Scorpion Crossbow Review

Scorpion Crossbow Review

 

We start this review after I have sweated profusely putting the bow together. I don't know what sort of hulk they had in the picture, but I could not string it with one hand. I couldn't even string it with two hands so I caved and got my partner to loop the string while I bent the bow back. I dare say with a little practice I could find a way to string it solo but it's just easier with two. I can at least cock the string without requiring the foot stirrup on the front, so that's a little bit of messing around I don't need to do from now on.

 

Ok, so you can't expect amazing quality when you buy something like this for the very low price it costs, but at least they didn't skimp out where it matters. The body of the crossbow and the body of the bolts are both made out of aluminium. The bow itself is fibreglass and the sights, handle scales, trigger and the fetches of the bolts are all plastic. In total the crossbow itself feels pretty solid although the bolts could do with having the heads glued on, but again for the price this is higher quality than I was expecting.

At the moment I haven't gone out and tested it, so only time will tell if my concerns are justified and, in that regard, there are two things that concern me. First is the safety lock. It engages automatically when you cock the bow, which is great, but the way you switch to live involves pressing forward in such a way that I fear it might automatically fire the bolt, so don't have it facing anybody or any part of your body when you do this (although you should be doing either of these things at all). Remember this is a serious piece of equipment that can cause harm if you don't respect it. Second there is nothing that holds the bolt down to the body so I'm slightly worried it wont fly forward but fling it upwards or sideways so make sure anybody with you is behind you when you fire.

 

Well with my little health and safety warning over, its time to head out and see how this mini crossbow performs.

 

Well, unsurprisingly, my partner with his military training took the first shot and with sniper precision, lost a bolt immediately. I obviously mocked him and he retorted 'Well they don't train you to use crossbows in the army.', to which I had to confess I had crossbow training at university whilst studying journalism. No wait, I  didn't. He's just useless.

 

Anyway, like fools we fired at a tree which brushed aside the bolts like they were fly's on a windscreen, but we could see that it was accurate and had plenty of power.  The poundage was light enough that we could cock without the use of the stirrup and my worries about the safety catch were put to rest (somewhat) when it held just fine. The safety was a problem later in my home when I wanted to get some photos and the string caught my fingertip while I was trying to fix the mechanism. This was more likely due to my own messing with the bow for pictures, but just a warning that if the string does get stuck, use a stick or some other object to push the string rather than your own flesh. Thankfully I was expecting this so I avoided anything serious happening.

 

The bolts are a bit flimsy in a sense that the tips just want to fall off, but a bit of adhesive on the thread will sort that out. They are also very cheap to replace (I think a pack of 12 is about £3-5 depending on whether you want plastic or aluminium).

 

The whole set-up is really lightweight although, if you plan on keeping this in a backpack or bugout bag, then I suggest not attaching the bow to the chassis as its shape makes it a little awkward to fit in a pack and the string will last longer being unburdened. It's accurate and powerful enough that, if you had to, you could hunt some small game like rabbit, pheasant or duck although, with these bolts I think you are more likely to get a stunning blow on something rather than any sort of piercing shot. You would need some good stealth skills to get close enough to secure some food but it's definitely achievable and gives you a good tactical edge when fighting for survival. I personally would head down to the river and attempt some bow fishing in shallow water if I had to secure some food. It's definitely powerful enough for getting some fish close to the surface and if you had some cord to attach to the bolt then you could stop them floating away.  Not just that you are right next to a water source so it's generally a good area to set up camp.

 

So that's our scorpion crossbow review. Overall I love this thing, it's seriously fun and a nice addition to any mans toy box. At the price these go for it's well worth the money, even if you don't put it in a bug out bag or use it for any type of survival or hunting. Just get a target up (somewhere safe) and fire a few bolts, you can't regret making this purchase.

 

I got mine from here at a very good price and they also supply replacement bolts (something I must now purchase).

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Morakniv Eldris Review

Morakniv Eldris Review

Here we have the Mora Eldris and at first glance it's a very strange knife. It does have its own charm though and I think it could be a surprisingly useful blade for EDC. Mora developed this as a rival to the folding blade. I know it doesn't fold, but the idea is a small knife to match the size of a folder while still having a fixed blade for more strength.

The blade is made of 12C27 stainless steel and is 2.2"/5.6cm long and 2mm thick. Its overall length is 5.6"/14.3cm and it weighs only 80 grams. The handle is covered in a rubbery thermoplastic for grip and the sheath is the usual Mora plastic.

The sheath is a little bit weird but I like it. First you have the normal option of having just the handle being secured by the sheath. I shook it violently and it didn't even rattle so it's very secure but Mora have given us an optional leather clip also. It loops around the outside of the sheath and clips in using a few raised parts that really help hold it firmly on the sheath (I could barely get it back off when I wanted to take some pictures). This gives the sheath a second point for securing the blade for those who fear the otherwise strong sheath hold to be less than required. I guess its perfect for if you are going to keep the blade in a bag or your pocket rather than around your neck, it certainly wont work its way free. I haven't tried it to see how secure it would be but it's about the right size to attach the sheath to some molle which is a bonus. This sheath came with a small length of paracord and a ferro rod. There is a little tab made of leather on the firesteel that looks nice, but I suspect its purpose is for looping around the rod for an easier grip, which I don't think is needed, but it does work.

