I wasn’t sure where to post this. My girl is interested in trying bow and arrow and I am interested in crossbows (my damaged shoulder would never handle bow and arrow!).
Is this a reasonable/related topic that folks on the forum know about? It wouldn’t be for self defense, but more for having fun at the home range.
Thanks all!
I keep seeing videos come up in my YouTube feed about a guy in Germany who invented a repeating crossbow with something like an 8 bolt magazine.
If you get a crossbow, WE WANT PICTURES! And you can get some chain armor and a kettle helmet and LARP and a Rhodok Sharpshooter. 
The Chinese invented one, I believe, well over a millennia ago.
They invented what was basically seven crossbows stacked on top of each other if I remember correctly. I think the German one is supposed to cook itself in between each shot.
“The most common repeating crossbow design originated from the Ming Dynasty and consisted of a top-mounted magazine containing a reservoir of bolts fed the crossbow through gravity”.
Check out the one from COLD STEEL their Cheap Shot 130 Crossbow for $279.99.
I have 2 crossbows and I love them, this would be a good starter bow. 
My crossbow has a crank cocking device that I installed (made by same manufacturer as the crossbow). My fiancée and I also have a compound bow each.
I’d consider some things. If it’s not for hunting or self defense, I would say possibly trying to find a youth compound bow with a light draw weight might be best… I read about your shoulder, and don’t know the condition in detail … I have back problems (neck, lower back, upper back)… I can tell you that I’m not SURE but the crank cocking device STILL requires the same amount of force to crank as it would to pull back but it ratchets so you can pause, and uses a crank instead of having to hold things in a particular place as you pull back. Mine IS a higher FPS crossbow, and so yes, the tension on the string is going to be higher and harder to pull back … may be why, but reloads take me 30-60 seconds.
Is your shoulder condition such that you could not move your shoulder to hold a compound bow correctly with little to no weight load, or is it that it won’t physically go in the right spot at all?
Like everything, check your state and local laws. One state I lived in expressly forbid crossbows, unless you were a disabled bow hunter.
Thanks! It is still America here in NC and it looks like they’re legal 24/7/365. 
This is a perfect topic for this forum @Brad! After seeing the responses I have seen so far it make me want one too!
Thanks for that idea. I’ll have to hit a store (eventually) and try a few out. I have normal strength and mobility in some directions, but the act of wax on, wax off, for instance, can get some a few days of major pain.
Like everything, I won’t likely be using it in many repetitions. Because it would be for enjoyment only, if a youth size fit me, I’d be cool with that!
I’ll check those out!
Research time coming up…
Learning a lot from reading. A lot of comments about pros/cons on each type. All seem to complain about accuracy due to their delicate nature (bumping/dropping negatively affects accuracy) and string breakage. Are these things big problems. i’m not looking for more things to work on…I have enough of those already!
And to add to that (if someone can point me to a few places), like any sport it’ll require a bunch of other stuff. Tips//heads, bolts, wax, targets (those steel ones won’t work!) and any other additional items/expense associated with this?
Crossbow alert!! I put a target on an older outdoor chair… and I missed. Pics taken today, incident last year. Probably 20+ yds away. CHAIR WAS IN THE GRASS AT THE TIME WITH A CLEAR AREA BEHIND IT! Now it’s back to just being a chair.
Just use the basic firearm safety rules when handling a crossbow. Can’t go wrong.
My fiancées family removed the bolt (arrow), I couldn’t easily get it unstuck, they probably cut it. It was well planted in there, probably 10” penetration.
Muzzle and trigger control still super important! I’d say just about all of the basic firearm safety rules apply to crossbows.
Assuming you are still referring to backyard target practice and NOT hunting, …
Crossbow: rail lube, glass optic, bolts (proper size, depends on crossbow), decocker
Compound Bow: hand strap, fiber optic sight, arrows, kisser, stabilizer, peep sight, arrow rest (Whisker Biscuit/drop away arrow rest), archery release (holds string, provides a “trigger” to release)…
BOTH: practice/field tips, targets
Some of these things MIGHT come with a “kit” that you might buy.
If you decide to do hunting, THEN more expensive arrows (probably want to purchase a “set” for practice and a “set” for use that are identical, except with different (but same weight) tips…). And various tips (they make different ones for small game, all kinds of styles of broadheads, etc.).
You’ll want to have your target up higher… the lower you have it, the more likely you’ll completely 100% lose your arrows in the ground. I am pretty sure I buried a handful due to missing and lodging them underground, to never be found ever. If you have to aim higher and miss, you’ll be more likely to find them sticking closer to vertical rather than driving itself just below the surface, almost parallel to it.
Thats a fact! It is amazing how well a low angle shot can bury an arrow. I have lost a few that way myself. It defies belief really.
You can "feel the power’ (to borrow from yamaha motorsports) … shooting a crossbow, … but seeing that chair when it happened kinda scared me a little … if it had been a person, a loved one, an enemy, a pet, … it’d be gone.
@Brad I have a re-curve crossbow and a compound crossbow, the re-curve I paid $139.00 new and I put a tru-glow red dot on it. I shoot a 20 inch arrow at 230fps and have taken 7 deer with it out to 25yds. The arrow is thru them before they can react. When target shooting I have to place separate 2in dots because I have broken to many nocks and ripped vanes off because of tight groups. I have had this bow for 12 years and shot several hundred bolts and haven’t had to replace a string nor have I broken anything. I dropped it out of a tree from 12ft and the red dot was off by a bit otherwise good. I like the re-curve better because it’s lighter, less moving parts and I am a traditionalist. The compounds are generally more powerful, more moving parts and heaver.
If you need rail lube or string wax Chap Stick works just fine. What i’m getting at is don’t spend a bunch of money ($500.00 to $1500.00) until you want to seriously hunt. If you get over 300 to 400 fps it’s a new game with nocks and arrows because of the power.
I have a 25yd range in my back yard with the target sitting on milk crates with a 4x4 ft piece of
heavy belting hanging from the fence to catch any misses.
Any of the bag targets will work just fine for target tips, if you shoot broad heads you will have to get a better dense foam target. Just have fun with it at first. 
I have shoulder issues as well. I’ve discovered that Longbows are easier than the others. With a compound bow you reach a certain point and the pulleys kick in lightening the draw substantially. It’s at that point i have issues with my shoulder as the change in draw weight and inability to slow the remainder of the draw causes a popping and severe pain in my shoulder.
With a longbow you don’t use a release and the finger draw only comes back to the corner of your lip. For me that’s right before I would have issues with my shoulder.
