The top photo shows an almost complete analogue of our arrow-throwers, if otherwise - "slings" (well, that's how we called them). Here arrows, more precisely, darts in the area of ​​the tip have a hook, which holds the ropes. Once we made them from electrodes with a special cut-hook, but now, as you can see, this is a completely industrial product.

By the way, the upper sample itself is positioned as "Powerful Hunting Tool Sniper Slingshot Folding Catapult Wrist Fishing Broadheads", that is, "A powerful sniper catapult catapult mounted on the wrist" (!) And costs 35.99 USD.

And below is a more sophisticated and somewhere even "tactical" version of such a device. Lots of similar products are sold on Aliexpress or eBay.

In the photo below, we see a slightly different approach, largely borrowed from compound bows. Some of these hunting slingshots are equipped with bow racks, known as "hairy" or whiskers, and bow scopes with multiple "pins" (flies). The tension and retention of the strands, as well as the shot itself, are carried out with the help of.

The author of this creation, called "Falcon Slingbow", Randy Rutlin is far from a teenager. And his weapon is quite mature, the pulling force is 18 kg, or almost 40 pounds. According to the generally accepted classification among bowhunters, this is just the minimum level for hunting bows. Moreover, for individual "amateurs" whom we can hardly imagine, the author produces perfect monsters with an effort of 90 kgf! But even if it comes about pounds, then with such a "slingshot" an enthusiast would quickly find himself in the friendly arms of the respective comrades.

And this is really no joke. The red deer shown in the photo was caught by a bowhunter Sandy Brady from a hunting slingshot “Elite Slingbow” at a distance of just under 15 meters.

Gearhead Archery T15 Pro Bows - Onion Slingshot or Horned Bow?

Anyone who can immediately name the structure depicted in the first photo .. e .. can be immediately awarded the title of archeri-guru of the 3rd rank ahead of schedule. Although fans of compound bows can easily guess about its purpose - by the characteristic loop on the bowstring, and the so-called. "Hairy" shelf "Whisker".

This unusual throwing weapon with the solid name "Gearhead Archery T15 Pro Bows" does have something to do with bows. More precisely, we have before us a kind of centaur, made up of a hunting slingshot "slingbow" and some archery structural elements.

Ordinary "SlingBows" look very much like classic slingshots, except that, due to the serious tension force, there is a wrist rest in the base here. And so the company "Gearhead Archery" from the state of Wisconsin decided to bring the "slingshot" shooting technique as close as possible to the archery, which is much more familiar to bowhunters. The result of research in this direction was the "T15 Pro Bows".

He has both rubber bands and a bowstring with the already mentioned release loop. The base is equipped with STS vibration dampers. Stretch length from 18 to 32 inches, pulling force up to 29 lbs, that is, according to Russian law, the sample fits into the category of throwing weapons. This is already quite a hunting indicator. The manufacturer himself positions "T15" made of aluminum and stainless steel mainly as a bowfishing device - archery hunting for fish:

For what those who wish can purchase a special body kit:

As you can see, this is a fairly simple device, where instead of a spinning reel, an ordinary plastic flask is used for laying the line. By the way, something similar for bowfishing with a crossbow or bow can be built from an ordinary PET bottle, unless the installation itself will have to be done carefully by hand, and not using a mechanism.

The hunting slingshot "Gearhead Archery T15" is available in two versions, the second - "T15 XL" (pictured) - as the name suggests, is even closer in size to compound bows, its height reaches 23 inches instead of 16 for the "T15 Pro" ... It also has a classic 3-pin archery scope in its base.

By the way, since by the way it was necessary, an unusual appearance is inherent in all products of the Gearhead Archery company, which produces a fairly wide range of arrow launchers. The photo shows the T30 CARBON FIBER COMPOUND BOW, a typical representative of the entire model line.

It feels like a former civil engineer is in charge of the developers there - that compound bows, that crossbows are very reminiscent of some kind of truss structures, something like railway bridges. Obviously not elven devices, rather, gnomes could create something like that. Only not Tolkien's, but Cruz's from the cycle "By the Great River", eagerly adopting the achievements of a fragment of technocratic earthly civilization that has fallen into their pristine world.

A few words about bowfishing in Russia

Immediately clarification. In Russia, bowfishing, that is, "hunting" for fish with a bow, as with any throwing weapon, is prohibited. Usually in regional documents it looks like this: "Users of aquatic biological resources are not entitled to harvest (catch) aquatic biological resources using piercing fishing gear, with the exception of amateur and sport fishing, carried out using special pistols and guns (hereinafter referred to as spearfishing)"

As you can see, there are exceptions - these are spearguns and crossbows. And the whole difference lies in the very name of this type: shooting is carried out from an underwater position, that is, no shooter's equipment should be on the surface. And therefore, ordinary bows and crossbows, even purely technically, are not suitable for this, since their elastic elements are not designed to work in a dense environment.

However, if you really get interested in this business, you will be able to find opportunities for legal bowfishing. For example, in private households with artificial breeding fish, mainly carp and cupid... Of the "wild" species, the most common is pike, which, with skill, can be easily discerned under a layer of water.

STS Raptor - Jurassic Bow

This photo is fully consistent with the phrase "Do not believe your eyes!"

Firstly, this is not a virtual prototype of a bow in the "Hi-Tech" style created in a 3D editor, but a real serial product sold and bought for shooting and hunting. Secondly, this is not a bow at all, but the most that neither is a hunting slingshot "slingbow".

