Made the Switch

[Peplin Creek]

Been toying with the idea to switch to a crossbow for awhile. I’ve shot most of my bucks with a vertical bow and thought I’m still young enough to keep on doing it that way but hunting in wisconsin can sometimes have its challenges.

This year I did a full day sit in November that was so cold, had a shooter actually walked by, I’m not even sure I would have been able to pull my bow back. I was miserable. That was the final nail in the coffin. I plan to make comfort more of a priority moving forward, comfy double stands, box blinds, etc.

I have a few friends who have given me a lot of flack over making the switch but I keep telling them once the bucks on the wall… it’s on the wall.

Here it is my First Crossbow. Hopefully it’ll bring me as much joy as Mathews Halon 6 did. Can’t wait for spring to start breaking it in.

 

[Tree Spud]

I did also a couple of years ago as i like to hunt late season. I was no longer able to pull a vertical back and hold for 2 minutes until there was a ethical shot. Sitting in the cold for hours and then trying to be limber enough was just not there.

 

[Mortenson]

Did Tenpoint ever come up with a way to decock or do you still have to fire it?

 

[Bill]

You're going to love it. I'll never go back so long as it stays a legal option.

 

[Peplin Creek]

Yes the accuslide models can all silently cock and decock. And it’s made so that at any point during the cocking and decocking cycle you can let go of the handle and the bow string stays right where it is. The handle can’t spin out of control. Other than having a parts failure in the cranking mechanism I see almost no way of the bow being able to dry fire. It’s a really slick deal.

 

[buckdeer1]

I won't allow them on my land unless handicapped,But to each their own 85%. At least it's under the right thread

 

[356]

I too made the switch from a Mathews to a Ten Point following shoulder surgery nine years ago. At that time one had to have a doctor’s order, but a couple of years later crossbows were added to the season for all hunters. The change did not result in deer carnage, and I am happy to be starting the 2023 season with a new NXT400 my wife got me for Christmas.

 

[Angus 1895]

I was sitting in a pile of brush behind my friends house in Minnesota in mid December.

Shot a deer walking by at 11 yards. Without a crossbow I doubt it would have happened!

 

[Peplin Creek]

Yeah, where I hunt now all of my neighbors use crossbows I was the only one out of 8 hunters in the area that still used a vertical bow. It didn’t change my hunting. Our deer numbers are still going up and I saw very little impact from others in the woods using them. A lot more goes into being successful than just the weapon.

 

[omicron1792]

So I’ve thought about a crossbow too. I have a vertical bow but rarely use. I’m 6’5 230 pounds and I hate standing up in a tree stand. Honestly just sitting up there not fun for me. So maybe.

 

[Buckhunter10]

Man, look at the bucks on your wall!! You ain't got nothing to prove - some dandies!! Changing to a crossbow where legal, is great!! Especially if it allows you to enjoy your property and time in nature, all that much more!!

Wishing you much success and deflated lungs with your new rig!

Albert

 

[Peplin Creek]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. One other nice thing about going to a crossbow, It’s something new that I’ll get to learn about and keep that deer hunting fire burning inside me. Been doing a ton of research on arrow/broadhead combinations. With the Xbow being so fast wondering about if mechanical blades would withstand hard impacts, blades deploying early, etc. Just a lot “new” stuff to get into and that’s a lot of fun.

 

[Highwater]

They’re also such a great tool for getting kids started.

 

[North Mo]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. One other nice thing about going to a crossbow, It’s something new that I’ll get to learn about and keep that deer hunting fire burning inside me. Been doing a ton of research on arrow/broadhead combinations. With the Xbow being so fast wondering about if mechanical blades would withstand hard impacts, blades deploying early, etc. Just a lot “new” stuff to get into and that’s a lot of fun.

My crossbow shoots 437 fps over a chronograph. I use Rage broadheads both collared and mechanical locking. I have not observed an issue with deploying at launch or before impact. The only times I have seen bent or broken blades is on impact with large bone like shoulder blades. The bolt will continue thru however. One buck I hit from 7 yards was a steep downward angle high thru the shoulder blade and broke the off side foreleg bone on exit. One blade was broken but the bolt was stuck in the ground about 3 inches deep. He only travelled 20 yards. The extra energy, penetration and accuracy are why I like the crossbow.

 

[Peplin Creek]

My crossbow shoots 437 fps over a chronograph. I use Rage broadheads both collared and mechanical locking. I have not observed an issue with deploying at launch or before impact. The only times I have seen bent or broken blades is on impact with large bone like shoulder blades. The bolt will continue thru however. One buck I hit from 7 yards was a steep downward angle high thru the shoulder blade and broke the off side foreleg bone on exit. One blade was broken but the bolt was stuck in the ground about 3 inches deep. He only travelled 20 yards. The extra energy, penetration and accuracy are why I like the crossbow.

Thanks for responding, that’s reassuring. That’s exactly why I opted for the stealth 450. Make sure I give myself the best option when things don’t go exactly right. Been there and done that with a bow.

 

[b116757]

I offered to buy my oldest boy a crossbow or vertical bow for I think his 16th birthday he choose the vertical to my surprise. I still have an old vertical bow for myself but have archery hunted so little in the last decade or so idk if it even still shoots. If I upgrade it will almost certainly be a crossbow.

 

[bigboreblr]

Got one for christmas 2 years ago, just started to use it this season. No harvest with it yet.

But, I am happy to see them legal. Hunters should have the best instrument available to them. I work with about 50 or so hunters, heard many stories about bow hunt gone bad.... Numerous were lack of pactice or shot too far.

Nothing fancy, a Barret 370. A little noisy, but a tack driver. I hunt from both a blind and a treestand. I will still hav my 10 year old hoyt turbohawk with me for a quick 2nd shot.

 

[Booner21]

They’re also such a great tool for getting kids started.

I agree super happy they made them legal here. My boy killed his first buck with one this year. To each their own I don’t have a desire to shoot one but if the guy down the road does more power to them.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Wind Gypsy]

And posted correctly in the firearms forum even

I kid I kid. I don’t hold any ill will to someone using the best weapon legally available to them. Hope it works out well for ya!

 

[drycreek]

I bowhunted for many years. Deer, pronghorn, and hogs all fell to various vertical bows. The pronghorn in my avatar was a bowkill in Wyoming. About four years ago I got to the point that I could no longer hold my bow steady enough to make a good group at 30 yards. I used to practice to 60 yards and made my longest shot at 47 yards on another pronghorn. So…..I bought a Ten Point crossbow and was amazed at the speed and accuracy ! That said, I just couldn’t get used to wagging that bulky sucker around the woods so I stopped bowhunting all together. I miss it, but I don’t miss the crossbow. I don’t, nor have I ever looked down my nose at one’s chosen tool to hunt with. The way I see it, you are regulated by law as to how many animals you can take, so what difference does the method make as long as it’s a clean kill and you’ve followed the law ?