Borrowed by PH's crossbow in Botswana and was really impressed with it. I think cross bow hunting is better suited to me than bow hunting.

Any recommendations on crossbows for africa?

I shot a PSE Tac 15 - impressive weapon once you get used to it.

I have a 10 Point. I love it.

I killed 3 bucks with it last year. MOST impressive.

the PSE is very nice- also VERY expensive. i used to kill a lot of hogs with my Barnett Predator before i got into silenced high powered air rifles to do the same thing.it launched a 435gr bolt at an honest 370-375fps with 2-3 inch groups at 50 yards. i just sold it a few days ago to another forum member, but for the price, it is worth checking out( about 1/3 of a PSE). judging from the ease with which it drove a bolt through the armored shoulder plate of a hog( and required chiseling the bolt out of a tree on more than 1 occasion), i wouldn't hesitate to use it on plains game.

+1 on the 10 point. I'm taking mine to Africa this year.

Anything over 5 yards, rifle will do it for me.
What's the point?
The only way you will prove anything to yourself is " In Africa on your own with wood bow and arrows.
Any volunteers?
Otherwise, it's just technology gimmicks and whole lotta B.S.

so i take it you hunt Africa with an unscoped black powder muzzle loader??? after all, scopes and centerfire rifles( not to mention, God forbid, binoculars ) are just gimmicks...a REAL hunter wouldn't need them.

Boarkiller:

Can hunt from bow blinds where most operations will not allow rifle hunting.

I am not really into bow hunting - may be physical thing as I am right handed but left eye dominant - so I have to shoot left handed.

I like bow blinds cause you can get to see game real close and get some good filming opportunities.

I like walk and stalk in the morning and evenings and sitting in bow blinds from like 10-11 to 2-3. I can often do that just by myself or with a single tracker.

Jdollar:

The PSE TAC 15 went thru a wildebeest from front shoulder and exited via the gut. I was much impressed.

Thanks,

Mike

Excalibur. Can not understand the need for a compound crossbow. A lot to go wrong...recurve crossbow for me...

And you are all right gentlemen.
Just that being traditional bowhunter, somehow I dislike compounds and crossbows.
The way I look at it, I will shoot rifle in Africa. It was just a personal statement.
My apologies if I offended anyone
And " Yes " to wooden bow and arrows if I can do it by myself and not worrying about trophy fees.

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:
Boarkiller:

Can hunt from bow blinds where most operations will not allow rifle hunting.

I am not really into bow hunting - may be physical thing as I am right handed but left eye dominant - so I have to shoot left handed.

I like bow blinds cause you can get to see game real close and get some good filming opportunities.

I like walk and stalk in the morning and evenings and sitting in bow blinds from like 10-11 to 2-3. I can often do that just by myself or with a single tracker.

Jdollar:

The PSE TAC 15 went thru a wildebeest from front shoulder and exited via the gut. I was much impressed.

Thanks,

Mike

that penetration doesn't surprise me at at all. a good broadhead/arrow combo from any high energy crossbow( and the PSE is certainly that)should blow through most plains game, unless the humerus is hit. even then, it should break the bone and enter the chest, again a lethal shot. what you really need to decide is how much you want to spend on the bow. the accessories all cost about the same- it's the bow cost that is the main factor. figure $400- 2000 for an average range. if you really think you will continue on- spend the money and never look back. if you think it will be an occasional use item, save the extra money and spend it on trophy fees. at the end of the day, they all do pretty much the same. regardless of cost....

Jdollar:

I forgot to mention that in the shot that went thru the wildebeset the animal was lost. Via video we were able to determine an approximate point of impact and there was gut material on the arrow which we recovered on exit. There was fair amount of bleeding but after walking close to 5 miles we gave up. Animal was being shot for cull.

I want to get a crossbow so I can practice with it in US and get familiar to its operation. De-cocking a PSE TAC 15 in a dark blind with only a Iphone for light was a little unnerving.