Archery-company "STS" (Shoot Tech Systems) generally stands out for the extremely non-standard appearance of its products, in particular, the AR-480 and AR-480 Mark II crossbows. But the point is not in appearance, but, say, in the double bowstring system, which allows you to shoot not only arrows, but also steel balls, already acting as a schnepper. Moreover, a 7-gram projectile develops up to 480 fps, or 146 meters per second. But back to the hero of our story today.

So, his name is " RAPTOR 28”(28 is the distance in inches from the axis to the axis of the blocks, ATA). The prototype, which appeared back in 2009, bore the same name - in the wake of the popularity of the most memorable characters in Jurassic Park. And it was there that the developers first applied the dual string system.

What does it do? Take a look at the photo. The upper bridge between the bowstrings allows the use of classic bow arrows, only with the shank turned 90 degrees. Below there is a "nest" for steel balls, but not simple, but magnetic - it is clear why. The speed indicators in the Schnepper mode are up to 485 fps, depending on the type (and weight) of the projectile, and the 350-grain arrow accelerates to 295 fps, that is, 90 m / s.

By the way, our old friend Jörg Spray, a Bavarian, shot the Raptor through a chronograph and got a real 488 fps, or 149 m / s with a 10 mm ball (weight, alas, was not specified). The 12mm counterpart showed 119 meters per second. To be honest - very, very impressive!

Now comes the fun part. The Raptor does not have traditional elastic arches, that is, flexible shoulders; all the mechanics are based on rubber straps (6 on each shoulder - see the photo), which puts the product in the “slingbow” category. The pulling force is adjustable from 40 to a solid 80 pounds, and its reset is also adjustable at 60-80%.

The disadvantages of such a unique sample stem from the design features. This is immediately noticeable complexity of the knots (photo below), some cumbersomeness, and most importantly - rather rapid wear and the appearance of "fatigue" of rubber strands. Replacing them is not very difficult, they themselves are sold in kits plus the necessary silicone grease.

The manufacturer recommends its product for hunting use - with "small game" balls, that is, small animals and, first of all, birds, but with arrows - for any game, as with ordinary blockers. However, we have not been able to find any descriptions or videos with hunting scenes from the Raptors. Apparently, although it is extremely interesting (though not cheap), it is still more of an entertainment device.

"Hawaiian sling", or Slingshot for the partisan

Remember, in our pink childhood, from a regular thread spool and an elastic band from panties we constructed formidable weapon for throwing pencils? So, without knowing it, the younger generation reproduced the design of the so-called Hawaiian Sling, or Hawaiian slingshot:

Why Hawaiian? - the devil only knows. Perhaps the islanders from time immemorial used just such devices to hunt for one of their main food products - fish. That's just where they got rubber bands before the invention of rubber…. Most likely, primitive in comparison with modern spear guns and crossbows, but quite workable device was popular with numerous tourists.

As you can see, this weapon is specifically for spearfishing. Even in its simplest form, the barrel tube is made of wood to ensure the buoyancy of the instrument.

Entrepreneurs also could not pass by such a tempting opportunity - what kind of amateur performance is this, when everyone on the contrary is able to build such a wonderful device for himself? For free! Here, get a real industrial product.

The photo shows the first version of not just some Hawaiian Sling, but a whole "Guerrilla sling", that is, "Guerrilla slingshot". Oh how! The wooden fin on the body, presumably, just provided at least some buoyancy and served as a convenient handle for carrying or catching floating weapons at depth.

However, the manufacturer - Headhunter Spearfishing Co - was not satisfied with his brainchild, and Guerrilla sling 2.0 was born:

The hull is completely made of Burmese teak, so everything is wonderful with its seaworthiness. Other changes were made to the design, in particular, increasing the range by as much as 33 percent.

Last but not least, the price of the Guerrilla Slingshot 2.0 is $ 200. By the way, the manufacturer produces not only a whole range of ammunition, consumables and accessories, such as harpoons, tips, coils, strands, special gloves, but also T-shirts and caps traditional for such companies with their own symbols.

Here, learn, comrades, how you can literally build a profitable business from scratch. These are not school reels with rubber bands for you (us) ...

P.S. To be honest, we do not quite imagine a partisan hanging around under water and conducting an invisible battle with chubs and pikes. For the purposes of the "people's war" :)) the weapon described in the first two chapters of this article would be much more suitable.

The video below shows training and boar hunting with Randy Rathlin's 'Falcon Slingbow' reviewed today.

Pneumatic Line Throwers

In addition to the semi-toy samples described above, there are very serious products that perform no less serious tasks. These are, first of all, various kinds of line throwers used, for example, when mooring ships or by rescuers (in the photo, the rescue pneumatic line thrower "Owl").

His throwing range is limited by the length of the line - 100 m, no difference, vertically, horizontally or at any angle.

There are more long-range counterparts, for them we are talking about hundreds of meters, for example, like the ISTA-240.

The technique of firing from it is very similar to that for anti-tank grenade launchers.

Hunting pneumatic arrows

Of course, gunsmiths could not pass by the pneumatic principle.

