Jim Timber
5 year old buck +
It's a legal weapon for your firearms tag. No indication of weapon used when registering harvest.
Minnesota Crossbow Laws
- Thread starter foggy
- Start date
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bat man
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Archery take is off 24% from 2005 to 2013.
foggy
5 year old buck +
Read some internet reviews, compared specs, and looked over some crossbows at a few stores. Lot's of things to consider.....but the popular brands / models sure look capable. I'm a bit ignorant on sticks and strings.......still have some research to do. A couple of my box blinds will provide a great place to use a crossbow. Ranges and blind locations may be quite good for hurling arrows....IMO.
Most recently, I'm torn between spending $499 on a Barnet Ghost 350.....or spending $999. for a Ten Point Shadow Ultra Lite. Seems they are all very capable....it's just hard to know how committed I am to this type of hunt.
Sure would be nice to hunt in some reasonable temps tho....and spend time with the deer before the go nocturnal.
Most recently, I'm torn between spending $499 on a Barnet Ghost 350.....or spending $999. for a Ten Point Shadow Ultra Lite. Seems they are all very capable....it's just hard to know how committed I am to this type of hunt.
Sure would be nice to hunt in some reasonable temps tho....and spend time with the deer before the go nocturnal.
sandbur
5 year old buck +
Brooks- Have you broken that down by zones or general areas?
sandbur
5 year old buck +
I bought my crossbow in St. Cloud. They also have the Brainerd store on old 371.
Archery Country I think it was called.
foggy
5 year old buck +
What brand do you own Art?
foggy
5 year old buck +
I've spent quite a lot of time reading about most major brands of X-Bows and looked at a few in some stores. Deciding how to cock the string is becoming the last factor for me. Seems I gotta have the crank-up string (due to increasing physical limitations and getting older) but I don't like the "ratchet" noise aspect of it - especially in the areas where I am going to hunt.
My question: Do most hunters cock the string "back at the truck"? ......or in the stand area? Seems to me......without a bolt in the X-Bow.....that the string can be pre-cocked back at the truck.....and still remain quite safe with the modern (Tenpoint models) crossbow. No? This would allow me to use the crank-up cocking devices.
Currently, leaning toward the TenPoint Turbo or new Shadow models. There is always one more feature you "need" for another $100 or so. ;) These models get quite narrow, short, and lightweight.
My question: Do most hunters cock the string "back at the truck"? ......or in the stand area? Seems to me......without a bolt in the X-Bow.....that the string can be pre-cocked back at the truck.....and still remain quite safe with the modern (Tenpoint models) crossbow. No? This would allow me to use the crank-up cocking devices.
Currently, leaning toward the TenPoint Turbo or new Shadow models. There is always one more feature you "need" for another $100 or so. ;) These models get quite narrow, short, and lightweight.
Jim Timber
5 year old buck +
I've got a Horton Vision 175 and I like it a lot. The reverse bow set up puts all the weight back where a rifle would balance, and also makes for a very short package.
You can cock it before you set out, but if you're relying on that aid you won't be able to make a follow up shot in the field. Things might have changed, but even the electric ones were turtle-speed slow too. The double pull strap cocking aids are leveraged so you're only tugging half the weight. All of them I'm aware of use a pulley and double pull configuration with the butt as the anchor point for both sides.
Last fall, had I been aware I missed the bruiser I shot at prior to rifle season opener, I had enough time to reload and would've been able to drop him had I pulled the trigger instead of glassing him "cocked and locked" looking for a hole. :oops:
You can cock it before you set out, but if you're relying on that aid you won't be able to make a follow up shot in the field. Things might have changed, but even the electric ones were turtle-speed slow too. The double pull strap cocking aids are leveraged so you're only tugging half the weight. All of them I'm aware of use a pulley and double pull configuration with the butt as the anchor point for both sides.
Last fall, had I been aware I missed the bruiser I shot at prior to rifle season opener, I had enough time to reload and would've been able to drop him had I pulled the trigger instead of glassing him "cocked and locked" looking for a hole. :oops:
wiscwhip
5 year old buck +
I have a tentative plan to take up hunting again during the archery/xbow season. I have not bowhunted for going on 18 years. Given the above statements by sandbur, it appears I am not the only one who feels that there will be a huge influx of horizontal bowhunters in the next 2 years. After that, I too anticipate the "new" will wear off quickly for a lot of guys, especially if they don't find success. That is where I will step in and outfit myself with a very nice 2 or 3 year old xbow for 1/3rd of what it cost new, as there will be a ton of guys wanting to recover some of the dollars they spent on getting outfitted for their experiment and then it will be time for me to get back into hunting during the "bow" season again. I have waited 18 years, a couple more isn't going to bother me at all.
