[Archers] Early Crossbow with Stock

[Garth Groff]

M'Lord Siegfried and Friends,

Thanks very much for the comments.

So now, lets shift this discussion a bit. Our rules also prohibit 
"non-period trackless crossbows". While I haven't searched these 
diligently, all the images and photos I've seen are from the 17th 
century or later. You can bet the Chinese had them long before this, 
since they seem to have been ahead of the curve in all sorts of ranged 
weaponry (I found a drawing of a period compound bow, but our rules are 
clear on compounds).

All the 17th and 18th century trackless crossbows I've found in images 
are "stone bows", essentially big slingshots used to throw clay pellets 
or similar ammunition at small game. This, of course, makes them useless 
for our type of archery. The 20th/21st century adaptations I've seen 
remove the slingshot-style pocket, and substitute a plain string for 
(apparently) bolts with large-sized nocks. If we could find a pre-17th 
century example of one of these bows adapted for bolts, could it serve 
as a prototype for a legal weapon, or are they prohibited as a class for 
some safety reason?

Yours Aye,


Mungo

On 6/17/14 9:07 PM, Siegfried wrote:
> Lord Mungo, if you'd only asked, I have dozens of photos of 'period
> rifle stocked crossbows' that I could have provided.  That being one of
> them.
>
> But as Janyn pointed out.  They are of course legal.   The Atlantian ban
> is on the 'modern' rifle stocks.  That stock looks nothing like a modern
> Remington (especially when you examine the stock in all dimensions ...
> That photo doesn't quite do it justice, for it appears to show a 'thin'
> back end.  When you actually look at it though, the back is VERY stocky,
> and of a triangle design.  Sloped towards the cheek of the user.)
>
> In Service,
> Siegfried