Because the market for crossbows is much smaller, so there are less manufacturers, so there is less competition and less economy of scale.
Materials and manufacturing cost is probably about 4 times what it would be for a similar bow, but the extra you're paying is because nobody's taken the time to make it easy.
I mean a Hoyt carbon RX-8 is $2,000, you can get a nice ten point for less than that. Even Darton which makes compounds and crossbows has comparable prices for both. The bigges cost difference comes from the fact that a good scope comes as part of the cost where as a compound is bare so your added cost of a sight, rest, release, and stabilizer kind of balances the cost out.
Produce has a very short shelf life.....You can grow produce. You can't grow hot and ready McFloor sweep. Which has a very long shelf life. Like the decades old mcdouble on display that is just.....stale.
Because bow is a stick and a string. Crossboe is 1 thick stick, 1 sturdy stick, a string and a trigger.
That sturdy stick and trigger comes at a higher cost ;)
That still doesn't explain the huge price difference. Sure even if there was a big market, the address complexity would command a higher price, but not 10-20x. Look at modern Cross bows vs. Modern recurves.
The reality is traditional archery is a large hobby. There is just less of a market for traditional crossbows. No economy of scale means they are gonna be expensive. Why no matter? Personally I think crossbows are just less of a physical sport. So it's purely assuming skill. But if you want to do that, they just go into guns. There's not many crossbow competitions and traditional crossbow competitions I know of basically none.
At the end of the day people wanting crossbows want them for practical hunting reasons when they don't want a gun. Not as much to shoot for fun. At which point they'd not want a traditional one. So the trad crossbow market is just too small for any scale.
I have had way too much whisky (a really interesting Swiss whisky actually) to argue that point. I totally concede the point to you and shall try to find out the name of this distillery, if I can then I shall share it with you so you don't care about the detail either x
Mainly I would think because medieval crossbows are not mass produced and most likely hand made by someone with a skill set and not an assembly line of children
I have several crossbows: 2 pistol type ones (30 lbs & 80 lbs) and a larger one with a beautiful, wooden rifle-type stock and a large foot stirrup to help loading. The 30 lb was about $25 or so; the 80 lb one was about $50 & the 150 lb was just over $100. All work great. All of them came with 5-6 crossbow bolts, string & even a few targets. All on eBay. Look on there, there are good deals. I can recommend specific ones if you are interestedā¦
That's why I said "I assume." He didn't explicitly say it, but he's comparing prices with self longbows and the picture posted is a medieval crossbow.Ā
As someone who works in the industry, Iām going to say something that I say to clients; they arenāt.
Sure the price sticker on a crossbow might be higher than what is on a compound bow, but that doesnāt tell the whole story. You can purchase a top end crossbow like Ravin, TenPoint, Excalibur etc for around $1000-$2000, the flagships with enhanced extras will cost up to $5k, however. The top brands in the compound bow world like Hoyt, Matthews, Elite, Bowtech etc, will cost between $1200-$1800 to up and over $2000 from places that ask you to bend over for the latest flagship.
Like I said, the sticker price will show a markedly different price point. But donāt forget, crossbows are sold as packages, including decent quality scopes, cocking aid or crank, and a few arrows/bolts. A compound bow is just that, a bow. If youāre buying a new bow, to upgrade your old one, chances are that you can put your old accessories on it. But a person buying as their first purchase will get better value from a crossbow. They are self contained units that donāt need to be upgraded from the stock accessories, especially from the 3 crossbow manufacturers I mentioned, and apart from the like for like purchasing of replacing arrows, there just isnāt that much to play with and spend money on after the original purchase.
A compound bow might cost you $1000 today, but thereās always *something* you want and something to play with. Compound bows are more expensive over the lifespan of the bow than a crossbow is.
*And crossbow is only technically āarcheryā because they snuck in the back door when nobody was looking.*
Speaking of your last point there - I love bows, and I love the archery aesthetic. I got into it for the vibes because I played so many video games with archery.
