Plan to hang up the bow for archery season...

I have a Barnett I picked up for $99 bucks from Wally World love it killed my first deer with it last year I am a huge fan of the crossbow I’ve heard that the one you show in the pics will do a 3 inch group at 100 can anyone do that with a bow here?

Rembrandt said:

Too many years of bodily abuse from work and injuries have taken a toll on me. Getting older, shoulder pain making it tough to pull a bow to full draw. Looks like I'll be hanging up the Matthews and trying some alternative hunting. Still planning to deer hunt with shotgun, handgun, and black powder....not quite ready to give up on archery yet.

Began looking around for crossbows and was stunned at the performance they offer. Claim these are good out to 100 yards....haven't tried it at that distance yet, if true that's impressive. Anyone else use a crossbow?

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Sad to hear. I'm not a bow hunter myself but having to give up on something I assume you've been doing your whole life is rough. Hope the crossbow works out for you. At least you'll still be able to hunt.

U gonna place that Mathews in the “for sale” section???

Hunted with a crossbow for the first time last fall. It was my buddies spare that he let me use because I reload rifle ammo for him. Never got a shot at a deer other than a life size archery buck target. I was pretty impressed with it at about 25-30 yards. I was having joint and shoulder problems from the typical combo of hard work & age but this year I feel good enough physically to go back to my compound. But if my joints and shoulders begin acting up again I'm gonna get a crossbow for sure. Using that one (an Excaliber ) last year showed me what a blessing they can be for older guys with the typical age related stuff. Not to mention the fine accuracy it had. It's a natural progression for a rifle shooter - It has a low power scope, it shoulders like a rifle, it has a decent rifle-like trigger. Lets you concentrate on sight picture, trigger control, etc. just like a rifle. It's easy to get accurate with at bow range and even a bit further than I would be confident with using my compound. P.S. No experience with those Ravins but I hear they are some of the best. The few I've seen were also priced accordingly.

I never could shoot a bow well enough to trust myself hunting with it in the dark woods at dawn or dusk. I have a weak eye and it happens to be the one I have to shoot bows with. I learned to shoot left handed with long guns when I was 8 years old. Now days, I have the shoulder pain thing, too, so I sympathize with your plight.

Several years back I bought a cheap recurve to play with. I actually shot my first buck with it at quite close range. It shot 200 fps, not a real speed king. But, ya know, good sharp blades and it shot right through that buck. He wasn't huge, but he wasn't small either. Range was maybe 30 feet.

So, after finding out it worked, I desired more, but I wasn't going to dump my gun budget on a high end crossbow, ended up with a Bear Archery Kronicle from Wallyworld. It, I'm sure, shoots over 300 fps, claimed is 370, but I've not yet shot it over my chronograph. It's a lot faster than my cheapo recurve, though, and shoots WAY flatter. Unfortunately, I muffed a shot at a hog last season and didn't get a shot at a deer with it. The hog, I pushed the safety off and it made a loud CLICK! Last I saw of old porky. Blew my chance. He was about 50 feet from me, had him dead to rights. Oh, well, gives me something to look forward to next bow season and I'll practice EASING that safety off. LOL

BTW, I can hit nice small groups at 50 yards, but I'll limit shots to 40, personally. I have rifles for 100 yards and up. These woods are pretty dense and I set my ladder stand 25 yards from my feeder. I can't see past about 40 yards for the trees, anyway.

I pretty much don't care to hunt deer with a rifle HERE anymore. I took six last season on MLD permits in Uvalde, but here I get more out of shooting pigs. Too, during bow season, does are legal and they do need to be thinned out here.

I've been hunting with a cross bow for about 10 years now. I started shortly after they became legal in PA. I had hunted some with a recurve when I was younger, but never killed a deer. Killing a deer with my recurve is on my bucket list, but I never seem to set aside the time to practice and am never confident enough to take it out once the season opens. Hence the crossbow.

I have a cheap Horton and a Ten Point, and have killed a buck and a doe with each. None have run more than 40 yards after being shot. Not much different than hitting a deer with a rifle IMO. No DRT's but pretty close. All of my shots have been about 20 yards.

I like being in the woods in October. The weather usually is fairly nice and the deer haven't been pressured yet. Its great to be able to hunt during the rut too.

i would like one, but are xbow season is only like 15 days. hard to justify the money, when i do have the cash it goes elsewhere. the ravin look nice, i think a ten point would be in my budget.

Here in Co you have to hunt rifle season. I was at Vegas Shoot couple years ago part of line they put cross bow, pretty accurate offhand.

I have been hunting with one for 2 seasons, so far got one deer with it. Mine is a PSE fang 350. I am good to 50 yards with it, to hit a 8" dixie plate. It is short and light, and easy to use from a stand or ground blind. It came with a 4x scope, but I replaced it with a truglo red dot sight, with 3 stacked dots. That sight is great for the 50 yard effective range as well as picking the dots up in poor light. I never hunted before with a vertical bow, and I can't draw one now anyway due to a large hole/section of muscle missing from my right forearm (thanks, mohamed). In Fl, it wasn't difficult to get my medical card to use it anywhere during any archery season- just got the paperwork rom FWC online, family friend/Dr signed it, sent it in, and got it back 2 weeks later.