A few years ago, a little excitement was caused by information about the appearance on the market (albeit foreign) of some superweapon - Airrow Stealth Model 8S1P (pictured)

Either a CO2 cylinder or compressed air was used as an energy source. This sub- $ 2,000 sample sent a 16-inch boom 2512 (Easton XX75) at speeds up to 600 fps, or over 180 m / s. Such indicators are unattainable even for modern block crossbows, a kind of "ceiling" for serial models is still 410 fps.

One point was completely unclear - what to do with the plumage? For devices operating at short distances, it is not necessary, but it does not interfere under water at all. But for the declared speeds of the Airrow Stealth, the distances must be hundreds of meters. It has been suggested that some cunning modifications of arrows are used here, which, like cruise missiles, opened the plumage after flying out of the barrel. As it turned out, there was a clue in the barrel - it was no coincidence that the manufacturers asked for such sums for their products, since the design turned out to be very complex.

In fact, in this case, the standard crossbow arrow acted as an over-caliber projectile and with the "heel" removed, turning into an ordinary aluminum tube, it was simply put on a thin inner barrel. Well, the thick outer one served as a kind of curly guide, inside which the feathers of the stabilizers and the blades of the hunting broadheads slid without being damaged.

By by and large, you can't call the "Airrow Stealth" a crossbow either. Yes, the technical solutions used in it are very ingenious, but nevertheless the device itself is nothing more than an air gun (gas-cylinder or pre-pumped), on the basis of which it was created. The manufacturing company, in fact, specializes in the production of air rifles. They are mostly known among hunters, as the model range covers all major calibers, from the classic .177 to the mighty 38.

The same can be said about the new product on the market - from the well-known manufacturer of air rifles and pistols, the Crosman company, which is also produced under the Benjamin brand.

This is a very real hunting machine, giving out a solid 450 fps with a hunting arrow weighing 375 grains, or almost 140 m / s. These indicators are quite enough for this:

Of course it is impressive. And yet the deadly "Pioneer", like the previous model, is also not a crossbow. This is, in fact, the same air rifle with a pre-pumped PCP (see ""), which served as the basis for our hero. Here he is, darling, "Crosman Benjamin Bulldog .357 Realtree-Xtra":

Moreover, the domestic arms company "Dubrava" (formerly "Luftmaster"), known for its PCP rifles "Lesnik" and a novelty of the market, began accepting orders for the "Lesnik" pneumatic arrow launcher "Kashchei".

It is based on the same technical solutions as the "Pioneer", only the price, for obvious reasons, is completely different. By the way, "Kashchei", so as not to conflict with weapons legislation, is certified as "a device for assembly, rescue and reconnaissance work in hard-to-reach places." Well, what a good idea. I'm a little familiar with the developer, I've seen test shots - impressive.

Topical insert. The first shots of "Kashchei" with a chronograph showed the following results: with a heavy 640-grain hunting arrow, the speed was 78 m / s, i.e. "Muzzle energy" of the order of 126 joules. With the 350 grain arrow, standard for many manufacturers of throwing weapons, speed indicators will grow to about 105 meters per second.

And since August 2016, even ordinary serial PCP rifles can also be used to throw heavy hunting crossbow bolts (see "").

On the picture "".

It would seem, what's the difference, what and how the projectile pushes, the main thing is that there was an arrow in its role. But, following this logic, APS (Special Submarine Assault Rifle) can be ranked among crossbows.

Something is clearly not right here ...

Unusual crossbows and bows

So far we lacked the main characteristic of classic arrow throwers - where is the bowstring !? It is she who transfers energy from elastic elements. And it doesn't have to be flexible shoulders. Since ancient times, weapons have been known that used, say, torsion bars.

In this role, rubber, like underwater crossbows, or a spring can also act. But the latter are both conventional twisted and gas, that is, pneumatic.

Spring-block "Cobra"

And such devices do exist. I already mentioned one of them in the article about. This is an ultra-compact spring-type compound bow "Cobra" on the base.

The author is the famous designer of mechanical bows Bogdan. He went to "Cobra" for more than one year, there were also "Phantom", "Rustle", and only God knows the number of intermediate options. The speed indicators of the product reach 85 m / s at the maximum tension force, which can be adjusted from 22 to 27 kgf. For such a tiny little one, this is very, very good.

Bogdan also had a Piranha spring-lever bow (not a blocker) and a Shadow mechanical bow, where rubber bands were used as elastic elements (pictured).

In general, our home-builders have a lot of similar designs, albeit not to such a degree of elaboration. But some go even further.

Unique "Vacuum Crossbow"

In the photo below the vacuum crossbow "Dust" (by the names of the authors). The device is patented, including in Canada.

The principle of operation is no longer based on high pressure, but, on the contrary, on the vacuum of air. That is, the classic "gas spring" is the opposite.

Unfortunately, the authors in the description do not indicate the speed of the arrow among the tactical and technical characteristics, limiting themselves only to the data on the thickness of the punched steel sheets. Judging by them, it is comparable to the average "blockman" with GOST shoulders at 43 kgf (95 lbs). On the personal site in the section "Experimental Crossbows" the authors gave approximately the same values.

In any case, a huge work has been done, the design turned out to be quite complex and truly unique. If we give up problems practical application, then the flight of engineering thought deserves the utmost attention.

Well, very sharp "Praying Mantis"

Talisman Crossbows took a more traditional path. In her products, the nitrogen-filled gas spring works, as it should, for compression, plus - the ability to adjust the "power" has been added.

