Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Crossbow???

And what are the "right" bolts????

I bought one early on when VA legalized them for deer, just a basic xbow with 3 dot sight.
Shoulder issues here as well.

Can't remember the brand.
They are[or were] very cumbersome to carry and hold.

Last time I saw it a friend[townie] was using it for his groundhog problem.
Oh well.

Different xbows use different knocks?
2 styles I believe.

LGS has the Mission sub lite for 1K.
Been tempted
Shorty could use it, plus my shoulder is fugged. Doc said its way better....no restrictions.
Feels like crap, aches 25/7.
Keep doing PT at home and its still hurtin.

Mission, Ten Point or Ravin

I think Mathews makes Mission? Or my wires crossed.

Different nock types and weights/ spine of bolt.
Use what the manufacturer says.

If they claim their rigs use proprietary bolts....they may not be lying. Might also be influenced by warranty.

Yup.

But I still might buy one LOL

I'd recommend TenPoint as well. Made in Ohio and excellent customer service in my experience. They also make the Wicked Ridge line.

We have 2, horton reverse limb, quiet & compact, not clumsy & balances well & an excalibur grizzly, great maintenance free x-bow, but feels clumsy & very weight forward.

Both came with "package" propriety, illuminated scopes that we've had no issues with.

Both have taken Whitetail & Black Bear.

The compactness of the horton, make it easier to shoot from a ground blind, so Deb uses that & I use the excalibur.







** Both must be shot to decock !

Don't go Cheap, 1k to 1300 you can get a great bow that will last along time! Excaliburs are great iv owned a couple, I'm shooting a R10 Raven this season, buddy talked me into it, I Love it, fast easy to cock and uncock it. Shot a nice 8pt with it 28 yrds, my buddy shot his 8 pt at 50yrds. 10 points are also good bows!, I'd wait till after deer season be some good sales.

Don't own one but have shot multiple - Ravin, the R10 is a compact little fugger. If I was inclined to go to a crossbow that'd be it. Once you get it dialed in its pretty much point and shoot.

I opted for the Ravin R10. Dead-nuts accurate. There's a reason they tell you not to shoot at the same dot on a target! Better than a 50% chance you'll 'Robin-hood" a bolt. Bolts aren't cheap.

Haven't had a chance to draw blood with it yet. Maybe next week I'll pop a doe with it.

Tag. Good info

I did that one time and right up
The center of my first bolt.

No more..

The ravin R10 might be your Huckleberry. It has a de-cocker so you don’t have to shoot to unload, made in the USA, and if you go to Capra’s in Blaine they’ll set it up to your liking. With the scope included it’s about $1200

Mine are older xbow but they get it done , with 340-360 FPS .
An old Barnett quad 400 and a Parker tornado .
Have shot deer out to fifty yds with both and never had one jump the shot .
Broad heads are an important factor as are the bolts .
Rage is my go to broad head and get the ones made for x-bows .
Never had a Rage fail , I’ve heard of it , but have personally shot a few dozen of them over the years and no problem .
Last year was out of town hunting and in a crunch bought Rexpid broadheads made for a bow , didn’t pan out , first deer was late and I couldn’t see what happened other than no deer .
Second was early evening , a perfect broadside shot on a six .
Placed cross hairs at rear of shoulder and jaw dropped as I watched the bolt wobble in flight and strike high at rear of ribs only penatrating what looked to be a couple inches .
Buck ran off , spent entire evening looking for him and half the next day , no deer .
Talked with some others who said it was the broad head opening when fired , don’t know if this is an issue of the brand or that they weren’t designed for the thrust of a xbow .
That is why I say get the ones labeled for xbow , then you don’t have doubt .
The rage cut one nasty gash and haven’t lost a deer to them .
That’s shooting through the shoulder strongly quartered to me exiting at rear of ribs , one even broke the rear leg too .
Bad momma jama!
Kenneth

I haven't been there in forever

Decision for me was between the R10 and the Tenpoint Viper S400. A few things that I found when looking that tipped me to the Viper. Cost was fairly similar IIRC as they are competing crossbows:

1. The Ravin cocking/decocking system makes noise (think of like a noise that a ratchet wrench makes)...not super loud but you can hear it.
2. Take this with a grain of salt because the salesman at A1 told me this and I did not confirm it myself but he said that the string for Ravin needs to be replaced much sooner than the Tenpoint (250 shots vs 1000).

I shot both and I preferred the Viper as it was heavier and seemed to absorb the energy being produced better...maybe slightly quieter than the Ravin but they are both loud regardless.

Thanks guys.

There is a lot to look at. I'm going to hit some local archery places after the season.

Yes, there are.

Not using the right bolts can void your warranty by causing the limbs to splinter.

For the Tenpoint Crossbows I recommend and use the Wicked Ridge 20” bolts with a 100 grain cutter up front.

Goalie if you have a Cabelas anywhere close by or a Archery Shop, it wouldn’t be time wasted to peruse, discuss and just ask questions.

You’re about to make an investment of sorts and you’ll want something that fits your needs to a “T”.

Jmo and good luck. Let us know what you decide on.