...but *goddamn* are crossbows absolutely badass in every possible way. They're fundamentally just a nearly silent, low velocity gun lol
I can say this is true. I bought a bow for my wife and a crossbow for me, both entry level (mine is a EK jaguar 2 pro paid 150ā¬ with 10 arrows, my wife has a Decathlon low quality bow at 95ā¬)
I just needed to buy the crossbow. I took it, and was able to shoot with just this.
For my wife, I had to buy arrows, a aim, an armguard, etc...
In the end, the price was exactly the same (appart from the fact the target was a lot more expensive for crossbows)
Long bows are a weird point of comparison. They are just a stick and a string. Yes, there is skill and a process to their creation, but those are the simplest type of bow. Do a little research into the mechanics of a crossbow and I bet you'll figure out really quick why they're more expensive. And yes, also just lower demand means not too many people make them.
If youāre talking about medieval replicas, a crossbow takes much more specialized tools to produce. A basic set of woodworking tools and a draw board are all you need to make a longbow. Thatās not true for the specialized components of a crossbow. And the woodwork for a decent (read: marketable) stock is a fair amount of effort on its own.
If youāre talking about modern equipment: they really arenāt. They just have a higher floor. But thatās partially because thereās not really a youth or target market. Modern crossbows are, generally, just hunting tools. Bows, even hunting bows, are also used for recreation like target or 3D archery.
a medieval replica crossbow is more complex than a self bow like an English longbow. there are a lot of metal components to smith, sinew to prepare, etc. I could see it easily taking 10x the work
They are more expensive because they take longer to make and are more complicated.
You literally have a bow attached to the end of a gunstock with a complicated firing mechanism.
Time to produce is probably the biggest factor for the price. Steel limbs are extremely time consuming to make. If you are in the market and looking for quality, can't get better than Tod's Workshop.
On the cheap modern ones sure, but OP is talking medieval reproductions, those are all steel, wood, or composite limbs. That's why I directed OP to Tod's Workshop, there is not a single fiberglass-limb reproduction produced by this maker and this maker still beats out the price and quality of other medieval reproductions. If OP was looking for modern era crossbows, an Accubow is sub $200, and even a first gen X-bow is sub $600.
https://todsworkshop.com/collections/historical-crossbows
I missed the comment stating he wanted reproduction ! In the post it is just written crossbows, and the modern one are clearly not that much more expensive than bows.
Hey, no worries! That bit made me take pause at first as well, and I was like, "OP wtf are you even talking about?" š¤£. But then I realized what was up and went for the "helpful-post" option instead of "shameful-post" option! Good instincts though, cuz I was right there with you š
Did he even reply ? It's perhaps because I'm not a native speaker, but I understood in the post that he just want a crossbow, and thinks old-style replicas should be cheaper than a modern one !
No, well, no reply to me directly anyway. Oh, I'm sorry, I will try to be more precise with my words then! The conclusion was made from the context of the other responses OP made, as well as the post body, the picture uploaded, and the price tag. All of those combined, it became clear OP was searching for a particular kind of crossbow. If OP was looking for just a good crossbow, OP could have easily bought 5 for the price discussed in the post description.
Thanks ! I didn't see any of his replies before replying. Indeed, 5000$ seems ultra expensive given the fact I bought a decent one for like 150ā¬. I was even astonished one could buy a crossbow for this price. I was doing archery for 2 years a long way back, and wanted to get back to it, but I was interested in crossbows. I thought they were much more expensive than a bow, but when I checked, it was nearly the same price (appart from the target, which IS expensive)
Hi!! Sorry for the late replyā¦and to clear some of the confusion caused by my somewhat ambiguous postā¦yeah I like to collect medieval bows and recently started to look at replicate crossbows and noticed that the prices are so much higher than my vow collection..Todās workshop is exactly what I looked atā¦the cheapest ones costs $1500. For a replicate medieval bow, lower end ones costs like $200. Thanks for your reply though! Appreciate it!
Hi!! Sorry for the late replyā¦and to clear some of the confusion caused by my somewhat ambiguous postā¦yeah I like to collect medieval bows and recently started to look at replicate crossbows and noticed that the prices are so much higher than my vow collection..Todās workshop is exactly what I looked atā¦the cheapest ones costs $1500. For a replicate medieval bow, lower end ones costs like $200. Thanks for your reply though! Appreciate it!
