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Considering a crossbow, light recurve or heavy compound?

HuumanCreed

HuumanCreed

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2020
Messages
2,683
Location
Westminster Maryland
I am not a crossbow user. I do have a cheap Barnett Jackal that I picked up cheap for backup( as my backup to my backup bow) or when my son finally ready for the woods.

But father in law liked it when he tried it out so it is his now.

Anyway, slowly looking at budget option. So no Ravin. Nothing wrong with them, just not an area where I want to blow my money on, have other areas for that. I literally shoot less then 10 bolts a year. I just test it out before season starts and put it back on the hanger.

Some research lead me to the fact that the 3 main factors in deciding the cost of a crossbow is speed, packability, weight. There are many other factors in regards to qualities and things so I understand you get what you pay for.

My main criteria is low weight. I don't care too much about speed, even the cheapest crossbow is going to be faster then my compound. Packability is not that big a deal to me either. But the overall weight is my deciding factor. Dont get me wrong, I care about quality and accuracy and overall feel. But as long as it can hit baseball size group at 50 yards, I'm ok with not being a speed demon. Or is baseball size grouping at 50 yards not as easy as I think? My Barnett Jackal was golf ball size at 50 yards.

@Red Beard and @Razorbak66 has me intrigued on the idea that a light weight recurve crossbow is the way to go. They weight 1/2 as much as compound crossbow.

So has anyone have experience with both types and give their opinion?
 
I shot a doe a few years back with one of the cheapo Amazon recurve crossbows. I think they were under or right around $100 at the time. It did the job, shot pretty accurately and was fairly lightweight.
I ended up having one set up with a scope and one open sights. I gifted them to a friend that lets me hunt his ground and as far as I know, he's still target shooting with them.
 
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Ease of setting. I used to manhandle a 180# draw Horton. Not fun. Which is why I laughed at the argument that crossbows were only for the handicapped. New self setting bows my 8yo nephew can set because it's like a fishing reel.

You can get things to help set the regular crossbows but they break or get dropped.
 
Not exactly on topic but I've drunk the HC mini Kool aid, though it's not the cheapest it is pretty darn easy to use, in the tree or on the ground, and I like how it takes standard arrows instead of crossbow bolts. Don't have a ton of regular xbow experience to compare to though.

That said I don't really enjoy shooting it compared to my compound so it's in the closet as backup/"for the kids"
 
Swingin' Free said:
Hickory Creek has a cheaper survival bow...
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Those look cool and I've really wanted to try one too but our regulations state crossbows have to be "shoulder fired". It's something to consider for other states that might have this reg.
 
I picked up an Excalibur at the store after contemplating getting one. I found them bulky, and heavier than it seems they should have been. I don't question the accuracy or dependability. But I wouldn't want to carry it for a long time in the woods or shoot it from a saddle. It felt front heavy. I could do it if I had to, but I wouldn't feel comfortable giving it to my daughter to shoot in a saddle.
 
HuumanCreed said:
I'm actually thinking of getting an InLoc adapter for one of my compound bow. Look like a cheaper(not really but unique) alternative to getting a crossbow.
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Make sure you check your state’s regulations for the draw loc system that the folks at Hickory Creek also manufacture. I know in New York they are not legal to use during the regular bow season unless you have a disability permit.
 
Had that xbow and it works great know your range it will kill all day and every day. Easy to cock and decock.
 
Since @Red Beard and I got excal 340s which is lighter than all the bigger and high price bows it’s light enough for all day hunting Just got to sling it a certain way and it will be easy to carry and raise up to aim if a quick shot is needed. And while it’s not super expensive it’s cheap enough specially with deals you can find easily enough it’s all the bow you would want for the rest of your life as warranty is fantastic as there is no BS involved like a lot of the other manufacturers plus you can fix it by yourself with out going to a pro shop
 

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Crossbows have had dramatic advances in the last 6-7 years. For me the biggest is the reduced width. My Vapor has a 6 in ata and to me makes a massive difference in maneuverability in the stand and snag factor on the way to the stand
 
I owned an entry level Carbon Express model and it worked great but I enjoyed hunting with one so much I upgraded to a Sub -1 Lite that was on sale after the season last year and the Mission build quality is second to none. And they are very accurate. If you don’t want to go quite as expensive, the Darton Toxin 150 or their newer model is excellent as well. These are very underrated crossbows but they’re the ones who came up with the bullpup design and the stock and rail on them are super high quality. You may want to upgrade the glass at some point though to one of the Hawk series of Xbow scopes. I don’t believe you can go wrong with a model from either company and you’ll have a high quality crossbow that isn’t crazy expensive. The HC Mini is a good piece of kit too I owned one and shot a big spring gobbler with it. I sold it to fund other needs at the time.
 
