The question really ought to be why not pack an AR-Series crossbow? Given how easy it is to do in absolute terms, never mind comparing the experience to packing a regular crossbow, it’s a feature almost criminal not to take advantage of. This blog looks at what doors open if you have an AR-Series in the trunk, in the hold, the top box, or hull.
Before giving you ideas, first, let’s set the baseline. Some AR-Series crossbows are more carry-friendly than others. It all comes down to whether you have opted for “quick-detach” parts or not. Whichever AR-Series repeating crossbow you have, the limbs are the most cumbersome part of the design when it comes to finding a way to carry your bow.
Opting for a set-up with the open frame, and a limb fitted with the limb block means the biggest obstacle is out of the way: making the crossbow slimmer. With a few turns of a thumbscrew, you can lift up the magazine and remove the limb. 15 seconds. Once the limb is out, it’s so easy to pack.
You can make it even easier by either getting the folding stock adaptor that halves the length of the frame/stock assembly or simply foregoing the stock altogether and getting the AR-6 Compact—the pistol configuration of the AR-Series range. Once in parts, it will take up about 12 inches in length, 4 in width, and 6 in height, roughly. And weigh about two and a half pounds.
Low in weight, small in size, very inconspicuous, and packing one gives you more options when you get where you’re going.
Road trips
Road trips can be great fun: see lots of new things, stop in interesting towns, and eat in exciting places. It can also be punctuated with periods that are less than exhilarating. Long drives, perhaps camping in lackluster surroundings, etc. Keep boredom at bay: pack a crossbow and a target. Since people pack a fishing rod for the same reasons, this should not be an alien concept.
Camping trips
For the same reasons as above, if you arrive at a nice spot, it’s perfectly reasonable to have some activities lined up. You don’t even need a target: a dead tree will do (best not to shoot at live ones). When you want to chill, but you’re not in the mood for a sit-down game of cards, a packed AR-Series crossbow provides you with what you need.
Hiking in the wilds
Here, the case for packing a lightweight crossbow shifts from recreation to self-sufficiency. If you are going to put yourself in the palm of Mother Nature, being able to look after yourself is far from daft. We always think “It won’t happen to me,” but there are more than a few examples of hikers who fell victim to the elements or one miscalculation about where they were going before finding themselves lost and very much on the back foot. A compact crossbow may not double as a GPS, but it does potentially fix an empty stomach which goes a long way to getting you out of trouble.
Boats and planes.
Given the negligible space these take, and given how light they are, unless there are legal ramifications, this is a strong case of better to have one and not need it than need one and not have it. As with hiking, boats and planes are in the hands of the elements and things can go wrong. That might sound “Hollywood,” until it happens to you, that is. Then it is suddenly very, very real. It’s a bit like flare guns. You pack them just in case. A flare gets you noticed. A Steambow keeps you fed in the meantime.
Some of the reasons are recreational. Others lean towards risk management. Whatever your own priorities, there is one aspect that applies to both perspectives: a Steambow AR-Series crossbow is not a burden. It is neither huge, nor heavy, and taking it with you does not become a millstone around your neck: it is there, unnoticed until the time that you either want to use it or need to use it.
