Crossbows???

[deewayne2003]

Thinking about getting a crossbow for the kids to hunt deer with. I figured it would be a good way to get in the woods early and maybe serve as a gateway to bow hunting.

I know nothing about them.

Any recommendations? Not looking to spend 3k. We are talking about shooting deer at 20 yds.

I would listen to @rookhawk - most crossbows are disposable junk, but I also agree with him on the Raven bows and also like the 10Point brand.

I'm surrounded by archery hunters because Grayson Co Texas where I grew up is archery only and also produces some of the biggest deer killed in Texas each year as well as guiding hunts in Southern Oklahoma where the archery season runs from Oct 1 - Jan 15th.

I limit my shots to 20yds and use Rage 2 blade expandable broad heads - they make massive wounds in whitetail but be careful gutting the deer if the broadhead is not recovered intact.

WARNING - The worst thing you can do for any crossbow is to leave them cocked for hours on end, I know guys that have used everything from cheap to $4K+ crossbows and used the leave them cocked all weekend and wonder why the limbs split.....

1. either get a model that can be decocked by the crank
2. Get yourself some decocking bolts that you can fire into the ground before getting out of the stand each hunt.

 

[rookhawk]

I've also had a deer duck an arrow with my compound bow (pse) at 30 yds.
I made the rookie mistake of forgetting not to shoot when their head was down. Was rusty. It was embarrassing but also AMAZING.
It was like neo dodging bullets.

I'm of the understanding that xbow velocity (400+ fps) reduces or eliminates this issue.

So which Xbow is the sweet spot of having high FPS that can also withstand regular use and doesn't require an oversized hard case to travel with?

@Datchew I at one point had a spreadsheet with the answer to your question with utmost precision.

I'm going to guesstimate the facts ten years later.

Whatever a 320 IBO compound bow at 31" draw does at 42 yards, my Ravin r29 sending a bolt at 431fps does at 67 yards.

These super powerful crossbows are super accurate, but they aren't "fast enough". People think they can shoot deer at 100 yards with them, but they cannot. The reaction time of a deer on a calm day is so fast, use of a crossbow requires judgement and restraint.

Would I shoot a deer at 75 yards with my top of the line Ravin? Maybe. If it was a noisy 5-7 mph wind, I would do it. If it were utter still? Not a chance. Under pindrop quiet conditions I probably would hesitate on anything past 60 yards.

There are places on the net that can tell you how quickly in milliseconds a deer ducks, loads, and springs upon jumping the string. This can help you determine how far your given setup is ethical to use for deer sized animals.

 

[Datchew]

@rookhawk - that makes sense to me.
My "what would i do with a crossbow?" line of thinking is I would still shoot deer at 20-30 yards max but have less chance of them ducking the arrow (er... bolt I guess)

However, I would also use it regularly for pig hunting at my buddy's place (about 15 mins from home) and possibly even drop a thermal onto it. For pigs, I would probably be a little more prone to try some longer shots.

 

[rookhawk]

@rookhawk - that makes sense to me.
My "what would i do with a crossbow?" line of thinking is I would still shoot deer at 20-30 yards max but have less chance of them ducking the arrow (er... bolt I guess)

However, I would also use it regularly for pig hunting at my buddy's place (about 15 mins from home) and possibly even drop a thermal onto it. For pigs, I would probably be a little more prone to try some longer shots.

Whatever is ethical for you with a vertical bow at 30 yards is going to be roughly similar at 48-52 yards with an average crossbow velocity.

The biggest issue with crossbows is they drop like mortars. The factory scopes are literally made for $5 in China and are utter trash with stupid subtensions. The high accuracy crossbows deserve one of three optic arrangements:

1.) The Ravin Jack Plate or the HHA speed dial. This allows you to chrony your setup and put a tape on a dial that allows you to range the animal, turn the dial for adjusted drop, and send the arrow. (use a classic rifle scope like an old, used Leupold and you'll have great luck)

2.) Garmin has a rangefinding optic that takes a reading, moves a digital crosshair, and then you shoot to point of aim.

3.) I think burris also has a version of option 2.

For a flawlessly accurate crossbow like a Ravin r10 or similar, you can be ethical at 50 yards with any of the above optic setups. With a top of the line Ravin that's $4000, you can be ethical to 70-75 yards if you have a tiche of wind to muffle the noise.

The best part about all of these options is they are a wonderful gateway for young hunters. My sons gained their love of bow hunting with crossbows. They now aspire to be better vertical bow hunters.

Take a kid hunting often.

