Which CB should I choose
 

I'm planning to buy my first crossbow, and now I have three candidates to choose from. For some reason, all of them are Horton models. First of all, the cb will be for target practicing only. It's Illegal to hunt with crossbows in my country.

So, which of these would suite me best?

1. Horton 08 Explorer HD 150 (red dot pakage, 349$)
2. Horton 08 Team Realtree 175 (red dot pakage, 419$)
3. Horton 05 Hunter Max 150 (crossbow only, 209$ on bargain bin. Plus red dot sight and arrow quiver etc. Still a bit cheaper than 08 explorer pakage)

At least Hunter bow should be accurate and good quality?

For some reason I'm facinated to power ;). So, I think more power = better crossbow. But still, I have never shot any crossbow. Maybe the 150 models areenough for me, and have plenty of power for target shooting?:). Do you eaven need more than that in target practicing? Or can you shoot from further distances with 175lbs crossbows?

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

For target you might want to go 175-200 for better shot placement......JMO....

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

Deeku, welcome to the forum, my two cents worth on getting into crossbows, it is expensive to learn i could have saved a lot of money if i knew what i know now.
For target shooting I would get a excalibur vixen $355.00 on ebay. There is no maintaince just changing strings which you can do yourself.
You don't have to carry it to a bowshop for anything.

Martin

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

If you want a bow that's VERY easy on strings and servings and at about 19 yards will put an arrow into the back of another arrow (I know...I lost two arrows with one shot!)...take a look at the Darton line-up.

You can shoot this bow all day without worrying about...waxing the track or serving.

A little pricey...but can be had fairly inexpensive if you look around.

I know they're (darton) not part of your list...but well worth looking into. By the way...I only shoot one arrow per bullseye now!

Also...for what it may be worth..."most" modern crossbows, will shoot fairly accurately with a little getting used to the bow you've chosen and a good sight/scope and quality arrows.

Mike

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

Buying a crossbow is like buying oats. If you want good first caliber, high quailty oats you buy those that come from a reputable manufacturer. If want cheap you can buy those that have been thru the horse and are close to a P.O.S. ;)
It's thesame with crossbows You can buy good quality, top rate crossbows or you can buy those that are close to a P.O.S,:)

Look at CB's from the Big Four: Ten Point, Excaliber, Bowtech, Parker.

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

Griz -

You saying the Darton line is cheap?
I beg to differ!

I've had them apart...(have you?)...they are NOT cheap bows. Designed and made very well I might add. Some may not like the weight at the front (many don't like the weight of the Stryker, it's even heavier !!), some have a hard time with the bull pup design...tell me something bad about the mechanical design of any of the Darton line in the past 3 or 4 years.

Also from what I understand..Horton has made great strides in their designs also.

So what have you to say there?

Mike

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

i would go with martinfaw on his info.

i have horton sl hunter.
i only put 80 shots thru it and limbs split on me.
had to have shop replace them for 125 dollars.

with horton you need shop to help you change strings and order parts for you.

i would go with EXCALIBER.

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

X2

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

You can't change the string or other parts in Horton by yourself? Didn't think about that :/. I have no bow shops nearby, so would have to send the bow to maintaince.

Sounds like Horton splits people into two groups. Some say it works great with no parts breaking, others say the limbs break after just a few shots. Interesting, hmm. Horton seems to have a 3 year to lifetime warranty on limbs. At least in new 08 models. Cheapest bows have 3 year, and more expensive models lifetime. Of course it's a bit difficult to send bows to seller for warranty maintaince, the posts cost over 100$ per direction :(. So I think by ordering abroad, I have to forget the warranty.

Maybe I should take a look at excalibur models again. For some reason I'm not so facinated about recurve crossbows. But they are as powerful or?

I have been looking crossbows from : http://www.yeoldearcheryshoppe.com. Seems easy to order to Finland. I have never used ebay yet. For some reason can't make my email valid in PayPal. Just says message sent, and no mail gets there. Yet I trust more in stores than an individual seller. So, if there is more good candidates in this price group, tell me :).

Excalibur seems to need a separate bow pakage. That makes it maybe a bit more expencive than those models I had in mind. But the price range I had thought would be around 400-600$. Customs takes there share and adds VAT + their own fees, so I will pay about +27% tho those list prices :(. But about 400-600$ on list price.

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

If you are looking for inexpensive, then I would suggest the Horton Summit. That design has been around for a couple decades and it just works.Same performance as the Explorer, just not as much weight. It should be about the same price or a little less then the Explorer.Excal makes a god bow and don't forget about TenPoint's new Flex recurve that starts at $399.
Randy

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

Excals might be good, but still those prices don't include any sights or arrow quivers or arrows. Vixen also looks kind of ugly to me :/.And might need a cb target also. Something that stops the arrows for sure. I would like a bow with red dot sight.

