Crossbow Thumb Guard
I have a Barnett Quad 400 crossbow. I have seen several pictures of guys getting their thumbs cut off by the string of the crossbow. I am always cautious when shooting that I keep my thumb down, but in the heat of the moment with big buck in my sights, I am afraid I will forget my thumb position. I was looking at the crossbow and had an old Rubbermaid container lid setting on the work bench which gave me an idea. The lip on the lid was the exact same size as the groove on the side of the crossbow. So here is what I came up with. I am sure you could adapt it to other models of crossbows.
Here is the Rubbermaid container lid before it was cut
I cut the lid long ways right next to the ridge with my bandsaw:
I used outdoor double sided tape from Walmart to attach the guard to the crossbow:
This is the guard cut and a test fit:
I cut to length and sanded it down to 440 grit sand paper. I placed the double sided tape on and trimmed before applying paint:
Here is the finished guard:
I haven't had time to shoot with it yet, but don't anticipate any issues, unless the tape doesn't hold up to the vibration. It was a little tight fit after applying the tape. I should have sanded about 1/32" from the height, because it wants to bow up some on the outside edge. Might also consider trimming more off the height in order to place tape on the bottom rail also, but the bottom rail tapers from a wide flange at the back to about 3/16" in the front and even thinner in the middle. If it holds, then it will be better without the bottom strip.
Overall, I think it looks good, lightweight and it doesn't effect the bow fitting in the case. It took about 30 minutes to complete, much less time than than the wait at the emergency room not to mention the loss of a thumb
.
Here is the Rubbermaid container lid before it was cut
I cut the lid long ways right next to the ridge with my bandsaw:
I used outdoor double sided tape from Walmart to attach the guard to the crossbow:
This is the guard cut and a test fit:
I cut to length and sanded it down to 440 grit sand paper. I placed the double sided tape on and trimmed before applying paint:
Here is the finished guard:
I haven't had time to shoot with it yet, but don't anticipate any issues, unless the tape doesn't hold up to the vibration. It was a little tight fit after applying the tape. I should have sanded about 1/32" from the height, because it wants to bow up some on the outside edge. Might also consider trimming more off the height in order to place tape on the bottom rail also, but the bottom rail tapers from a wide flange at the back to about 3/16" in the front and even thinner in the middle. If it holds, then it will be better without the bottom strip.
Overall, I think it looks good, lightweight and it doesn't effect the bow fitting in the case. It took about 30 minutes to complete, much less time than than the wait at the emergency room not to mention the loss of a thumb
.
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