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Thread: Crossbows

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
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    Crossbows

    I recently checked off an item on my bucket list and bought a Barnett crossbow. Anybody know of a good place to go to talk about these and archery in general?

    Tony
    Hi, my name is Tony and I'm addicted to gunpowder.

    AKA Geezerbiker

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    Archerytalk.com is the best site I know of. They have thousands of members and lots of sub-forums.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master
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    I will second archerytalk.com. Wish we had a bow subsection here. Bought a crossbow with a friend to extend our hunting season. Very soon after bought my first compound bow, then another, then a recurve. Then started building my own arrows.

  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master


    GregLaROCHE's Avatar
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    How does hunting with a cross bow compare to hunting with a regular type bow? Any advantage or disadvantage? How long does it take to get off a second shot?

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    ^^^^Think in terms of Cocked & Locked. Deer are great at detecting movement. Way less movement when using a X-bow. Yes, they are slow to load. However, in all the years I've bowhunted I've never had the opportunity of a second shot. You miss and they've bolted.

    Winelover

  6. #6
    Boolit Master trapper9260's Avatar
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    I use crossbow for deer hunting with a permit to use it because of my disability from the service . You do not count on to do a 2nd shot. Like you do with a muzzle loader. Make the 1st shot count. They are bulky and I keep ,my shots with 40 yards. I would not shot any further. Have a hand crank to pull the string back , make it easy on you and after you get use to it you can decock the string . That is what I do. Winelover is so right on Deer are great at detecting movement. Out of all the years I hunt with one . I do not do a 2nd shot because they are gone if you do not get them. Shot placement is what need to do same as use of any firearms . The bolts are not cheap and broad heads. I use the fixed ones that way I know that they will do what I want them to do. I have 2 crossbows. Not by choose because the first one was stolen and went to get another one that was in the morning and in the afternoon the game warden show up with my stolen one that was damage . I was able to get it repaired . The first is a Barnett and the 2nd is a Ten point . I added a hand crank on the Barnett and scope and the Ten point came with one of each. I just save the Barnett as a back up now. I have both sighted in for 40 yards and I use a 125 grs broad head. I found out later that they are sighted in with a 100 grs broad head . I just stay with the 125grs.
    Life Member of NRA,NTA,DAV ,ITA. Also member of FTA,CBA

  7. #7
    Boolit Master

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    The advantage to me is that I don't have enough time in the summer and fall the practice and keep my skills where I'd like them to use a bow. A crossbow moves the baseline shooting skills up a surprising amount just by the "cocked and locked" concept. It shoots like a rifle and while that requires certain skills as well, I don't find them to be nearly as perishable as with bow shooting.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    I have wanted an Excalibur cross bow for a while. I need to try cocking one first though. They are simple and quiet. Not interested in the super expensive Ravin type units.
    "If everyone is thinking the same thing it means someone is not thinking"

    "A rat became the unit of currency"

  9. #9
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    georgerkahn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GregLaROCHE View Post
    How does hunting with a cross bow compare to hunting with a regular type bow? Any advantage or disadvantage? How long does it take to get off a second shot?
    A few years back -- when crossbows became legal to hunt with in New York -- a friend -- a LEO with quite the sense of humour -- made quite an investment in a new hunting crossbow. At the time, he boasted that which made it a "hunting" device included its awesome trigger; the velocity to propel its bolts; and a really fine, adjustable sight-set. After quite the diatribe, he smiled at me, asking if I'd like to try it? Never having fired more than my French recurve bow, I was kind of intrigued... Johnny P. drew and cocked it -- warned me as it being "loaded" -- and passed it to me. As I was aiming -- almost "there" -- but safely aimed down-range -- I --surprise to me -- released it! Bion, I ended up flat on my back with the crossbow pointed straight up in the air! Embarrassed a bit? You betcha! And... I had a sore right shoulder for maybe three weeks after. Who'd a thunk that a cross-bow might have (severe) recoil?
    To answer your question -- my recurve had/has no "recoil" -- John P.'s crossbow does! And -- after a regular bow discharge -- including compound bows -- it only takes the time to pull another arrow from quiver; notch it; draw; aim and release. Buddies do this in SECONDS time!
    Re the cross-bow? I do not know -- after getting knocked on my behind (I, on occasion, still get picked on about that event ) -- never again fired a cross-bow.