woodsdog2 said:
I owned an entry level Carbon Express model and it worked great but I enjoyed hunting with one so much I upgraded to a Sub -1 Lite that was on sale after the season last year and the Mission build quality is second to none. And they are very accurate. If you don’t want to go quite as expensive, the Darton Toxin 150 or their newer model is excellent as well. These are very underrated crossbows but they’re the ones who came up with the bullpup design and the stock and rail on them are super high quality. You may want to upgrade the glass at some point though to one of the Hawk series of Xbow scopes. I don’t believe you can go wrong with a model from either company and you’ll have a high quality crossbow that isn’t crazy expensive. The HC Mini is a good piece of kit too I owned one and shot a big spring gobbler with it. I sold it to fund other needs at the time.
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I gravitate back to the HC Mini except that it dominant hand depended. I actually reach out to Jerry Goff the owner about trying to turn a Mini into a ambidextrous weapon after asking a few question at the main Mini Koolaid thread. At first I was considering just dissembling everything and reversing/flipping everything, but apparently its not that simple haha. I'm left handed but most of the used Mini out there are right handed, I first asked Jerry if I can simply purchase/add an additional left hand front grip to a right handed model. This way my right hand is away from the strings. But he said he felt that it might be unsafe due to the unnatural angle of the hands in regards to the string. Safer would be to buy a whole trigger assembly, switch it out and flip the bow upside down. I like Jerry and its a quality product, but the quotes for the parts themselves made me realized it would of make more sense to buy a completed crossbow. Goal is to have something my 9 year old can use too. So probably looking at a more traditional design.

This doesn't look that bad. at 6.7 lbs IF true is nice.


@woodsdog2 I'm a Mathews guy, but wow did not know their Mission crossbow was that high end. I thought Mission was their budget brand.
 
Travis that crossbow you posted will kill deer all day long just keep the strings and cables lubed and the cam timed. Many ways to do it at home without a press and MAKE sure they keep their fingers below the rail in ANY crossbow you decide. I would personally look in to the Excalibur mag air. Real light weight and smaller footprint
 
Razorbak66 said:
Travis that crossbow you posted will kill deer all day long just keep the strings and cables lubed and the cam timed. Many ways to do it at home without a press and MAKE sure they keep their fingers below the rail in ANY crossbow you decide. I would personally look in to the Excalibur mag air. Real light weight and smaller footprint
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Yeah man, That Excalibur Mag Air look sweet too. All depend on how Santa feels this year.
 
Excaliber are great crossbows but one thing to remember and consider is the holding weight at full draw. Obviously, this isn't a physical issue for the person as the trigger system bears all of the holding weight at full draw. However, that's my criticism of that design as well. The string, limbs and trigger system hold 100% of the draw weight at all times while the crossbow is cocked at full draw. I know in watching the Rich Wilson "Death by Bungie" series that his daughter had some limb reliability issues with her Excaliber Mag 340. They are under warranty and Excaliber apparently treated them right but I believe they were out of state on a hunt at the time when it happened and it could have put them in a pickle. Of course limbs on any crossbow can fail as well and these things are never 100% reliable. But I do think there is something more to consider with the hiigher weights of crossbows and limb stability and composotion. With a compound crossbow the limbs and trigger system only hold a fraction of the draw weight. To me over time and the amount of time you're at full draw with a crossbow during the hunting season.... I like that aspect of a compound crossbow. Other detriments are the more complicated systems with a compound but the Mission Crossbows are designed to allow you to back them down completely to change out strings and cables so you don't even need a crossbow press for the Missions. The Darton's have the slaved cam system as well like the Mssions and I would think you could do the same thing with them when needed to change out the strings and cables. Just some things to consider. The Death by Bungie series is actually pretty good. Rich is intelligent and tries to appeal to the common guy. His interviews with crossbow engineers on limb damage are good watches btw.
 
And don't forget the Mission de cock technology. It works great and you don't have to clog your quiver with a specialized decock bolt and the less the crossbow is fired the less wear and tear on the strings and cables. Hence the decock also adds to the system's overall reliability and longevity. Finally, I'm not brand specific but I currently own and have owned Mathews and now Mission equipment over the years and their stuff is just very top notch. I waited until after season last year and found a whole Mission Sub-1 Lite package for under $1200. And this crossbow anybody can cock it so you could consider it an investment for your whole family to use as you take them out hunting.
 
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