Ok bow hunters, the subject came up around here and we're wondering. What makes a good crossbow? Materials, features, etc. What is the minimum draw weight that would take down a critter, both four and two legged from your experience? What brands should be avoided and what is a good mid-level price?

i too have been in the market for a cross bow so i am interested in replies.

the little bit of research i have done so far tells me you can spend a lot of money on these things - much more than a traditional compound or recurve bow.

personnally i have yet to find where the higher priced crossbows are worth the money over the cheaper models (but i will concede to the advice of the more experienced on this).

i see a lot of magazine ads touting super fast fps numbers for the bolts from the higher priced setups. from what my bow hunter buddies tell me, 40 yards is about the max shot one should take when hunting 4-legged animals for the sake of assuring a humane kill.

i have been looking at the products from Parker. they are a virginia based company and by virtue of living in VA, they have a pretty strong following in my area.

+1

Check out Sportsman's Guide. They have a few decent crossbows that are reasonably priced.

Which ever you get makes sure you buy a few spare strings and a couple of arms for each side (arms = the cross pieces for it)

I also seen in my Shotgun news that they are making a crossbow upper replacement for the AR platform.

That being said I am not an expert but I hope it helps with pricing.

funny you brought this up, i think with the certain air of whats happening lately with ammo and such our cell has been considering crossbows to have as well. personally i would go with Hoyt, Mathews or Parker bows.


as for me, here is the model iam going to get: Hurricane Extreme


http://parkerbows.com/pb/2007/crossbows.html?action=detail&detailsku=1058

happy hunting...4 legged or 2..lol

what was the decising factor that led you to choose that particular model?
i like the pistol grip and the optics.

IMO, For the money a Barnett Quad 400 (150 lbs draw) is a good investment. Watch out with Sportsman's guide..many times they are selling refurbished ones and not new! I own one of these weapons with a 4 power crossbow scope and it has helped keep the meat locker full for the past three winters. FYI--use good quality aluminum shafts with real feather flights like the Horton AP055 MX for hunting and good quality three bladed broadheads (I use Muzzy tri blades) if you expect accurate and solid lethal hits. Graphite bolts may fly faster but they are no wheres near as stable in flight and do not seem to hit anywhere near as hard as the aluminum shafts do.

They say 60 yards for a crossbow like this one but I wouldn't shoot at game and feel comfortable much beyond 40 yards...and it would have to be a perfect opportunity with little or no wind/breeze and proper angle on the animal for me to take a shot that far.

Let me tell ya..with a good aluminum bolt and those Muzzy heads they pass right through white tails and don't even appear to slow down. A shot through the ribcage will stop them in short order. The farthest I've had any travel after being hit is about 40 yards..then they do the weeble-wobble and fall down.

One advantage to a crossbow (besides the obvious ones) is that the animal doesn't even seem to notice it's been hit most times and just flinches at the noise of the bolt hitting the ground on the other side of them and before they know what's happening they are dead.

As with any weapon...PRACTICE with a crossbow is crucial to success! Get you one of those 4x4 block targets and put some holes in it! Sacrifice a few of your "hunting" shafts and broadheads to hone your skill. They will fly way different than "practice" shafts.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

marc, as for selection of it i had a buddy who has one let me shoot it and i loved it, i have tried a few in past mainly cheaper ones and i feel a difference in them, i just personally like the fit of the stock and the shoot.

lots of good advice posted here as well, practice practice practice. but if you get a chance to try one or another make do so and make your decision on what feels good to you. i like AR's my bud likes bolt actions...its what you want. shop around as well, but do watch out for sportsmanguide and the likes as well. hope this helps.

If you are not shooting much barnett and horton are fine, but if you shoot a lot spend extra money and get EXCALIBER,TEN POINT or PARKER.Recurves are more user friendly than compounds and a lot less complicated,they are also easyer to restring and fix in the field,fewer moving parts mean less to go wrong! CARBON shafts can take more abuse than ALUMINUM. CHECK OUT HORIZONIAL BOW MAGAZINES web site! EXCALIBER CROSSBOWS also has a excellent web site with a forum of FAQs

what do you call "not much"? our archery season is a month +

By not much, I mean less than 500 shots per year.

ah ha. definitely don't plan on shooting that much. thanks

Glad to be of assistance!

I'll take all this into consideration, thank you to all

Regardless of bow type and shape, when it comes to all things archery, Quietness ranks just ahead of repeatability comfort and price.

can anyone say stryker?