My Dad has expressed interest in getting back into bowhunting. Problem is Dad's body will probably not tolerate much punishment from a compound bow. I have started doing some research on crossbows, but really have no clue about the crossbows and equipment that makes crossbow life easier. Give me some opinions on what crossbows, bolts, other equipment you like, don't like, why, what to stay away from...anything you can think of. Thank in advance! Junior
Im getting my wife a axiom made by excaliber, recurve, durable and best customer service around, tenpoint has good service to but we don't care for the weight. Fixed heads most use slick trick or muzzy, keep it small, there standard heads work well. I use swackers, tons use rage, grim reaper and spitfire. Spit fires shoot well out of my 380. Have him shoot as many as he can and pick what feels right for him. Horton is out of business and I have owned a Barnett, broke down twice in 2 months, id stear clear til they have it together. I have a xbow 30 on my 380, works good, lighted recticles are nice and dim if you set them that way
My first attempt I had to refresh, so 2 parts. Crossbows are loud, don't worry about it, deer will hear no matter what, I hunt at 40 yards as much as I can, they look up when I shoot and die. My wife cocked the axiom and was easy for her and light. Id go with excaliber, im getting the matrix 380 next fall. They have flat nocks, no loading it wrong. Tenpoint and camx very popular to, ten points feel heavy to me, never held the camx. Us at least the minimum weight recommended by the company, I always shoot heavier,less stress on my limbs. I cant stress customer service enough, why im getting rid of our bowtechs, they are great bows though and im going to miss them. To much to cover, there ae forums that are just for crossbows, hit those up and look around. Any other questions ask away.
I have shot both of the buck commander models by barnett. I really like them both. Sweet shooting. I have also shot a 10 point and that bow is around double the price of the barnetts and I dont see really any difference
Yah, it might be double the price, but its double the quality. They are heavier, but I have friends with Barrett's, and they did not last long. PARKER TORNADO. Oh my gosh. Those things are awesome. Have to try them out. I prefer the tornado. But their is the concord, and it cocks itself with the push of a button, and decocks itself with the push of a button.
owned both the 350 and 380, 350 is less arrow picky and both are great bows, customer service, not so much.
Barnett WILD CAT C5 is a great bow. I have the 4x32 scope with silencing package from BowJax installed and Love it. very easy to use. I splurged and bought the crank for 100.00 that installed in the butt stock. Great investment. good luck.
sz350 hey guys, 1st post, junior, heres my sz350, with a few mods., i replaced the scope with a bad river outdoors multi fiber optic sight, [mfo sight] installed string supressors, [standard on the 380], and installed simms super quad vibration dampeners., the sz is pretty quiet on its own, but the extra rubber keeps it super quiet and vibe free.
Junior, I had to change to a crossbow due to shoulder and neck problems. It has allowed me to continue to be in the woods doing what I love to do. If I could make one suggestion it would be that no matter what bow he ends up with, that it have a crank cocking device. Made all the difference in the world to me. Ajay
Check out the Velocity Lionheart great setup 310 fps 175 draw red or green dot scope cocker rail lube sling 4 bolts and a quiver package deal 299.99 These Crossbows are very quiet and forgiving we have sold over 50 of these in last 2 months and had no issues
Parker has been the Hoyt of crossbows for me. My buddy shoots a Ten Point Stealth great bow and great CS, but after 3 Ten Points and seeing the 2 Parkers I have owned in 3 years,,,,,,he goin Parker this year! The Excalibur is a good bow as accurate as any, more reliable and indestructible than any other, but loud and and wide, I love my Phoenix!! And if you stay under 200 lbs. draw, they are much quieter and string life is EXTREMELY GOOD!! Any of these three Bow companies offer the best in not only product, but lead the industry in Customer Service!!! You can't go wrong with them, but I would steer clear of the cheaper imports,,,,they have never displayed the ability to last, Good Luck with your decision!!
I bought my dad a wicked Ridge (ten Point) xbow this year so he can "bow" hunt with us. At his age, I dont think getting into a compound bow is going to work for him. Anyway, the bow runs about 500.00, and its backed by ten Point's full warranty for 5 years. Its a good bow without breaking the bank. When I went to sight it in, it was dead on with the Ten Point scope. Came with a cocking assist built into the stock. Made it very easy to cock and load. Check it out at Gander Mountain, if you have one by you
Thanks guys. I definately appreciate all of your help. Ill have to post a pic of what he decides. I was able to get him to shoot a Bowtech Stryker and a Ten point. The ten point had some very nice features but seemed super loud to me. Granted, moving the speed which the bolts do, I understand the deer cant move fast enough to get out of the way or jump the string, but it was so loud it actaully made me jump. But i do have to say the rep that was there was top notch. The quest continues...
I just handled some dartons, put a down payment on the viper ss extreme, very very nice bows, heavy compared to some but fit me like a glove. Top of the line everything, you can get the terminator package for like 500.00. I have searched all over for negative things on the company, cant find none, what you read is good stuff. The owner of the shop told me they never get them back, recall or otherwise. Why believe a bow shop? I went in there thinking fireforce, a more expensive bow, I put the down payment on the viper after holding it, shooting it and what they had to say. The use the same arrows I have to gain the speeds they state per bow, so ill be shooting pretty close to 360 with this. Call a few places that sell them, ask what they think.
I own a Wicked Ridge by Ten Point. It is accurate and easy to cock, the trigger pull is not the greatest. The fourth time I hunted with it I made a long walk to my stand and after I sat down, the sling fell off. One of the holes in the stock broke. This bow is heavy and not a pleasure to carry very far without a sling. On my next hunt, I noticed a crack in one of the limbs. I had to send the whole thing back, so that pretty much ruined my first season as a crossbow hunter. They replaced the stock and limb under warranty. I toured the Mathews factory last year and had a chance to shoot a Mission. Light, accurate and a great trigger. That will be my choice when the time comes.
