As long as your pellets don't ricochet out of your boundary you are doing nothing wrong. Tell him to go and stick his head up his ass and leave you alone.
THE VOICES MADE ME DO IT
Why don't you invite him round to have a few shots with you ? He might end up as your shooting buddy.
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Simple, he's a nob
"Not a crossbow, a proper bow"....good old bow snobbery in full effect as usual.....
Crossbows are still used by many armies across the world for various reasons, I don't get why archers are so down on them. I've got an Armex Titan(200lb draw, claimed 380fps) and use it safely in my garden using a Third Hand Rag Bag as a target. I'd argue crossbows are more safe than the average PROPER bow....my neighbour has a recurve bow and has done archery for years, he can't hit 2" groupings at 40yards. I can....
(Ah, that's why archers are probably down on them...I can consistently achieve the same results with a £245 kit that an archer would need to spend a grand on, like a Hoyt?)
Anyway, I digress....As long as you both have effective and sensible backstops and don't go out firing/shooting when under the influence of anything then you should both be ok?
If he has a high powered crossbow, look at what he's aiming at and it it isn't capable of stopping the arrows(they're not technically bolts unless they have no fletchings/vanes), point it out to him and if he gets his back up and won't see sense then maybe give the plod a phone.....they may be able to "advise" what he needs...
Regardless of our choice(s) of bow/rifle, responsible usage is the most important thing....
Not snobbery dude, sorry if it came across that way.
Using a bow properly takes skill, strength, patience and practice, using a crossbow properly can be picked up in no time. When it comes to safety, a proper bow cannot be discharged negligently and you cannot walk around with it at full draw.
As for accuracy, most accomplished archers I know can put in a sub 2" group in at 40 yards with no trouble with a recurve or compound, to be fair 40 yards is very close for most archers, I would be using 3 spot targets at anything less to avoid damaging my arrows.
I own a couple of Hoyts (Rampage XT and an Eclipse), however I also shoot a Samick SHB and a Bear Charge, both come in at under £245. I'm certainy not a snob with my archery kit, a crossbow however is a far inferior machine, finite accuracy, never as powerful or as efficient and far less skill required.
EDIT : Good call on the Bolts, most people still call them this but Bolts and Quarrels are almost unobtainable nowadays, I have certainly only ever seen short arrows sold as "bolts".
Last edited by blooregard; 31-12-2012 at 02:48 PM.
Great Deals with : Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
Nope PCP and springers are firearms, bows ain't
Anyway bows vs crossbows
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HagCuGXJgUs
Firstly yes a Crossbow is a bow, just of a different form, I'd suggest a crossbow is best compared to a rifle whereas a bow that requires lifting, drawing and holding is akin to a pistol. Both very good in their own terms and both very capable of killing in the wrong or right hands. Unfortunately though anyone who can hold and pull a trigger can hit most things with a crossbow, hence young ignorant scrots use them to shot cats etc
On grouping, I'd also say a 2" group at 40yds is what a beginner should aim to do, on national squad we used to have to shoot 3 shots at 50m and try not damage arrows, at 30m we went to 3 spot faces when possible again to save damage, this was with both recurve and compound using 4.5mm X10's. I still have probably a dozen or so x10 shafts kicking about the garage that were robin hooded at 90 and 70m.
Back to the OP's question, I'd be more worried about someone shooting a crossbow in their garden than an air pistol. If in doubt report to the police and see how they feel
Snooper601 Suspect a simple fault, or a simple engineer He who dies with the most toys wins!
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Dean, just a thought, you don't live next door to friend of the BBS weapon collector do you ??
Great Deals with : Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
A decent bow is next on my list, just haven't figured out whether to go recurve or compound...!
Saw a thing on FieldSports TV with this big Danish dude(Max Hunt.....for real!) he could bang a target at 100m with a compound Hoyt...80lb draw...mental.
I get where you're coming from Blooregard and would never dispute that archery is a far more difficult skill to master- but also probably far more rewarding than crossbow shooting....which is like air rifle shooting with arrows???!!!
(ps-I haven't tried it beyond 40yds but I've heard claims that my crossbow is good to 70yds)
Banned from manufacture, import or sale in 1988 IIRC, along with a variety of other "Ninja type stuff". Another Govt clampdown based on sensationalist reporting (or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- it amounts to the same intellectual level )
Of course they are not per se illegal to own. And if you owned one before the ban you are fine