The handle of the Eldris is rather large compared to the blade. It's just large enough to fit perfectly in my hand with no overhang but I wouldn't really call it full-sized. It's certainly thick enough for a full-sized handle and you get a very nice grip on it. It's nicely textured and really quite comfortable. My only criticism about this blade really is that as a neck knife it's quite bulky. It's lighter than most of my other neck knives but as the handle is so thick you do notice it underneath a shirt, but it's not so large that it's bothersome.

So now I can talk to you about the blade and first I have to mention that, although it's small, it looks menacing. It looks like a prison shiv McGyver would make. It has a Scandi grind for ease of sharpening and obviously you wont ever be processing firewood with this knife, but it was a very good size for feathering some shavings for tinder. It's not a thick blade. but because its short it feels very durable and the secondary bevel around the tip makes it thinner for  light cutting tasks, it's great for cutting cordage when you are setting up a makeshift shelter. As it's a small blade, I would also be comfortable using it to process some gam,e as you couldn't really lose control of something this size and I'd even have a go at whittling a spoon (well I'd rather shiv a spoon but that just doesn't seem feasible).

I'm usually surprised by Mora knives as I generally dislike their look and shape but I'm never disappointed to use them. They are always comfortable in hand and very good quality for the price and the Eldris is no exception. I do like it. I mean I wouldn't carry it around my neck, but I would certainly leave it in an emergency pouch or attach it to the outside of my pack. I think it has its place and I'm sure you will too.

 

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Beginners Guide To Bow Sports

Beginners Guide To Bow Sports

*This article was submitted as a guest publication by an outside source.*

So before I start this article I have to confess, I’m not a true prepper, I don’t have a plan for when the SHTF, I don’t have a survival cache, bug-out-bag or anything like that, I’ve not planned and prepared for what may come. So why have I been invited to write this article you ask? Well, I like to shoot, I’m a keen archer and I’ve several bows lying around my house and if you’re the kind of person I think you are and you want to be prepared to defend yourself and survive in the event of a serious societal collapse, I’m going to tell you why you should think about joining an archery club and learning how to use a bow.

 

There’s a lot you can do with the bow that you probably didn’t realise. It’s a great tool for sport but also survival. Over in the US bow-hunting is a big thing, not so much in the UK since the practice was prohibited in 1965 but nevertheless the US following shows the effectiveness of a bow as a tool for hunting, from small rodents to and larger game and even fish. Bows can be fitted with bow fishing reels and arrows with barbed points and used to catch fish should you find clear enough water to line up a shot. Besides those things though, one of the most important things I think you can do with a bows and arrows for survival is make then! If I lost my bow or was out of ammunition, given time I could make replacements myself without any complex infrastructure to support me.

 

Bowsports are also family friendly, when my son grows up I’m going to take him to the local archery club and teach him how to shoot a bow. I can probably start doing this when he’s about 3 or 4, I’m hoping he enjoys the experience and thinks it’s cool but you just never know with children, although boys tend to like swords and guns and all sorts of weapons and there are male and female hollywood role models who use a bow (Hawkeye, Katniss Everdeen etc) so I’m hopeful. I aim to give him a skill that he can take through life that I think is more useful than just being a sport he does. Also take my wife, she doesn’t currently shoot, but she isn’t as averse to me and won’t be frightened of her son shooting a bow regularly, but I’m sure she would think differently if we were off learning to knife fight or flying to Budapest to shoot pistols and semi-automatics at a range.

 

Now you know why I think bows are a good choice, I could give you more reasons but that could turn into a whole article in itself, instead let’s go through the types of bows you can find on offer today. If you want to know more about the different types and styles of bows available take a look at this article on bow types.

 

Traditional Bows

D-shaped bows include old english longbows, american flatbows, these are normally bows made from one piece of wood that don’t have stabilisers or sights. They’re the type of bow you’d make yourself from raw materials. You wouldn’t normally learn with something like this as they are not so widely available and customizable as the next choice.

 

Recurve Bow

Recurve bows are the bows that should interest you as a novice, this type of bow is the one they shoot at the Olympics. It curves round in the usual D shape but then re-curves back away from the archer at the tips which is how it gets the name. Recurve bows can be broken down into to pieces (takedown bows) and carried in a case or rucksack. Maybe not THE most portable bow in the world but certainly not the least.

 

Survival Bows

A survival bow is a light, compact, usually folding version of usually a D-shaped bow. Survival bows sometimes come with collapsible arrows and always are made to be easily portable and quick to assemble and modern engineering ensures they can also be pretty powerful. This as the name suggests is a the bow designed for a prepper or survivalist. But if I didn’t know how to shoot I’d still start with a recurve first and learn my technique.

