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Any of you know about crossbows? I'd like to get one, to take advantage of the long archery season here (I can hunt off my deck). But there are so many brands out there, and seems like a lot of cheap junk. I don't really want to spent $1000 on a crossbow setup either.

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Last year around January I got the bug. Always wanted one, but never enough to shell out for it. The state had limited crossbow season, and being that I don't have the time or the shoulders to practice with my bow anymore, the crossbow season might just be the thing to get me interested.

By that I mean I go away for a week of gun season every year. But I don't get into it, get enthused until the week is almost over. Early bow hunting always got me going early.

Anyway after watching lots of reviews of "cheap" but usable bows, I ordered a PSA Fang. But it was on back order forever. Eventually I canceled the order. Money got too tight to order one again. I didn't hv the money or the desire to drop big bucks on a high dollar one (the same reason my bow is 24+ years old) It's almost a year later now. I plan on checking out the reviews and see how they're holding up.

I went with the PSE Fang because of the price, reviews and it was legal here. There were other models I looked at, but NY has some stupid hunting laws, the distance between the limbs/cams must be X amount of inches, which ruled out a few that caught my eye.

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PSE is an old company that has been making bows for over 50 years so they should make a quality product. Without doing a ton of research on companies I would suggest buying one made by an older archery company. Another strategy would be to search the net for a forum dedicated to crossbows and see what people there say about them.

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I've found that forum, www.crossbownation.com

I'm really thinking that a recurve type would be best for me, as opposed to a compound.

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Reading lots of forums is where I was learning about the PSE Fang. Not just from newer shooters, but people with other X-bows to compare it to. Seemed like a good value to price ratio.

Also learned that Barnet is considered junk. That I didn't know.

Last year we has a short crossbow deer season. Not this year. I think it was an election ploy from the scumbag Cuomo.
This year they'd only be legal in gun season (and maybe the muzzle loading season)

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need in addition to the crossbow is a cocker. You don't absolutely need that but I strongly recommend one. From $390 plus about $50 for a cocker, NOT $1000.

http://www.parkerbows.com/crossbows.html?action=detail&detailsku=1144

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Sincerely,

Hobie

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we quit selling them. One guys blew up after the second shot. Maybe the quality's better now, but I doubt it. If you're going to go that route, Barnett's are better, but not by much.

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worked at Parker, they are just down the road from us, and the cautions he has is the increased use of plastics and not, obviously, dry-firing them.

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Sincerely,

Hobie

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have to take another look at them.

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Because of my situation as regards archery, I've tried a few and owned several. There are two that I recommend. Ten Point crossbows are very good, but they can be pricey. I've owned two Excalibur crossbows in the past. Crossbows chew up center servings, so if you don't know how to serve a string, learn how. With Ten Points (or any other compound crossbow) you'll need a press or pro shop to service it, with Excalibur's you don't. The warranty and customer service from Excalibur is excellent, as is Ten Point, can't speak to the others. I had an Excalibur Phoenix that had a set of limbs delaminate and they were replaced in three days, no questions asked. We've seen a lot of Barnetts and Hortons(no longer made I think) in the shop for repairs. Guys dry fire them and blow the limbs up. One of the hottest sellers is the tac 15 or something like that. You can buy just the rail, limbs and cams and it fits on the lower assembly of an AR, or you can buy the whole bow, pretty popular around here, and pricey. The Wicked Ridge bows are Ten Points value line of crossbows, I've shot a few and they seem like a good buy for the money.

For a decent crossbow, expect to pay around 5 "C-notes", good used bows hold there value, but be careful buying used. A lot of "archers" buy them and blow the limbs up. There's a lot of cheap chinese junk on the market now. With "inclusion" in many states now, the technology is changing rapidly. This is definitely one item were the old adage holds true..."you get what you pay for."

I will tell you, they are not a panacea, and there is a learning curve, albeit not as steep as a longbow or recurve, or even a compound, but they do require you pay attention to what you're doing. Effective range is similar to a compound bow. My Excalibur Vixen was so accurate out to 40 yards I got so's I couldn't shoot at the same spot twice.

Having said all that, I sold them off four or five years ago. They are cumbersome to hunt with, especially out of a tree stand, they're noisy as hell, I never could get mine quiet. Being a long time archer, I never could get used to the "horizontality" of the damn things.
And, I'm not one of those anti-crossbow people, but it just didn't seem like archery to me.

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And bow hunting, but it's been quite a few years. I don't think I'd ever buy a used one, just because of the potential for abuse. I've got a dandy scar on the outside of my right elbow. I was shooting a new whiz gizzy Bear compound bow that exploded, on the indoor archery Lane in the shop I worked in. Left me with a 3 inch long gash that you could see the tendons and ligaments thru. I don't want a repeat of that experience. I'm really leaning toward a simple, quality Xbow and it sounds like Excalibur might be the right one to deal with.

How about optics for these? The one I'm looking at is the Excalibur Phoenix kit. It has some kind of a scope that probably isn't much good, but I don't know if these things are hard on optics or not?

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The Vixen is also more than adequate for deer and the like. I liked the Vixen because I could cock it without any mechanical assistance.

