafing of the bowstring in contact with metal shoulders.
Lodge
For the manufacture of the part, an easily workable wooden blank in the form of a board with a thickness of about 30 mm can be used. It is worth noting that, despite the high strength indicators, oak is not very suitable for these purposes due to its significant weight. As for spruce and pine, the latter are not sufficiently resistant to mechanical damage and warp on contact with moisture. Therefore, the type of wood should be selected depending on the goals and conditions for the future operation of the crossbow.
How to make a hunting crossbow truly practical? Particular attention in the manufacture should be paid to the guide in the form of a groove for the arrow, which must be tried to be made as even, smooth and polished as possible. The state of the groove is largely reflected in the accuracy of shooting. It is desirable that the width of the bed is equal to the diameter of the arrows used. You can cut it with a circular saw.
It is rational to use a spring as a means to hold the arrow, which will press the projectile to the stock and will not allow the latter to slip out of the groove before the shot is fired.
Trigger mechanism
Sheet iron will serve as the material for the manufacture of the part. It is desirable that its thickness is at least 6-7 mm. The drawing of the mechanism is presented in the following diagram:
All parts are placed directly in the box. A special nest is cut out here, through holes are made under the axis of the mechanism, on which the elements of the descent are subsequently installed. An example of setting the descent is shown in the figure below.
Aiming optics
As a crossbow sight, you can use factory optics from firearms. A fairly practical solution is the use of a front sight and a rear sight. With the help of the latter, vertical corrections can be made. Horizontal adjustments are conveniently made using the front sight fixed at the intersection of the shoulders and stock.
To ensure the convenience of transporting a crossbow, it is worth making the sighting device removable. To do this, you can install the so-called Picatinny rail on the weapon, which makes it possible to mount individual factory-assembled sights.
Finally
The hand-made manufacture and operation of a hunting crossbow is a rather radical solution. Often, in the absence of experience in this kind of activity, the quality and reliability of a home-made device leaves much to be desired. In reality, even factory-made budget category crossbows, the cost of which is about 3000-4000 rubles, turn out to be much more efficient, convenient and practical compared to the creations of their own hands.
As you can see, it is quite possible to make a hunting crossbow. However, when purchasing a weapon in a specialized store, the user receives guarantees of its safety and assembly reliability. When operating a homemade crossbow, you can only rely on yourself.
This article will be devoted to such throwing weapons as a homemade crossbow. From the following lines, you will not learn how to make a crossbow yourself, but you will get information about what homemade crossbows are and how well they shoot. Also within the framework of this article we will touch on the issue of the legality and expediency of such a hobby.
The material will be critical and we will try to dissuade you from such a dubious undertaking as making a crossbow at home. Let's get started, I hope you enjoy it.
Archery market in Russia is growing year by year. More and more fans of silent and accurate shooting appear in the country, and what could be better suited for this activity than a crossbow? Perhaps a compound bow, but to accurately shoot a bow, skill and some experience are needed.
With a crossbow, everything is somewhat simpler. The form factor of a rifle with a shoulder rest, the ability to install optics or a collimator make shooting from this type of weapon more familiar, and, therefore, more popular among consumers.
There are not many brands in the world that produce high-quality and reliable crossbows. You can count about a dozen companies, and almost all of these manufacturers are represented on our website. But in general, manufacturers satisfy the demand of almost all categories of consumers. The price of a crossbow starts from 5000 rubles, the question is natural - to whom and why in such a situation to make a crossbow on their own, if you can just buy it in a store.
As a rule, very young people under 20 years of age, or experienced men who are fond of designing, and very often designing everything, are engaged in this kind of crafts. Very rarely, almost never, a homemade crossbow is started by a person who is sorry for the money to buy.
In fact, despite the deceptive simplicity of design, making a crossbow on your own is not as easy as it seems. Most often, homemade crossbows are made from bows, or spring-like steel plates with blocks. As a bowstring "Kulibin" uses a metal cable. Such bulky things shoot badly, weigh a lot, and hit crookedly.
If we talk about blocks for a homemade crossbow, then, as a rule, they are either machined on their own, or, in some cases, they use aluminum coils from old tape recorders. The wear of such eccentrics is extremely high and they fly even from an ordinary shot, not to mention a blank
The bed of a homemade crossbow can be either steel or wood. It all depends on the imagination of a particular "Kulibin". As a descent, there are mechanisms from old guns, or everything is made independently on milling machines. Popular among homemade and such a game as making a block crossbow from a recursive one.
