Two things afect the distance of shots taken. The ability of the hunter and the ability of the hunting equipment. Crossbows are not magic, the arrow or bole from a crossbow starts to drop faster in flight than an arrow from a compound od recurve bow because it is shorter and lighter giving it less momentum. The answers you got of 40 yards are reasonable, beyond that, you need to have a whole lot of practice and be consistant in hitting where you want to hit. When I still bow hunted, I limited myself to 35 yards because That is where I was sure of my shots.