The founder of the company Phil Abrahams, a mechanical engineer and designer by education and work experience, is also an experienced hunter who prefers precisely crossbows and air rifles. It was a sin not to combine the two approaches! And, it should be noted, it turned out very badly.

Interestingly, the nomenclature includes both block and recursive models. Both go under the general name "Mantis" ("Praying Mantis") - "Compound" and "Recurve". The pulling force is adjustable from 200 pounds for the first and 20 for the second to absolutely monstrous, especially for the block scheme, 300 lbs / 136 kgf! According to official information, the compound is capable of overclocking a 400-grain bolt up to 450 fps at maximum, and in the Elite version generally up to the sky-high 500 (152 m / s)! Moreover, booms weighing from 300 to - don't believe it - 1000 grain, or 65 grams, are allowed for use.

The area of ​​application is appropriate - hunting for deer, elk, bears. The price, the same for block and recursive, is also impressive: $ 2,358.

The handy-big-headed Samodelkin are haunted by the unique designs of antiquity. One of these is the multi-shot arrow launcher with more than two thousand years of Cho-ko-nu history:

By the way, the domestic arms company Dubrava (formerly Luftmaster), known for its Lesnik PCP rifles and the ultra-compact Anchutka, a new product on the market, has begun accepting orders for the Kashchei pneumatic shooter created on the basis of Lesnik.

It is based on the same technical solutions as the "Pioneer", only the price, for obvious reasons, is completely different.

The video of a real hunt with the "Pioneer Airbow" offered below is not Russified, but, in a nutshell, "the machine is good." The rest does not require translation.

As we have seen, the manufacturer initially focused exclusively on heavy duty 50 caliber (12.7 mm) rifles. And now it was the turn of their younger brothers.

So, " Seneca Recluse 500cc Ultimate Hunters Combo"(Pictured) is nothing more than the South Korean" Sam Yang Recluse ".357, that is, in 9 mm caliber. Actually, the contribution of "Air Venturi" was reduced to a complete set of the product with six arrows of its own design "Air Bolt" and a removable shako (quiver) for them. Well, and a quick-detachable muzzle attachment for hunting arrows with broadhead blade tips. Naturally, weapons can be fired both with them and with standard bullets. By the way, in 2018, "Air Venturi" released a 50 caliber double-barreled gun. « » , which is also capable of shooting shot!

The differences between new and old ammunition are immediately apparent. Most likely, the lack of plumage in the 9 mm versions will negatively affect the shooting performance.

So, let's try to summarize.

First - the cons of the "vertical crossbow".

The main thing: this is not a bow, and it will never be able to give a unique archery sensation to the adherents of this wonderful weapon.

Although, for the sake of objectivity, it should be said that just in terms of sensations and aiming technique, the "hybrid" is nevertheless closer to the bow. This means that hunting with him is more interesting and more difficult than with a stop from a massive crossbow equipped with an optical or night sight.

Now the pros.

The main thing: this is not a crossbow, but with five times less weight and half the price tag with tightened "limbs" and a maximum stretch, it will allow you to achieve approximately the same indicators of slaughter.

About complementarity to shooters with physical disabilities and other restrictions was written above. For beginners, the bow-crossbow "centaur" can also become a stepping stone from a child's slingshot to a real block bow, at least it will allow you to quickly master the specifics of its sighting devices. And the guide with the handle can be removed in a couple of minutes, then set your stretch length and, if necessary, loosen the limb bolts of the shoulders - that's it, we again have a legitimate bow "for rest and entertainment."

Crossbow-archer hybrid from the point of view of the law

By the way, with regard to the Law. By all formalities, such, say, a 70-pound "centaur" in the collection will correspond to a crossbow. That is, it is quite possible to fall into the "toy-sports" segment with a force of up to 95 pounds.

In forensic requirements, however, there are other parameters, such as the maximum working stroke of the bowstring, but - and this is especially emphasized - it is the tension force that is decisive. In addition, in terms of guides, shoulder span and other indicators, these secondary requirements, frankly, do not fall into the majority of full-size crossbows that are freely sold in our stores. Well, in the event of an accident or, God forbid, a crime (the same poaching), any device or object in general, from a children's pistol to an ordinary brick, will be recognized as his instrument.

So, be careful and careful.

The photo shows a set "LEADER-4pgl". This "... ch" in its name seems to come from the manufacturing company "Glacier", but any analogue will do, be it the elite "Dan Wesson" or the budget "Borner" and "Smersh". Immediately striking is the undoubted plus of such a weapon - multi-charge. As well as a minus - a tiny dart, which means a small amount of active ingredient. Taking into account the known characteristics of such revolvers, we can say that they are designed for short distances shooting and stray cats and small dogs. However, these animals, no less wild ones, need treatment and evacuation to overexposure points and shelters. And the device itself, if you have shooting skills, will allow you to work in a pack.

Crossbows as Aibolits

Finally, two words (taking into account the specifics of this site) about crossbows.

The “blowpipes” and pneumatic revolvers / pistols have one common drawback - short distances of destruction, the latter also have an extremely insignificant amount of active substance. Air rifles of 4.5 mm caliber are capable of more, but in some cases their capabilities are not enough. Large-caliber pneumatics, like firearms, require a lot of permits and have a lot of restrictions.

