The two most common questions asked about the crossbow 

 are: How accurate is it and how hard will it hit? In the hands of 

 an expert, the longbow may have a faint edge in accuracy, 

 although the fact that the crossbow is cocked when aimed about 

 evens the score. Impact of the missile depends upon the "pull" 

 of the bow and the distance the bolt travels. A heavy longbow 

 has about 65 pounds pull at 28 inches draw. In the heavy hunt- 

 ing crossbow the draw is 14 inches, or half that of the longbow, 

 but the poundage is doubled or about 1 20 pounds. The repeater 

 only has 40 pounds pull and this is easily done with the slide 

 under the stock. 



A Gulf fisherman uses a crossbow for shooting game fish and 

 claims he has impaled them in 10 feet of water! Half that depth 

 will stop bullets. 



Stevens doesn't recommend the crossbow for hunting bears; 

 you have to get too close to the animal, and a wounded bear 

 can be dangerous. But for deer and other large game animals 

 he considers the crossbow an ideal weapon. Farmers in a dozen 

 states are using them for potting crows, magpies, weasels, and 

 other predators. 



The legal hunting status of the crossbow hasn't had much 

 thought. With the exception of Michigan and Wisconsin, which 

 ban the crossbow for all hunting, states have few special rulings. 

 George is working to have Arkansas set a crossbow hunting 

 season, hoping other states will follow suit. 



Crossbow shooting has grown slowly, yet a dozen or more 

 clubs have sprung up here and abroad in recent years. Two in 

 America have been locally famous for many years. One is con- 

 ducted by Swiss residents of Wisconsin, who hold an annual 

 William Tell Day; the other is in Fort Wayne, Indiana. They 

 hold the popular "Bird Shoot" once a year. 



George himself helped organize the fifty-member Stone 

 County (Arkansas) Crossbow Club some years back. It holds fre- 

 quent meets. He says that "Buckshot" Wilson of Mound City, 

 Missouri, is probably the best crossbow shot living. 



Paul Runyon of Plainfield, New Jersey, is another crack cross- 

 bow shot. He won the national crossbow event in 1947 at the 



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