Are Crossbows Good for Home Defense?

This is a guest post by Brandon Cox

Are crossbows good for home defense? Did that make you giggle? While crossbows might not be anyone’s weapon of choice, it doesn’t mean it has no merit when it comes to home defense. There are plenty of people out there that think you have to have a loaded Glock in every room to be able to defend your home. So you can see why there are so many different opinions about the matter. Below, we’ll go over food for thought when it comes to whether you could potentially defend your home with a crossbow.

Home invasions happen every day. They happen in homes where people were prepared in case of a home invasion and in the homes of those who were not. The common thread between people who make it through these situations relatively unscathed is that they knew how to handle the situation when it occurred. Sometimes, people dwell too much on how or what they will do without making a plan. Instead, it’s important to think about all your options.

Archer’s Skill 

First, you have to think about who would potentially defend their home with a crossbow. It’s probably not a suburban housewife or a one year hunter. More than likely, the guy that defends his home or property is pretty confident with the weapon. He probably has guns too, but opts to pick up the crossbow first. For this guy or gal, a crossbow is a good home defense weapon.

The only way this would work is if the archer had spot on skills. The reason a crossbow isn’t ideal for someone that isn’t incredibly skilled is because there probably won’t be time for a follow-up shot. What this means is if you’re going to stop someone with a crossbow, you have to do it with one shot. If there’s more than one intruder, you’re going to need a back-up plan.

Perfect Timing 

We already talked about the skill of the archer, so we’re not going to go over that again. Instead, we’re focusing on a different type of situation, a situation that involves timing. For instance, if you catch someone breaking into your home, and your not the most talented crossbow shooter on the planet, but you have a crossbow in your hand, it’s an ideal weapon for that situation.

Crossbows Have the Potential to Kill

Another situation you have to consider is whether using a crossbow to defend yourself or your home is appropriate and what the legal definition of your situation is. In most situations, the use of a crossbow in a home defense situation would be the use of deadly force.

After all, a crossbow accompanied with the use of broadheads could certainly kill someone. So, you have to make sure you fear for your life or the life of others before you pull the trigger. To make sure you know what applies to your situation, it’s important to look up laws about self-defense in your state.

Something is Always Better than Nothing During a Home Invasion 

Look to your left. Now look to your right. You probably have items within arms reach that could potentially be used in case of home invasion. A crossbow or even a compound bow could be what saves your family if it was broken into by intruders. In reality, even an arrow from either bow could make the different between whether someone in your home is harmed or not.

So while major self-defense guys may laugh at the thought of using a crossbow as a way to protect their home others will consider it a good resource. Maybe even a resource they haven’t considered already. In all reality, no one is truly prepared for a home invasion. If you’re lucky enough to have a few seconds or as long as a minute, you might be able to make it to your phone or your weapon, but many are caught off-guard and away from weapons.

Instead of worrying about what you’re going to use, you need to make sure you have a plan – no matter what the plan is. No where your weapons are, make sure everyone in your home understands where the weapons are and how they should be used, and most importantly what to do if someone enters your home illegally.

 

About Author:

Brandon Cox is the founder of StayHunting, who is passionate about all things of hunting and fitness. Through his hunting website, he would like to share tips & tricks, finest tech that will excite all of the intricacies of hunting whether you be an amateur or a professional.