But the usual crossbow "for rest and entertainment" with a force of 43 kgf (95 lbs) - it is the most: it is not considered a weapon, the range is not worse than that of spring-piston pneumatics, the mass of the projectile is even greater than that of rifles (see ""). It is no coincidence that the same metal syringes SHL-28 were used with crossbows as for the already mentioned IZH-18M. True, their fastening was made as weak as possible so that the arrow itself fell off in the first seconds and could not injure the animal. A huge advantage is also the practical soundlessness of the shot, which is very important both when used in settlements and during a complete ban on hunting (in the "off-season").

It should be taken into account that the energy of a full-size "blocker", even with legal "childish" shoulders, is too great at short and medium (for arrow throwers) distances, and the arrow can injure the animal. For these purposes, it is better to use ("Cayman", MK-250, "Warrior HL"), e ("Lancelot", "Mongoose", "Matrix") or even ("Jaguar", "Scorpion", MK-200).

In addition, shooting from a crossbow is more difficult than from pneumatics - corrections for a heavy arrow will have to be made almost every five meters of distance. Either vast experience or a laser rangefinder will help here. Moreover, it is not always enough to put a syringe simply into muscle clusters, say, in the croup of an animal; in some cases, the requirements are much more stringent, for example, “in the first third of the neck”.

Another thing is that there are very few crossbowmen in general, their ranks began to grow only in last years... Do not discount the wary attitude of forestry workers and traditional hunters towards them.

So we got to the main topic of the article - the real participation of owners of unlicensed pneumatics and crossbows in operations to immobilize (immobilize) animals.

The practice of using pneumatic and throwing weapons

In large cities, the immobilization of stray animals is carried out by professionals from all sorts of "special vehicles". If a “wandering” bear or elk appears on the avenue, hunters are involved in this business. But they, as a rule, rarely indulge in air rifles and even more so with pistols or crossbows. And all these types of weapons have a sea of ​​their own specifics, very different from a firearm. Besides, you also need to have them. It is no coincidence that in a number of settlements, official documents provide for the involvement of ordinary shooters, athletes, as a rule, "not lower than a master of sports." Tell me, are there many of them in your city or village? And is everyone really so eager to shoot the moose from the "air"? Yes, even on a clearly unhealthy large dog that occupied the courtyard of the kindergarten. Moreover, among the titled shooters, for some reason, the majority are girls. But still…

Among my friends there is one, it seems, and the shooter is excellent, and he does not shy away from flaying and cutting, but as far as hunting itself is concerned - no, no, because the prince!

Even if you don't have a ticket and sporting title, but in the corresponding "get-together" all real shooters and hunters know that in any state from your "toy" you put one hundred percent of bullets or arrows in a 10-centimeter circle at a 50-meter distance. And also you have long been interested in the habits of animals, the types and methods of hunting, you yourself have repeatedly visited it, although they did not take direct part. Consider, the virtual ticket of the "humane hunter" is in your pocket - if something happens, you will be invited, and then, you see, the police will gratefully shake the handle, if you save her from unusual functions.

In any case, a hunter with a gun and a policeman with a submachine gun will certainly stand next to you as insurance. And also a veterinarian. There is no other way. And that's why.

God forbid you from independent experiments with active ingredients. The selection of doses and types of drugs depending on the type and weight of the animal, even on the environment that can cause stress in it, is the prerogative of professionals. Moreover, to euthanize a domestic sow and a wild pig of the same weight, not only different volumes will be needed, but also different compositions in general, these creatures are so different. But you can easily kill, not only by making a mistake with the dosage of absent in open sale composition, but also using some drugs that are freely sold in pharmacies. And if the weapon itself, as well as "naked" syringes and darts, do not require any permission from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, then an attempt to use them in full form outside the official field is a direct path to the dock.

In a similar company - a gamekeeper / game manager and a veterinarian - you will definitely find yourself in hunting grounds... It is also quite possible to get there only on the wave of your authority as a good shooter from exotic pneumatics or a crossbow. In the end, there is someone to take an example from:

In the photo, our VVP has just immobilized a five-year-old tigress in order to put on a GPS collar. Are you worse?

In addition, there is remote vaccination of animals. And here pneumatics with a crossbow is a serious competitor for a firearm. The fact is that the cells of a vaccine strain when fired from a gun often turn out to be unviable - temperature and other overloads are too great. They have known about this for a long time, they invent "special" bullets, but all this is expensive and not available to everyone, and at short distances it is simply traumatic for the patients themselves.

An ever-growing army of owners of unlicensed pneumatics and "entertainment" arrow throwers could well vaccinate thousands of animals. At least young animals, fortunately, he is quite reckless, nothing, unlike adults, is not afraid and is easily substituted for a shot.

Alas, there is no vaccine for ASF (African swine fever) yet. Be it otherwise, this is how a blissful picture is presented: instead of shooting tens of thousands of innocent forest pigs or their total death, thousands of "green" and other animal defenders with "air balloons" and crossbows climb onto self-built towers near self-created feeding grounds - and save the animals ... This, of course, is fantastic. It's a pity.

Topical addition. Attention: the site has published an article "". The title speaks for itself. Read to your health!

Deadly Pneumatics: Animal Slaughter Pistols

And finally, we will touch upon the unappetizing, but - where to go from the realities of life! - the practical scope of application of pneumatics. This time we are not talking about remote, but about contact immobilization.