foggy
5 year old buck +
The Wicked Ridge Crossbows are really one heckuva deal. Basically they are the "old" style TenPoint Crossbows with a bit wider bows than current manufacture (and they do not have the premium ratchet cocking apparatus available). I see the very highly regarded Warrior Model available for under $400. If I didn't think I would need the ratchet cocking devise in the next years to come......I believe this is the model I would buy. Alas.....my parts are wearing out.:eek: Errrrr.....SOME of my parts are wearing out. :D
I have repeatably read to NOT buy used Crossbows. Dunno.....seems to me a person could check them over and shoot them to determine their worth. Still.....I have not seen any raving values on used stuff. No waiting for me......I'm not getting any younger. ;)
Reagan
5 year old buck +
I used to be 100% against crossbows. But as my parents have aged and I have used theirs for late season doe control and hunting with kids, I no long hate them. We shoot Parker bows and crossbows. For theses who have concerns about cocking the bow, check out this from Parker. It cocks itself.
http://parkerbows.com/crossbows.html?action=detail&detailsku=1109
I should add that I have not used this model but it could help those bad shoulders out there.
http://parkerbows.com/crossbows.html?action=detail&detailsku=1109
I should add that I have not used this model but it could help those bad shoulders out there.
wiscwhip
5 year old buck +
Thanks foggy, I will have to check them out. $350-$400 is about the going price for a middle of the road used model.
Reagan, that surely would be helpful for one of the vets I know that lost an arm in Iraq. He has a custom bi-pod type rest and is a very good shot with the xbow he has now, but he has to rely on someone else to draw it for him.
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foggy
5 year old buck +
I pulled the trigger tonight. Bought a new Ten Point Shadow UL Crossbow with Accudraw. Smallest, lightest bow they make. Weighs only 6.4 lbs.....but I'm sure accessories add to it a bit.
Been reading and studying this stuff for a couple of weeks now.....and I don't want to wait till they become hard to get. It's a new model for 2014....but they have made something similar last year......so it's not like I'm buying new tech. ;)
I used to manufacture the Steady Eddy attachment for Ten Point back when I owned Stoney Point.....so I suppose I will configure some of my remaining parts to fit to my new bow to provide a rest. Never had much interest in sticks and strings back then....I was all about rifles at that time. Who knows....maybe I can improve on my old design. ;) :D
Been reading and studying this stuff for a couple of weeks now.....and I don't want to wait till they become hard to get. It's a new model for 2014....but they have made something similar last year......so it's not like I'm buying new tech. ;)
I used to manufacture the Steady Eddy attachment for Ten Point back when I owned Stoney Point.....so I suppose I will configure some of my remaining parts to fit to my new bow to provide a rest. Never had much interest in sticks and strings back then....I was all about rifles at that time. Who knows....maybe I can improve on my old design. ;) :D
sandbur
5 year old buck +
Jim Timber
5 year old buck +
If yours didn't come like this, you might want to do it as well - make the bolts in-line with the barrel. Makes shouldering the rig a lot less snag prone.
foggy
5 year old buck +
Nice Jim. Your's is a reverse limber? Quiver stay out of the way if you stand on that stirrup?
A bracket mount my quiver similar to like you did came with my xbow. I didn't use it....yet. I'm late into the game on xbows, but it's kinda fun playing with a new toy. I always have some ideas about how to improve on this stuff. My wife says I'm sick. ;)
A bracket mount my quiver similar to like you did came with my xbow. I didn't use it....yet. I'm late into the game on xbows, but it's kinda fun playing with a new toy. I always have some ideas about how to improve on this stuff. My wife says I'm sick. ;)
Jim Timber
5 year old buck +
My dad always notes how I can't leave anything "stock." :D
I can cock it fine with the quiver attached, but I don't leave it on when I'm not moving. Yes, it's a reverse configuration and makes for a substantially smaller package with much more "gun like" balance off-hand (weight is located where a receiver would be). My 20" bolts stick out about 6" from the front of the barrel (I still think it's odd they call it that) just beyond the rung. Short and narrow - a great design!
These didn't come with in-line quiver mounts, and the bolts stuck out well beyond the limbs even when not cocked (cocked gets narrower yet).
This one was a quick and dirty upgrade which has been left well enough alone for 2 years since. I've thought about drawing it up and producing them, but I'm not sure it's worth the effort. There's already another guy making a similar product, and I'd rather not crowd a niche market when I can kick shins on a big one and still do better.
I can cock it fine with the quiver attached, but I don't leave it on when I'm not moving. Yes, it's a reverse configuration and makes for a substantially smaller package with much more "gun like" balance off-hand (weight is located where a receiver would be). My 20" bolts stick out about 6" from the front of the barrel (I still think it's odd they call it that) just beyond the rung. Short and narrow - a great design!
These didn't come with in-line quiver mounts, and the bolts stuck out well beyond the limbs even when not cocked (cocked gets narrower yet).
This one was a quick and dirty upgrade which has been left well enough alone for 2 years since. I've thought about drawing it up and producing them, but I'm not sure it's worth the effort. There's already another guy making a similar product, and I'd rather not crowd a niche market when I can kick shins on a big one and still do better.
foggy
5 year old buck +
Made my crossbow so that it would accept a bipod support. It was putting the arrows in the same holes.....and he was gonna "robin hood" some bolts.....so I made my grandson shoot at different points on the target. Pretty sweet set-up. Also accepts a monopod....which would prove more useful in a box blind.