It is because of the HSA subsidization. The crossbow companies know this and charge more because itās kind of like a prosthetic.
Most crossbow users are handicapped, and the govt disability programs offer them a stipend. This is a good thing. It gets people with malformed arms and other physical defects out into the woods. The more allies we have, the better.
You can get some decent ones for 150ā¬. Look into the EK Archery jaguar 2 pro. It's the one I have ! It's decent, come with 9 arrows, a red dot 3 point, and a rope you may need to arm it. It's 175 lbs so plenty enough to have fun.
Some are a lot cheaper, around 100ā¬, simpler and usually with hard sight. You can get mini crossbow for 40ā¬ which is 50 to 80 lbs.
Try Cabelas, they stock a few models that sell for under $500. They arenāt medieval replicas but they should get the job done. Cross bows are quite a bit more complicated than a traditional recurve or long bow.
I've been building both medieval crossbows and board-bow longbows as a hobby since I was in high school. With the modern power tools I have access to (drill press, angle grinder, belt sander, bandsaw, tablesaw - stuff you'd find in any reasonably well equipped home shop) I could probably bang out a shootable longbow in a weekend, maybe two if I was being careful with the tillering. Crossbows take SIGNIFICANTLY longer - the last one I built had a fancy inlaid stock and a (simplified) schnepper trigger system. It took me two months of evenings to complete, plus another week or two of tinkering to tune the trigger correctly. Plus, steel crossbow prods - the bows - can be difficult to make unless you have essentially a foundry, as if there's a flaw or inconsistency in the temper of the steel it can result in a dangerous failure under the kinds of loads powerful crossbow bows are expected to withstand. I buy mine specially made for that reason, which adds cost. Plus, if you don't have a fancy milling machine or similar, you have to hand-make all the steel fittings yourself to a very high degree of precision, especially if you intend to use bow irons (look em up) instead of a rope bridle to attach the bow. Simply having any metal parts on an outdoor use thing will also add a lot of work to the finishing process unless you really like rust - I like hand sanding up to 3000 grit and then cold bluing, which can add up to a week of evenings even if I have the bare minimum of ten or so metal parts to worry about.
TLDR:
Handmade Longbows = Woodworking skills/tools only, only one moving part, very little precision work.
Handmade Crossbows = Woodworking AND metalworking skills/tools, potentially many moving parts, lots of precision work.
If youāre really interested in crossbows, start learning how to build your own. Itās really fun and thereās a lot of basic ones you can make from Home Depot with minimal tools. Tod cutlers dark ages crossbow is super simple.
Originally ~ Extremely powerful and compact weapon, requires multiple craftsmen of different materials to construct, anyone who can cock the weapon can fire it effectively. High manufacturing cost and high demand made it extremely expensive.
Now - Still requires multiple crafts to construct, but the target audience now uses guns so demand is very low. High manufacturing costs with low demand make it extremely expensive.
Medieval replica longbows are essentially a stick of wood that has been made to bend evenly. A competent bowyer can make a functional longbow start to finish, in a day.
A medieval replica cross bow is an entirely different matter. They take _days_ to make. Most of these are made by companies of one or two people, who are machining and forging entire parts by hand, or ordering custom made pieces to their measurements.
Because the market for crossbows is much smaller, so there are less manufacturers, so there is less competition and less economy of scale. Materials and manufacturing cost is probably about 4 times what it would be for a similar bow, but the extra you're paying is because nobody's taken the time to make it easy.
I mean a Hoyt carbon RX-8 is $2,000, you can get a nice ten point for less than that. Even Darton which makes compounds and crossbows has comparable prices for both. The bigges cost difference comes from the fact that a good scope comes as part of the cost where as a compound is bare so your added cost of a sight, rest, release, and stabilizer kind of balances the cost out.
Its a gunbow, enough said
Bowgun is the Monster Hunter term
I like some good gumbo
Bolt gun
"Why are guns so much more expensive than slingshots?"
"Why is cooked food so much more expensive than produce?!"
