New Tools For Old Hunting Arms

If a job is even remotely related to hunting and shooting, the gunsmith often gets the nod. Here are tools I built for hunters using a crossbow and a muzzleloader. Crossbow Foot Stirrup In the modern day hunting and shooting world the crossbow has reached unbelievable popularity. Its power and performance far exceed the older crossbows, but along with this comes increased maintenance and the demand for methods of cocking them.

Where the older crossbows were cocked by simply pulling the string with a hand on each side of the frame, crank cocking aids are now routinely required. Those bows of lesser power can be cocked with a rope cocking aid which reduces pull force by 50 percent, but this requires a good, sturdy foot stirrup as a counterpoise to the cocking action used. The adapters are made of cast aluminum. Here’s how I built and installed a custom foot stirrup for cocking a hunting crossbow, which worked out perfectly.

The crossbow was turned over to me without a foot stirrup and one had to be modified and mounted while keeping the bow as short as possible. While cocking a crossbow, the stirrup is placed on the ground or other level place as the foot is placed in a loop or stirrup to hold it down. With the bow held vertically, the shooter bends over it with the butt plate of the crossbow against the chest. If the bow is too long this becomes most difficult.

Unless a mechanical aid is prop- Far Both a set screw and J-B Weld are used to firmly fasten the ends of the stirrup to the side adapters. Rubber padding is slipped over the foot loop to prevent slippage and make it more quiet during use while hunting.

This keeps the foot stirrup very compact and the bow shorter. erly used to reduce the pull force, older or less capable users are unable to draw and cock it. On the crossbow brought to me, a very low mounted stirrup was needed. Ordinary stirrup attachment utilizes a bolt at the end of the main crossbow beam to hold it in position. The problem with this type of attachment is it left the bow too long and difficult to cock. This was solved by using special side The bow is much closer to the ground while cocking.

The foot stirrup attached to the sides of the bow frame help keep the crossbow as low as possible to the ground. Here a special rope cocking aid is used to reduce bow cocking pull force by 50 percent. attachments to fasten the ends of the stirrup to the crossbow. These special parts had to be made to fit this specific bow. Making the Parts As the pictures show, a pair of adapters were made to join the two ends of the stirrup into the concave channels along the sides of the crossbow beam.

The adapters were formed from cast aluminum 3/4 inches in diameter. Holes were drilled in the ends to admit the tips of the stirrup. J-B Weld, along with a pair of set screws, was used to permanently bond the parts together. A flat spot was then formed near the ends of each adapter for each 1/4-20 attachment bolt. Properly-positioned holes were drilled and tapped in the rail channels of the bow to hold the rounded adapters in place.

Positioning in this way mounted the stirrup with just enough room for a full-size hunting boot, making a crossbow that was easy to cock using a special rope cocking aid. Muzzleloader Capping Tool Among the many accessories used by the muzzleloader shooter is the capping and decapping tool. Though a common percussion cap can be installed with bare fingers and removed with thumb and forefinger or a pocket knife, it isn’t easy, particularly with cold fingers or when a quick re-load is required.

A nifty combination tool can solve the problem. There are capping/decapping tools on the market, but a very particular customer approached

me with the possibility of making a better tool for the job. He had some upcoming deer hunting planned and asked if I could make a dual purpose tool that could be worn around his neck… a more compact and maneuverable tool than those he had seen. My sketch of such a tool was convincing and the "go ahead" was given. The finished tool is shown on the right. No special tools are needed in making this compact combination tool.

Making the Capping Tool The raw materials required for making the proposed muzzleloader capper/decapper tool cost less than a dollar, consisting of a common 1/4- 20 round head fillister screw and apiece of 1/2 x 5/8 x 1 1/8" cast aluminum stock. Total construction took me a little over an hour. The illustrations will provide some latitude for personal touch. I used a hacksaw and file to form the main body and capping cup.

The cap retaining hole in the cup is drilled to just over the outer cap size with a proper number drill. The hole is drilled to a depth of an average percussion cap to fit flush with the brim of the cap. Then round off the capping cup American Gunsmith Reader Services 1.

This is an easy task with this combination tool. with a file, leaving an outer wall thickness of about 1/8". At this stage I tested the size by placing a percussion cap in the cup to try the fit. Next, the decapping fork is made and installed at the opposite end and side of the capping cup. Here a number 7 drill is used to make a hole at the end of the tool for the 1/4-20 screwhead. The thread is then tapped.

At this stage of development I placed the bolt in the lathe and cut off the rounded portion of the head, The simple combination tool makes the task easy. The lanyard makes it even more versatile. leaving about 1/8" rim thickness for forming the decapping fork. I then cut away from the bolt rim enough metal to form the two-tined fork to fit over the nipple. I made the saddle in the fork with a small, round file to a half-circle depth and diameter a few thousandths wider than the tapered nipple.

The decapping bolt is cut to a length of about 3/4" and screwed into the tapped hole at the opposite side and opposite end of the nipple body. The fork is set at a 45 degree angle to the tool body for right- A hole was then drilled in the upper side of the tool body for the lanyard. I used blaze orange nylon cord with sufficient length for easy maneuvering as the percussion caps are installed and removed. The customer immediately tried the tool and said it was exactly what he was looking for.

I guess you can’t beat two-way satisfaction! I don’t know about the rest of you machinist/gunsmiths, but I totally enjoy the challenge in creating and making different things. My customers and others that know me are aware of my willingness to do so. Today’s gunsmith should be prepared to perform vastly different jobs in connection with equipment other than guns.

It will benefit the gunsmith to learn more about the principles of archery and muzzleloaders as it involves ballistics, maintenance, and repair of a different type—the crossbow in particular. In my own experience, crossbow owners began requesting my services 20 years ago, and few were turned away because I couldn’t help them. Fact is, I have been an active archery hunter since 1983 hand use, as shown in the illustrations.

As a means of holding the thread tightly in the nipple body, I tapped the hole at less than a complete thread for a snug thread fit. and know first – hand the needs of the crossbow owner. I have similar interests in muzzleloaders as well. Diversity such as this will only increase the jobs you can take. AG