Crossbow review (can't think of a better place)

[coyote-1]

My two deer, taken with the recurve when I was a teen, were both within 20 yards. At that distance, the noise of a crossbow would not matter if the shot is aimed correctly. And frankly, I'd never shoot outside that distance with either a bow or a crossbow... it would be unfair to the deer to not ensure a very quick end.

It's all about patience, and not being so greedy that I take less than perfect shots. My uncle taught me well.

 

[athabaskar]

Even at 20 yards or less a deer might jump the string, and it's usually caused by bow noise. That's not to say I disagree with you Coyote. Even a whisper quiet bow can cause it, and who's to say the reaction is greater with a louder bow? Not me for sure because one thing I have learned over the years is that we silly humans can never predict what a wild animal will do.

One thing is almost always a fact though. Although the term often used is jumping the string, when a deer hears an arrow released they do a quick squat or crouch, so always aim a little lower than where you want to put the arrow. Almost all animals react the same way when startled - humans included.

It is without a doubt all about patience. A less than perfect shot is always out of the question. I don't limit myself to 20 yards though. It's all about repetitions and feeling comfortable with your skills. Like Clint Eastwood said, "a man has to know his limitations".

 

[coyote-1]

I dunno... perhaps if I had 330fps I'd be willing to take a longer shot. But the arrow loses speed fairly quickly, so even with that kind of speed I still wouldn't shoot beyond 35 yards or so. Especially because at those distances, the noise is guaranteed to arrive before the broadhead.
And I always aim low, for exactly the reason you cited.

 

[nitrousinfected]

Anyone in Oklahoma check your regulations, Oklahoma will only allow the use of a crossbow to those with a physical impairment that would prevent them from using a conventional bow. I hunt both Arkansas and Oklahoma so I am opting for a Compound Bow instead o a crossbow.

 

[oneshot]

All so very true.
If you can hear yer buddies Horton at 250 yards either you have ears like a coyote...lol, or there is something wrong. If he doesn't have a Limb Savers kit added to his crossbow that's most likely the problem. If he does, something just ain't right. Although sound really travels in the great outdoors, you would be hard pressed to hear my Horton beyond 50 or 75 yards.

Also, in my mind hunting with a bow is all about how close you can get to the animal you are hunting with out gettin busted.....lol

 

[coyote-1]

Well.... now that I own one and they are on my mind, I'm of course looking more closely at what else is out there. Never would have imagined there'd be so many!

There are a bunch of custom items. Some are ridiculous fantasy-looking things, some look pretty good.

As far as production crossbows, two have caught my eye: The Excalibur top-line model (Equinox, I think) and the Barnett Predator. While I'm partial to recurves like the Excalibur, the compound Predator looks awesome. There's also one from Russia called the AK48 that uses its stock to load (edit: tried using the right word, but this site blocks it! lol) the string; this looks like a great idea.

My small suburban yard is no place for a 350+ fps monster so its unlikely I'd ever get one. But like smokers, it's fun to see what else is available

 

[Bearcarver]

I hunted with bows all my life (since I was 14), plus some night shoot competition. I started with an old straight bow, to a semi-recurve ("West" bow), to a full recurve, to one of the first Jennings compounds ever made with only 15% let-off. In those days, in PA, you weren't even allowed to use a mechanical release. Now PA allows the use of crossbows, but if you aren't either an old man, a handicapped person, or a lady, it's hardly worth the harrassment thrown at you for using one. I'm not saying I agree----just the facts here in Eastern PA.


Bearcarver

 

[oneshot]

In my mind (what little I have left, lol) if it is a legal way of taking game and is quick, humane and brings home the bacon, that's what matters. I'm not out to impress others, I'm out there for the enjoyment of the outdoors and to bring home some food...If someone wants to harrass me for what I'm hunting with they shouldn't stand within range....lmao

 

[Bearcarver]

Yup, I know where you're coming from. I used to say the same thing a hundred years ago when I was young. The state didn't allow mechanical releases. I thought, "Why not---if it makes for a more steady release, and a cleaner kill, it should be allowed". Naturally it's the young guys (LOL--including my kid) who are against crossbows for healthy young males.

 

[oneshot]

lmao....Darn those youngin!!!!

Back when I was a kid (not quite a 100 years ago...lol) we didn't really have any deer around my area. Well at 8 years old I was running a trapline for muskrats, mink and coon when all of a sudden I found a set of deer tracks, I was amazed and hurried back to the little sports store in town to tell the old guys what I found. After telling them the story they nicely told me if I lied to them again they'd beat the tar out of me!!!!! Boy, those old guys were rough on me but I sure did learn a lot from them....to keep my big mouth shut!!!!! lmao

 

[coyote-1]

It's somewhat understandable. The skill required to use a bow keeps the average idiot from going into the woods and firing indiscriminately. When was the last time you heard of an 'accidental' killing of another person during bowhunting season?