As a spoonful of honey, let's say that sometimes very spectacular gizmos are obtained, of impressive size and impressive power. The main problem of homemade crossbows is the accuracy of hits, which cannot be compared with branded models. On various forums, you can see photos of homemade crossbows with a brief description of the technical characteristics. And among the mass of slag, you can find models with a tension force of 40 kg. and a range of about 100 meters. But here's the catch - homemade crossbows, as a rule, have no ballistics, and getting somewhere even from 50 meters, not to mention 100, is almost impossible.
For you to understand, before being put into production, branded models are carefully tested and shot at targets of various types, and all detected shortcomings are corrected. Then, already modernized and devoid of flaws from the last test, the crossbow is tested again. And so on, until the declared range and aiming accuracy are reached. Is it necessary to say that in the case of "home-made" all this is not?
Another disadvantage is the legality of such a hobby. If you go too far with increased tension, you can get an impressive administrative fine, provided that the police find the product in your possession. However, the police will be obliged to seize such a thing from you, even if the tension increase does not exceed 40 kg, because you will not have certificates for the product.
If you want to make a crossbow yourself, we strongly recommend that you think carefully before you get started. This activity, although interesting, is labor-intensive, and the result is completely unpredictable. At the exit, you can get either a deadly bazooka or a zilch.
At the same time, remember that it is difficult to call this activity legal. In the best case, the product will be confiscated from you, in the worst case, you will also pay for it. This opinion is a purely personal point of view of the author of the article and may not coincide with yours. In our opinion, it is much easier, smarter and more convenient to buy a crossbow in an online store.
In this case, you will receive a guaranteed result, the declared technical characteristics and a full package of documents, including certificates, that this product is not a weapon.
The crossbow trigger mechanism is one of the most important components of this melee throwing weapon. To make the trigger yourself, you must have a complete understanding of its structure. In addition, you need to be able to use various tools and equipment. Know turning and plumbing, at least at the student level. In other cases, if you have no idea what a lathe is, you can simply order the necessary parts from professionals. We will start making a crossbow trigger with the simplest entry-level drawings.
With the independent manufacture of any complex mechanism, you need to act on the principle - the simpler the better. Because the more parts there are in the mechanism, the more accurate their fitting to each other should be, otherwise frequent breakdowns are possible. Therefore, do not chase the factory drawings of modern crossbows. At home, making them is often technically difficult.
The simplest descent mechanism used by the warriors of ancient Rus' of the eighth century is shown in the figure below.
All parts can be made of wood, they do not require special technical knowledge. The principle of operation of the mechanism is as follows: a wooden lever, which is fixed on the crossbow bed with the help of an axis, pushes up a special pin. This pin pulls the bowstring off the ledges, and the arrow goes into flight. True, this descent mechanism is suitable for crossbows with a small tension force of the shoulders (arc).
I think that comments on such simple devices are unnecessary, everything is clear without words. It is recommended to make such crossbow trigger mechanisms for home-made people who do not have access to turning equipment, or simply who want to reconstruct old crossbows.
Now let's touch on more complex drawings of triggers. But their manufacture already requires turning and locksmith skills.
Here is a drawing of one of the less complex escapement mechanisms.
To make it, you need only two main parts, which you can do quite independently. This drawing shows the detailed dimensions of the crossbow trigger.
If such drawings seem like babbling to someone, due to their technical savvy, then let them pay attention to the following drawings. They are sized in inches.
And one more option
There are quite a few drawings of various descent mechanisms. And it makes no sense to give them all, but, perhaps, for comparison, I will lay out one more option. This drawing is a more modern and professional trigger. There are no dimensions for this drawing, and it is unlikely that anyone will want to bother with such complex technical bells and whistles.
For our purposes, and the goal is to produce a crossbow with a reliable trigger, the following design may well be suitable. This design of the trigger mechanism has the original name - walnut. Its principle of operation is also quite simple. The shooter presses the lever, which has two shoulders, the nut is released, turning around its axis, and lowers the bowstring. When cocked, the lever rests against a special protrusion of the nut, preventing it from turning arbitrarily.
These drawings are also pretty self-explanatory. The only drawback is that there are no detailed dimensions of each part, but here you can include your own thinking. A competent turner will easily turn these details, focusing only on the drawings and dimensions of the stock of the crossbow being made.
In addition to a strong arc with excellent tension, a reliable trigger, a comfortable stock, making a good crossbow also requires a cocking system. Its various options, we will analyze in the next article.
