Wilhelm Tell of Elbe
Article author: Petr Blahuš, streleckarevue.cz
Recently, the number of crossbows, both sporting and hunting, has been on the rise. About the advantages and charm of this nowadays exotic, but still very effective firearm we talked with one of our best shooters and at the same time manufacturer, František Cerman from Ústí nad Labem.
How did you get into crossbows?
My parents and I lived in Tábor and there, as a young boy, the atmosphere of the old town, its Hussite history, breathed on me, so even then I longed to make my first crossbow. Finally, I did make one and it shot quite well, although the bow was made of a yellow fiberglass rod that was originally part of a cow pen. At 22 I bought a Barnett crossbow, but was disappointed with both the performance, accuracy and workmanship. It was strange to me how many plastic parts and various inaccuracies were on it. It didn't strike me as a serious weapon, more like a crossbow between a gun and a toy, and it was a pulley crossbow. The bowstring wrap only lasted about thirty shots, then broke due to the sharp edges on the trigger mechanism. So I started digging and researching until I found the Canadian Excalibur. Its crossbows are reflective, pulleyless, simple, reliable, accurate, and have no plastic parts. I started shooting the Excalibur frequently and regularly in 3D competitions. I have found the crossbow as a modern mechanical weapon to be very accurate, reliable and also quiet. We also know from history that even though the first foreguns existed, many hunters still preferred crossbows for hunting purposes, as they were more accurate than the first firearms and very effective with a hunting tip.
So that's why you make your living with crossbows now?
The core of my business is importing, selling and servicing Canadian Excalibur crossbows, but I also import from China and Taiwan, especially cheaper models like the MK 180 folding crossbow. But I also make my own crossbow bodies from duralumin prism on CNC machines. These crossbows, specifically the Matrix 401, have more power and accuracy and are quieter when fired. I am currently working on a custom type of shoulder mount, which has some improvements over mass production, and eventually I would like to completely manufacture my own crossbows, except for the shoulders - I would continue to use Canadian made ones. Beyond that, though, I make crossbow parts myself, like the rifle scope tilt mount, which takes crossbow shooting capabilities into completely different realms. This thing will allow precision hits at distances you would think impossible for a crossbow. You just shoot at the center of the sight picture, just a spot, and you tilt the entire scope, which is up to ten times more accurate than a fixed crosshair sight. This is my system that most 3D competitors use now. Basically, you can compensate for arrow ballistics in two ways. Either by such a rifle scope outline, where there are several crosses or marks on the vertical axis and you shoot so that the first one on top is at 10 yards, the next one at 20 yards and so on up to 50 yards for the lowest cross, or just by a tilt mount.
Do you also shoot firearms?
I have a firearms license and own a Heckler & Koch pistol, a Russian small-bore pistol, several Czech rifles, two long rifles, a Beretta shotgun and then a Mosin sniper rifle. But I don't shoot much, at most three times a year, mostly at shooting ranges in Sebuzín and Mariánska skala. The noise, the price of ammunition and the need to go to the range bother me. On the other hand, the crossbow gives me the freedom to shoot anytime, sometimes I shoot in the workshop even after 10 pm. Or I'll go out of town to a big open field, take a target rifle, sometimes a 3D animal, and shoot in peace and quiet, and at minimal cost.
Is it harder to learn to shoot a pistol or revolver or a crossbow?
If we compare, for example, pistols and crossbows, I am convinced that a modern crossbow equipped with an optic with a quality arrow is not inferior in accuracy. With my crossbow, I am able to repeatedly hit a wheelbarrow the size of a metal fifty-crown at 20 yards and a beer coaster at 55 yards standing freehand. We can also compare a hunting rifle and a crossbow, but hunting with a rifle, which has minimal bullet trajectory drop, to hunting with a crossbow can only be compared in general terms. The biggest problem for the novice crossbow shooter is learning to compensate for the ballistics of the arrow, as an arrow always has more drop than a firearm projectile. Very simplistically, an arrow will drop about 10 to 15 cm every 10 meters. This depends on the power of the crossbow and the weight of the arrow, and each crossbow manufacturer specifies a minimum arrow weight for their crossbow that must be met. The energy stored in a drawn bow is considerable and needs to be transferred to the arrow to prevent damage to the bow. That is why the arrow must have that minimum weight.
