Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

Guys, what is the real deal on crossbow speed? I have an Excalibur Exocet and I feel I can bring down just about any animal on the Northern Continent. What would speed do to increase mykill factoror is it just a macho thing? Everyone knows "speed kills":D

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

Nothing, other than make up for being bad at being guessing distance. If you are whitetail hunting and you shoot at a deer that is fourty yards and you think it is at thirty then a hyper-speed bow may help.

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

Yup. Faster arrow = Flatter trajectory.

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

= further ya gotta go to get yur arra after whackin a deer.

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

And if you are off by 10 yds in your range estimation like Don said 40 vs 30, your probably going to get what you deserve, unfortunatly, the deer is apt to get something it doesn't deserve. I can see the reason for the faster bows in 3-D competition, may squeak a few more points on misjudged ranges, but foam don't bleed.

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

You got that right.........

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

Speed Kills! & i have the fastest hunting CB on this forum. About 230 fps no deer has been able survive after being hit with one of my tank arrows![:-][:o]:D

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

Unlike bullets, wherein kinetic energy is a factor in killing game, arrows kill largely by causing hemorrhage (excluding the relatively rare hit of the central nervous system). So faster arrows don't make much difference except for flattening trajectory a bit and perhaps preventing a (relatively close) deer from 'jumping the string'. Sharp broadheads and hits to 'where they live' do.

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

Speed is good to a point, after that point is reached it reduces the lenght of time the equipment lasts. I believe with modern equipment a good x-bow that shoots 300fps properly taken care of will last a life time. Lee

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

smokepolehall
What kind of crossbow shoots @ 230 fps, recurve or compound? I have an ancient Barnett Panzer Recurve that shoots about that speed. Very accurate too, I might add...

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

I have an older Vixen with carved tip limbs and dacron string and shooting 560 gr. arrows. Very accurate, i shoot plastic bottle caps out to 35 yds.

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

That is it in a nut shell! I am between 310 and 330 ish depending on what string and arrow. I am just fine with that speed.

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

It seems to me speed would count relating to how fast the arrow hits the target. A slower speed gives time for things to happen while the arrow is moving toward the target (i.e. game moves due to noise). Also, DNK is right on. Faster - flatter. Makes aiming at different distances a little easier.

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

I have also been educated on the concept that crossbows are not so much about the spped, but unlike compounds, they are intended to hit harder, so that having more pounds of energy is actually what you are looking for.. Any truth?

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

I guess Cody it depends on which way you want to go with killing a deer. My 270 FPS 150# Horton had pass through every time except on a spine shot and another shot I will not talk about. More KE is not needed if we stick to what the original concept is for killing a deer which is lung shots. But if we are wanting to change and help with accidental shoulder shots then more KE is needed, but not for lung shots IMO. My Excal only makes the arrows deeper in the ground then the Horton did after the shot.

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

RockinChair
History claims the medieval crossbows had more kinetic energy as a short range war weapon (compared to the longbows long range distance) to be able to penetrate soldier's armour and shields.

I agree with Hotburn,
Speed kills...at what speed will crossbows end?

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

Whoa, quick question Hotburn, how do you know my name? [:o]haha

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

Your profile! I click on most people's profile when they are newer, look at the post history and see what I am in for if I reply to there post. Try to avoid being set up as much as possible. Then when you call people by there name it kinda breaks the internet wall and lets us allknow we a just people and not just screen names.

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

I'm with Cossack on this, but for me the reduction of the chance of the animal jumping the string is greater thgan the advantage of a flatter trajectory.

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

"I'm with Cossack on this, but for me the reduction of the chance of the animal jumping the string is greater thgan the advantage of a flatter trajectory"

Well...i will throw a though or two into this...

Considering how fast sound moves compared to an arrow, string jump is gonna happen no matter how fast the bow is. One thing with string jump (again, my opinion and observations) is that in many instances string jump really occurs more at close ranges due to the proximity of the noise, not only the volume. If someone blows off a firecracker behind you most of us jump a mile (read "string jump") that same firecracker goes off 50yrds away, most of us will just turn to see what the noise was and not jump as much. Pretty much the same with deer. (exceptions to that rule ofcourse :) ) I would rather have a slower bow that is quiet than a fast bow that is loud. Simply because a "quiet noise" will not startle the deer as much as a "loud noise" at the same distance.

