[Archers] Safety advice on atal-atals and crossbows

[Garth G. Groff]

Noble friends,

Here in Isenfir, I rarely see atal-atals and crossbows, though they may 
become more common here soon. Not surprisingly, I'm not really up on 
inspecting or handling them. Will marshals (or Lady Lorelei) please 
offer advice on some points about these weapons?

1. The only set of atal-atal darts I've seen around here have some with 
steel field points, and some without points missing. I would expect that 
a dart should have a metal point just like an arrow, or is this 
requirement less strict for darts?

2. I presume a crossbow needs to be spanned just like drawing a hand bow 
during the inspection process. I would assume that the ability to span 
the bow is judged much the way we look for a hand bow archer's ability 
to hold the bow steady at draw during inspection. So what does the 
archer do with the string after spanning? Can it be safely released?

3. The last time a crossbow was on my range, a hold was called. The 
archer removed the bolt and placed his still-spanned crossbow on the 
ground with the prod pointing downward. I asked about this, and he told 
me it was difficult to relax the string once drawn, and of course he 
can't "dry fire" it into the ground without possible harm to the 
crossbow. Is this a safe enough way to handle the bow during a hold? I 
might add that the archer has a permanent disability to one arm leaving 
him with only partial motion, which might affect his ability to relax 
the string (he is very safety conscious, and can otherwise handle the 
bow safely during spanning and shooting).

Thank you for your kind assistance,


Lord Mungo Napier, Shire of Isenfir Target Archery Marshal