Crossbow deer hunting this fall

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BILLDAVE

Moderator
I have a chance to crossbow hunt deer this fall. I have no idea where to start, so please fill me in. Any suggestion would be apprciated. What is the effective range? What about manufactures? And I guess the pros and cons.
Thank you.
BILLDAVE
 
I don't deer hunt with mine, but shoot a lot of hogs with it. I like the Parker bow better than the others. Mine shoots around 315 fps, and the range is good out to around 50 yards (being realistic) I hardly ever shoot past 30 yards.
Most shots are complete pass through.
I use a single dot Simmons red dot scope, which allows me to shoot from 10 to 30 yards without any holdover. Top of the dot for close range, bottom of the dot for longer range. Most shots you get at hogs are pretty quick type shots, and the red dot gets on them faster than a cross-hair type of scope, and also lets me shoot in pretty dark places where it would be hard to see cross-hairs.
Be sure to buy a rope cocker, otherwise you are going to have some mighty sore fingers, before you get it sighted in.
 
ive been thinking about making the crossbow leap too. Here in va you used to have to have a doctors excuse to use one, now anyone can use one. From the limited research ive done it looks like the prime movers in the crossbows are ten-point and excaliber. There are other of course, i hear parker makes a good one, horton has been in it for years......and theres a new one by bow-tech that shoots something like 415 fps which is crazy fast. The compound ones are pretty noisy, excalibur makes a recurve one which should be a little quieter but i dont know for sure. Ive been keeping my eye out for a good deal on one to get my feet wet.

funny story, i saw someone selling one on ebay. You are never...ever......ever supposed to dyfire one of these things, it can literally tear it apart. Well this guy who was selling one out of a pawnshop, said in his ad he had test fired it multiple times in the store and it seemed to work fine........i bet he couldnt understand why he wasnt getting a single bid lol.
 
In florida it is legal during general gun and possibly ML but if you are paralyzed like my buddy it is legal during archery too...
He has to use the mini boat winch cocking device to cock his...
But if he has me with him when shooting blocks he just hands it off to me and says "HERE"...:D...
Brent
 
Check local regulations
Click to expand...

Some Mid-West states have a special crossbow license for disabled folks. One fella I know, hunts on crutches. Another hunted from a wheelchair but has since given it up.

Be Safe !!!
 
Thanks you all for the input. I have a bad right shoulder, (I can not pull a regular compound bow) and with a doctor note I am going to be allowed to use one. Wild Bill Bucks thanks for the through advice. I've just started shopping for one and to my surprise they are quite pricey $500 to $1200. Cabela's has a nice selection. I let you know how it goes.
BILLDAVE
 
I use the Parker Super Carbons, on mine. Be careful when buying bolts, as not all bows use the same kind of noks. These came with the bow, and I haven't really cared to experiment with others.

The main thing to make sure of, is to see that the fletch of the arrow, lines
up straight with the string when cocked, otherwise the fletch will run down
the groove crooked, and will be inaccurate as well as extra noisy.
The nok on the arrow should be exactly straight with one of the fletches of the arrow, this is the fletch that will set in the groove of the bow. If it does not
fit straight, it will not sit in the bow right, and the string won't fit against the nok right. It is easy to tell, when you buy bolts, as all you have to do is eyeball them from the rear of the arrow. If they are not on straight, they must be unglued and twisted straight, for them to work right.

I will say this just for safety sake, DO NOT USE COMPOUND ARROWS in any cross bow. Most cross bow are from 125 lbs up to 225 lbs, and the arrows made for a compound bow, have a tendancy to blow up, under this kind of torque. On a compound bow, you are releasing a smooth 60lbs of pressure on the arrow with a 30" draw and on a cross bow you are releaseing 150 lbs of pressure in a distance of maybe 18". ( I won't go into how I came upon this information:o, just stay with bolts made for your crossbow):)
 
Crossbow

I Have Only Taken Two Deer With A Crossbow. I Suggest That You Try A Pawn Shop. I Use A Horton Yucon Sl That I Bought In A Pawn Shop For $95.00. Had It Restrung, Added A Red Dot To It. They Work Good On Turkey And Bobcat As Well. This Is Just A Way To Save Money In Case You Don't Like The Sport. By The Way. Keep The Rails Lubed Or The String Will Not Last Long.
 
300fps

If you get one that will shoot 300fps you will be fine. Most of the Crossbows on the market today will do that. Horton is A good bow if your Budget is not allowing you to buy one of the higher priced bows. One piece of advice however, stay away from the Barnett Bows. The quality and service has A lot to be desired.
 