Overall I was impressed by crossbows. Seems like a good intermediate between a 375h&H and a bow. Quite and good for culling too.

Thanks,

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Bwana1:
Excalibur.

The best recurve crossbow out there!
http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:
Jdollar:

I forgot to mention that in the shot that went thru the wildebeset the animal was lost. Via video we were able to determine an approximate point of impact and there was gut material on the arrow which we recovered on exit. There was fair amount of bleeding but after walking close to 5 miles we gave up. Animal was being shot for cull.

I want to get a crossbow so I can practice with it in US and get familiar to its operation. De-cocking a PSE TAC 15 in a dark blind with only a Iphone for light was a little unnerving.

Overall I was impressed by crossbows. Seems like a good intermediate between a 375h&H and a bow. Quite and good for culling too.

Thanks,

Mike

decocking a crossbow in broad daylight is unnerving 1 nice thing about crossbows( and bows in general) is you can practice in your yard without disturbing the neighbors. try that with a .375!! with mine,( 175 draw weight but i used a rope cocker) i could easily shoot 75 plus shots a session before the cocking effort affected my shooting accuracy. make sure you get a target designed for high energy bows/crossbows. i used my original bow target that worked fine for my Mathews Black Max- and was blowing bolts right through it....

Another vote for Excalibur. I bought mine several years ago. After seeing and shooting my xbow, three of my hunting friends also bought an Excalibur.

quote:

Originally posted by Labman:
Another vote for Excalibur. I bought mine several years ago. After seeing and shooting my xbow, three of my hunting friends also bought an Excalibur.

What sort of price are they in the US & are they capable of taking a (European) wild boar at 50 metres please?

Steve - Not sure on prices, but you can google the manufactures web sites to find them. No problem with boar at fifty meters if using a good, sharp broadhead. Scopes are handy on these things as well.

As I am a bowhunter of over 50 years don't really think much of crossbow hunting. But that's just my take on it. Xbows are much easier for the first timers who don't want to spend the time necessary to become profcient with "real bows". To each his own by the way.

Larry Sellers
SCI (International)Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:

quote:

Originally posted by Labman:
Another vote for Excalibur. I bought mine several years ago. After seeing and shooting my xbow, three of my hunting friends also bought an Excalibur.

What sort of price are they in the US & are they capable of taking a (European) wild boar at 50 metres please?

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:

quote:

Originally posted by Labman:
Another vote for Excalibur. I bought mine several years ago. After seeing and shooting my xbow, three of my hunting friends also bought an Excalibur.

What sort of price are they in the US & are they capable of taking a (European) wild boar at 50 metres please?

Another vote for Excalibur. Switched over from compound after the rotator cuff injury. As Bwana said "Can not understand the need for a compound crossbow. A lot to go wrong..."

I can't see why you shouldn't be able to take a boar out to 50 meters. Most of the top makers of crossbows will easily reach out to 50 meters.

Price. Say roughly $500 to start and top end ones go $1000 plus.

Thanks guys...... I'll look into trying to get one here.

Larry

I have arthritis in my hands (and a few other places) so can't pull a bow..... Could probably manage a crossbow though.

The perfect reason to use a Xbow!! Good luck and keep us posted if you pursue this.

Larry Sellers
SCI (International) Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
Thanks guys...... I'll look into trying to get one here.

Larry

I have arthritis in my hands (and a few other places) so can't pull a bow..... Could probably manage a crossbow though.

I've got no choice but to pursue it...... Got a wild boar giving me no end of shit in the garden, silencers are illegal here & I'll wake the village with a rifle.

a crossbow is perfect for that. i have killed 5-6 hogs around my barn/house that were destroying things at night. i taped a red lens torch to the stock, cock it on the porch, then walk out to shoot. quiet, effective, and deadly.

quote:

Originally posted by hunteratheart:
+1 on the 10 point. I'm taking mine to Africa this year.

+2 on the TenPoint