Urban Survival Weapons - Cross Bow versus another Survival Firearms

Reader Question: I have several handguns, most notably a .44 magnum Ruger Redhawk and a 9mm Ruger. My main SHTF gun is a Hungarian AK. I think I am pretty well covered for firearms. I am thinking on acquiring a cross bow for several reasons. It is quiet, I can use it for hunting and I can make my own arrows for it. I am interested if you or anyone else has any experience in cross bows for survival situations and if it makes sense to put a scope on it?

UrbanMan replies: I would consider the cross bow a very inadequate survival or defensive weapon. The many movies that depict a silent sentry removal using a cross bow are fantasy. I never saw them in our inventory or anyone else's. They are inaccurate at all but short ranges and the "arrow", actually called a bolt, is highly affected by the wind, not to mention any vegetation between you and the target. The effective range for a highly skilled archer would be around 20 yards in my opinion,..... you miss or need an additional bolt into your target, then re-loading time will make that second shot immaterial. And since the cross bolt head or broadhead is much bigger that a bullet and going much slower, this means a much higher chance of deflecting off of bone at anything other than a perpendicular angle to the target. I would forget about the cross bow.

You do not mention if you own a 12 gauge shotgun. Or a .22 LR rifle. I would consider these much, much more important for a Survival Firearms battery. Both are common calibers; have a much better range; and, can be more effectively used for hunting. Plus there is nothing like a 12 gauge shotgun for defensive purposes at short ranges.

If the AKM, a good and reliable weapon, is your primary survival firearm, then I would also consider acquiring a few of the new polymer AK magazines, from U.S. P.A.L.M. that I wrote about in a previous post. I have tested these magazines and they are excellent. They have a self leveling follower; are steel lined around the feed lips; and have several holes in the follower where dirt and debris can be shook out of the magazine as you cannot disassemble these magazines. This company also makes a P-Mag type magazine for M-4 (AR type .223 rifles) but I have not had a chance to test it yet.

A good crossbow cost several hundred dollars,...you should use this money for a 12 gauge shotgun or .22 LR firearm, preferable a rifle. In fact, for the $400 I saw on some Crossbow prices, you could get both.