More deer wounded never to be recovered by weekend warriors who will shoot at anything they see , with no regard for distance or animal. If you want to shoot at 250 yards sight in a rifle. If you can accurately shoot a crossbow and are at 400fps + 60 yards maximum, and that's stretching it. If you can't get within 40 yards of a hoofed game animal you have no business hunting them. JMHO, only. I can hit a softball at 60 yards with my Ten Point Vengent S440 , under ideal conditions, from a bench with the bow in a vise.
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Ten Point Vapor RS470 Xero Crossbow - Range Game out to 250 yards
- Thread starter Muddyboots
- Start date
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VLD Pilot
Well-Known Member
Lots can happen from 0-60 yards in the whitetail woods. Crossbows sound like a firecracker when they go off. Mine is 400fps and I've only killed with it at 35 yards max. Even at 35 yards that relaxed doe squatted at the sound of the shot and luckily I had the crosshairs real low on the ribs. Paper targets and hairy targets are completely different. Common sense hunters know this.
I wholeheartedly agree, even at 0 to 10 yards fuzz ups can and will occur. I pride myself in never having lost a deer and only hunt with crossbow, and have killed way more than I'm entitled to from a moral standpoint considering the size of some. A small degree of luck comes into play also.
VLD Pilot
Well-Known Member
I use a traditional bow and compound during the October/November archery season here in my home state. The late season December hunt I prefer to use a corssbow simply because sub freezing or even sub zero hints require heavy clothing causing draw issues and sound issues. I sit in a heated raised shack and it's typically a doe meat archery hunt. Rut hunts for me are with a compound bow. Early hunts are traditional gear
Get a polar ultimate set of coveralls, made by Avaska best $250 ever spent, I sit out in below zero and be toasty, be sure to get heated gloves and socks, as you know the hogs run when it gets bitter. I have three blinds, one heated, two not, so I get to pick and choose. I have no problem wearing it and maneuvering for the shot.
VLD Pilot
Well-Known Member
I use the heater body suit but ultimately I think I deserve the comfort of a heated blind by December. After freezing in lighter weight clothing in treestands all thru November in snow, sleet, freezing rain and sub zero wind chills the box blind is welcomed by December.
VLD Pilot
Well-Known Member
Also some type of quiet heavy warmth clothing is important even with a crossbow. That ultimate coverall while looking very warm, doesn't look hunter friendly for quiet bow hunting scenarios.
Orange Dust
Well-Known Member
Spending $4k on a bow isn't a problem for anyone who would spend that on a rifle. Here you can hunt with a bow 6 times as long as with a rifle, so you can easily justify the expense if you can afford it. However, you run into the old Could vs Should question. Archery equipment of any sort is a short range weapon. Trying to change that is a very bad idea shooting at a living, breathing big game animal in so many ways. Using the same equipment at long range targets to impress yourself or friends is different entirely. Everyone spends their money and makes their choices. Personally, I think Ten Point will score a lot more hunters than their customers will kill big game at rifle ranges. I think this is an even worse idea than shooting an elk at 1k with a 6.5 Creed.
Try telling some that, the inexperienced new bow hunters may be persuaded in the wrong direction, just my opinion. If I cant get within 400 yards of big game, I'm done hunting it. Amen, PS Ten Point has imho best customer service and employees in the industry, I fuzzed up my Vengent , the cocking cord my fault, took it to them half an hour to the factory, their guy fixed it in 10 minutes, no charge.
antleredacres
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2014
- Messages
- 1,063
**** those xbows. Just this year I've found 3 dead deer on my property with bolts still in them. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry now has a xbow and yes it has had a negative effect on our deer. Primitive weapons hunt (LOL). To top it off Michigan even allows the archery(?) season with the use of xbows during the rut. Even an idiot should be able to realize that is not a good situation and takes it toll. At this point mature (4.5 year old) bucks are such a small percentage of the population they are all but non existent. **** the Michigan DNR.
In total agreement with you, I'm lucky that I have an exclusive place to hunt with no Aholes doing what you've described , however many folks don't and it hurts them I'm hoping that this bowhunting rage fizzles out soon, I believe it will somewhat as many will give up out of frustration. Good luck up there a great deer hunting state.
The real problem with xbows or even new archers is the poor understanding and training on blood trailing. Very basic concepts are not well understood nor the ethics of you got blood you keep going even if over multiple days is not something a lot of newbies understand. Of course I am assuming they can actually find the blood trail to start with. No blood within 25 yds or finding arrow a lot will just quit that I lost my arrow and did not hit anything. I try to mentor as many as I can on basic steps after you take a shot and it is so surprising on the lack of basic what do I do? I hope those that can will try to "help" those that are newbies which can only help our sport instead of diminishing it.
VLD Pilot
Well-Known Member
That's why the DNR legalized the crossbow for everyone rather than only the handicapped. It brought back alot of archery hunters, added many younger archery hunters and over all didn't help the mature whitetail buck management, only hurt it. More record book bucks have been killed since that date than ever before. It's a repairable resource but because the MDNR only thinks about revenue, it will only get worse. Not sure the answer because as long as the crossbow is keeping hunters buying licenses, they'll keep it in place. As far as finding arrow killed deer dead in the woods, I've always found dead deer from poor shots made by bow hunters long before crossbows we're legal. I bird hunt and find 2-3 dead deer every year unrecovered by archery hunters. Poor arrow placement and even some with perfect shot placement just not enough effort in tracking.
Orange Dust
Well-Known Member
I learned 40 years ago that if you hit the right spot on a deer with a bow you will see him die. That spot is fist sized at best and is lower and further forward than a gun. Idea is to get both lungs and cut the arteries off the top of the heart. Make this shot and you will never have a trailing problem. Miss it and you better be good at it. This alone is why bows are a short range weapon. On whitetails inside 20 yes expect a 100% kill and retrieve. At 30 yards it drops to maybe 50%. 40 maybe 30% etc. The furthest deer I ever killed with a bow was the first one. Lucky shot in the liver. Good but long blood trail. After losing a couple I wised up pretty fast, and killed more than my share with a bow. The whole lure of bowhunting is up close and personal. That's why so many turned to longbow and spears. It's like calling birds and fly fishing. It's not about how far you can kill an animal. That's a different sport.
