Automatic Crossbow

By John Farrier in Video Clips, Weapons & War on Dec 9, 2009 at 9:20 am

A fellow who calls himself “The Duckman” built an electrically-powered automatic crossbow. His objective was to have a usable crossbow now that arthritis prevents him from cocking each arrow, as he would on a conventional bow. The Duckman built the weapon with a magazine of 15 arrows and the battery allows him to fire 100 before replacement. I don’t see his trigger finger move while he’s firing, so it appears to be fully auto, rather than semi. More pictures and specifications at the link.

Link via Gizmodo

Tags: crossbow

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manik
Dec 9th, 2009 at 9:38 am
The Chinese developed the first automatic reloading crossbow during the Han Dynasty.
wingbatwu
Dec 9th, 2009 at 10:03 am
I wish I’d had one of those a thousand years ago
floatingk
Dec 9th, 2009 at 10:10 am
beards sans mustache are creepy….
Foreigner1
Dec 9th, 2009 at 11:01 am
An electric crossbow….

So what’s next- an automatic bludgeon? Or an electric stone-thrower…?
larryv
Dec 9th, 2009 at 11:19 am
I cant see this being used for hunting, it’s pretty loud.
Scooter
Dec 9th, 2009 at 11:51 am
if you watch the bolts flight closely that looks wildly inaccurate. he needs some kind of stock to steady it.
oh, and he had very bad teeth.
dalucero
Dec 9th, 2009 at 11:53 am
“I don’t see his trigger finger move while he’s firing, so it appears to be fully auto, rather than semi.”

I guess technically it is full auto, but it’d be pretty easy to just let go of the trigger in between shots to only get one off at a time. Plus it looks like you have to hold down the trigger to reload/cock it too.
Foreigner1
Dec 9th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Some people have this urge to make simple things really complicated- To “improve” them by over-engineering them hugely just because they can.

This is just such a brilliant engineer that completely has forgotten to first and foremost apply the KISS!!!-principle (Keep It Simple Stupid!!!) on his improvement.
Matt
Dec 9th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Vampires beware.
mo
Dec 9th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
what a backyard-badass!
Graystone2000
Dec 9th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
He’s got DUCKS!!!!
Colt Seaver
Dec 9th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
They say he thought of this after all those years shackled to the stone wall in Torquemada’s dungeon.
Craig
Dec 9th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Inaccurate? Perhaps. Over-engineered? Probably. But who cares? It’s awesome and he probably had fun building it. I wish I had a grandpa who made cool stuff like that, instead of birdhouses.
Skipweasel
Dec 9th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
What on earth have his teeth got to do with it?
Dave_Dave
Dec 9th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Ducks… bad teeth…. slightly creepy… crossbow? Definitely british.
Alan Parekh
Dec 9th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
That is some cool weapon! With a hobby like that I am sure the neighbors don’t give him any problems.
chich
Dec 9th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
in the first part of the video you can see him working the trigger. The rest he seems to just hold it down till its done.

Over engineered? well no, he built the thing because arthritis prevents him from cocking each arrow.

And yes DUCKS!
halieus
Dec 10th, 2009 at 3:40 am
Now you can silently kill a whole army!

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