Most of us love to pamper ourselves with meat, but most of this majority try not to think too much about where it actually comes from, so beautiful and tasty. In reality, few rural residents and hunters have to deal with the process of contact killing of animals, except for workers of meat-packing plants, when they are forced to get a wounded one with a knife. Home or "hunting" slaughtering technology, as a rule, does not imply preliminary stunning. Industrial in this sense is more humane, if you will. Before going under the knife, the animal is immobilized and completely loses its sensitivity as a result of the shock effect on the brain.

The traditional sledgehammer has now survived only for domestic slaughter of livestock, in large enterprises, electric stunning systems are more often used, in medium and small ones - pneumatic or powder.

In the photo below, on the left, the "USSS-2 pneumatic stun gun" does its job without penetrating the skull, which is prevented by a special plate at the end of the impact rod.

However, most of these devices are equipped with a penetrating impact rod, such as the model "USSS-1" (pictured on the right). We can say that the modern incarnation of the "chase", known from ancient times to many peoples, including the Scythians, Slavs, Turks, Chinese ...

Powder analogs are based on the same principle, mobile devices that resemble a baton and do not require a compressor. There are models both for a fairly rare 9-mm caliber, and for the widespread domestic "construction cartridge" 6.8 mm. By the way, there are several types of these ammunition, differing in power, the heads are painted in the following colors: yellow - for pigs, horses, calves, sows and boars; blue - for cows, oxen, bulls; red is for bulls.

Andrey Shalygin: Any person with basic locksmith skills can make such a device. If you want to make a completely factory-made one, then a tight adapter is simply machined between the arrowhead and a pistol cartridge, for example, a standard 9-mm from the PM. The task of such a clutch is to tightly hold the arrowhead and cartridge in front, so there is nothing but two opposite grooves and two outer diameters in it. And in the case of thick crossbow arrows, it is quite possible that even the caliber of the arrow and the cartridge will match. However, if you use imported ammunition, then it can be the same for archery arrows.

The question of the legality and safety of such devices remains open. If in America such a device is completely legal, then in Russia it is definitely illegal if you do not have a license for firearms and ammunition for them, and contradicts the rules for handling them, if you have such a license.

In principle, the use of such technology (with the permission of the so-called great and mighty and common sense, if this technology can be called) is not limited by anything from the point of view of the combat charge of such arrows. If you remember something like the Hollywood Rambo and the Predator, then for sure, the episodes where bows and grenades were used as broadheads will come to life right away.

So, if you want, you can at least a smoke cartridge, at least a signal rocket to strengthen - this is what you want to get out of this as a result, the only question for you is, and how much is it permissible from the point of view of the law. However, this is a behavioral, precedent and regional issue, since nothing will prevent you from using all of this if you are in the United States, Canada, etc., as well as purchasing factory versions of such equipment (which, however, you are able to make yourself ). The accuracy of the equipment of such ammunition borders on shamanism, and the compound on which all this should be kept in readiness (plasticine, var, silicone, etc.) carries a potential security threat.

What can it be used for? It is believed that a crossbow and archery shot does not have such a damaging ability as a firearm. Although, I would definitely say that this is not the case if we are talking about compound bows and normal crossbows. But the phenomenon has two opposite sides of the question:
- With such an adaptation, all the charm of archery and crossbow hunting is lost for me personally.

From the point of view of an arrow at the end - there is logic in such a device, since even after 100 meters such an arrow is lethal as a shot from a firearm at close range (almost like that, because the sleeve will fly back not much slower than a bullet forward).

The issue of safety and feasibility contains a number of negative positions, even if they are made of plastic parts that protect against accidental firing:

The controllability of such a charge is far from perfect, so it is difficult to guarantee that the bullet will hit the right place.
- The flight of an arrow in training is different from the flight of an arrow with such a tip, all the sights will have to be revised.
- The flight path of the arrow itself and the glass on it after the shot is not at all predictable, as well as the safety of such an arrow after the shot is questionable.
- Carrying and storing such ammunition and the arrows equipped with them is an unsafe thing, since even a simple arrow with such a tip in a standard shako is one step to the cross-fire, which will happen as soon as you hit the first barrel with the arrow shank. Therefore, equipping an arrow can only be done right before the shot.

In terms of the ammunition used: The small-barrel is ineffective, the standard submachine gun cartridge is redundant and dangerous for the shooter himself (it can fly back in certain cases), hunting cartridges from smoothbore are too heavy and bulky, but The standard 9 mm PM cartridge is, in principle, logical at ranges over 40 meters, especially for crossbows. I would say that this version has much more positive qualities than the archery one. But I must say right away that such equipment reminds me of a more partisan-sabotage version of a weapon, rather than some kind of hunting device.

When several options for such equipment were presented at the ATA-2013 in America at once, it aroused some interest, but not so much that there was a significant resonance. Yes, this significantly increases the lethality of throwing weapons as such, it definitely immediately puts the pistol cartridge to a new level of striking range (in the case of crossbows - further than 100 meters, which is unattainable from the pistol itself).

However, when is it needed? If you delve into your memory, then almost only when hunting a bear and a large boar from ground level or when the animal is facing you, that is, only when there is a real probability that a shot with an ordinary arrow will not kill the animal, and you will get from the animal "Mama do not cry".

Usually, on such hunts, archers take with them rangers with rifled semi-automatic machines as insurance., who are ready to complete the victorious deed immediately after the beast does not run to bleed into the bushes, but rushes at you to settle accounts with the unlucky hunter.

