• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Crossbow Model/Brand Suggestions for 70 year old dad

Tom W

Tom W

New Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2018
Messages
23
Location
MA
My 74 year old father wants to get into bowhunting and I want him to hunt with me but doesn't think he can hold the bow so in his state at his age its legal to use a crossbow so was thinking about getting him one for Christmas. I was wondering if anyone out there has a recommendation for a Brand/model of crossbow under $500 that is halfway decent and easy to use. My dads in good shape I just dont want to get him something too complicated and I know nothing about crossbows. Thanks
 
I think they all shoot good. I think at your price range they will be heavier. Not sure how much of an issue that is for your dad. Ive always been partial to Parker since they are just down the road. Whatever you go with will be good because it gets your dad bow hunting.
 
I have been looking into a crossbow because of a damaged shoulder. There are a lot of choices and most are over budget for what you are looking to spend. I am considering an Excalibur 308 Short Banshee which is on the lower end of their smaller series of weapons at around $800. There are some more affordable versions in the Matrix series which are larger in size. Another one that has caught my eye is the Mission Sub 1. It has let off which will make coving it easy but it runs $1500-$1700. That’s a lot of bones and a possible deal breaker for me.
 
I’m partial to Excalibur’s. They are very accurate and tough and it’s easy to put a new string on yourself. They have a sub $500.00 model and a few models a little more. That’s the brand I would recommend, also lightweight, this model is 5.5 lbs.
 

Attachments

  • 1541259261050.png
    1541259261050.png
    349.4 KB · Views: 23
Last edited:
I don't know much about specific xbow models. However, given your dad's age, I'd suggest taking him someplace that has a good inventory so he can handle them, ask plenty of questions, and possibly even cock and shoot one. As you probably know, there are both manual and mechanical options for cocking them and this could heavily factor into his choice. Also, if he's planning to hunt out of a blind, pay careful consideration to the axle-to-axle (width) measurement.
 
I have a Parker Thunderhawk it shoots great and it's small. I hurt my back and can't cock it so I bought Parker's cocking device works great. Check out Parkers line of crossbows. Excalibur has some great crossbows.
 
Good advise so far, especially about visiting a store with lots of inventory. Just stay away from Barnett. My daughter uses a Wicked Ridge which has never let us down. My son has shoulder issues and he has a used Parker - needed some work on the rails to get it shooting straight but working now.
 
I highly recommend the centerpoint sniper line. Great bows for the price. For under $250 you're getting cnc machined aluminum, cams and riser. The scope is not amazing but it's functional. Shooting over 350fps even with a heavier hunting arrow which is plenty for a good clean passthrough. The stock is adjustable with the pull of a lever and the foregrip can be adjusted as well as it's on a picatinny rail and it's comfortable which makes keeping your fingers out of the danger zone very easy. For what you're getting I think it's the best introduction bow out there, you can upgrade the scope if you want and get better arrows (not really optional the stock arrows are garbage) and still be well under $500. If something happened to mine today that wasn't covered by crossman, which would be hard to do bc their customer service is awesome, I'd go buy another one before sunset!

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
Stay away from Barnett, try to find a local archery shop to buy from that will do warranty repair.

Me, I am sold on Parker. I have a local Parker dealer and the service is great. I had messed up by overtightening screws on the trigger housing. Told my guy so. He ordered replacement trigger assembly for me and told me to pick out an existing crossbow on the floor to use for the couple days my crossbow was out of service. He then did not charge me for the replacement trigger housing.

Can he cock crossbow? There are cocking mechanisms that can help with that. Also, Parker has Concorde, which will cock the string for you.

As much as I like Excalibur, recurve crossbows will always be more difficult to cock (more strength needed) than non-recurve. So, take that into account in your decision.

Lastly, I have shoulder problems and cocking is not so much an issue with me. If you use your legs and lower back, no need to use arm strength.

Good luck.
 
Way out of your price range, but the raven is light and amazing balance. Had my 13yr old daughter shouldering various cheap ones and she had problems. For giggles handed her a raven and she said she could hold it steady no problem. I borrowed an older parker and she was driving tacks st 40yds resting off a stump. It was hard to hold steady, stock is too short or something.
 
kenn1320 said:
Way out of your price range, but the raven is light and amazing balance. Had my 13yr old daughter shouldering various cheap ones and she had problems. For giggles handed her a raven and she said she could hold it steady no problem. I borrowed an older parker and she was driving tacks st 40yds resting off a stump. It was hard to hold steady, stock is too short or something.
Click to expand...

I stopped in a shop and shot one of the new Ravens. Not sure what I think. It’s gonna be hard to carry around something like that after 20 years with the longbow.
 
sojourner said:
Stay away from Barnett, try to find a local archery shop to buy from that will do warranty repair.



As much as I like Excalibur, recurve crossbows will always be more difficult to cock (more strength needed) than non-recurve. So, take that into account in your decision.

Lastly, I have shoulder problems and cocking is not so much an issue with me. If you use your legs and lower back, no need to use arm strength.

Good luck.
Click to expand...
The newest excalibur has an internal silent crank that is super easy and safe to cock.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top