needing crossbow advice

[vmax]

I want a cross bow for white tail hunting this fall

I have a budget of about $500

I've look at Hoyts and PSEs, I just don't know enough about them yet to make a good decision

 

[ROGER4314]

My friend/neighbor and I each bought a Horton Brotherhood cross bow (CB) and have had terrific luck with them. They are priced well under your limit and are extremely accurate! Range that we shoot is 35 to 40 yards and we can drill a coffee cup sized target almost 100% depending on the wind. This is my third crossbow.

The Horton scope has horizontal lines built in to it to compensate for increased distance. It works beautifully!

You must use a chapstick looking lube every 5 shots to prevent the bow string from overheating as it fires. Don got a bit lazy on applying the lube and it melted the wrapping at the nock so he had to replace his string. Mine is doing great. Don is a hunter and killed two deer with his CB last fall. Both deer dropped like a rock. I just target shoot.

A word of caution about cross bows. The bowstring is so fast and powerful that it will amputate a finger if it gets in the way. My previous two CB's had a frame that you held like a rifle with your left hand. and if a finger sticks up too far....it's gone. A friend of ours lost the end of his finger last fall so I know this is a real danger with CB's! They are NOT kidding!

The Horton Brotherhood uses a handle mounted below the CB frame. When you grab that handle to fire, your fingers are safe and out of the way. That was a major selling point of the Brotherhood CB for me.

The Brotherhood CB uses a cocking rope that costs $29. It has two handles and clips that grab the bowstring. At first, I thought the cocking rope was overpriced but it works so well that I see it as a bargain, now. It's easy to cock the CB with that rope tool. I will NOT cock the CB with my hands!

http://www.amazon.com/Horton-EZ-Loader-Cocking-Rope/dp/B000W8FP2S/ref=pd_sim_sg_2

You never dry fire a cross bow. One dry fire will destroy the bow. Another friend in Oklahoma dry fired his new compound bow one time and it totally destroyed the bow! I saw him do it. The bow exploded like a bomb!

Decocking a CB is a problem. There are decocking arrows for that purpose but not being a hunter, I simply fire into the target block. DON'T EVER attempt to grab the string to decock the CB unless you want to get seriously hurt! I know guys who do that but I never will. Don't fire too close to the target block. The bolt will disappear into the block and you won't retrieve it or it will be damaged if you do. Here's simple tool to make pulling your bolts out of the target easier.

http://www.amazon.com/Allen-Company-Molded-Rubber-Puller/dp/B000LCA6PG/ref=pd_sim_sg_4

CB targets are dense and more expensive but well worth the cost. I tried to go cheap on my second CB by using a sand pile as a target. I shot at the upper 1/3 of the pile, the bolt exited the other side of the sand pile and tore the vanes off of the bolt.

They shoot bolts....not arrows, right?

Academy in Baytown has an Archery range for you to try out their bows and CB's. Maybe an Academy near you will have a range, too.

http://www.amazon.com/Horton-Brothe...d=1367128204&sr=8-1&keywords=horton+brotherho

When you fire a bow, you get used to the "twang...........Thunk" of the arrow firing and hitting the target. It's all one noise with the cross bow!

I have been told that shooting light (100) grain tips could damage the CB like dry firing it. I use 125 grain tips. Broadheads come in various weights, too. I stay with 125 grain in everything.

I have a healthy respect for my CB. It is a fantastic piece of equipment but if you don't have a little fear in using one, you can get yourself hurt.

I hope that helps!

Flash

 

[vmax]

wow, thank you for taking the time to share that much info.


I have seen the less expensive CBs and wondered if the ones that were twice as high were really worth it.

I guess when you hunt with a CB , you have to have it cocked and ready when you get into your blind. That means every time you don't fire at an animal you must fire a decocking bolt at a suitable target block

I never really thought that part through. A regular compound bow does not pose that problem and a couple bales of straw work as a target


I had been thinking a CB would be a good choice for me and my son to get a couple of early season white tail this year, but having hunted with good sucess with a standard compound bow years ago, I wonder if that isn't the best route to take

I have some more thinking to do...

 

[dbgun]

wow, thank you for taking the time to share that much info.


I have seen the less expensive CBs and wondered if the ones that were twice as high were really worth it.

I guess when you hunt with a CB , you have to have it cocked and ready when you get into your blind. That means every time you don't fire at an animal you must fire a decocking bolt at a suitable target block

I never really thought that part through. A regular compound bow does not pose that problem and a couple bales of straw work as a target


I had been thinking a CB would be a good choice for me and my son to get a couple of early season white tail this year, but having hunted with good sucess with a standard compound bow years ago, I wonder if that isn't the best route to take

I have some more thinking to do...

+1.....Very good info. Thank you as well. Couple of the guys on my deer lease have cross bows and are trying to get me into it. Your write up, has me thinking abut it again. LOL

 

[ROGER4314]

The Horton Brotherhood is a great crossbow but I couldn't lure you into using one without stern warnings. I apologize for pounding the safety drum loudly.

Don & I shoot targets for practice then he goes out to hunt deer...very successfully, I might add. I don't hunt any more but I have been tempted to bag a hog with my CB.

To summarize the previous post.....Very accurate! Cocked & ready to fire (has a very effective safety that is automatically applied), reasonable cost and I buy the bolts at Academy for $4-$5. Field points are extra and broadheads...your choice. Decocking after a hunt takes some ingenuity. Shooting a bolt into a tree would surely ruin or hopelessly imbed the bolt.

Have fun!

Flash