What is an archer able to counter the undesirable outcome of a fight with a bear or a wild boar on the same horizontal line with the beast (however, the bear will fly up to a tower several meters in a second)? An accurate shot at the kill site, a powerful shot with a long solid arrow into the spine, lungs or nerve center, which will either immobilize the beast at once, or significantly limit its mobility due to the fact that the arrow will bind it like a spit. If this does not happen, then the beast will have at least 30-40 seconds to cover the distance separating it from the shooter before, even with a good hit, it starts to collapse from blood loss. For the beast, this is more than enough to make the outcome sad for the hunter.

Therefore, if you hunt with a bow and crossbow on a horizontal surface for a bear or wild boar, who, before or during the shot, learns about your whereabouts, is facing you, when you cannot shoot with a simple arrow, and there is no safety net in the form of an accompanying person with a firearm, then I would nevertheless speak out for the usefulness of this equipment.

But this is mainly how they get food, and do not enjoy the hunt. As a last resort, they hunt a wolf. American archers often go hunting without an escort, but at the same time, in most cases, they have a Magnum of 45 caliber dangling from their belt, which is impossible for Russia. Therefore, an American on a hunt is always safe from this point of view, which allows them to calmly walk both on the puma and on the grizzly in the most bearish places alone. The Russian archer is protected only if all this happens under cover, or there is a loaded carbine nearby.

Having drawn the bow, the ancient hunter, with all his dexterity, did not always have time to shoot an arrow: for a short moment of preparing the weapon, the fearful beast disappeared from sight. Nobody wants to shoot in the white light. A worthy goal is needed. And when it appears, it's a pity to miss it because you don't have time to bend the bow with a bowstring. Even the strongest hero will not be able to keep him taut for a long time ...

As always, the man was rescued by his ingenuity. An ancient unnamed inventor fixed the bow on a wooden guide, pulled a bowstring along it and secured it with a brace, which can always be moved from the other side, after which, having torn off, the bowstring carries away the arrow laid in front of it in the groove of the bed. Now the hunter held a weapon in his hands, always ready for action. I think that from that time the countdown of accidents began when the owner of a novelty, through negligence, killed not a game or an enemy, but a stranger who accidentally fell into an unkind moment, or even a friend. The new constantly cocked weapon required careful handling.

But it had a huge advantage both in the heat of battle and in a frantic pursuit of the beast. There was no need to pull the stubborn bowstring with an exhausted hand, the lightest effort was enough for a shot. The crossbow began to gain a place of honor among other types of weapons. Over time, on its basis, people will create throwing firearms, and the future will show that it will become the main and practically the only one among hand grenades: no cold grenades, not even hand grenades can truly compete with them. But this is a topic for a separate endless conversation.

The name of the weapon speaks for itself. This two-root word, borrowed by the Russians from the French language in the 8th century, goes back to the Latin arkus - bow and ballista - throwing. Both the first and the second word are well known to us, it is enough to remember the arch and ballistics.

The ancient Greeks knew the crossbow. The Europeans of the Middle Ages got to know him during the time of the Crusades. The Saracens, firing round lead bullets from crossbows, pierced knightly armor from a distance of up to one hundred meters. Even then, the shooters realized that from a weapon that has a box, you can shoot not only with an arrow, but only with its tip, or rather, a ball that will not tumble in flight and therefore deviate from the target. But most of all, short unfeathered and very powerful arrows, the so-called bolts. Their length was no more than 40 centimeters, the forged tip weighed up to 60 grams. This is not a rifle 9 grams. Only a powerful bow could launch such a bolt at a suitable speed. It is not easy to make such a horn, wood, even reinforcing them with tendons, therefore very soon the arcs of crossbow bows became metal. It was possible to bend such a steel "spring" only with the help of special devices: a "goat's leg" - a simple lever system or a rack and pinion gate.

Powerful crossbows were used not only to defeat knights chained in iron. Scandinavian whalers tried to use them against the giants of the animal world. But crossbows were not widely used in the marine industry. More reliable, albeit equally difficult, methods of whale catching with relatively primitive means have been developed.

Crossbow shooting appeared in China no less than a thousand years ago. This weapon was especially widespread among the peoples of the Yun'an and Guangdong provinces living in mountain forests. The crossbow was good in combat and hunting. A hundred meters away one could shoot with a crossbow arrow a muntak (deer), a bear, a wild boar, not to mention smaller animals. At the same time, the weapon did not differ large size: the length of the bowstring is usually from 0.5 to 1 meter, the length of the bamboo arrow is up to 25 centimeters. A recess for an arrow and a "faya" descent device made of bullishness are made in the box.

Until now, crossbow shooting is a favorite sport among young people in these regions. It is interesting that athletes shoot either standing or from their knees, and the target is the point of intersection of two arrows stuck in the ground. Shooting at fried meat slices or tortillas is also practiced. They also become a prize for a well-aimed shooter.

Crossbows are also very popular at the other end of huge Eurasia. In Belgium, rifle brotherhoods of crossbowmen have existed for several centuries. Fans of this sport regularly train and organize competitions.

