h a l f b a k e r yBirth of a Notion.
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Compound bows are super nifty. Because of wheels and
mechanisms one not hold the entire force of the bent bow
while the arrow is aimed.
But the compound bow is still drawn back with just the
force of two arms, like some grunting Stone Age chump.
The reason is the necessity to hold the
string once it is
drawn back.
Crossbows have a lock to retain the bent bow in place until
the projectile is fired. Because of this one can draw back
the bow using a belt loop or ones foot placed through a
loop mounted on the crossbow.
The locking compound bow has a thumb switch which locks
the pulleys in place such that the bow cannot be
discharged. One could put both feet inside the string and
so utilize the strongest muscles in the body to pull back
the string, pulling with hands and feet both. It then locks,
you change your grip, get arrow in place, unlock and
shoot.
[link]
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I remember discussing super-heavy draw-weight yew long bows, and one person who had trained themselves to be able to shoot such things explaining that they were no better than a much lighter bow in terms of range, accuracy, etc. Their main improvement was presumably being able to shoot heavier arrows, for armour piercing. And for boasting rights. |
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Nice, you could release the arrow one handed. |
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How about a crossbow which is cocked (or pulled, or whatever it is) by means of a blank cartridge, á la Coffman starter? |
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My experience is all with spear guns, but the policy is the same - you will not get near me with this thing in a loaded condition. |
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Yes, I would like to see a Coffman crossbow. |
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Sounds like you have some harrowing open water stories, [norm]. |
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I was fortunate enough to have a freedive mentor who had already had a hole punched in the deck, and had a " no live guns on the boat " policy. |
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In a testosterone laden sport like spearfishing, you see a variety of cautions and clowns. |
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We had two radios on the boat, ran emergency drills periodically, and when I got my wires crossed and what I thought a day trip turned out to actually be an overnighter, when I didn't come home that night my wife said " I'm not worried, he's with Al ". |
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I run a strict "unload your spearguns" before entering my
boat policy. Some people just don't get it, whinge, or try
to ignore it - they never get invited out again. Same goes
for where their gun is aimed while swimming/snorkelling
about (all speardiving is by breath hold where I live).
Many times I've looked across at some idiot pointing his
speargun in my direction, especially when I've dived down
and am swimming up. |
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As to the idea - you can lock the cams but the tension
won't come out of the limbs - you'll just lose the
compounding effect of the eccentric cams. Ie if you lock
the cams while the bow is drawn - the string will remain
tensioned. What you really need is a secondary string
system from the riser to the cams that can be locked -
kind of like a permanently installed bow press. |
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//It then locks, you change your grip, get arrow in place,
unlock and shoot// ...You should also be aware of just
how dangerous it is to draw a compound bow without an
arrow on the string. They're so highly "strung" that if you
drop the string without an arrow to slow it down, the
bow can (and will) disassemble itself - sometimes
catastrophically. It's called dry-firing, and will void any
warranties, and often results in serious injuries to the
user. Some companies will tell you that they test dry
firing their bows etc etc - but it's extremely dangerous to
draw a compound bow without an arrow. |
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