# help in a decision for a crossbow



## duckhunter (Oct 8, 2007)

I have made up my mind i'm going to get one for this year. Does anyone have suggestion on what to buy and what not to waist my money on. You input would be greatly appreciated.:whistling:


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## SAWMAN (May 24, 2010)

*Me Too*

I am basically in the "same boat". With Fla allowing Xbows this coming year I want one pretty quick so I can get started with the practiceing.

If you have no expierance with one(like me) I would suggest that you go to Bass Pro Shop in Spanish Fort,Ala and take a look at all the ones that they have on display. The guys in that department are very knowledgeable and I was told that they will allow you to shoot any model they have in their indoor range. If you end up buying one they will set it up as you desire and allow you to shoot it also. 

This has been a starting location for the prospective Xbow for me personally. Even if you don't end up getting one from them,the knowledge gained will help you in your "quest " for the perfect Xbow for you. --- SAWMAN


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## FrankwT (Jul 25, 2010)

yeah I wish we had that here in Destin, our Bass Pro is run like a Kmart with less than trained people. I must say the gun dept had 1 good guy the last time I went, but have no ranges. I am looking for my first also and do not want to break the bank. I have settled on the Barnett Jackal, $250 for a 315fps bow, I think.


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## PensacolaEd (Oct 3, 2007)

I saw where Sportsman's Guide had a 150# Horton Crossbow on sale for $199. Here's a Link:

http://shop.sportsmansguide.com/net/browse/archery-cross-bows.aspx?c=8&s=261&k=crossbow&entry=224


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## duckhunter (Oct 8, 2007)

*crossbow*

Wow I did not know they would let you try them at Bass Pro . That is exactely what I'm going to do then. This starting from scratch for me on crossbows so that is a great start thanks.


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## FrankwT (Jul 25, 2010)

PensED, I saw that but it is 280fps and the Barnet Jackal is 315fps for 250, so which is a better bow and does that amount of speed make a difference?


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## Emerald Ghost (Mar 11, 2008)

FrankwT said:


> yeah I wish we had that here in Destin, our Bass Pro is run like a Kmart with less than trained people. I must say the gun dept had 1 good guy the last time I went, but have no ranges. I am looking for my first also and do not want to break the bank. I have settled on the Barnett Jackal, $250 for a 315fps bow, I think.


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Better think twice about a Jackal, Frank.
Look at the "Wicked Ridge" for $399.00 
They are a division of Ten Point, they come with a 5 year warranty, and are getting good reviews.


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## FrankwT (Jul 25, 2010)

Ghost, the Barnets are not good? I can't afford a 400 bow so was looking at 250 or less for my first one.


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## Emerald Ghost (Mar 11, 2008)

FrankwT said:


> Ghost, the Barnets are not good? I can't afford a 400 bow so was looking at 250 or less for my first one.


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There is a reason why one company will give a (1) year warranty for a product, and why another company can give a 5 year or lifetime warranty. A crossbow is a powerful, violent piece of shooting equipment. 

Lifetime warranty = Ten Point
Lifetime warranty = Parker

5 year warranty = Wicked Ridge and Excalibur 

Hope this helps.


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## FrankwT (Jul 25, 2010)

It does, very much, but it also means I probably will not be able to buy one this year, sad to say.


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## Emerald Ghost (Mar 11, 2008)

FrankwT said:


> It does, very much, but it also means I probably will not be able to buy one this year, sad to say.


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On Ebay there are several Parker Bushwacker 150 pound Crossbows up for bid. Parker's come with a lifetime warranty.
One new one is currently at $249.00, and ending soon, and there is another used Bushwacker currently bidded at $199.00


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## FrankwT (Jul 25, 2010)

Thanks I will take a look, I never win anything there, I think the bidders are friends/employees of the companies to keep the prices up...lol


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## Emerald Ghost (Mar 11, 2008)

FrankwT said:


> Thanks I will take a look, I never win anything there, I think the bidders are friends/employees of the companies to keep the prices up...lol


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One BIG advantage on Ebay is to make a decision on the maximum price you are willing to pay ahead of time, and then wait till the last 30 seconds of the auction before placing a bid. 
I've made well over 100 transactions on Ebay, and I probably bid unsuccessfully on 6 items for every one I win. 
For the most part, people bid too much for an item.


