advice on buying a crossbow?

[skidoomaster]

My father has limited use of his right hand. He can shoot a rifle, but cannot draw a bow. Looking at getting him a crossbow for x-mass. What do you recommend? He will probably only hunt a few times in bow season, so I don't want to break the bank on one? I know Barnett makes less expensive ones? Maybe even used?

Please let me know your experiences?

Thanks!

[buckslayerII]

I helped my father buy one this year as well. What I didn't know before going into it, is that none of them offer a cocking device in a package, other than TenPoint. You can add them on separately, but once you do that, even the cheaper ones get to be entry-level TenPoint price. You can purchase a rope cocker that'll reduce the pull by 50% or so, by a hand crank is required to really reduce that pull. Depending on how limited your dad's hand and strength is, will dictate if he needs a cocking aid or not.

With that said, my father went ahead and bought the entry-level TenPoint. Although heavier than some (not all), it's been a quality product so far and has performed well.

So , keep that in mind. I thought he could initially get away cheaper too.

[Backwoods-Savage]

I would not rule out any of the crossbows. Even Barnett makes a good one and I've talked to many who have them and all have been happy. Probably the only one I've heard anything negative about is the Horton bows, but that I think was minor.

One thing I've really notice about people shopping for one though is their mindset against one that is not compound, which is bull. That would be Excalibur bows who do not make a compound bow. Yet, they are one of the top dogs and probably just as good as any Ten Point bow on the market. One very nice thing that Excalibur bows have is the ability to work on them yourself. Even changing a bow string is extremely easy.

I have nothing against Ten Point or any of the makers except that I feel the Ten Point bows are extremely too high priced.

You also can get a cocking device for any of the bows and they are not all that expensive. Your best bet is to try shooting some and see how they feel.

[fdunford]

I have a Bear Lighting (not produced anymore) but if I were looking now, I'd take a long hard look at the Excalibur line.

[November Sunrise]

I think you're going to find that each of the manufacturers offers decent quality. The one thing that I'd do is avoid the cheapest offering that any of them have. That's usually a good way to avoid frustrations with quality. For what it's worth, we have a pretty basic Horton crossbow and it's served us well for the two years that we've owned it.

[DANIEL MARK ZAPOLSKI]

175lb gets my vote with a crank.:D my dad just gave me his this year because he cannot make it to the woods anymore (87). :(i works great being as the first deer i took with it was this year at 35 yards :Dwith a expandable 80 grain hypershock --oops --aftershock is the crossbow head. 4 point buck out of my first year in a climber treestand-- summit / goliath. made a lot of noise:tdo12: but that buck was wacked before he heard it.:coolgleam

[steelhead05]

get a Ten Point!

[skidoomaster]

How about the sights? what do you perfer? red-dot/scope/or fiber sites?

Thanks!

[DANIEL MARK ZAPOLSKI]

scope:D with hash marks for 25/35/45yards:coolgleam

[marty]

I have two xbows and I'll toss in my two. Ten point ql4 is a ok but high dollar. Shoot well but is heavy and bulky. Had a problem with bolts becoming loose a lot.Seems a bit loud when shooting as well.

Now my little horton I'm in love with figerglass stock lighweight and accurate. I went with a scope with crosshair for 20 30 40. I don't have a cocker device on my horton but use a rope and it works well. Lot cheaper than the ten point and horton been here forvever. Good luck.......m:D

[cointoss]

I can't disagree with what most have said here about the different crossbows. I have been shooting one since 1997 and have had good luck with the Ten Point, in fact my old bow is for sale in the classified here a Huntmaster by TenPoint and would probaly be just what you are looking for.

[Sabre03]

I would Look At Excalibur. http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/ They build one of the best crossbows. All maintenance is done by you very easily. I have an Excalibur and so does a friend. They are plenty fast, extremely reliable, and fun to shoot.