  10. #10
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    I bought a Centerpoint Sniper 370 Camo Crossbow 4x32 Scope Package, AXCS185CK about six years ago. Surprisingly accurate at 50 yards. I paid $210 from the invoice I found. I can load it even with my back/neck issues. No follow up shots needed. Rage Chisel 2-Blade Mechanical Broadheads. Works just fine.
    Ron

  11. #11
    Boolit Buddy
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    The only real advantage they have are reduced practice time to stay proficient and you already have it pulled back when the game shows up. They are bulky to carry, many of them feel nose heavy, they are louder than a vertical bow and have basically the same range as a vertical bow for most users....about 40yds. I have owned a Barnett, a Horton and now an Excalibur. The Excalibur is by far the most accurate, easiest to carry and has the best balance. It's accurate further than I would ever shoot at game. Oh and don't forget the hate you'll get from other hunters that think you are cheating. Get one and enjoy the hunt!
    Last edited by nannyhammer; 03-26-2023 at 12:00 PM.

  12. #12
    Boolit Buddy
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    https://www.crossbownation.com/ is a good forum as well. I had to give up archery due to a hand operation some years ago and got into crossbow hunting when it became legal here in NY.
    I like my Barnett too.

  13. #13
    Boolit Master
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    I bought a cross-bow several years ago when I had surgery on my right hand. It was either use the cross-bow or don’t bow hunt. I’d been bow hunting for over fifty years at the time and didn’t want to give it up and sit out the season. I bought a TenPoint bow and some good arrows and proceeded to learn how to use it. Not much to it really, kind of like sighting in a rifle with a very profound bullet drop. Some misunderstandings have been posted here and I’d like to share my experience. There is no recoil with a cross-bow….NONE. About as much as you’d get shooting a pellet rifle, again NONE. To Georgerkahn, you need to try shooting one again. I don’t know what happened to you the day you shot one, but it wasn’t anything involving recoil. I’ve let nine year old kids shoot mine and they never noticed any recoil at all. If you’re shooting one for the first time, DO NOT EXTEND YOUR FINGERS UPWARDS WHERE THEY CAN BE SEVERED FROM THE BOW STRING! That triangle formed between the pulley wheels and the trigger are a danger zone. Most crossbows have guards to prevent you from getting your fingers in there, but not all of them are 100% effective. I started out with a fairly expensive crossbow. You don’t need to do that. I have yet to see any brand name crossbow that didn’t shoot very, very well. They really aren’t anything like shooting a conventional bow or compound bow. They are somewhat a happy medium between archery and muzzle loading. In experienced hands they can be effective out to sixty yards or beyond. Again, that’s in experienced hands.
    See pics attached: one is a group fired at 55 yards, one is a deer laying where it stood (and dropped) at 67 yards, and one is a wound picture of what a Swacker mechanical broadhead can to at any distance if the deer is at an angle to the shooter. FWIW, I’ve shot over a hundred deer with a bow (about a dozen with the crossbow to date).
    Click image for larger version. 

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  14. #14
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Torn ligaments to my right hand moved me toward a crossbow. I was into traditional archery big time when the injury occurred. Even built a laminating oven to make my own bow limbs. All that changed when I was tossing lumber for a build. Got an Excalbre recurve crossbow. No wheels or bells & whistles. More or less a basic recurve turned horizontal. I cock it by way of a rope assist, which makes it almost easy. Incredibly accurate and powerful. All the deer I've taken are full pass through hits. More than once, the bolt has passed through the deer and buried itself deep in the ground beyond. Because of the relatively light weight of the bolt, vis-a-vis a traditional arrow, hunting distances remain short. Ethics prevent me from taking shots I would have taken with my old York compounds. Never found it to be a detriment, either. I hunt 'em close. Deer easily see the movements associated with the traditional archer, but he crossbow is likened to a gun and they only hear the bolt being let go. Usually, it seems, they hear it but the bolt arrives before they can react significantly. A good crossbow is a fearsome thing.