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## SAWMAN (May 24, 2010)

*Hey Guys*

Take a gander at the site ----> Crossbow Review
Tons of info and seems to be a good compairason of the features. ----SAWMAN


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## duckhunter (Oct 8, 2007)

crossbow review thanks sawman


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## bigbulls (Mar 12, 2008)

> One BIG advantage on Ebay is to make a decision on the maximum price you are willing to pay ahead of time, and then wait till the last 30 seconds of the auction before placing a bid.


One BIG disadvantage of buying on Ebay is that those lifetime warranties are completely void.

People stay away from anything from Barnett unless you want a multitude of limb problems. Barnett is JUNK!!!!!!!

Stay away from the inexpensive Horton crossbows. If you buy Horton look at nothing but the two legacy models, vision 175, and the Team Realtree 175. It is highly likely that the others will have problems with limbs.

Lines that have excellent reputations, great warranties, great safety features with great customer service and are plagued with very very few problems are Parker, Ten Point, and Wicked Ridge.


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## FrankwT (Jul 25, 2010)

"One BIG disadvantage of buying on Ebay is that those lifetime warranties are completely void."

Why is that? Even if I buy a used bow from you the Lifetime should carry over, so why not on an Ebay bow? Just curious as that is the first time I have heard that.


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## SAWMAN (May 24, 2010)

*Hmmmmmm ????*

A crossbow is manufactured. It is packaged and sent out the door. Does the company track who is the end(final) seller ?? Then do they determine weather they will honor the warrenty because of who the seller is ??? 

Sounds like another believer in the "Wal-Mart guns are inferior" thing.:laughing: ---SAWMAN


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## duckhunter (Oct 8, 2007)

Hey on the crossbow review link when I looked it up Barnett has a 5 year warranty. I don't know if they are paid to do the reviews but they seemed to love them. I'm still doing research on crossbows because I have made up my mind to get one.


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## SAWMAN (May 24, 2010)

*As For Now*

I am taking a close look at the Barnett Predator and the Horton Team Realtree. The Barnett site also states that their warrenty is for 5 years. That doesn't bother me alot since I am very easy on equipment with constantly doing the necessary PM stuff.

The Barnett's speed appeals to me in that it has a direct effect on the longer(50yd)range trajectories. I also believe that at the faster speeds the target animal will have less chance(time)to duck or jump the bolt. I still have alot of reading to do plus a couple of trips over to BPS. --- SAWMAN


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## FrankwT (Jul 25, 2010)

Well I am still in the $250 range with the Barnet Jackal at 315fps it has plenty of speed. For my first xbow I do not want to pay more considering you are still going to have to buy a target, bolts, broadheads, case and a cocking device on some, well over 150 right there. Secondly I have never seen a deer 40 yards from me ...lol


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## bigbulls (Mar 12, 2008)

> A crossbow is manufactured. It is packaged and sent out the door. Does the company track who is the end(final) seller ?? Then do they determine weather they will honor the warrenty because of who the seller is ???


Absolutely some do. Many manufacturers serial number their bows/crossbows and do track which retailer that bow is sold to.

You guys can take my word at face value or not it makes no difference to me. After all it's not my money you will be spending. I've only been dealing with warranty issues for people for about 12 years. What the hell do I know.

Buy those Barnett crossbows. When the limbs break you can't say I didn't try to warn you. When the warranty limbs break you can't say I didn't warn you.


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## FrankwT (Jul 25, 2010)

LOL, I have been dealing with warranty issues for 40 years, soo???

Anyway with a 5 year warranty no matter where you buy it, just as good a warranty as Wicked ridge, Barnett seems to be a good bow, millions are being used and the discussions on them are not any worse that the other manufacturers. 

The real difference is, are you going to spend $700-1200 for your bow or get an entry level at $200-350. At the entry level there really is not much difference between the manufacturers as long as you stay with the better known ones with a good warranty.

Remember the economy's effect on you and your ability to pay is an individual matter/decision


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## Ardiemus (Oct 12, 2010)

I bought an Excaliber. It's a recurve bow so there is not tuning of the cams. The only thing you have to remember is to un-sting the bow before storing it for a long period of time. Other than that, there is little to worry about.


