Crossbow suggestions?

[de1216]

with my shoulder and elbow issues, drawing a compound bow is not an option.
With that established, the typical "that's not archery" statement is dismissed.

So..... where is the balance between quality/utility/price in what's available to a newbie who is considering one for hunting whitetail?

Assuming that as with many products, spending too little is simply wasting money, I don't want to waste spending way more than is needed for an acceptable product. (don't waste your money on a surf fishing combo for $79..... it won't survive the summer and you'll just spend that money and more once you realize you initially screwed up being too cheap)

D.

[squigz]

First, my suggestion is go to a shop if possible and see if you can draw one back with your shoulder. My father cannot after his shoulder surgeries and has to have a crank set up on one to get it to work.

Secondly; I'll do my best to help on this but first a few questions.

How far are you typically going to shoot?
What is your budget range? (I know get the best you can for cheap but not too cheap that you'll end up replacing it in a year)
Do you care to have recurve limbs or cams?


High end - Ravin or a Mission Sub-1. Those are going to be the higher end, top of the line, most accurate and farthest shooting bows available. They'll also be the most compact as well.
Mid range - Ten Point, Mission, Excalibur
Low range - I don't recommend anything in this range as I've seen too much failure from Barnette and PSE, the lowest value is some package deals from Excalibur where they're still acceptable for use and with care will last.


Right now, the shop I shoot at/for pushes a lot of Ravin's out the door and we only hear great things back, but you're also looking into $2000+ for them in most cases so that's all we should ever be hearing back.
The Sub-1 doesn't sell as much, but we get a good amount of people purchasing them.
Excalibur has been the bigger seller for someone wanting a crossbow but not wanting to jump above the $1000 mark. The only downside, is most models aren't as compact and when you do buy a compact one, they're more difficult to draw because the limbs are recurve and usually between 175-225lbs.

[theoldredneck]

I'm not a "Bow" hunter, don't hunt with a gun much now, so do not claim to be expert at anything. That said lost a disc in my neck and screwed up low back several years ago. Back then I did hunt, learned quickly shooting a bow was history. Before investing in any bow, cheap or expensive find some guys that shoot and try theirs. See if you can cock them with the simple rope pulley setup or if you will need a different setup. Shoot several with different type sights. I have one with a scope and one with the multi dot optic. I like the scope better, old eyes enjoy the magnification. When you figure out what fits you best then figure out how much you will actually use it. For me not as much as a handgun and only a few times in bow season. That helped in amount I was willing to spend. A good friend only bow hunts, he suggested looking in pawn shops, and end of season sales at different stores. Over the years I bought 4 total. First was a cheap recurve from a pawn shop to play with. Paid under $100 total for crossbow, several bolts/arrows with different points and broadheads etc. It had open sights and even being a cheap bow shot well. I played with it till I figured out what I wanted. Found a new better one with everything on sale for little over $100 that had multi pin optics. Still have it, love it. Bought another with scope for place in town, use for armadillos that dig up yard at night. Last I got was for old friend that can't shoot his recurve now, he loves it. Spent less than $300 in most expensive. Saved a lot by not being in a hurry. Having help from friend that has practical knowledge and was willing to help. Crossbows are much easier to shoot accurately. A friend has one that is self cocking, wasn't cheap but worth it to him.

[bigmuddy]

My wife and I both shoot/Hunt with Excalibur X-bows and really like them. They have several models in various price ranges. I like the re-curve limbs and no cams. They are dang near indestructible. If the rope cocking device won’t work for you a detachable crank is also available. My wife used one until she built up the strength to pull the simpler rope.

Pay no attention to the “nay sayers”. While shooting a cross bow is indeed easier, the hunting is not. I still have to be in bow range or I don’t shoot. I still use my Matthews compound and last fall took a deer with each weapon. I’ve bow hunted for 40 years and taking up a cross bow was just another new challenge to try. They also allow many hunters to get into the woods that otherwise would not be able to. When they became legal for all archery hunting in MO few years ago it allowed my wife to start bow hunting with me. Best hunting partner I’ve ever had. 😀. She likes shooting hers so much that she bought one for me.

Good luck and keep hunting!!!

