I finally got a crossbow

[Lilred]

After last years disturbin bow season, I bought a Horton crossbow last week. It's perty spiffy and I didn't have any trouble at all pullin it back. Here it is May and I'm already burnin for bow season...lol
I figured givin myself all summer to practice would do me good though.
Given that I could use a few opinions. I've been usin 90gr broadheads with my compound, should I switch to a heavier broadhead now that I have the crossbow? It would make sense to me to do that, but it never hurts to have a second opinion. I was pullin 50 lbs on the compound.
The crossbow has a draw weight of 175 lbs and flies 305 fps. I found that kind of odd in the advertisin tho...after shootin it, it didn't penetrate any more than my compound and it didn't seem to fly that much faster either. I was usin the same target I used for my compound...weird.
Any advice would be helpful...cause that big buck made it through the season last year...and with the help of that winter food plot I'm plantin in August...I'll hopefully get a second chance at him.

[gd357]

Lilred,

Congrats, you should enjoy your newly acquired bolt slinger. First, your 90 grain broadheads should work fine. I've always used 100 grain heads with my crossbows, and all the deer I've shot with them would attest to their effectiveness. Second, your bolts/arrows are most definitely going faster from your crossbow, but due to their shorter length, they will lose energy (and velocity) at a quicker rate than a longer arrow fired from your compound, so on longer shots flight time may be very similar (or at least appear that way). JMHO

gd

[skeet]

Hey Lilred. Glad ya got a crossbow. I happen to have one although I don't use it to hunt with now. It was my father in laws. He got it when he was 93 cause he couldn't pull a bow and wanted to hunt deer. Even got one with it too(at 95). When we shot that darn thing we found out a lot of stuff. First and foremost is is still a bow. Ranges for shooting aren't necessarily extended so keep it under 40 yds. The one thing that a cross bow does do is make it a little easier to hit with. It is a pain to cock and takes more time than a regular bow for the 2nd shot. Almost like using a muzzleloader. We put a crank on it for him. Darn thing is heavy too. Your 90 gr broadheads will be just fine. We used mechanicals for my FIL's and they worked fine. Shot good too. To be really honest when I was shooting a bow regularly(100 arrows a day with my recurve) I could shot 3 times as fast and more accurately but that ol crossbow will work out pretty well for ya. You still have to PRACTICE religiously. Go get 'em kid. You will have fun. What'cha putting in the food plot kiddo??:D

Oh BTW hold it tight when ya shoot it. They do have a bit of recoil. Bruised my FIL pretty badly...but he was using coumadin to thin his blood. Didn't stop him though:D :D

[Lilred]

Thank you fellas fer the info...I got my bolts & got 100gr broadheads..and let me tell ya...I can hit a 3 in circle @ 35 yrds every time. I think I'm ready to whoop up on em.

Got that food plot ready with some no-till mix...we planted it down a loggin road that runs bout 1/2 mile in from the dirt road. Deer cross that road like you wouldnt believe...shoot...I could put a toll booth down there and they'd pay fer it they use it so much.
I gave my compound away to a kid that's takin up bowhuntin this year. I hope he enjoys it as much as I have over the years. I aint have the heart to charge him fer it.
Lookin forward to a good year....it's been real cool the past few mornins...it has been drivin me NUTS!!!!!!!
Seen a ton of deer and the turkey seems to have done real good too....seen more this year than i have in the last 5 years seems like.
I gotta git back to werk fore I wind up walkin outta here and go hunt SOMETHIN...anythin....;) :D

[Cossack]

Congrats, I had to go to a horizontal bow myself.
Because of their speed and short arrows (bolts) x bows are a bit different. Try shooting the smallish 4 sided broadhead like Slick Tricks. Their 100 gr magnum works for me. The smaller diameter and 4 blades prevent the bolt from being steered by the bh. And they tend to shoot to the same point as field points of comperable weight.
Lacking knowledge I experimented, starting with the larger Thunderheads. Lack of accuracy cost me 2 bucks. ST's cured that problem.

Here are several X bow sites you may find helpful:

http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=46
http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/tt.aspx?forumid=96
http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=1

[GoodOlBoy]

With the old arthritis in my shoulder an elbow I have been thinking about one. The problem is that without the Doc writin me a message I still cannot use it durin bow season here. An my Doc is an antihunter so anything he can do to tick me off he does. Anyway the problem is I don't even know what to look for everybody around here thinks crossbow is a bad word.

Anyway congrats lilred hope ya bag a big one with it yer frist time out.

GoodOlBoy

[Cossack]

GOB
Your doc needs to rereminded who the customer is. Like as not, his nurse will fill out the form anyway. I pulled the forms off the MN DNR website, filled it out and told the nurse what to write. Two bad shoulders, bad back and 67 hard years aught to be good for something.
Check out the sites I specified above they are a friendly group and will answer all your questions. Most stores that sell X bows know very little about the product unless they specialize in them.