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## skullworks (Oct 2, 2007)

Reminds me of the massive run to crossbows when Alabama made them legal. Watch poking fingers or thumbs into the string path...keep them below the stock sides.


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## N2FISHN (Aug 4, 2008)

Bass Pro Eastern shore helpful knowledgeable and shoot as much as you want inhouse range


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## user207 (Oct 1, 2007)

I am talking to a couple of manufactures right now. Not sure which one I want to bring into the store. But I will let you guys know as soon as I make a decision. I am also sure that my prices will be fair.


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## bywkqhj (Jan 9, 2011)

Interesting excalibur only has a 5 yr warranty, and price wise they are very proud of their cross bows, but parker has a lifetime warranty, this directs me toward the parkers


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## BMB_Guns (Apr 4, 2011)

Greetings... New to the site... I stumbled upon this cross bow thread and here is my $0.02... I did a bunch of research and found out the following... Re-curve bows are lower maintenance and much easier to work on yourself... The smith at my local shop uses a re-curve... You can change a string or limb in the field if you have to... No go with a compound... Also... Re-curve bows hold up to repeated shooting better than compound bows... So... What did I spend my money on... Tenpoint GT Flex... It has a great feature that allows you to move the bow into three positions... Position 1 is a 90 lb setting for target shooting... Position 2 is a 125 lb setting for small game, turkey, fishing, etc... Position 3 is 180 lb for large game... I love this crossbow... I'm a gun guy so triggers mean something to me... The trigger on this crossbow ain't bad... The construction is top notch... I have a 30 yard bow range at my house and really enjoy target shooting with the GT Flex... Very relaxing... I also have the ACU 50 draw system that is outstanding... Fixed to the stock... When cocking the bow it reduces felt weight by 50%... Anyway... I can't say enough good stuff about it... here is a link... enjoy... BMB... http://www.tenpointcrossbows.com/WhatsNew08_gtflex.asp


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## duckhunter (Oct 8, 2007)

$900 ouch!


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## BMB_Guns (Apr 4, 2011)

$900 is a bit high... You can get them on E-bay for $700 on the high end... If you get lucky you can find a shop demo or lightly used one for under $500... You can also find them on Gunbroker... Before you buy make sure to ask questions... Some bows come with cocking systems and some don't but you do have the option to install one later... Also, the cocking devices are not cheap ($150 or so)... Tenpoint crossbows have two types of cocking systems... The ACUdraw and the ACUdraw/50... the ACUdraw is a crank type system... It was designed so that people with very low upper body strength could easily cock a 180 bow... the ACUdraw/50 is a string and pulley setup that is much faster but requires full use of both arms... Keep in mind that until recently crossbow hunting was limited to people with a legitimate handicap such as muscular problems, having only one arm/hand (hard to use a regular bow like that), etc... A 12 year old boy in decent health could easily cock the 180 bow with the ACUdraw/50... With all that said if you are of good physical health and can easily cock a 180 pound bow by hand you can save some money and buy a GT Flex without one...

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=223507142*

http://cgi.ebay.com/TenPoint-Crossb...138?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c1a68ec4a


*


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## duckhunter (Oct 8, 2007)

BMB thanks a bunch. I'm placing my bid now!


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## BMB_Guns (Apr 4, 2011)

Congrats Duckhunter... Glad I could be of help... Hell, I spent so much time researching crossbows it would be a shame to keep what I learned a secret  !!! With that said, I came real close to getting an Excalibur... The only reason I didn't was the multipower feature of the GT Flex... I enjoy target shooting... I bought the crossbow knowing that 99.9% of the time I would be target shooting... I have a number of customers that have deer leases and with the deer they have a pig and turkey problem... I would love to try my hand at crossbow turkey hunting... Anyway... When you get it please post a review in this thread... Would really like to get your opinion on it... Don't forget... You will need rail lube and string wax... If you want to keep you bow shooting right you need to keep that string waxed up and the rail properly lubricated... Also... The GT Flex uses 20 inch arrows with a flat nock... I found some 20 inch arrows on sale at Academy but they had a half moon nock... Not a problem... Brought them to the shop, gently removed the half moon nocks, faced them off flat on my lathe, reinstalled them... They work like a charm !!... Shoot safe... BMB