After spending over $2,500 on two quality crossbows I gave it up. Tried to make it work for four years. Killed a few deer and a lot of hogs but it was too much of a hassle to uncock the damn things for transport on the highway, hard to use from a tree stand, always getting out of zero and a general pain in the butt. Finally gave them them away.
 
I've been fascinated with crossbows for many years. A guy at our gun club kindly let me shoot his Horton Yukon (we have an archery range, too) and in town I shot a new Parker Buckbuster. Both bows were quite fast and accurate.

I phoned Horton. Customer Service was very friendly. She stated that the Yukon model has been replaced by the Summit model but no major changes. She said arrow speed should be approx 260 fps.

Excalibur & Ten Point models seems to receive the most press but Horton has been in this business the longest. They stock parts for models from the early 1980's to present. Local archery shops all across North America have repair & maintenance service for Horton models. From a lightly used purchasing standpoint, Horton is likely the way to go. EBay has a number of Horton models listed at reasonable prices.

PSE crossbows are made in Taiwan. This may or may not affect your choices.

Barnett has mixed reviews from the sources I checked. Everyone seems to agree that quality is a concern for the less costly new models. Older models should be checked for safety by an archery pro shop.

Good shooting to you. Please share a photo of your crossbow after purchase and explain accurasy acheived with it. Thank you in advance.

Jack
 
Try the Excalibur Crossbow:

They have four models you can choose from according to you budget. They are very fast and accurate. Quieter than most others but still louder than a compound bow.
 
Kentucky Crossbow season

Here in KY, we've actually got a dedicated crossbow season that overlaps with the muzzle loader and modern gun seasons, but extends all the way to Dec. 31. Our latest firearm season is the December muzzle loader season that goes December 13-21. I can see how it might be a nice way to extend the season without going all the way to full archery. They used to let you use crossbows during the archery season here, but the bowhunters got a little miffed about it, so they shrank it down. Given that crossbows actually have a lower success rate than bows, I don't see what all the controversy is about them.

Big Charlie
 
B-C,

Not sure it is a controversy, but there are several reasons bow hunters are generally not willing to share their season with crossbows.

1) you don't have to hold the bow at full-draw, makes it easier.

2) Not as much practice required (go ahead and flame away :p)

It is funny how technology is starting to blur the lines of the special seasons. You now have in-line muzzle-loaders with a scope that can shoot farther than a shotgun with slugs, so where is the "disadvantage" of ML hunting that means they get their own special season. Bow technology is going the same way, but a bow can not compete with a rifle or ML for hunting distance. Oregon now has a few hunts that are for traditional archery only. Oregon does not allow crossbows at all, even for handicapped hunters. Since we only get one deer per year, I guess the thinking is a hunter who can not pull a bow can chose to hunt a different season.
 
I think we tend to loose track of the idea, that the projectile does the killing, and not the weapon. It really doesn't make any difference what fired the projectile, as long as it hits where you aim it. An arrow is an arrow.

I have never understood the people who think their is a big advantage from one to the other. I have killed deer with a long bow, and a compound bow, and the weapon never got me to the deer. Your hunting ability gets you on the game, after that it is just a matter of hitting what you are shooting at.

30 yards is about as far as I will shoot anyway, and at 30 yards, about anything with a point will cleanly harvest deer. There are certain places I like to hunt, that I will take my long bow, and certain places I will take one of my other bows. I don't see that any one of them makes me any worse or better a hunter.:)
 
Wild Bill is so right. Its the arrow that kills that strikes and kills the animal. Does not matter how it was launched: whether by crossbow, compound, recurve, or long bow. Since both the compound and crossbow have mechanical advantages, the lines between them seem blurred to me. You're allowed to disagree (politely).

Crossbows are becoming more popular. CABELA's catalog has several pages dedicated to these bows. 20 years ago, CABELA's had none for sale.

Crossbows are fun to shoot and kids love 'em because no recoil or alarming BANG. Horton's 175 lb Hunter 4X scoped model shoots so accurately that even a new shooter can strike a grapefruit sized target at 35 yards! No kidding!

Jack
 
At least for Missouri the difference between the crossbow and compound, recurve, etc has to do with the fact that a crossbow is always in the drawn position. While it doesn't distinguish between something constructed for a regular bow or specific for a crossbow, listed below is the primary archery regulation that crossbows violate.

"Methods prohibited:

A bow fastened to a stock or other device that maintains the bow in a drawn position"

feel free to agree/disagree/debate at your leisure.

Mav
 
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