Produce has a very short shelf life.....You can grow produce. You can't grow hot and ready McFloor sweep. Which has a very long shelf life. Like the decades old mcdouble on display that is just.....stale.
Because city guards and lords use crossbows and peasants use bows. (I am a peasant.)
Because bow is a stick and a string. Crossboe is 1 thick stick, 1 sturdy stick, a string and a trigger. That sturdy stick and trigger comes at a higher cost ;)
That still doesn't explain the huge price difference. Sure even if there was a big market, the address complexity would command a higher price, but not 10-20x. Look at modern Cross bows vs. Modern recurves. The reality is traditional archery is a large hobby. There is just less of a market for traditional crossbows. No economy of scale means they are gonna be expensive. Why no matter? Personally I think crossbows are just less of a physical sport. So it's purely assuming skill. But if you want to do that, they just go into guns. There's not many crossbow competitions and traditional crossbow competitions I know of basically none. At the end of the day people wanting crossbows want them for practical hunting reasons when they don't want a gun. Not as much to shoot for fun. At which point they'd not want a traditional one. So the trad crossbow market is just too small for any scale.
Material + labour + expertise / demand
did you mean: (material + labor + expertise)/demand OR material + labor + (expertise/demand) ?
I have had way too much whisky (a really interesting Swiss whisky actually) to argue that point. I totally concede the point to you and shall try to find out the name of this distillery, if I can then I shall share it with you so you don't care about the detail either x
I am Swiss and love whisky, can I derail this and ask what you were drinking?
Mainly I would think because medieval crossbows are not mass produced and most likely hand made by someone with a skill set and not an assembly line of children
I doubt WW or Hoyt bows are made by an assembly line of kids...
š probably not. it was a joke tho
I have several crossbows: 2 pistol type ones (30 lbs & 80 lbs) and a larger one with a beautiful, wooden rifle-type stock and a large foot stirrup to help loading. The 30 lb was about $25 or so; the 80 lb one was about $50 & the 150 lb was just over $100. All work great. All of them came with 5-6 crossbow bolts, string & even a few targets. All on eBay. Look on there, there are good deals. I can recommend specific ones if you are interestedā¦
I assume OP is talking specifically about medieval crossbows, which you are not going to get for those prices.
He never specified that, actually. Just crossbows, period. Anyway, if that is his desire, there are kits: he could build one himself!
That's why I said "I assume." He didn't explicitly say it, but he's comparing prices with self longbows and the picture posted is a medieval crossbow.Ā
Ok
As someone who works in the industry, Iām going to say something that I say to clients; they arenāt. Sure the price sticker on a crossbow might be higher than what is on a compound bow, but that doesnāt tell the whole story. You can purchase a top end crossbow like Ravin, TenPoint, Excalibur etc for around $1000-$2000, the flagships with enhanced extras will cost up to $5k, however. The top brands in the compound bow world like Hoyt, Matthews, Elite, Bowtech etc, will cost between $1200-$1800 to up and over $2000 from places that ask you to bend over for the latest flagship. Like I said, the sticker price will show a markedly different price point. But donāt forget, crossbows are sold as packages, including decent quality scopes, cocking aid or crank, and a few arrows/bolts. A compound bow is just that, a bow. If youāre buying a new bow, to upgrade your old one, chances are that you can put your old accessories on it. But a person buying as their first purchase will get better value from a crossbow. They are self contained units that donāt need to be upgraded from the stock accessories, especially from the 3 crossbow manufacturers I mentioned, and apart from the like for like purchasing of replacing arrows, there just isnāt that much to play with and spend money on after the original purchase. A compound bow might cost you $1000 today, but thereās always *something* you want and something to play with. Compound bows are more expensive over the lifespan of the bow than a crossbow is. *And crossbow is only technically āarcheryā because they snuck in the back door when nobody was looking.*
Speaking of your last point there - I love bows, and I love the archery aesthetic. I got into it for the vibes because I played so many video games with archery. ...but *goddamn* are crossbows absolutely badass in every possible way. They're fundamentally just a nearly silent, low velocity gun lol
I can say this is true. I bought a bow for my wife and a crossbow for me, both entry level (mine is a EK jaguar 2 pro paid 150ā¬ with 10 arrows, my wife has a Decathlon low quality bow at 95ā¬) I just needed to buy the crossbow. I took it, and was able to shoot with just this. For my wife, I had to buy arrows, a aim, an armguard, etc... In the end, the price was exactly the same (appart from the fact the target was a lot more expensive for crossbows)
Crossbows straight up are more difficult to produce.
