budget crossbow?

[freddy g]

My friend is trying to talk me into archery (dear) hunting,he has bow hunted for years and uses compound bows and never had a crossbow,that bring said he wants to get one and is telling me that because i don't already have a compound bow to just get a crossbow! ok sounds great! but which one? and i dont want to spend $700 on something i might use only once and put it in the closet with all the other projects that i loose intrest in.
so my question is ..... who owns a crossbow that actualy work's well but won't break the bank? i see lots of $200 to $300 x-bows for sale but i would rather spend $300 for a decent entry level X-Bow then spend $200 on something that can't hit the broad side of a barn nevermind a white tail dear.
any suggestions would be appreaceted...........thanks.........fred

[LarryD1130]

When I was considering getting a crossbow I was looking at the Wicked Ridge Invader. Now I'm probably going to get a compound bow instead and I'll probably get one of the cheaper Fred Bear's.

[keystoneman 85]

If it were me I'd save up and get something in the 500-600 range. A lot of the bows you see @ 200-300 are Japanese bows that aren't really intended for hunting. If you must go cheap you could look at the Barnett line up, should be able to get in around 350 there. Back when I tried crossbows I had one, but I hated it. I upgraded to a Parker and it was the cats meow. I've since sold them and went back to compound bows, I just like them better.

Another option would be to go used.

[rovert97]

There are so good $300 range crossbows on sportsmans guide. I picked up the $150 inferno rage. Im more than confident that it will drop a deer now that I've found the right sized bolts and grain heads.

[mischief2145]

check the barrnett wildcat c5, good fast hitting xbow....do what i did, go to cabelas and shoot a few

[freddy g]

check the barrnett wildcat c5, good fast hitting xbow....do what i did, go to cabelas and shoot a few

great idea! do you have or hunt with a barnett wildcat C5? and if so how is it holding up? thanks .............fred

[mischief2145]

hunt and shoot for fun....holding up great....like i said fast and hard hitting....and a great price...i changed up my red dot scope to a aftermarket parker scope, and shoot easton bolts with muzzy broadheads.....dealy combo...
but yes deff check it out, hope ull be as impressed as i was
hope that lil info helps you out

[1iarrowking]

I don't hunt with a crossbow or even own one. I'm still too young and strong to not shoot a compound. However before retiring and closing my archery shop in 2008 I worked on and repaired them. The one brand I never repaired was Excalibur because I never saw a broken one. I replaced strings on them but never had to fix one. The parts that break on crossbows are cams and cables. Excalibur is a recurve; no cables, no cams. The reason for cams on a compound is to lower holding weight. The sear doesn't care how much it's holding and despite the fact that it is holding all that weight the triggers on Excalibur are some of the lightest and crispest I've pulled. The only draw back to a recurve crossbow is that they are longer than most compound crossbows.

Now that I've told you what I would buy and why if I'm ever too old and decrypted to shoot a compound, go buy a compound and be an archery hunter.

[freddy g]

well thanks for the help guys ! i finally bought a crossbow,i went with the parker enforcer 160,not a real low budget but kinda mid range in price about $500 the bow shop is sighting it in, and i am picking it up next week!

[mischief2145]

good deal...now go shoot it....lol have fun and enjoy, tell us what u think about after a few shots