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## duckhunter (Oct 8, 2007)

Whoa ! why did you do the flat nock instead of what they send you? I have been shooting a bow for 25 years I know about keeping up the strings. Thanks for you advise and help . I really appreciate the help


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## BMB_Guns (Apr 4, 2011)

Duckhunter... Crossbows are weird... They either use flat nocks, half moon, or some (like the one that fits on the AR lower) use a weird proprietary nock... I have had many people say that half moon nocks will work with crossbows that state flat nocks and vise versa... That is very likely true... I tend to use what the manufacturer recommends cause they designed the thing and they likely know something I don't... Tenpoint crossbow bolts use a flat nock... If you have been shooting "regular" bows for 25 years it will mess with your mind to see a flat nock :001_huh:!! I know it messed with me... But... It is what Tenpoint says to use and it is what works...


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## duckhunter (Oct 8, 2007)

Kind of freaky! I have a tendency to think about it falling off. I may just have to get used to doing it. It will take an adjustment for me.


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## BMB_Guns (Apr 4, 2011)

Yeah... It is weird but keep in mind... There is a strong leaf of spring steal that holds the arrow down against the rails or "barrel" as I remember them calling it... With the crossbow loaded up you can swing it around like crazy and that arrow ain't coming out till you pull the trigger... Something else about the Tenpoint... It has an anit-dryfire mechanism... If you pull the trigger without an arrow in it the string will go forward maybe a 1/4 inch and catch on the dryfire mechanism... Just like a regular bow you don't want to dryfire a crossbow... Also... It is not recommended to uncock a crossbow... If you cock it and decide not to shoot it you can't just uncock it and let it down... You need to shoot a crossbow with an arrow in it... No uncocking... The crossbow also goes into safe automatically when you cock it... 

also... I need to post pics of my tactical bolt quiver... Many of my customers want me to start selling them... More later... Cajuns do like to talk  !!


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## Emerald Ghost (Mar 11, 2008)

BMB_Guns said:


> It is not recommended to uncock a crossbow... If you cock it and decide not to shoot it you can't just uncock it and let it down... You need to shoot a crossbow with an arrow in it.
> ====================================================================
> Always carry an extra arrow (bolt) in your quiver with a field tip on it. At the end of the day just swap it out with the hunting arrow and simply discharge the bow by shooting it into the ground. This way you don't dull your broad heads.
> $ .02


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## BMB_Guns (Apr 4, 2011)

Emerald Ghost said:


> BMB_Guns said:
> 
> 
> > It is not recommended to uncock a crossbow... If you cock it and decide not to shoot it you can't just uncock it and let it down... You need to shoot a crossbow with an arrow in it.
> ...


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## duckhunter (Oct 8, 2007)

good info and much appreciated!!


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## FrankwT (Jul 25, 2010)

A lot of good info here, I did look at a Horton Summit for $179 at Sportsman's Guide, then with everything you have to buy with these things it was $350, you see what a racket this bow hunting is for the vendors. Anyway, lost my appetite, would rather buy a new gun and not have to be 20-40 yards to an animal for a shot. I respect all of you that deal with the frustration and glory of a kill bow hunting. I think I would rather jump down out of the tree and slit its throat with my knife, don't guess that is going to happen either...lol


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## duckhunter (Oct 8, 2007)

Got my crossbow !! FrankwT it hit bulls eye at 40 yards and I mean inside of a quarter!! I hope it does that well with some type of blade. Okay now what does the smart guys that hunt with one of these use for hunting?


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## FrankwT (Jul 25, 2010)

So you got the 10 point? at 900 it should shoot skin and process the deer for you...lol I just gave up


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## duckhunter (Oct 8, 2007)

no I paid $470 for crossbow and bolts at Mike's Gun shop it is great shooting very accurate


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## FrankwT (Jul 25, 2010)

Good deal, what did you get, new?


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## duckhunter (Oct 8, 2007)

10 point wicked ridge fast light and comfortable . I want to feel comfortable with 55 yards shots i believe It will. Too early to tell though just shot it a few times


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