Hey everyone, I am wandering what everyone considers to be the top 5 most important features of a hunting crossbow. Think of the features that make a hunt successful or more comfortable. Is it more important that a crossbow is more reliable than accurate etc. Thanks for your opinion!!
These are not necessarily in order from most to least important. That order may even change from day to day, depending on what you're shooting/hunting 1. accuracy 2. weight 3. how well it's balanced 4. shootability- how it feels/ comfort 5. how quiet it is
DITTO. I think age is slowly [???] taking me in this direction. Thank you OP for creating this thread.
Don't let age be your only deciding factor. They really are a lot of fun! I have a blast shooting mine One suggestion I will make for anyone new to crossbows is to invest in something to help steady it when shooting. Messing around the house I have an adjustable stand that I use for a rest. For out in the field, there are many options. The field pod, shooting sticks, etc. I use the Ready Sling. Makes getting on target, and holding there, much easier. Like I said, there are lots of options, but I recommend the Ready Sling.
Hey guys thanks for the replies so far! Would you guys consider the cocking procedure of a crossbow as a downside, or something that should be improved?
Size, yeah it matters for an x-bow. The wider the limbs the harder it is to shoot from a stand and especially a blind. I've learned that the hard way. If you notice all of the newer x-bows are much narrower then they used to be so I'm not the only person thinking this obviously. Weight is important, my first x-bow was 9 pounds plus arrows. It was miserable to carry to the stand or with a stand on your back. A lot of people have gone to an x-bow because of an injury or age that prevents them from drawing a vertical bow so weight is even more important for these guys. Noise, there is no such thing as a quiet x-bow, they do not exist, some are slightly quieter than others, but not by much. Bow Jax and the like can help. Split limb x-bows seem to be a little easier to silence then solid limb in my experience. They still aren't quiet. Speed, these things are noisy so the faster the better. Just like modern bows it's hard to buy a new x-bow that's not accurate and reasonably well balanced so I don't count those even though they are very important. Optics - don't cheap out on the scope and unless you buy high end the scope is going to be cheap. It'll do initially but not if you want to hunt hard. Spend the money on upgraded optics. Illuminated reticles are very nice to have very early and right at the end of legal shooting hours.
With all due respect, I beg to differ. I have a Horton Mult-A-Range 4x32 scope on my 150# Yukon XL, a cheapy, as it was only $100. I've been using this set up for 13 years and that scope hasn't given me one single issue. It offers a VERY crisp/clear view and has NEVER fogged on me and I've had it out in all kinds of foul weather. I've killed a ton of deer with it too.
Hey Guys, You guys might have wandered why I am asking all these questions and all, let me explain. I am a student from the University of Applied Sciences in Amsterdam and I study Mechanical Engineering. I originally did competition archery with my recurve bow and was shooting for two years in the national youth team of the Netherlands. After that I began to study and now I am doing my thesis on a product which I admire the most, the crossbow. I have a complete new crossbow design ready but want to make it as fieldproof as possible. It will deliver the reliability of a recurve and the compactness of a compound. The questions I ask on this forum are the first step towards a product which embraces all your needs in the field. In june I hope to discuss production etc. with a trustworthy manufacturer of crossbows to put this new design on the market. I hope you guys are still willing to help me and answer the following question: "If price is no longer a problem and you could buy any crossbow you want, which one will you buy?" Thanks for understanding and helping me out! Koproller
this one - Ghost 410 | Barnett Crossbows or this one - Scorpyd Velocity Crossbow - Scorpyd Crossbows with a 165# draw I'm a firm believer in the more speed the better for a crossbow. The Velocity isn't available until June and it's funky looking but it's fast. The Ghost isn't new but it's also very fast and much cheaper, but still not cheap. The designs couldn't be more different.
That Ghost 410 ain't no joke, but either is that price. It's amazing, it kicks out 149ft/lbs of kinetic energy!
1. Will it make me look like Daryl Dixon? 2. Does it work on Opossums? 3. How good will my Mississippi accent be from using it? 4. Can I get it at walmart? 5. Does does it come with a beer holder and a cutoff button up shirt? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
1.) The company's reputation for building a great crossbow (or do they have constant issues?) 2.) The warranty (and do they stand behind it 100%?) 3.) Safety features (anti-dry fire, does it have a mechanism/design feature that blocks fingers from getting above that rail?) 4.) Fit/Comfort (can it be adjusted for different family members to shoot, does it weigh like a 10-ton truck?) 5.) Built for ACCURACY (every time, every shot). Speed is a non-starter for me. All of today's modern crossbows can take down game if you hunt close in...
Cross bows are for cripples.....a black eye to the bow hunting world. The special Olympics of deer hunting....any questions?
Wow thanks for that bub. I've been afraid of asking any crossbow questions on this forum due to responses like yours. I've recently joined the ranks of the so called cripples and still want to hunt guess I better break out my bicycle helmet huh.
