My hunting partner has been begging me to get into crossbows.

I shot competative archery about 20 years ago but have never even fired a crossbow.

Thanks to degenerative muscle disease I am thinking about it. I can't pull back a bow anymore, let alone hold one back for a shot.

I have been searching for a good website that gave reviews and compared them all. But so far havn't found it.

Any suggestions, as to what to try and what I would need for Wyoming's archery seasons.

My only experience is with Excalibur crossbows and it's been great. Although these are recurve bows they are quite fast and amazingly accurate. Another nice thing is they are not as complicted as a compound crossbow and you can do your own work without a bow press. Excalibur customer service is great as well.

I have the 200 lb. model which has an advertised velocity of 330 fps. Every deer I've shot has been a pass through and most have dropped within 50 yds. due to the ease of making double lung hits. Personally, I wouldn't own any other brand. The only disadvantage to a recurve crossbow is the limbs are wider than a compound, but I've never found this to be a problem and I hunt exclusively from treestands.

One word of caution. If you sight your bow in from a bench make sure you put multiple bulls eyes on your target. Don't shoot two bolts at the same bulls eye or or you'll be replacing/repairing alot of bolts. I learned that the first time I shot my xbow.

Do a search for "crossbow forums"... I know there are at least a couple out there with a lot of information. I can't rememember the exact names... one of them might be "Crossbow Nation".

Thanks All,

Needing other options, tried my old Bear Kodiak and my arthritic hands and shoulders about gave up the ghost.

Just a note of caution. No cocking devices allowed for crossbows in Wyoming. If you are having trouble pulling the old kodiak, something to think about. Read the regs to be certain.

http://wgfd.wyo.gov/web2011/NEWS-1000904.aspx

Looks like they got rid of that rule.

I'll ask friend of mine who is a fish cop in Casper, just to double check.

I've done lots of reading & research myself. " IF & When ".. I would get an " Excalibur ".

http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com

PAPI

I've shot "Ten Point" and the PSE "TAC 15". Like everything else, you get what you pay for. Best of luck!

I have a 10 Point. I killed 3 bucks with it last year. It in insanely accurate. All bolts passed through totally. One only went about 10 feet. It was the latest greatest when I bought it 3 years ago

I am considering another with more features. Not sure which one yet.

X2 for Excalibur...great bows...recurve design means little tuning or maintenance and super nice people to deal with.

3x excalibur

Lad,

Another vote for the Excalibur line - I own and shoot the Vortex model. Fast, hard hitting and accurate (I have to use a scope, but the accuracy of the bow really calls for one. I question the reliability of BSA scopes for long term use, MHO.)

Rotator and arthritis problems have forced me into shooting an X-bow... 'bout the only good thing re/those afflictions.

Try "Wyvern Creations" for a good site - also, you can call them direct and get a Master's Degree in crossbow knowledge from them. 100% helpful.

Best of luck (oh... and buy a "waste" arrow for de-cocking. I just shoot a field point into soft ground, but... you might hit a tree root and have to unscrew it!!!)

Mike

Petersen's Hunting has a good review of the latest crossbows this month. If you PM me your address, I'll send it to you.

My hunting partner uses an Excaliber. It's a nice bow.

I just upgraded this year and went with a Barnett Ghost 410. This thing is a real screamer at 410FPS and very accurate too. The only downside so far is it's absolutely the hardest crossbow I've ever cocked. 185 lb draw and you have to pull it 15 1/2". I finally gave up and bought a crank cocking device thingy for it today and everything is peachy again. It lowers the cocking poundage from 185 lbs to 17 lbs. You will probably need a crank no matter which crossbow you choose anyway. I'm far from an expert on this subject but I really like the Barnett Ghost 410.

Here is a nice side by side comparison of most of this years top sellers. You might find it helpful.

Outdoor Life 2013 Crossbow comparison
They were pretty impressed with the Ghost 410 also.

I bought mine at the digital oasis for $799 shipping included.

A word of caution. You will probably find a lot of "close out" deals on Horton crossbows. They have been bought up by TenPoint and are out of business. TenPoint has already said they have no plans on servicing Horton equipment so if you buy one you'll probably be on your own.

Terry

I like my Excalbur , but wish i would have waited and got the new Matrix they just brought out, oh well.

Thank you for the informaiton.

I got a job outside of Wyoming so now I am going to be going through the process to get my crossbow old broken guy cert from Utah.