A decent crossbow (where I live) costs about £150 for a basic, but good quality one, bolts are £10 for 6 decent ones, but they are reusable
For defence though you will want broadheads and they are significantly more expensive, I buy screw on broadhead tips for my standard bolts, and they are £10 for a pack of 3, but again, reusable.
obviously they have far reduced range than a firearm, are borderline impossible to conceal, are very slow to reload unless you practice extensively with it, and even then it's still slow, you will need spare strings and a quiver, which adds bulk if you were planning to go anywhere with it.
A decent crossbow (where I live) costs about £150 for a basic, but good quality one, bolts are £10 for 6 decent ones, but they are reusable
For defence though you will want broadheads and they are significantly more expensive, I buy screw on broadhead tips for my standard bolts, and they are £10 for a pack of 3, but again, reusable.
obviously they have far reduced range than a firearm, are borderline impossible to conceal, are very slow to reload unless you practice extensively with it, and even then it's still slow, you will need spare strings and a quiver, which adds bulk if you were planning to go anywhere with it.