Absolutely nothing wrong with using a crossbow. I started with a compound and still use it but with time severally lacking to shoot and stay proficient with the compound and some of the shots being in thick brush, etc. I purchased a crossbow. I can now sit in blinds, on the ground, tighter stands, etc. Don't let the anti x bow crowd bring you down as long as its legal that's all that matters.

Went thru the same thing a few years back myself. Getting old, bad shoulder, arthritis. Lost confidence in my shooting ability with my bow and quit bow-hunting after half a century. Oldest son talked me into a crossbow and for a year or so I had little or no confidence in it either, altho it shot like a dream out to 50 yards. What it did tho, was get me back out in the woods during the rut. When weather is nice and hunting pressure is low. Hunting when I wanted too, not in just the 9 days of rifle season. Last fall I practiced until my confidence was there. Passed up a lot of deer till this guy showed up. He took three leaps before he stumbled and fell. I say go for it, if for nuttin' else, to get back out in the woods!

!

Laphroaig said:

I've been hunting with a cross bow for about 10 years now. I started shortly after they became legal in PA. I had hunted some with a recurve when I was younger, but never killed a deer. Killing a deer with my recurve is on my bucket list, but I never seem to set aside the time to practice and am never confident enough to take it out once the season opens. Hence the crossbow.

I have a cheap Horton and a Ten Point, and have killed a buck and a doe with each. None have run more than 40 yards after being shot. Not much different than hitting a deer with a rifle IMO. No DRT's but pretty close. All of my shots have been about 20 yards.

I like being in the woods in October. The weather usually is fairly nice and the deer haven't been pressured yet. Its great to be able to hunt during the rut too.

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Yeah, the rut occurs, usually, in bow season here and is over by gun season. THAT is another reason for me to bow hunt.

I shot this off the seat of my ATV as a rest. It was shot from 40 yards. This Bear is VERY accurate, but then, so is my cheap recurve. The Bear wasn't that expensive, 300 bucks. I'd really like to get an Excalibur recurve sometime, but they're pricey. I just really like the simplicity of a recurve and the Excaliburs have a long stroke and don't give up anything in velocity to the compounds. Of course, they aren't very compact, but I hunt from an open ladder stand, so that's not an issue for me.

We used to get fights started over crossbows claiming that they were for wimps & gimps, but the older I get, the better they look. I had a cheap Barnett 30 years ago and could shoot my PSE Compound better, so I traded it for a Marlin 39A. Best trade ever! Now at 68 I have a bad shoulder and a left hand with 12 screws and 2 plates in it. I can still pull my 70# Mission, but I can totally relate to moving over to a good crossbow. The day is getting closer and closer.

Rembrandt said:

Claim these are good out to 100 yards....haven't tried it at that distance yet, if true that's impressive.

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Just like with a rifle, bow, pistol, or slingshot, accuracy depends on the shooter. There is no magic bullet ... or arrow.

Out here u can't use a crossbow without disability, but I know a few guys that use them on private property. Personally I gave up my compound and only have a traditional recurve, but I'd like to try an Xbow.

What kind of broadhead is everybody using? Nothing fancy for me, 100 gr. Muzzy's.

I had a shoulder injury that prompted me to get a xbow from my lbs(local bow shop).
I love bow season, and would do anything yo participate.

Captcurt said:

I can still pull my 70# Mission, but I can totally relate to moving over to a good crossbow. The day is getting closer and closer.

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^^^^ Beat you to it. Sadly this last season marked my last. I have shot traditional (Long Bows and Recurves) since I was 15 years old. So I made it to 65 before my shoulder will no longer take it. I guess its time to pass my gear onto some of my nephews that are avid bow-hunters (traditional also).

50 years of bow-hunting has been a blessing (and a curse at times), but I learned more from bow-hunting (having to watch more than shoot) than any other method of hunting I have employed in my lifetime.

Laphroaig said:

What kind of broadhead is everybody using? Nothing fancy for me, 100 gr. Muzzy's.

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I was using bass pro gator SS mechanicals but slick tricks magnums is my go to for both compound and x bow. I shot a 2yo buck a few years back at 30yards slightly quartering away and it slung blood all over the dried soy beans it looked like a gallon of paint was dumped and leaked all over.

Flintknapper said:

^^^^ Beat you to it. Sadly this last season marked my last. I have shot traditional (Long Bows and Recurves) since I was 15 years old. So I made it to 65 before my shoulder will no longer take it. I guess its time to pass my gear onto some of my nephews that are avid bow-hunters (traditional also).

50 years of bow-hunting has been a blessing (and a curse at times), but I learned more from bow-hunting (having to watch more than shoot) than any other method of hunting I have employed in my lifetime.

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I still hunt with my recurve in the early season when the leaves are still on, but when it gets mid November, the xbow comes out.
I gave my compound to son #3