Is crossbow shooting suitable for women and children?
The crossbow is suitable for both men and women. Men, of course, choose the stronger models like Matrix 380, 401, 405 or Micro 335, 350, while women reach for weaker models like Grizzly, Matrix 310, 330 and Micro 315, where the cable cocking device reduces the cocking force to half, so even a woman can draw a relatively strong crossbow. I've been pleasantly surprised lately that crossbow shooting is becoming more popular with women, and for many women crossbow shooting is becoming a hobby. It is mainly recreational shooting, but some women are also taking part in 3D competitions. However, children don't draw a crossbow, so it can be said that it is a very safe weapon, suitable for any household.
What kind of game can be hunted with a crossbow?
In general, hunting with an arrow from a bow or crossbow is fairer. It's quite different than shooting from a heated pulpit at 100 yards with a sniper rifle at game lured by a dumped barrel of beets, anyone can do that. The problem is that the energy of an arrow is considerably less than that of a shot from a hunting rifle. A powerful hunting crossbow, such as the Excalibur Matrix or Micro series, only puts out about 130-150 J, but with the arrow's weight of about 30 g, its length and guidance in the body of the hunted game where it doesn't recoil and holds its direction, and when the energy is concentrated in the hunting tip of surgical, scalpel-sharp steel, the ability to penetrate game is amazing even at that energy. An arrow with this tip will reliably cut through even ribs and fly out the other side. The result is a clean shot through the chest of a wild boar weighing over a pound, with a seven-centimeter wound using the mechanical hunting point. Such hunting is humane and the game taken is extinguished very quickly and without unnecessary suffering. In our country, hunting with an arrow from a crossbow or a bow is still illegal, so hunting crossbows are bought mainly by foreign shooters, for example from across the Atlantic, or by Germans and Ukrainians, because in Ukraine and Russia it is legal to hunt game, including beasts, with a crossbow. Abroad, on the other hand, arrow hunters have various advantages over firearms, such as the length of the hunting season or hunting times. Taking game with an arrow is also much more valued than killing it with a rifle. This is because arrow hunting requires greater hunting skill, including the ability to close in on game at close range, to behave and move very quietly, or, even in low light conditions, to estimate accurately the distance from the target, which, as I have already said, is necessary to compensate for the ballistics of the arrow.
I guess it's also cheaper than buying bullets?
You are absolutely right, crossbow shooting is one of the nicest and cheapest shooting sports. All you need is a suitable target rifle, and even that can be replaced in an emergency by a simple bag of old rags. And if you don't shoot in one place, because you would shoot and destroy your arrows, the only cost of shooting will be a new bowstring wrap once in a while. An experienced shooter doesn't lose many arrows, I only lose about five arrows in a year at a cost of 220 CZK each, and I participate in almost all 3D competitions. These increasingly popular races are a simulation of hunting, you shoot rubber animals in a natural environment and last up to four hours. So you'll gain experience very quickly, and you'll be in the company of friendly shooters who are usually happy to give you advice.
What do you think about further regulation and disarmament of decent citizens under EU regulations?
I am strongly opposed to it and I totally disagree. It is almost as if someone in the EU wants to make it impossible for decent people to defend themselves against rapists and terrorists and to spread fear in society. This is for one simple reason - those who are afraid are easily controlled, willing to be bugged and otherwise manipulated. Perhaps that is what the unelected EU officials are after. To turn free citizens into a docile, fearful mass of frightened people who will follow orders without talking back. I am an advocate of the opposite, I believe that every decent person has the right to defend themselves and should have the right, indeed the duty, to defend their country and family by all legal means. That is why I am strongly opposed to further tightening of regulations on gun license holders. Taking away crossbows from people would probably not affect them, because they are not subject to any registration, and therefore the state does not even keep track of how many of them there are among the people. Maybe that's why their sales have been on the rise lately. Indeed, anyone over the age of 18 can now buy a crossbow as a category D weapon. People are now also buying crossbows for the home, for the home, for defence.
About František Cerman
František Cerman is one of our best crossbowmen. His greatest achievements include the title of Czech Republic Champion 2014-2015, 5th place at the World Championships in Australia in 2009, the title of absolute World Champion in the 3D category in Sweden in 2007, 1st place at the European Championships in Austria in 2005... He also regularly takes the top places at European Cup competitions.