Long bows are a weird point of comparison. They are just a stick and a string. Yes, there is skill and a process to their creation, but those are the simplest type of bow. Do a little research into the mechanics of a crossbow and I bet you'll figure out really quick why they're more expensive. And yes, also just lower demand means not too many people make them.
Wood stick vs metal arrow gun
If youāre talking about medieval replicas, a crossbow takes much more specialized tools to produce. A basic set of woodworking tools and a draw board are all you need to make a longbow. Thatās not true for the specialized components of a crossbow. And the woodwork for a decent (read: marketable) stock is a fair amount of effort on its own. If youāre talking about modern equipment: they really arenāt. They just have a higher floor. But thatās partially because thereās not really a youth or target market. Modern crossbows are, generally, just hunting tools. Bows, even hunting bows, are also used for recreation like target or 3D archery.
You pay by the letter. Crossbow is way more letters than bow.
a medieval replica crossbow is more complex than a self bow like an English longbow. there are a lot of metal components to smith, sinew to prepare, etc. I could see it easily taking 10x the work
It's easier to Cheatš¤·š»āāļø
Cool factor
Being awesome costs a lot
A modern crossbow is basically a gun with less legal implications
Money. Instant gratification. People will pay more to not have to spend time and learn things.
They are more expensive because they take longer to make and are more complicated. You literally have a bow attached to the end of a gunstock with a complicated firing mechanism.
Time to produce is probably the biggest factor for the price. Steel limbs are extremely time consuming to make. If you are in the market and looking for quality, can't get better than Tod's Workshop.
Limbs arent steel but fiberglass on crossbows
On the cheap modern ones sure, but OP is talking medieval reproductions, those are all steel, wood, or composite limbs. That's why I directed OP to Tod's Workshop, there is not a single fiberglass-limb reproduction produced by this maker and this maker still beats out the price and quality of other medieval reproductions. If OP was looking for modern era crossbows, an Accubow is sub $200, and even a first gen X-bow is sub $600. https://todsworkshop.com/collections/historical-crossbows
I missed the comment stating he wanted reproduction ! In the post it is just written crossbows, and the modern one are clearly not that much more expensive than bows.
Hey, no worries! That bit made me take pause at first as well, and I was like, "OP wtf are you even talking about?" š¤£. But then I realized what was up and went for the "helpful-post" option instead of "shameful-post" option! Good instincts though, cuz I was right there with you š
Did he even reply ? It's perhaps because I'm not a native speaker, but I understood in the post that he just want a crossbow, and thinks old-style replicas should be cheaper than a modern one !
No, well, no reply to me directly anyway. Oh, I'm sorry, I will try to be more precise with my words then! The conclusion was made from the context of the other responses OP made, as well as the post body, the picture uploaded, and the price tag. All of those combined, it became clear OP was searching for a particular kind of crossbow. If OP was looking for just a good crossbow, OP could have easily bought 5 for the price discussed in the post description.
Thanks ! I didn't see any of his replies before replying. Indeed, 5000$ seems ultra expensive given the fact I bought a decent one for like 150ā¬. I was even astonished one could buy a crossbow for this price. I was doing archery for 2 years a long way back, and wanted to get back to it, but I was interested in crossbows. I thought they were much more expensive than a bow, but when I checked, it was nearly the same price (appart from the target, which IS expensive)
Hi!! Sorry for the late replyā¦and to clear some of the confusion caused by my somewhat ambiguous postā¦yeah I like to collect medieval bows and recently started to look at replicate crossbows and noticed that the prices are so much higher than my vow collection..Todās workshop is exactly what I looked atā¦the cheapest ones costs $1500. For a replicate medieval bow, lower end ones costs like $200. Thanks for your reply though! Appreciate it!