  15. #15
    Boolit Master





    SSGOldfart's Avatar
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    No recoil with my Excalibur.
    I started out with nothing and I still have most of it left.
    Paralyzed Veterans of America

    Looking for a Hensly &Gibbs #258 any thing from a two cavity to a 10cavityI found a new one from a member here

  16. #16
    Boolit Master
    contender1's Avatar
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    To the OP.
    As you can see there are several folks here who own & use a crossbow. You have also been directed to a few places to learn even more.

    I, as well as my helper both own crossbows. He got his due to his inabilities to operate a normal bow any longer. I got mine as a way to try a different method of hunting. Since I got my crossbow,, my compound has gathered dust. I hunt from an elevated blind when using my crossbow,, so movement is not easily detected by deer. Noises,, ALWAYS are an issue,, so plan for that.
    A crossbow is just a different tool, for use in a different manner than other tools used for the same purpose. Learn yours, practice with it, and know the limits of it any yourself.
    Good luck.

  17. #17
    Boolit Bub
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    Id personally recommend not planning on a second shot myself and practice till you've mastered the crossbow to the point you can put the critter on the ground.
    Not much fun in going out spending the time to only miss then lose a second arrow or bolt .
    Then again no fun tracking a gut shot or wounded deer all day eighter.
    Do the deer a favor JUST PLAIN KILL HIM
    Head Shot

  18. #18
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    MaryB's Avatar
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    I have been drooling over these for years... even with a rope cocking device it is getting hard for me to draw back my crossbow(just a cheap $129 recurve from Rural King, surprisingly accurate but HEAVY compared to modern bows)

    https://ravincrossbows.com/product/ravin-r500e/

  19. #19
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    MaryB's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 725 View Post
    Torn ligaments to my right hand moved me toward a crossbow. I was into traditional archery big time when the injury occurred. Even built a laminating oven to make my own bow limbs. All that changed when I was tossing lumber for a build. Got an Excalbre recurve crossbow. No wheels or bells & whistles. More or less a basic recurve turned horizontal. I cock it by way of a rope assist, which makes it almost easy. Incredibly accurate and powerful. All the deer I've taken are full pass through hits. More than once, the bolt has passed through the deer and buried itself deep in the ground beyond. Because of the relatively light weight of the bolt, vis-a-vis a traditional arrow, hunting distances remain short. Ethics prevent me from taking shots I would have taken with my old York compounds. Never found it to be a detriment, either. I hunt 'em close. Deer easily see the movements associated with the traditional archer, but he crossbow is likened to a gun and they only hear the bolt being let go. Usually, it seems, they hear it but the bolt arrives before they can react significantly. A good crossbow is a fearsome thing.
    Crossbow bolts are same weight or heavier than a traditional arrow... 100 grain broadheads... with the higher velocity crossbows 80 yards is very doable!

  20. #20
    Boolit Master
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    I have a Excalibur cross bow that dose around 375 ft/sec. At 60 yards with the scope on it will hit a dine circle just about every time. I am 77 and use the rope cocking but am looking at getting either a crank or electric cocking assembly. Every bolt that has hit a deer has passed through. To replace the string on most compound cross bows you have to use a jig set-up. The recurve you can replace the string by hand. Every crossbow I have shot or seen shot makes noise, not like a gun but at 50' you hear it. I can't pull a bow any more but the crossbow lets me get into the woods. For 20 plus years I used a hand made long bow.

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BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
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