The crossbow is the progenitor of almost all the basic structural elements of firearms. The guide recess on the stock, where the arrow is placed, has turned into a muzzle, along which a bullet moves with increasing speed, pushed by the powder gases. The pusher, which dropped the bowstring held by the protrusion, turned into a trigger. In both cases, they were triggered by a trigger. Even the front sight first appeared on the crossbow of Italian origin - the balestra. It was a bead on a string stretched between two metal horns.

For its time, the crossbow perfectly hit the target. It would seem that for such merits, this weapon is worthy of greater glory. But the bow is better known to everyone, it is glorified by historians, poets, artists, has entered myths and legends. Yes, and modern sport shooting archery is more widespread than crossbow shooting. True, ancient engravings often depicted warriors and hunters with crossbows. But Pushkin said: "Hear, oh, Helios, ringing with a silver bow." And Gumilyov exclaimed: "From the horn of the turiy is your bow ..."

Of course, the younger and more utilitarian the creation of human hands, the less emotions it evokes in descendants. From a crossbow, although it was expensive, almost a baby could shoot by pulling the bowstring with the collar. And no one but the king himself could bend the bow of Odysseus. The bow was made from the horns of antelope, and an ordinary apprentice forged elastic arcs for a crossbow in a dirty smoky forge. It is clear what will arouse more interest among poets. But still, a modern rocket still excites creative minds with showiness, grandeur, speed, and power. The crossbow, on the other hand, practically did not attract people of art with its merits. But modern gunsmithing engineers have seriously paid attention to him. Maybe some of the complexity of the crossbow mechanism prevented a more interested look at it? But this complexity is relative, and manufacturers, not owners, faced it. At the same time, the Siberian industrialist could install and alert several hundred bows for the season, which in a stationary state represent the same crossbow. One person in such quantities will not repeat a device that is too complex.

Due to the large number of crossbows, the industrialist sometimes forgot where he alerted the automatically operating structure and himself stumbled upon the thread associated with the descent. The arrow intended for the wolf hit the man. To prevent this from happening, experienced hunters tried to ride up to the watchful bow on horseback. In case of a mistake, the horse pulled the thread with its feet, and the arrow flew under its belly.

It is possible that the danger associated with the cocked crossbow caused a somewhat hostile attitude towards it from both the owner and the neighbor, who had to constantly feel a far from ghostly threat. The gun in this sense has become safer, loaded, it is not capable of firing until the trigger is cocked. The bowstring of the crossbow, stretched to a hum, could itself break off the imperfect bolt.

With a crossbow in your hands, you will not feel like the free shooter that the owner of the bow was. He understood that everything depends only on him, and not on a soulless mechanism.

Perhaps this somewhat frightens off modern lovers of imitating ancient hunts from the crossbow, although the current weapon is almost as reliable and safe as guns and carbines. And you can cock the crossbow easily and quickly just before the shot by simply breaking the structure, as is done with smooth-bore rifles.

O. Lvov spoke about modern hunting with a crossbow in a wonderful essay.

“The hunter, dressed in camouflage overalls, froze in the storage shed, raising his formidable weapon to his shoulder in tense anticipation. A white-tailed deer came out to a gap along the path, very carefully moving its thin legs. Every now and then he stopped, wiggling his ears, trying to catch a suspicious sound. The animal managed to take another two or three steps, exposing its side for a shot. The hunter exhaled slowly and pulled the trigger. There was a slight whistle and a vibrating sound. It was on them that the white-tailed deer raised its head. But he did not have time to react to the danger. From strong blow on the shoulder blade, he fell on his front legs. He still managed to get up and had enough strength to leave the clearing into the thicket with several jumps ...

Fred reloaded his Commando, snapping it like a double-barreled gun, pulling on the bowstring, and inserting an aluminum bolt with a powerful, razor-sharp tip into the chute. I checked to see if the telescopic sight had gone astray. Now you can go to finish off the beast. The bloody trail from the severe wound was clearly visible. However, a second shot was not required: a dead beast with magnificent trophy horns lay a hundred yards from the place of defeat. Fred unloaded the crossbow and began skinning the beast.

On the North American continent, bow and crossbow hunting is encouraged by starting earlier and ending later. There, many believe that modern hunting weapons are too perfect, and using them does not leave any chance for the beast to survive. From long-range rifled carbines and automatic shotguns, animals cannot be saved by their inherent caution, nor speed, nor strong bones.

Although the crossbow is not a very rapid-fire weapon, even in comparison with a bow, many of its advantages: range and accuracy of fire, high penetration of the bolt and, most importantly, almost complete silence, have attracted the attention of modern military specialists. They reasonably expect that by using the latest materials and technologies for the manufacture, it is possible to create a weapon that is indispensable in the performance of certain special operations.

Since firearms are almost perfect for throwing bullets, current crossbows are designed exclusively for firing bolts, including feathered ones. Previously, quite often a projectile for a crossbow served as a prototype of a bullet - a lead ball. By the way, the round bullet, although rare, is still used when firing from smooth bore. Have bullet crossbow The projectile was guided by a tube with slots along which the bowstring slid. Such a crossbow was reborn into the first samopal - an arquebus.

Today, almost everyone can buy a bow or crossbow. Moscow is especially different in this regard - any weapons store can offer crossbows or bows for every taste. People give each other gifts - crossbows, bows and accessories to them. In newspapers you can often see an advertisement: "I will buy a bow", "I will buy an arablet", "We sell crossbows." The sale of bows and crossbows has become commonplace - people are increasingly fond of sports and outdoor activities.