Compare that to rifle season, when across the nation we see a number of fatalities each year. Some guy sitting in a tree stand drinking beer all morning sees brush rustling 400 yards away, he picks up the gun and fires... and it turns out to be another hunter.

You just might get some of that with crossbows, as the skill level required is far lower than with a regular bow.

 

[oneshot]

No No No....OMG, with those comparisons you sound like a liberal arguing gun control....What if this happens and what if that happens and then there's the possibilty of this happening.....
Do you blame a car when a drunk hits you with it??? No, you blame the drunk. These are all tools, and just because a few mishandle them you don't take them away from everyone. How would you would feel if they said noone can use grills or smokers anymore because they've caused fires due to unskilled idiots??? Don't laugh at that because it did happen in the town where my mom lives in Illinois.....That's our government in action for ya.....

 

[pigcicles]

I hope no one is supporting gun control or even hunting restrictions beyond what is already implemented in your state. I know I've fallen out of hunting, but still support it with all my breath.

I always liked bow season cuz you could get out there and just think and listen to the sounds around you. You would see LOTS more deer. Not certain of law changes as of late, but used to crossbows were allowed for handicapped persons and for those not handicapped they were counted as a firearm, not an actual bow.

My personal view is hunt and hunt often. Eat what you hunt and use the best equipment allowed that you can afford. Most of all hunt responsibly.

 

[coyote-1]

It's not "what if". It is REALITY. The statistics tell it clearly... you are far more at risk of getting killed or injured by a fellow hunter while gun-hunting than bow-hunting. And there's a good reason police no longer allow drunks behind the wheel.

My principled support of the 2nd Amendment is stronger and more rational for acknowledging such realities. Only the mentally weak have to put reality aside in order to support a position; such folk are not idealistic, they are mere ideologues.
PS On our local beaches, the police have forbade portable charcoal grills. Much as I detest that prohibition I have to acknowledge the reality, which is this: I myself have stepped on burning coals on the beach, dumped there by some drunk (or worse, by someone sober!) who didn't give a hoot about what happened to the next person once he was done with his beaching. It was a common occurrence, and beach rangers were tending to more such burnings than to rescued drowners. The FACT is that without the grills, the burnings don't happen - even though we all know full well that it ain't the grill that's at fault.

PPS to the moderator: it was not me who introduced politics into this thread. Please bear that in mind when you make whatever inevitable decision you end up making.

 

[meateater]

Hooks, arrows, bullets, sharp knife, running dogs, traps, thats's what we do. Why do some challenge it?

 

[oneshot]

I agree with you....

 

[oneshot]

Coyote, I wasn't slamming you or trying to pick a fight with you, my comment towards you was meant as humor. You took it out of context.
I can see where you are taking this though so I will not respond to your facts. We'll just let this die right here.

 

[oneshot]

It's the new world.....lol

 

[coyote-1]

I'm not the one who mentioned banning guns, and would not do such a thing. In fact, I'm part of a small minority that seeks to do away with state laws (as in my own NY) banning full-auto, and seeks to do away with the 1986 federal regs and lower the transfer tax. Though I would retain the registration requirement.

That said, there's no way I'd walk in the woods during deer rifle season; too many drunken nuts with guns

 

[Bearcarver]

Now that this has evolved from my comment about the way the young PA bowhunters despise young healthy guys running around the woods with crossbows to an argument about gun rights, allow me to take it back, and tone it down with a reply on the lighter side:

Oneshot,
Having been a country boy all of my life, and having been born to & raised by a self-employed carpenter who himself had harvested over 100 deer with his 30-40 Kragg (he bought for $10 when he came home from WW2) before his demise, I find it a little embarrassing to admit what happened the first time I attempted to trap muskrats. I was however only 9 years old & never had anyone instruct me in the art of muskrat trapping. One thing I was good at was setting the leg trap trigger mechanism to what you would probably call "A Hair Trigger". I was just a kid, and only had 6 traps that I had bought from a buddy of mine for 50 cents a piece. They were all 1 1/2s in size. I set them in open runways near the banks of an old murky pond back in the woods behind our house. The next morning, when I went down to check how many rats I caught, I was surprised to see I had bagged a duck & a small snake

(hair trigger needed to catch small snake). I remember my thoughts were kinda like "This is gonna be trickier than I thought!".

Bearcarver

PS: Later in life I got much better at trapping with the help of the more humane and relatively foolproof "body traps".