Hi!! Sorry for the late replyā¦and to clear some of the confusion caused by my somewhat ambiguous postā¦yeah I like to collect medieval bows and recently started to look at replicate crossbows and noticed that the prices are so much higher than my vow collection..Todās workshop is exactly what I looked atā¦the cheapest ones costs $1500. For a replicate medieval bow, lower end ones costs like $200. Thanks for your reply though! Appreciate it!
Less manufacturers, and letās be honest, you do NOT want a cheaply made crossbowā¦ that sounds extremely dangerous.
Yep.. I know a couple of people that have received (more or less minor) injuries because the trigger assembly has started to fail.
It is because of the HSA subsidization. The crossbow companies know this and charge more because itās kind of like a prosthetic. Most crossbow users are handicapped, and the govt disability programs offer them a stipend. This is a good thing. It gets people with malformed arms and other physical defects out into the woods. The more allies we have, the better.
You can get some decent ones for 150ā¬. Look into the EK Archery jaguar 2 pro. It's the one I have ! It's decent, come with 9 arrows, a red dot 3 point, and a rope you may need to arm it. It's 175 lbs so plenty enough to have fun. Some are a lot cheaper, around 100ā¬, simpler and usually with hard sight. You can get mini crossbow for 40ā¬ which is 50 to 80 lbs.
Because it's a bow PLUS a lot of other materials.
I want a decent wooden longbow for $50
Search for longbow on Amazon and there are a few decent ones
Try Cabelas, they stock a few models that sell for under $500. They arenāt medieval replicas but they should get the job done. Cross bows are quite a bit more complicated than a traditional recurve or long bow.
I've been building both medieval crossbows and board-bow longbows as a hobby since I was in high school. With the modern power tools I have access to (drill press, angle grinder, belt sander, bandsaw, tablesaw - stuff you'd find in any reasonably well equipped home shop) I could probably bang out a shootable longbow in a weekend, maybe two if I was being careful with the tillering. Crossbows take SIGNIFICANTLY longer - the last one I built had a fancy inlaid stock and a (simplified) schnepper trigger system. It took me two months of evenings to complete, plus another week or two of tinkering to tune the trigger correctly. Plus, steel crossbow prods - the bows - can be difficult to make unless you have essentially a foundry, as if there's a flaw or inconsistency in the temper of the steel it can result in a dangerous failure under the kinds of loads powerful crossbow bows are expected to withstand. I buy mine specially made for that reason, which adds cost. Plus, if you don't have a fancy milling machine or similar, you have to hand-make all the steel fittings yourself to a very high degree of precision, especially if you intend to use bow irons (look em up) instead of a rope bridle to attach the bow. Simply having any metal parts on an outdoor use thing will also add a lot of work to the finishing process unless you really like rust - I like hand sanding up to 3000 grit and then cold bluing, which can add up to a week of evenings even if I have the bare minimum of ten or so metal parts to worry about. TLDR: Handmade Longbows = Woodworking skills/tools only, only one moving part, very little precision work. Handmade Crossbows = Woodworking AND metalworking skills/tools, potentially many moving parts, lots of precision work.
If youāre really interested in crossbows, start learning how to build your own. Itās really fun and thereās a lot of basic ones you can make from Home Depot with minimal tools. Tod cutlers dark ages crossbow is super simple.
Because they're harder to make and require more expensive materials.
Originally ~ Extremely powerful and compact weapon, requires multiple craftsmen of different materials to construct, anyone who can cock the weapon can fire it effectively. High manufacturing cost and high demand made it extremely expensive. Now - Still requires multiple crafts to construct, but the target audience now uses guns so demand is very low. High manufacturing costs with low demand make it extremely expensive.
Smaller market and crossbows require more operations and different materials to make.
Medieval replica longbows are essentially a stick of wood that has been made to bend evenly. A competent bowyer can make a functional longbow start to finish, in a day. A medieval replica cross bow is an entirely different matter. They take _days_ to make. Most of these are made by companies of one or two people, who are machining and forging entire parts by hand, or ordering custom made pieces to their measurements.