What's your budget? The suggestions would depend on what you can spend. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Cantexian is right... Best crossbow period id have to say right now is the Ravin R9 or R15 but you're paying a pretty penny. Definitely has all the features you could want...minus not loading the deer in your truck for you. Ten point makes some solid options as well...but again the price points are all over. If your budget is 500$ you're looking at the wicked ridge invader...800$ ten point titan...1200$ ten point stealth... Mission also makes a sweet bow. MXB 360 is another above 1000$ option Long story short once you go in and shoot a $500 bow next to a $1500 bow you may opt for the higher end. Or maybe ya won't depends on the shooter. Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk
I really do not have a budget, i could spend 2k but I buy everything on value. Are the $500 crossbows junk? Many times when you buy a premium product much of the difference is marketing costs. I am looking for one for 2-3 hunts a year, mainly for herd management. Sent from my iPad using Bowhunting.com Forums
No $500 will get you a solid crossbow. A wicked ridge warrior/invader or a Parker is what I'd look into for that price range... Things you won't get at that price point is a crank mechanism (for aiding in pulling it back), they'll tend to be louder not much for dampeners, and the speeds will be 330'sish ... But all in all they work. Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk
I bought a PSE Fang for around $400 with everything including broadheads, and target. Seems to work well so far but I have only had it a couple of months. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Before my shoulder surgery I purchased a used Ten Point. I changed the sight to an HHA and made a few other modifications. It has been a great purchase. It remains an excellent hunting platform that my GF and daughter will hopefully be taking deer with this year. That said even though I have gone back to a compound (Elite Impulse 31) I purchased a Ravin 15. Its light weight, high speed, accuracy, and compact size intrigued me. It has lived up to the hype, marketing etc so far.
I have a Barnett Quad 400 and the 3rd Barnett I have owned over the years. It will hit a tennis ball at 40 yrds and shoots around 340 fps. For the money it is a fine xbow. I have taken 6 deer with it and none have complained about being shot with a low money bow. You could easily spend another grand but not gain much performance. Most issues I see with xbows (I have used one since the 80's) is bolts to light and not balanced because folks are looking for speed. While the revere draws look funny they shoot fine and not as wide which is good in a ground blind.
I purchased a stryker 380 when I needed one. I think I gave $650 on sale for the ready to hunt kit and received $100 cabelas points which I used to get a nice hard case for it. Dang thing is so huge though, looks like I'm carrying a tuba to band practice. Lol. Anyhow I love the crossbow. It's deadly fast and accurate. Has a super nice trigger. It won field and stream gold a few years in a row but it's descendant the katana is a bit more pricy I think $$$ Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I'm joining the ranks of crossbow hunters!! Since my stroke in 2016, my wife has NOT wanted me to hunt out of a treestand. She is 100% right, what if I'm 25' up in a climber and I have stroke symptoms? long story short, I'm dead. So I'm pursuing my dream of still hunting with my leaf suit/ ghilly suit. I also plan on some agressive tactics, such as laying prone in mountain laurel patches, for a up and personal experience! The crossbow will open up many more options for me, and I'm looking forward to the new venture! anyways!! How is the beowolf? there are soooooo many options out there! What do you use for bolts? broadheads? I was thinking of a recurve crossbow, because no shot will be over 15 yards. Also, very simple, less moving parts, and cheaper. does anyone have any experience with recurve? (Besides excalibur...way out of my price range)
I have a Barnett recurve crossbow. I don't know the price because it was a gift but Im sure it was less than $300. I use a 3 dot sight not a magnified scope. I aim just like I do when shooting my bow. Both eyes open, let the dot float over the target, and squeeze the trigger. I'm accurate out to 40 yards easily. I could stack dots to shoot further but haven't tried it yet. I expect my real life shots to be in the 20ish range just like with my bow. It came with 18 inch arrows but I replaced them with 20 inch carbon express arrows for more weight. I'm also planning to try some Beman arrows. For broadheads I'm using Wasp Jak-knife mechanicals. The owners manual actually recommends mechanicals. Fixed blades will work too I'm sure. Power wise, it has a 150 lb draw weight. I can cock it by hand easily without the help of a rope cocking aide. It has plenty of power to take down any animal I might want to hunt with it. To me it FEELS like it and my compound bow are pretty close to equal for power and penetration. I have no way to verify the feeling though. Over all I like the recurve design. It is really simple to use, tune and maintain. I was able to un-string it myself to add string silencers. No press needed. Without cams there are no timing issues to to think about. Sent from my VS500 using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
I was looking into this one once I save a few more pennies Sent from my iPad using Bowhunting.com Forums
Pawn Shop is good idea. I think there are a lot of gun hunters that buy a crossbow, thinking it will be just like hunting with their rifle, only to be disappointed when they find out its another form of bowhunting instead. Sent from my VS500 using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
