Crossbow power?

[blindhog]

I may be geting one soon to hunt a WMA that is archery only. What would be the minimum power to buy for a good kill power.

I don' t want to spend high $ but want to get one with enuff knock' em.

[rcd567]

The old standard is a 150 pound pull. There are heavier ones out there but this should do it. Beware of " Cheap" crossbows. The old addage, you want cheap, you get cheap. In other words, your likely to get what you pay for.

[Sooner_Hunter]

he is right. though i can' t imagine buying a crossbow. why don' t you get a bow and do it right? do you have a physical disability?

[BGfisher]

Another thing you might want to absorb is that crossbows, just like compound or other bows DO NOT have knockdown power. They shoot an arrow with a razor sharp broadhead on the front. That broadhead is the only thing that kills. And it kills by cutting major blood vessels resulting in massive blood loss.
Not even guns possess knockdown power. Bullets do not kill by knocking down an animal. The result of a bullet mushrooming causes shock to an animals system rendering it unable to cope with that shock. Thus the legs collapse.
This stuff is just plain ole physics.

[blindhog]

I know bows don' t knock' em down. I know hemmoraging is the way they die. I just want enuff power to shoot the bolt properly for a kill shot.

I want a crossbow because of the time it takes to learn to use it right now verses the time for learning a compound bow. I feel I' ll be more comfortable with one.

As far as doing it " right" , to each his own. I will still be challenged with a crossbow by the closeness required verses a gun.

[Arthur P]

I' m afraid you' re in for a rude awakening. You need to try a compound before automatically assuming a crossbow is easier and quicker to get good with.

With compound OR crossbow, you should have already bought the weapon and been working with it for at least the past several months. I really wish you' d forget about hunting this season and get ready for next year.

' Buy today, hunt tomorrow' does not work with any kind of archery gear, no matter how remotely it' s related with archery.

[LA Hornhunter]

Arthur P
I agree with you 100%. Any weapon used to take game whether it be gun, Xbow, or compound takes considerable amount of practice time before using on animals. We owe it the animals and ourselves to know our equipments limitations and our limitations. The only way you will know these limitations is with lots of practice, not a few days or a couple of weeks.

[BGfisher]

Arthur P, amen brother.