What is really the difference in price with crossbows ? Any where from 200 $ to over 1100 . I understand brand names and such . What about velocities and poundage ?
I am just looking to get back in the woods again with my bad shoulders . Not looking for 50 -60 shots , maybe 30 .
Would a 300 $ one do a reasonable job with enough practice ?
I agree with what the others have said. Get one with a crank. My crossbow has a draw weight of 210lbs and it takes a lot to pull it back, if your shoulder is messed up I wouldn't recommend. Also, spend a little bit of money on a nicer one, I bought a cheap Killer Instinct for $250 and it has heavy recoil and constant sighting in issues.
I have a Barnett crossbow with a crank. It can be slow going when target practicing so I picked up a rope to speed things up. Never happened! Can’t do it! I’m not going to injure myself trying to load this bow. It takes the complete muscle group to cock this bow by hand!
ihookem if you're having trouble with your shoulder, you're going to want to get crossbow with a crank handle cocking device because they are not easy to cock manually.
Thanks for the ballistics info guys, i was thinking once you get past 30 yards the deer have time to start to duck and the fact that the bolt starts to drop around 30 to 40 yards kind of works out.
I used to hunt with old slow bows, big arrows and 125gr thunderheads, my arrows were so slow i'd have to aim 4" to 6" low when i shot.
Saw a nice little buck last night and thought I should pull back in case I get it to stop acting all jacked up, My rotator cuff said " no you ain't". Hurt like crazy and 26 hrs. later I feel a bit better. I shot y bow tonight and to my surprise I shot the 1st 5 shot round very well. An hour later I did The second 5 shot group but was not good and the 3rd 5 shot group was real good and noticed my rotator cuffs felt good and warm and loosened up a bunch . I cant fool myself any longer however. When it was 39 degrees up in the tree , wind and rain, I stiffened up too much to pull the bow back. It is time for a cross bow, especially when it gets colder. How much are they for a decent one. I hate to buy one. My Mathews Avail is only 3 yrs old at most. Love shooting the bow but if I pop my rotator one more time pulling back on a deer , it will be time for a crossbow. It has happened several times now.
Cat man - this should give you some knowledge of crossbow arrow ballistics. http://www.northamericancrossbowfederation.com/crossbow-arrow-ballistics.html
Thanks Guys,
I will definitely look into getting a crank and remember to spray a little cooking spray on the end of my bolts the next time i target shoot.
I got a Center Point-Sniper XT390 and when i sighted it in i started close 20 yrds. and got it dialed in and feel 100% confident on my accuracy. My question is at what distance does that bolt start dropping?
Big Mac;
You can buy small discharge targets to empty your X-bow at the end of a hunt. Real handy to just throw in the back of the truck and not take up much space. You already mentioned rail lube and make sure you apply several times a season (or more) depending how much you shoot. As noted a shooting stick is also nice to keep the X-bow steady to assure clean/accurate hits.
I'm getting ready for my first year with a crossbow and shot it 18 times over the weekend and i don't what was worse cocking it or getting the bolts out of the target lol.
A sling is a must if you have any walking to do and shooting sticks or a rest in you stand or blind will help your accuracy.
Sling is a great idea for those longer walks. I tend to avoid, I normally carry over the shoulder to avoid catching all the brush as I walk thru.
Good field point target for the bulk of your practice shooting. A trashy target to sink hunting broadheads.
Decocking bolt. I still need to get one yet. I sink a field tip into the target when I get back to the house. That gets annoying in the dark.
Lighted scope. Great tool for low light use.
