New to Xbow - or any bow hunting - advise?

[Steverino]

I'm going to try X-bow hunting on my land this fall - can someone please point me to any video or written instructions or advise on what to expect?

Watched a vid yesterday and the arrow hit looked like it was a spine shot in the mid back. A friend told me to always hit both lungs. Ive killed all of my deer with a rifle before - initially using spine shots in the shoulder blade and later after worrying about CWD switched to heart lung. But not sure which is the cleanest way with a cross bow to drop the deer without it going on someone elses land. I have 27 acres but some hunting spots where there is activity now are right on the lines. Any sage advise is appreciated.

 

[cecil30-30]

Never intentionally aim for the spine/high shoulder shot on a deer with any archery equipment. It can easily result in a lost deer. High shoulder shots are called no man land when archery hunting. What looks like a great double lung shot with a pass thru, is really a pass thru with the arrow zipping thru and not touching any of the vitals.

And just because a crossbow feels like a rifle doesnt mean it is. It is still archery hunting where you have to pick your shots and know its range limitations. I limit myself to 35yds.

 

[Grill-n-man]

First thing to do is to learn the vital area from all angles and be able to picture where and what your arrow/bolt is or is not going to hit. Unlike a gun, where a marginal hit can produce a kill because of the vast amount of energy that is transfered from the bullet's impact causing the necessary damage to the internals to take the animal, a broadhead simply put cuts causing blood loss. It is very important to know where the vitals are from every angle and to be able to decide when or not to shoot as well as where to shoot.

 

[Mag]

Practice practice practice. Shot accuracy and knowing your range is vital. Oh, and keep your thumb down!

 

[Steverino]

Ya know - I think I'm not going to hunt with it this year. Too much to learn and practice till you're not thinking about it and I think I'd rather pass on it this year and just do the gun seasons where I'm comfortable - there's always next year God willing.

I very much appreciate the advice - I pass up gun shots all of the time unless I have it perfect so I'd rather be confident of my skill with it vs being iffy. ANd there is much to do here this summer and fall and I'm simply not going to have the time to get solid with it.

 

[LA man]

But the best x bow u can afford. There is a big difference in the range they shoot

 

[usanglure]

Be prepared for long tracking jobs, and a large unfound ratio. But its a great way to hunt, just more ancient even with todays compounds, and crossbows.

 

[TheLBLman]

Be prepared for long tracking jobs, and a large unfound ratio.

IMO, this should not be the case if you limit yourself to high-probability double-lung shots (and are using very sharp broadheads).

Sometimes bad shots happen, but you can minimize this to not very often. When you know you've made a paunch shot, these deer are usually recovered within a couple hundred yards if you simply wait several hours before pursuing their trail, which can be essentially bloodless and difficult. Simply try to quietly exit the shooting area in the opposite direction from the way the deer went, and come back at least 4 hours later. Sometimes it's easier to recover a deer by using your nose as much as your eyes.

 

[J.Maples]

Two main things,never let your limbs near a tree if shooting a recurve. Second, keep your fingers/thunb way below the shooting rail if you want to keep them.

 

[J.Maples]

One other thing,make sure you have placed a bolt on the crossbow. No dryfire, not good for any crossbow. Good Hunting.

 

[Steverino]

I have an Excalibur Ibex and a Tru glow sight. As stated will take the time to get to know where it hits first before going out - probably will get one of those deer targets so I can get really consistent hitting in the right places. I can always use the rifle for packing the freezer this year.