Crossbow vs Speargun

Imtroduction Crossbow vs Spear Gun

Crossbow vs spear gun – who would win when it comes to hunting? Well, it will depend on a lot of factors. Crossbows and spear guns are very different in their design and functionality. They are designed for entirely different purposes. This article explains about Crossbow vs Speargun for your references and guidelines.

While crossbows are for close-range hunting, spear guns are primarily used for underwater fishing. Moreover, hunters do not switch between weapons that are meant for two completely different purposes. Every hunter has his or her own style, tactics, and strategies when it comes to hunting. And all of them are dictated by the weapon of choice. Let’s look into spear guns and crossbows in detail and see if they can be used interchangeably.

Spear Gun

A spear gun is a piece of fishing equipment that is primarily used underwater to catch fish. They are designed in a way that a spear is launched with the help of a device and the spear is targeted at underwater fishes or other animals. A basic speargun comprises of a spear, a barrel, and a grip or handle that includes the trigger mechanism. Since the spear is quite heavy, when it is launched from the barrel, it travels at a slow speed. But don’t let the slow speed fool you of its lethal nature. We will later see how spearguns despite being so slow, never miss their target.

Spear guns are normally divided into different categories based on their propulsion method. They can either be air powered or rubber powered. An air powered gun is known as a Pneumatic gun. It differs from the rubber powered model as the spear, in this case, is thicker. Plus the spear goes inside an internal barrel that is sealed and encased by another hollow barrel that contains air to be used for propulsion. The pressure in the hollow barrel keeps on increasing until it equals the pressure of one strong rubber band. The trigger mechanism involves a grip for the hand either below or in the mid-section of the gun. A strong line or two connects with the spear. Once the trigger mechanism is initiated, the line pulls the spear and jolts in forward towards the target.

Rubber powered spearguns, on the other hand, are very simple and are quite easy to use and maintain. Rubber is the predominant material in this case and the guns come in two different types: one that is made from wood and represents a slingshot and the other consisting of a metallic sealed tube or a composite material or a combination of both.

Crossbows

Crossbows work similar to normal bows and are one of the most common hunting weapons. They are the first choice when it comes to seasoned close-range hunters. Crossbows comprise of an assembly point, prod, that showcases elastic features. The prod is set on top of a horizontal frame, commonly known as a tiller. Crossbows are held by hand in a similar fashion to holding a gun. But instead of shooting out bullets, here arrows called quarrels are shot out.

Nowadays, crossbows are quite expensive. A good quality simple crossbow costs over $500. There is not as much demand for crossbows as there is for guns. So this might be the reason why the price of crossbows is so high. There are still crossbows that come for $400. These are beginner crossbows and are perfect for amateurs. The only issue is that each arrow for a crossbow comes for $15. So, overall, the business of handling a crossbow becomes expensive.

If you are an amateur or beginner hunter, you should definitely go for a crossbow rather than a gun. The first reason is that crossbows do not recoil. When beginner hunters use guns, the majority of them are injured because of the recoil effect. Shoulder injuries are common while handling guns. But with a crossbow, the probability of such injuries is very less, almost negligible.

Another advantage of crossbows is that they make a lot less noise as compared to guns. In case of guns, in case the first shot is missed, then there’s very little chance that the target would still be standing there. The loud noise also alerts other game in the area to run for cover. But, with crossbows, this problem will never arise. Crossbows make very less sound. Even if you miss, only the nearest target would realize. There would still be more targets to make the hunt successful.

Now, the question remains on which is more effective – a spear gun or a crossbow. The fight of crossbow vs speargun is actually not a fair one. This is because crossbows and spearguns serve very different purposes. A crossbow is used for close-range hunting on ground. Spear gun, on the other hand, is used for fishing underwater, The spears are sturdy enough to penetrate the flow of the water and hit the target. An arrow from a crossbow may not be that sturdy and strong. It might just hit the water and flow away with it.

Both the crossbow and the spear gun are strong and lethal when it comes to hunting respective prey. Spear guns do a better job underwater. Spear guns are designed to be used underwater. The design principle is quite different. The spear in the spear gun is based on the principle of heavyweight and slower speed. Crossbow arrows, on the other hand, are light in weight and hence portray higher speeds when triggered. Now since the arrow from a crossbow travels at a faster speed, the water has to be pushed aside at a faster rate as well for the bow to penetrate the surface. So in order to move aside the water at a faster rate, a lot of energy is required.

This energy comes from the arrow itself. Since the arrow loses a lot of energy upon hitting the water surface, the lethal effect wears off once it gets underwater. It won’t be able to inflict a lot of damage and also lacks the energy to pursue the target underwater. The same applies to bullets, which are lighter as well as faster that crossbow arrows.

The opposite happens in the case of spear guns. Because of the heavyweight of the spear, spears have slower speeds. It hits the water at a slower speed and water is set aside at a slower rate. This, in turn, requires very less energy. So the energy of the spear is conserved. Once underwater, the spear still has the energy to pursue the prey and hit it with lethal impact. It has a lot of inertia to travel underwater and very less resistance. So for underwater hunting, spear guns emerge as winners when compared to crossbows.