How to Make a Crossbow: The Classic Crossbow

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1) Our field piece looks and functions like many of the more expensive manufactured crossbows. 2) The front sight is a strap of aluminum fitted with a bead. 3) The steel cocking rod gives the cocking lever a forward mount when the string is being drawn. 4) This prototype has no trigger safety, but one can be added.
1) Our field piece looks and functions like many of the more expensive manufactured crossbows. 2) The front sight is a strap of aluminum fitted with a bead. 3) The steel cocking rod gives the cocking lever a forward mount when the string is being drawn. 4) This prototype has no trigger safety, but one can be added.
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The takedown version is either a pistol or a long arm.
The takedown version is either a pistol or a long arm.

NOTE: Though we did build and test both of our crossbows, the potential for injury from any weapon is enough to compel us to say that whoever decides to make a crossbow does so at his or her own risk.

An archer might consider it kin to a firearm. A shooter, on the other hand, most likely would think it a stock-mounted bow. To the general public, you wouldn’t need a poll to know their feeling: It looks sinister enough to be a lethal weapon!

In short, there’s not much doubt that the modern crossbow suffers an “identity crisis,” but regardless of the mystery that still surrounds this curious hybrid, it’s been gaining in popularity among hunters and targeteers alike. That trend hasn’t gone unnoticed here at MOTHER EARTH NEWS.

With several avid bowhunters on the staff, and a research department eager to take on such an interesting challenge, it wasn’t too difficult to get the ball rolling on a project that we figured might be a first in the field: designing and building a quality crossbow from scratch; testing its range, accuracy, and overall effectiveness; and then comparing its performance to that of traditional recurve and compound bows.

Crossbow Basics

  • Published on Sep 1, 1984
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