IMO there are a couple of factors where faster speed makes a diferance and is desireable. One is if you are using a mechanical broadhead. There is a certain amount of energy that is needed to open them on impact and they really are designed for faster bows (compound as well as Xbow). Longer shots(50-60yrds)...flatter trajectory helps with accuracy, and the reduced mass and short powerstroke of a crossbow means that at distance it generaly does not have as much KE upon impact as an compound at the same distance, so if you can launch it faster, it still holds its hitting power at distance. One other BIG reason IMO is that 300fps bows sell better than 280fps bows. One of the reasons you see advertized speeds made with bolts the manufacturer does not sell or even recomend.

FYI...my 185lb medieval bow shoots a 475gr wood bolt at 198fps and went thru the back bone of a cow elk at 20yrds and out the other side.(really crappy weather and the feathers were destroyed and it did not go exctly where I wanted it, but I did drop her...bad shots happen...)

Wyvern

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

I think high arrow speed, up to a certain point, is beneficial. It can compensate for misjudged distance. The down side is the arrow will travel farther after passing thru the critter or go deeper into a stump, tree, under the leaves etc. The advancement of scopes with range compensatingreticles and the use of laser range finders can eliminate bad distance judgement, thereby taking the guess work out of shooting. BUT, IMO nothing, not arrow speed, not rangefinders, not scopes with range compensating reticles, etc will ever replace common sense and intelligence when hunting with a CB. I don't think it's bad to pass up a shot, wait for another day or another deer to show up. It's not about the kill, at least to me it isn't.It'[s all about the challenge of outwitting and out smarting your quarry. The actual kill is really anticlimatic to the hunt itself!

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

Very well said DaGriz!!!!

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

As I said in a few of my other posts, I am a fan of speed. When shooting a gun, I went with fast rounds over the bigger cal, slower rounds that pack all this "knock down power". Reason being I see these "big bad boys" bullets being dug out of critters more than once that were there from years before. When I hit a Elk for instance, there is a hole, a big hole and the damage inside is like someone went crazy with a weed wacker inside a bowl of Jello. Now I am looking at CB's and see a real bennifit of the higher power making complete passthrough shots on bigger critters at a bit farther out range that is still ethical to shoot.

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

With any broadhead the action that kills is the ability to cut veins and arteries. Extreme speed with a light arrow set up cuts just as well as a moderate speed with a heavier set up. As long as there is enough kenetic energy the job gets done. To draw a parallel to what you spoke of the temporary wound cavity that you are talking about equates to a large sharp broadhead to do as much damage to the internals as possible. Higher speed accomplishes the same thing as a heavier set up and that is to push the broadhead through the deer. The real benefit speed brings you in archery is to compensate for range estimation. If that is what you want then go for a fast bow. The problem is that as you surpass 300 ft/sec arrows and broadheads become unstable and unforgiving to shooting errors and things like wind, blades of grass and what have you. You can shoot a big fat broadhead that cuts a big wide swath through a deer if you hit it. But that big fat broadhead is going to plane if you spit it out at 400 ft/sec. A really light arrow/broadhead will be pushed around by the wind and will be badly affected by anything on its way to the target. A heavy slow arrow is going to give the deer a chance to jump out of the way at the limit of any ethical shot. Of course a super fast arrow will not give the deer as much of a chance. The benefit of a slower heavier arrow as I see it is accuracy and its ability to plow through more dense mass in the directioh the arrow as shot. The light super fast arrow is not as accurate and it has the abitity to deflect on contact with things like bones but there is the issue of range estimation which is a real plus for some. The important thing is the confidence the equipment gives you.

RE: Real Deal on Crossbow Speeds
 

IMO super light, super fast arrows arent efficent, neitherare the super heavy arrows atthe the other end of the spectrum


I couldntcare less abouthaving the fastestfps that my bow can generate, I'm more concerned with all the aspects of the bow/arrow combination coming together to be the most efficent that the setup can be, if that happens at 250fps or 350fpsit really doesnt matter to me...