Any crossbow hunters?

[HBGMarine]

I'm interested in buying a crossbow to use during the archery deer season next year. Does anyone have any suggestions on a particular brand or what I should look for? As always, any assistance is greatly appreciated!

[XACEX]

i was out this morning with a cheap-as-shit Eagle 180lb crossbow, and will head out again this evening. you can buy them at Dick's or Sports Authority online and ive already taken a 100lb (dressed) doe with mine this year. great first crossbow and suprisingly rugged given the cheap price

[Feddog82]

Buy an excalibur and don't look back. They are far superior in accuracy, performance, design, and easy maintenance. I started with a middle of the road compound crossbow and after two seasons with it and several issues I went with an excalibur recurve. I love it and shall forever profess it's greatness.

****I do still hunt with my compound bow a lot but for a specific area that happens to be very close to home I hunt with my xbow exclusively.

[Labman]

I'll second the recommendation for an Excalibur crossbow. I've had mine for several years and shot several deer with it. It works great and is very accurate. I have the 200 lb. Exomag. Very simple to maintain and never goes out of tune. Escalibur customer service is also great.

[renegadephoenix]

if your buying a crossbow, don't skimp on the quality. most guys will tell you to go with Excaliber, i will tell you to go with what you feel comfortable with.

i myself use a TenPoint Stealth, 180 pound draw with a built in hand crank since i have 2 bulging discs and i can't draw a regular compound bow. took a nice 8 point this year with it, the buck didn''t even know he was hit. he stood under my stand after i shot him and i watched him bleed out.

if you get the chance, shoot as many as you can before you buy. that is the best advice i can give you.

[whitejohn]

i have a horton 150lb with a red dot scope and cant speak a word of bad about it and the price was great its was only 200 which isnt too bad compared to some others. i have a barnett as well dont waste your money on one it wont hit the broad side of a barn to save its life.

[HBGMarine]

Thanks for the input everyone!

I was looking at a few of the Excalibur and Barnett crossbows. They were all about the same price and have close to the same draw weight. Next step is to see if I can shoot one somewhere. Someone told me there's an Archery Depot in my general area and I might be able to test shoot something there.

In regards to draw strength I've been told anything over 150lbs should be enough to bring down a deer at 40 yards. Can anyone confirm that?

[Feddog82]

150lbs is plenty with a well placed shot, just like any other weapon out there meant for killing deer or deer sized game.

[Labman]

I bought my Excalibur at Kinsey Outdoors which is in your neck of the woods. They let me try it out on their indoor range and after a few shots I was sold. They salesman I worked with told me he would not recommend a Barnett Xbow. They sold them, but have had alot of them come back with problems. He also told me that they had a few Horton's come back but not nearly as many as Barnett, but never had any problems with the Excalibur's.

[Something]

I'm interested in buying a crossbow to use during the archery deer season next year. Does anyone have any suggestions on a particular brand or what I should look for? As always, any assistance is greatly appreciated!

Why do you want a crossbow?