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I have been thinking about buying a Crossbow. I have shoulder problems and don't want to stress them with a compound. Which Crossbow is the best bang for the buck? Thanks, Luke

I guess Crossbows don't count.

They do..been thinking on one myself..just dont have an opinion on the new ones..they've gone sky high like everything else..Ten Point is good but PPPRRIIICEY...Excalibur is suppose to be good too..cheaper, but again, pricey

I have been thinking about one too. Looking for one that is a bit more compact and about 8 lb ready to hunt. Ten Point's are too heavy and the Excaliber too is too wide. I got a new Cabela's catalog and the Stryker by BowTech looks like an option, any input from here on the fire on those?

What about the Horton Team Real Tree Ultra Lite Express. It,s in the price range I would spend and it's light. I just don't know about trigger pull etc.

If our Management Areas would allow them during archery season, I'd buy an expensive crossbow, and sell the rest of my archery equipment.

It'd have to have "Remington 700" stamped on the side though

I'll be checkin into it for sure...my only hang-up with crossbows has more than anything been the noise they make when you let one fly...but, folks take game every year with'em

I have a relatively inexpensive Horton with the 4x Horton crossbow scope and like it very much. I have a bum shoulder and could not use a conventional bow very effectively. I have practiced quite a bit with it and consider it good to 40 yards for hunting. You do need to familiarize yourself with the trajectory at 20, 30 and 40 yards. The scope has hash marks for those ranges but needs to be carefully sighted in.

There is a pretty good "whack" sound when you fire it but the velocity is pretty high and it doesn't seem to be a problem when hunting at 40 yds or less. The trigger pull is crisp and probably about 6 lbs. or so as I recall.

Use mechanical broadheads (mine are Spitfire 85's) and they will duplicate the POI of field points used in practice.

I shoot an old Excalibur Exocet that was a pawn shop special. It cost me $300 ready to hunt. It came with 4 bolts, an excalibur scope and a cocking aid. After trying it my wife had to have one. We bought her a ready to hunt Horton Summit, and she loves it.

What wildhobbylobby said about trajectory is right. Learn from the ground and from your stand if you hunt off the ground. I didnt realize how different it was from the ground and 15 or 20 feet in the air. The second or third time out, I missed a doe at less than 20 yards because of the difference. One other thing to consider is the type of vanes that you use. We have shot the 3 and 4" vanes and standing off to the side 10 to 15 yds in front of the shooter they make a woosh sound. The little speed vanes make a whistling sound. Shooting both vanes over a chronograph, there wasn't 5 ft/sec difference. My excalibur is 175 pound pull and shoots 285 ft/sec, my wife's horton is 150 pound pull and does 280.

We were hunting Arkansas when we got into it and only did so because we could be in the woods a lot longer. If you're just wanting to try it, hitting the pawn shops is a good way to get in cheaply. I'm ready to upgrade and I'm not sure if I'm going to stick with Excalibur or go to a compound crossbow.

My Exclibur off of a rest can keep 3 bolts in 2" or less at 32 lasered yards. My wife's horton can do it in 4" or less. Either one can take care of a 10" kill zone.

I think the best bang for the buck is my pawnshop excalibur, my wife thinks her horton is. Kind of a toss-up. Either way, crossbow hunting gets us and keeps us in the woods longer, which is a cool thing.

I shoot an Exclibur and love it. It's very accurate. Yes it's noisy, but I've never had a deer jump the string. Longest shot I've taken was a measured 40 yds. which is my personal maximum confort zone. Yes it's wider than a compound crossbow, but it's very simple with nothing to go out of tune. It costs much less than a Ten point.

I bought a crossbow two years ago for all the same reasons typical of old farts! Did alot of research and settled on TenPoint. First one was a recurve (GT Mag); very accurate & simple to maintain. Killed a deer with it last year, my first bow kill ever at 72! Due primarily to its width and my hunting style, bought a TP Turbo XLT a couple months ago. Just as accurate, one pound heavier, and very narrow. Very happy with it and TP customer service is second to none. Although most x-bows are fairly expensive, lots on 1-2 yr. olds out there at considerable savings if you shop around.

I have a Wicked Ridge Invader. Don't have a single complaint about it.

Excalibur!!!!!!!!!

I shoot a Parker Cyclone and love it. 6 position adjustable stock, 175lbs draw weight, 367fps across my chrono, super accurate. It's light and compact and also has a lifetime warranty.

My bud has a cyclone also. His 10 year old killed two deer with it last year. Loves it...

I bought the Bowtech Stryker 380 last night. Very light at under 7 LB, small in length and width, excellent trigger, and fast at an advertised 380 FPS. I did not chrono it yet. Pretty quiet and I cannot imagine a deer EVER jumping the arrow at ranges to 40 yards which will be my comfort zone. Just getting used to it but it is very accurate thus far.

These are Maryland deer taken with my older HuntMaster Advantage bow from the 1990's. Company changed name to Ten Point after a time but parts are interchangeable with the older models. I paid a lot LESS than new Ten Point models.

If I were seeking a new bow I'd buy Parker BuckBuster for accuracy, speed, lifetime warranty, and Made in Virginia USA. One of my hunting buddies has this Parker and I'm very impressed with it.

My shots are fairly close because I hunt from a TreeLounge climbing unit in a section of white oak laden hillside. The acorns draw deer from fairly long distances. I call this style of hunting as "legal bait".

My successful gear choices:

- XX75 aluminum bolts with plastic vanes
- ThunderHead 3 edge broadheads
- Simmons 4X crossbow scope

TR