Dan

[rangersedge]

My wife really likes the feel of the Ravin 26. Big bucks though.

[wildcatter]

I have owned high end crossbow's from everyone over the past 10 years after suffering the same problems. Probably no less than 30 or 40. One thing the chest pounding vertical crowd don't try is shooting one offhand like we do with our vert's, it's a lot harder to hit with out to 40 yards than my Hoyt was. I've proven this to everyone who would try it!

The next thing I'll point out is range, sorry but 50 or 100 feet in one seconds time don't mean much for range, your still shooting A-R-C-H-ery! Bow hinting is bow hunting, regardless which way you mount the limbs!

Now after owning the latest $2000.00 dollar bow from Tenpoint, a Nitro-X, a Scorpyd 165 Orion $1900.00, both capable of over 435 fps, along with many bows from Darton Tenpoint, Scorpyd, Mission, Bowtech, I can say I would limit my shopping to these bows. I would also make the point, that if you think Vertical Compound bow prices deteriorate rapidly, crossbows are even worse, making them nearly impossible to recover any decent cost when you sell them later.

Now with all these capable of being cocked with a cranking device, some portable, some fixed, which adds significant weight, for anyone needing this convenience to get them cocked. I shoot 1000's of shots a year, and one important thing to me, is MAINTENANCE, serving wear is not going to be as good as a vertical bow, and generally the faster the bow, the harder it will be on servings. The other thing that accelerates string and serving wear is width! The narrower the bow, the harder it is on your servings.


If you maintain your own, you'll need a specialty bow press to work on it, other compounds require about any press available, even some that work with vertical bows. Some will require special nocks and arrow, so be aware of what is required, many have special needs.

Now for me, I'm a hunter, I want the most reliable, the easiest to maintain, and what needs the least maintenance, and what works with the most accessories. O want to be able to hit the backcountry, (which is hard for me to do today), but be able to pack a string, set of allen wrenches, and at an extreme a set of limbs. With the excalibur, in less than 10 minutes silling on a log, I could replace my limbs if I needed, my string in less than 2 minuets, and be ready to hunt without worrying about timing, or having to sight in. I can change the string, replace the limbs and put my first shot in 1" circle at 40 yards. I can also shoot any nock from a flat nock to a full capture nock without fear of missing a shot out to 40 yards first shot!

I shoot a 380 Matrix, I use a 380 Matrix I have had for 6 years, I shoot a 427 grain arrow for deer, at around 360 fps it has completely passed thru evert deer I have taken with out as far as 47 yards, and most of those bows listed above came and went, looking for a better hammer. This bow was $950.00 new, it can be bought used today for $500.00 to $650.00 scoped with rope cocker and arrows pretty regularly. It is as accurate as any bow I have owned out to 70 yards, and more accurate than most, but requires the least attention to maintenance and tuning to accomplish that! But the main thing for me is it is the easiest bow I have owned to shoot offhand and give me better accuracy than any of the compounds.


That and the fact I'm old school when it comes to hunting equipment. Excaliburs are lifetime warranted, with no serial number so however the owner is at the time it would be needed is covered, I have finally decided to quit throwing money away buying the latest and greatest trying to find a better suited hunting bow. In my book, and Excalibur is hard to beat.

So for me bow only weights, The Micro Suppressor under 6 pounds, and the Matrix 350 to 380, under 7 pounds, but slightly wider are what I will rely on for any big game archery from here out. The remind me of my gun selection, I quit trying to beat the simply rugged and reliable Blackhawk for the same reasons, RELIABLY SIMPLE! the Suppressor is also only 30" in length and even easier to shoot offhand if you can settle for around 340 fps from a shorter 400 grain arrow. A simple stick and string setup, no cables, cams just a simple deadly hunting tool that can not be beat for accuracy!


Good luck with whatever you choose, but there is some things to think about, and why.

[rangersedge]

Wow! A lot of great info.

Just FWIW... my wife and i have been spending some quality time in bow shops lately. Today, she shot some and decided on the Ravin. I left it up to her. Thought she might go with something else; but...

[bigbore5]

I just used my Barnette expedition 380 for the first time right before dark tonight. Now if we can just find the deer 🦌 before all the other critters do!!!

[bks]

Another vote for Excalibur.