 

[Flbt]

Thinking about getting a crossbow for the kids to hunt deer with. I figured it would be a good way to get in the woods early and maybe serve as a gateway to bow hunting.

I know nothing about them.

Any recommendations? Not looking to spend 3k. We are talking about shooting deer at 20 yds.

Years ago I got a barnett 425
I liked it it was fast and accurate at least with aluminum arrows the Corbonfiber ones were just catching on and no one was really sure if you should use them in a Xbow.
I shot a coyote and one deer.
It took so much longer for them to die compared to a rifle shot in the same palace.

For me it was not something I was willing to do again.
And it stayed in the closet until the house burned.
I don’t know if that model is still made but if I wanted to try one again if I could find that xbow it’s the one I would want.
I bought a xbow kit from bass pro back then I know it was under 500 back then I really want to say close to 400
But with the very thing it’s probably way more if it’s still made.

 

[KEC]

I purchased a Ravin R10 several years ago after graduating from a 10 Point Titan Extreme that I hunted with for 8 seasons. I love my R10, it's fast enough and very accurate for shots up to 50 yds using Slick Trick 100 gr Magnums. For my purposes I feel it is perfect and it won't break the bank!

 

[Hogpatrol]

Before they went out of business, Parker made good crossbows. I still hunt with one of their Concordes which has an air bottle on it for cocking.

 

[Roosterlund]

Sadly, most crossbows truly are disposable junk products. Worse yet, the high-end $3000-$5000 crossbows are so highly strung that using them for practice quickly wears them out. My crossbow I forbid people to recreationally shoot. Every year, one shot, it hits the bullseye at a given range, and its put in a purpose built padded container so it doesn't lose any of its adjustments.

So I didn't answer your question directly but wanted to give you a preamble. You need to spend more money than you intended, but you don't need the best crossbow. The most accurate crossbow of high quality is the obsolete Ravin R10/R15 series. These bows were not extreme high power, but because of that they also don't crack limbs and stretch cables after very few shots either. I think they are about 5 year old models but are still in production. They run $1200 with everything you need except broadheads. They will print 2" groups at 100 yards on a windless day, so they are highly precise. At their velocity, it will permit an ethical shot (due to time in flight and a deer's ability to react) to about 52-55 yards.

It is the PERFECT weapon for younger hunters too small to draw a vertical bow. All my kids were hunting deer and turkey with them from a steady rest at six years of age. It's a wonderful tool for young hunters.

Just got a Ravin R10X. Love it super accurate. Shoots 425fps. 2000$ out the door. Had a Barnet. The Quality of the Ravin is far superior.

 

[Hedge774]

@Datchew I at one point had a spreadsheet with the answer to your question with utmost precision.

I'm going to guesstimate the facts ten years later.

Whatever a 320 IBO compound bow at 31" draw does at 42 yards, my Ravin r29 sending a bolt at 431fps does at 67 yards.

These super powerful crossbows are super accurate, but they aren't "fast enough". People think they can shoot deer at 100 yards with them, but they cannot. The reaction time of a deer on a calm day is so fast, use of a crossbow requires judgement and restraint.

Would I shoot a deer at 75 yards with my top of the line Ravin? Maybe. If it was a noisy 5-7 mph wind, I would do it. If it were utter still? Not a chance. Under pindrop quiet conditions I probably would hesitate on anything past 60 yards.

There are places on the net that can tell you how quickly in milliseconds a deer ducks, loads, and springs upon jumping the string. This can help you determine how far your given setup is ethical to use for deer sized animals.

I had an impala duck a 20 yard shot with a Ravin. I was heart sick, but I was overconfident in my shot and took the impala's reflexes for granted. Crossbows' are game changers though!

 

[BTB Joe]

I used an Excalibur for years. Reliable and accurate crossbows. This year, however, I bought a Ten Point Venom X. Much easier to use in a stand when a deer comes in behind or beside you. It’s relatively affordable compared to Ravin e.g.), accurate, and has a crank to cock and decock that works well. Check YouTube, there are many reviews. I upgraded the scope to Hawke brand and am happy with it.

Second day success.

 

[Philip Glass]

Thinking about getting a crossbow for the kids to hunt deer with. I figured it would be a good way to get in the woods early and maybe serve as a gateway to bow hunting.

I know nothing about them.

Any recommendations? Not looking to spend 3k. We are talking about shooting deer at 20 yds.

I got a cheap Barnett that was on special at Walmart of all places a few years ago. 70yd and under and it works great. The wind is the big factor. I've just used to to do some early season culling of does etc.