 

Compound Bow

A compound bow is a bow with wheels or ‘cams’ at either end of the limbs, these cams compound the force of the string on the arrow when you release (hence the name) and a compound bow allows you to hold and aim for longer than a recurve. You might only be pulling back and holding 20 lbs, but when you release you’d get the power of 30-40 lbs acting on the arrow. Compound bows are great and a modern upgrade to the recurve, however as a prepper I wouldn’t have one as my first choice. They are bulkier, harder to maintain, harder to string and don’t normally breakdown for easy storage and transport.

 

Crossbow / Compound Crossbow / Pistol Crossbow

Everyone who’s watched the walking dead has seen Daryl and his crossbow, and I’m sure you know that a crossbow is just a bow mounted on a stock with a mechanism for holding back the string which is released with a trigger to shoot the bolt (it’s not an arrow in the crossbow world). You shoot a crossbow like a rifle, you can get compound versions and non-compound versions and you can even get pistol crossbows which are designed to be held and shot with one hand. If anything ever goes wrong with Daryl’s crossbow I don’t see how he’s going to maintain it very easily, he’s certainly not going to make himself another and there’s less skill and fun to be had in shooting one of these than with a recurve if you ask me. There are models of folding survival crossbows, but they don’t fold down as compactly as a survival bow.

 

When you look into bow sports you’d be surprised at how many different disciplines are on offer. There’s field archery, 3D archery, flight, clout, ski, run, even a martial art dedicated to the bow (Kyudo). Lots of choice and variety, but you nearly always start with Target archery, either indoors or outdoors which is the discipline that everyone knows. Standing and shooting at a target with a yellow bulls eye, it’s what the Olympians do.

 

Here’s a very quick introduction to all those types. Field archery is target archery practised on a course with different elevations and distances involved, 3D is similar to field with targets that resemble animals like Deer or Rabbit. Flight archery is the skill of shooting an arrow as far as possible. Clout is basically golf for archers where the aim of the game is to land your arrow as close to the flag as possible. Ski and run are basically forms of the biathlon with bows instead of guns. Outdoor Olympic archery is ONLY the recurve bow and they shoot at a target 70m away. Indoor competitive archery on the other hand is shot at a target only 18m away.

 

That’s a brief introduction to the sport, different bows and their disciplines. There are also many different types of arrows to support those bows and disciplines, but in the next article I’ll take you through some more practical information on actually purchasing a bow and what bits and bobs you need.

 

*This article was submitted as a guest publication by an outside source.*

Cold Steel Peace Maker 2 Review

Here is our Cold Steel Peace Maker 2 Review.

 

Some stats on the Peace Maker 2:

It has a 5 1/2 inch blade and is 10 1/4 inches in total. Made from 3mm thick 4116 stainless steel.
It has a high impact polypropylene handle and a Secure-Ex sheath and comes in at around £35.

Well the Secure-Ex® sheath has a pretty solid metal clip on the back for attaching to your boot or a belt. The design is such that it could easily be slipped into molle, which is a nice feature although, I dare say you wouldn't get it off with any form of ease because it is very stiff. It's also a reversible sheath, so very good for all the lefties out there as well. The biggest problem with the sheath though is its size. It covers about 60% of the handles sides and sticks out too far over the edges, so you have to use your pinky to remove the blade effectively. It could do with covering about an inch less of the handle and it would be much better, but you could always shave it down yourself. It's also so much thicker than the blade its unreal. Almost 2cm thick for a 3mm blade. As a boot knife this would never work here in the UK as it's clearly only ever going to fit on a wellington (and nobody really wears wellies outside of farms and construction sites).

 

The handle on this is very thin. Even in my small hands I struggle to find a good comfortable grip. It is made of Kray-Ex™ and the highly textured handle curls out to make a cross guard, so you wont end up loosing your grip if you manage to find one. There's also a lanyard hole and that's pretty much it for the handle. Basic and a bit small,  but it does the job.

 

The blade is made of cryo quenched (dont know what that means but I guess it was cold) German 4116 stainless steel which is being used quite a lot by Cold Steel for their cheaper models. It's quite thin but has very little flex in it so it's a good general purpose knife blade, and combined with its low weight makes it a good item to carry. I used it a few times to process some wood for kindling and it feathers very well thanks to the thin blade and the Scandinavian grind. It has a nice drop point on it as well, so good penetration, and enough length on it for flipping steaks without singing the back of my hand.

 

All of it's bad features aren't terrible individually, but I think combined it makes for a bit of a disappointment. The blade is too long given how thin the blade is. The handle is also far too small and the sheath is far too big. I have started seeing this as a repeating trend from Cold Steel. I've seen so many great reviews on their high end blades but it seems that in their efforts to make more affordable items and generate profit they just give up on their quality and design. I know they could make a better blade for this price but I don't think they really want to.

 

If it broke, would I buy another one?

 

No. Its got the size and shape of a combat knife, but the blade is far too thin for this in my opinion. Its advertised as a boot knife, but I feel its far too large for this purpose also. The sheath is useable, but its nothing special, and the handle is far too skinny for me to get a decent grip. There are much worse blades out there for £35, so it's not the worst you can do. Honestly though I would avoid this series altogether and look for something suitable for your personal needs.

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