Ive hunted with everything else, figured I would try a crossbow. Unfortunately I know Jack squat about crossbows. It will be for whitetail. Tips, tricks, advice, pictures?
Following... I hunt with a recurve but IL added after 2nd shotgun season a crossbow can be used with your archery tags.
Missouri added crossbows to archery season last fall and I decided to give it a try. I picked up a Wicked Ridge Invader. I really like it. Had it sighted in after about a dozen bolts. I didn't get a chance to shoot a deer, but I did kill a turkey. I'm using Slick Trick broadheads & carbon bolts. It's a little weird having to shoot it to unload, but not a deal breaker. I'll be using it some again this year.
Got my crossbow last night. All i can say is wow. Hits very hard and sounds quieter than my old bow. Sold my bow to cover most of it. What is most amazing is the drop on a crossbow bolt is wayyyy less than a bow. Im sold.
I am still looking and researching. I am liking the backwards limb crossbows. I just have not landed on anything yet.
In my opinion...Make sure whatever you get has a lifetime or great warranty. Its a lot of energy getting slammed on the limbs. If you like to shoot like i do its a huge plus.
I will look into that. My current bow shoots at 315fps when set at 70#. I've got it at about 63# I think. I am looking to get some speed out of an xbow. Here you can hunt everything with an xbow but if you want use an xbow to hunt deer it has to be during firearm season, not allowed during bow and extended bow season. I would like to be @ 350fps or more.
Sold my PSE FANG a few months back but that was an amazing bow. Had a few features ( dual string stops was the most impressive) other more expensive bows didn't have and man did it shoot great. Only about 342fps but it's plenty. Worth looking into for a first xbow set up especially at well under $400.
Virginia allows crossbows during archery season as well. I picked up a Parker and took a deer with it in 2015. Didn't like the mechanical broadheads I got with it and switched to Trocars. The Parker seems to be pretty loud. The little buck I took, squatted at the shot and took the bolt in his spine. Good thing that xbow hits hard! It broke his back and I had to take a follow up shot.
I have a compound and have shot a few xbows for fun but not a lot of experience with them. For deer hunting, main advice i would give is the same as if you were using a compound. Use the same weight of field points, or practice tips, as hunting broadheads you plan to use. For example, if you plan on shooting 125gr broadheads then use 125gr field points for practice for better consistency. Also, MAKE sure to practice shooting the broadheads you plan to hunt with before going out to hunt to make sure your bh’s are hitting in same area as field points. I would say go on and buy 2 packs of bh’s that you plan to hunt with so you have enough to practice and hunt with. Probably something you already know, but just a suggestion. Ive killed my biggest deer with my bow to which i contribute to being able to hunt a full month before rifle season comes in and the deer havent been buggered up too bad.
In WV crossbows were illegal to own not too many years ago. Then you could get a doctors excuse to hunt with one. Then about three years ago they made them legal for anyone almost everywhere during archery season. Good thing for me as my shoulders can’t take a lot of recurve or compound shooting anymore. I bought a low end Barnett Wildcat on sale at Cabela’s and lucked into a Zeiss crossbow scope. The scope was a huge improvement over the fuzzy abomination that came with the bow. I can hit a tennis ball at forty yards all day long. I believe last weeks doe made the fourth deer I’ve taken with it. She was at 37 yards. There is some upkeep with a crossbow. You wax the string more often, lube the rails every half dozen shots, bolts n screws vibrate loose so frequent checking is in order. Un-cocking is with a special arrow discharged safely. It’s like carrying a boat anchor through the woods, not the weight just ungainly and about the best shape imaginable to snag everything you walk past. $8 arrows with $10 broadheads are easily junked or lost. It made archery season doable for me again so I’ll be out in the blind again tomorrow.
Anyone have a suggestion on a crossbow scope? Looking for a 1-3x fixed with a drop reticle for elevation and no windage lines if possible.