So you’re looking to get started crossbow hunting, and you want to do it the right way?
You’ve come to the right place.
Welcome to our Crossbow Hunting Tips for Beginners Guide, where we will run through all the basics to get you up and running with the right equipment, best safety information, and right mindset to get you out having some fun and shooting right!
Is Crossbow Hunting Legal?
In the United States, each state has their own rules and regulations on when and if you can hunt with a crossbow. Some states, you can only practice shooting crossbows, but you can’t hunt with them. Others, are much more flexible with their rules.
Finding out what the law says in your state is one of the first steps.
Depending if you live in the U.S. or Canada, check these links to determine if crossbow hunting is legal in your area:
How To Choose the Best Crossbow?
Once you’ve determined whether or not you’re legally able to shoot in your area, the next thing to do is find the best crossbow for you.
These days, there are a lot of brands to choose from. You should start by learning a little about the top brands on the market. The best crossbow brands are:
Crossbow features to consider
There are a lot of brands on the market now that are creating good products, so how are you to know which crossbow to pick for you?
To find the best crossbow for you, consider the following aspects:
- Price:
- Speed
- Weight
- Draw weight
- Style (compound vs. recurve vs. reverse draw)
Price
Crossbows come in a wide variety of prices. While you can get a Ravin or TenPoint in the $2,500 range, crossbows don’t need to be that expensive.
In fact, there are a number of best crossbows for the money that are great for beginners who are just starting out. These usually start at the $250 range and increase with speed and lighter-weight materials.
The important part here is that you don’t need to spend $1,000 to get your first crossbow. Price does matter with weapons. We want to be safe and we want a quality shooting machine, but you should stay within your budget.
Speed
If you’re going to be hunting, I highly recommend picking a crossbow that shoots at or near the 400 feet-per-second (FPS) mark. The two main reasons are for more ethical kill shots, and also more accurate shooting.
When you shoot a bow at the 300 FPS range, although it’s fast, the game you’re shooting at can actually break the line of the shot, which means they are often able to get out of the way of the arrow before it reaches them. There are factors that both play towards and away from your advantage to this, but ultimately, if your purpose for shooting is hunting, a faster bow matters.
I don’t want to make it sound like you need one of the fastest crossbows on the market, because you don’t when you’re starting out, but that 400 FPS shot is what you should be aiming for.
Weight
Depending on your purpose for shooting a crossbow, you will want to take the weight of the bow into consideration.
If the plan is to shoot at crossbow targets for archery practice, and you don’t have much walking to do to get to your shooting place, weight is less of a factor.
If you plan to hunt, whether that may be in a hunting blind, or a tree stand, it depends if you walk very deep into the woods or the field to reach your shooting place.
Weight is also a factor if you’re looking for the best youth crossbow.
You want to be able to easily carry it. Like when packing a bag for the airport, make sure you feel comfortable with the weight for long period of time, not just picking it up and setting it down.
Lightweight crossbows make hunting that much more of a breeze. Whether you plan to carry the bow in your hands, or put it in a crossbow backpack, the lighter the better.
Draw Weight
The draw weight of a crossbow means the weight that it takes to pull the string back in order to cock the bow.
It used to be that only the top crossbows on the market had built-in cocking devices, which are devices with a handle that allow you to wind a crank to aid you in pulling back the string.
Luckily, this feature is becoming more and more standard with cheaper bows. Some people like to hand cock their bow, but make to check out the draw weight specs of the bow to know whether or not you’ll feel comfortable with that particular crossbow.
If you can’t cock it, you won’t rock it!
Style
There are three main styles of crossbows to choose from:
- Compound crossbows
- Reverse-draw compound crossbows
- Recurve crossbows
Compound crossbows have cams, or wheels, that power the shot of the bow. Compound crossbows are the most frequently purchased type of crossbow these days.
Reverse-draw compound crossbows are also compound, meaning with wheels on each side of the bow limbs, but the limbs have been flipped around. The advantage here is that a reverse-draw bow offers a better sense of center-of-balance feel for the shooter. They are also often faster than traditional compound crossbows, because the cams are placed further back, which means the string draws tighter and produces a faster shot. Many say the disadvantage is the strange-looking design of the bows. Regarding reverse-draw.
The third most common design of crossbows is the recruve crossbow. This crossbow doesn’t have cams. Enthusiasts of this kind of bow like the simplicity of the weapon, as well as the better ability to and ease of fixing your own crossbow.
When deciding which is best for you, go ahead and check them all out. Get a feel for what seems like a fit for you, and go with that one!
Getting the right gear
Most of the time, purchasing a crossbow will give you a full shooting/hunting package.
Crossbows these days often come with a scope, bolts or arrows, and the necessities to help get you shooting quickly. However, in case they don’t, or in case you’re looking for a quick upgrade, here are links we’ve written that go in depth to give you the information you’ll need:
Add this Gear to your list
It won’t take long after you’ve got that first sweet crossbow, where you’ll think, “I wish I had a case to put this bow in.” Or, “Wow, I’d love to be able to hunt longer- what’s the best night vision scope for crossbows?“
These questions are in the evolution of getting set up into our crossbow world, and it’s a pleasure to be the one to introduce you to it.
Below are links to accessories you’re going to want to get all comfortable and be that person who not only walks the walk, but also talks the talk.
Final Thoughts
Crossbow hunting is one of the best outdoor activities you can do.
If you’re reading this and you’re deciding whether or not you should get into this amazing activities, let me just say that I’ve met the most amazing people through crossbow hunting and thoroughly enjoy the time in the outdoors.
Don’t try and get the perfect bow, but instead, use the guiding principles listed above to help you find the right bow for you.
I hope this helped, and if so, drop a comment into the section below.
Cheers!
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Great guidelines indeed. On-point and fully detailed. Loved this work. Keep this good work up. All the best. Massive thumbs up.