As for optics, there's been a plethora of crossbow scopes come to the market in recent years. I don't know what Excalibur offers now in there packages, but I had a Varizone that was quite good. The old Dropzone was pretty good. I think the all the major scope companies make one for crossbows now. Leupold has one and so does Nikon, they seem to get good reviews. Check your state regs, there's a few states out there that don't allow optics.

I used a Bushnell Banner scope on my Vixen and it worked great. A buddy of mine who lives in Italy shoots an Excalibur Exomax with a high dollar Meopta rifle scope and hasn't had any problems, but they say to use a "crossbow" specific scope because of how they react is different then a firearm.

The good thing about Excalibur's is if you need to change strings (and if you shoot a crossbow any,they can chew through strings) you don't need a press to change it. There's even guys who do trigger jobs on them, although, I never felt the need for that. They're about as simple as you can get. Excalibur is a Canadian company, and crossbows have been legal in Canada for years. They have website with a forum, much like this one. Check it out, there's a bunch of really knowledgeable crossbow people that participate.

Like I said, I haven't fooled with these things in five or six years, I'm sure a lot has changed.

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At least in regards to crossbows. It was one of the first states to allow crossbows in archery season, and not just for the disabled.

I'll look into the Vixen model, I thought it was a youth model. But really that would be fine for my use. I probably can't get a clear Lane thru the trees for any more than 20-25 yards, so I expect that just about any kind of crossbow would do for that.

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I have a buddy in Arkansas he hunts with an Excal Exocet. I think Ohio has allowed them for a long time too. Inclusion here started about ten or so years ago. I'm sure there's a lot of choices these days, I don't really like them, so I don't really keep up.

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I don't really like them either, never understood the attraction. But I can hunt in my back yard with one, now it's getting more interesting. I just need it to be accurate enough to make a DRT shot.

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I had to give up archery because of a blown out shoulder back in '98. A few years ago Michigan finally started allowing crossbows for general use, so I did a bunch of research and decided on an Excaliber Axiom. It was their lowest priced unit and had excellent reviews. I like hunting with it, but have not killed anything with it yet. It is very accurate and I really like being able to change strings myself and de-cock it at the end of the day without having to shoot it. I am hoping it will get my Dad to do some early season deer hunting, since the cold is rough on him and this does not require nearly as much practice to get good. Mine came as a kit with a scope, four bolts and a bolt-on quiver for $450. The only problem with it is the width, at 36", which makes it tough to find cases and you have to really be careful in a blind.

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The Phoenix and Exocet bows are no longer production models.

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Crossbows are an interesting mix of good and "bad".

Most are heavy and awkward to handle. The powerful ones are very loud to shoot. They can be quite expensive, both to buy and feed. They burn through strings and while bolts can be shot over and over again into a suitable target backer I have never ever found one shot in the woods. They just disappear without a trace. Even the 400 fps jobs have a trajectory that limits practical range to 40-50 yards.

Still, they are crazy accurate. It is not unusual to shoot 1" groups at 50 yards with good ones. They shoot so hard that a special target backer is required to stop the bolts. Once they are cocked and loaded you can just set in your stand and drink coffee and relax, ready to go. If one is too frail to pull a bow, they keep you in the game.

Everyone should have one.

This is a Barrett Predator and it will kill deer.

Byron

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Several years ago I bought my Dad an Excalibur and its been a good bow. If I were buying now, it would be the Mission. One of my best friends is the archery pro at my LGS. He shot professionally for a number of companies and believes Mission is far and away better than anything else out there.

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I was crossbow before crossbow was cool I would have had a crossbow season in NJ in the 1980's the only people in the way. UNITED BOWHUNTERS OF NJ fought it tooth and nail.
Now why you need a special target for crossbows are not because they are so deadly. ARCHERY gear cuts on impact. IT does not crush on impact like bullets.
A crossbow bolt is lighter than an arrow, So it has more speed, Thus penetration is amplified because of speed and cutting ability. ( SPEED CUTS) Now for the facts of killing> SPEED CUTS UNTILL INTERUPTED ( BY ANYTHING) at this time MASS is needed (weight)to continue penetration. ( That's why we pay big bucks for bullets that work and retain their weight) Now broad heads that expand on impact put a interruption in the penetration. Compound this with a lighter projectile and everything goes to S(&T .
Your crossbow just made a cripple to follow for miles. Now this same shot in the perfect 12 Ring will kill like nothing else. Soft tissue. . A 223 ball round would do the same but not the best option. So when looking for a crossbow look at the weight of the projectile they shoot. DONT BUY HYPE You need enough weight in your bolt and a broad head that CUTS ON IMPACT! Not one that PUNCTURES! It is FAR better to shoot 275 FPS with a 150 GR broad head that has a sharp edge on the point that to shoot 300FPS wiht a puncturing point and expandable broad head.
Now CAS like everything in life . It is better to spend good money upfront than to go cheap and end up with junk with no resale value. Excalibur if you are looking for a traditional bow and if your looking for a compound Go with the people who started Horton. 10X. hope this helps you all . J.Michael :-D

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Be sure tat you can use a crossbow during the archery season. Due to the efforts of conventional archery bow hunters, some states restrict crossbows to the firearm seasons. For some reason, the conventional crowd seem to think crossbows aren't archery equipment. To them, crossbows make hunting too easy.

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