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

Look at Ten Point They have excellent bows that are reasonably price, life time warranty. Contact [email protected] and David will help you . He is a great guy and very knowledgeable.

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

Hmm. I'm just more confused than before asking :). Should buy some brand that you can maintaince youself, or some brand that sells also in my country. At least Bowtech, Excalibur, Horton andBarnett are sold by some dealers in my country. Don't know if other brands are imported in Finland.

Excalibur seems to be pretty interesting, but the price gets maybe too high with crossbow scope accessory pakage. And I would prefer a red dot. Maybe Exocet or Phoenix.

Too d**n hard to decide what would be best value for the money. Afterall don't yet know if I get bored after some time and sell the cb forward :).

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

"Hmm. I'm just more confused than before asking :). "

Welcome to the world of crossbows :)

If you have a local shop that has a press, then any bow is open to you as an option. It seems that money is a factor( isnt is always?) so that has to be taken into account. A recurve bow generaly is more accurate (we are splitting hairs here mind you) than a compound due to the way it launches the arrow. There is less "shock" from an initial acceleration coming off the cam on a compound. Hig quality recurves generaly are about the same money as "average" compounds. That may be a factor. The Excal line is simple, easy to work on, and accurate. The TenPoint recurves are IMO also very good and as a package with the red dot and arrows start at $500.00 Depending on the model of Excal and what options you want you will be in the same price range. The TenPoints have some nice features (automatic safety, dry fire inhibitor, etc...) that may or may not be of interest to you. IMO, for target use, I would stay with a recurve unless you are more comfortable with the compound. If you are more comfortable with the compound, that comfort will translate into accuracy since if you are constantly shifting your grip around you never hold the bow the same way twice and that kills accuracy.

Wyvern

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

Many who buy an Excal never go to a shop for any work at all. If you want to buy something that historically rarely sees a shop and lasts a life time then it's great value. Out of the 6 that I've owned (presently 5), they've never seen the inside of a bow shop.

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

Excals just maybe too expensive for a first bow I think. Post fees will be around 110$ + those custom fees + VAT. So that will be almost as many euros as in dollars :(. Some just are lucky to get those crossbowsat those prices :). Still not cheaper to buy these from Finland. For example Excal Phoenix + accessories pakage cost 800euros, witch is about 1255 dollars :(.

So maybe I still should search for some crossbow which will be about the same price that those I had on my list at the beginning. Or just buy the Horton, and wish it will not brake. If I take the hunter 150, it at least has lifetime limb warranty. Or....just forget the whole crossbow. Damn hard when you have a limited budget. Bowthech Stryker would be my choice if had no limits on funds :).

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

Original purchase price is only one part of cost of ownership. That's a one time event and when it's over, it's over. MAINTENANCE is a continuing expense for the life of the weapon. Having to send the crossbow off to a shop to have the string and/or cables changed every few hundred shots? Not only is that going to be expensive, but you'll potentially be without your crossbow for weeks at a time.

How long would it take for the shipping and maintenance costs - not to mention theinconvenience! -to offset the lower purchase price for the crossbow packages that seem at first glance to be more affordable?

Personally, I would not own a compound crossbow if I had no access to a local shop.And I don't. ;)

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

Yep. No local shops in here. Think I will forget the whole idea. Save the moneyfor something else :).Just don't have enough money to spend on crossbow just now. Maybe later on. Still, good that I asked. Would have bought a Horton compound for sure.

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

Don't give up on crossbows justyet... If you have some skill at woodworking, it's really not all that difficult to order a few relatively inexpensive parts and make a crossbow. A couple of us here enjoy making and using midieval replica crossbows, but the basic design could be modified to include aconventional shoulder stock,scope mountand more precise trigger mechanism.

Check out the information at http://www.alcheminc.com/crossbow.html

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

OK...I am confused...

I just did up a quick quote for a Phoenix, scope mount, triple red dot scope, rope cocking aid, and one dozen Golt Tip carbon bolts and USPS priority shipping to Finland ( I just sent off a crossbow to Portugal yesterday) and the totalWITH freight is $626.00 US dollars. Considering how wonderfull our dollar is compared to the Euro you may find that this package is not as expensive as you thought....

Wyvern

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

wyvern just answered your problem very well.

forget HORTON in YOUR SITUATION,get the EXCALIBER.

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

Yep, forgot allready. Got pretty good offer from Wyvern, and almost sure I'm going to buy that Phoenix pakage.

btw... Do you have to take the string off when in storage? Or not shooting in couple of days.

EDIT: So. Thanks to everyone for the advice and guidance :). After a day of thinking what to choose from excal, took the middleroad and ordered exocet 200 withvarizonefrom wyvern.

RE: Which CB should I choose
 

i ,as you knew very little about crossbows butyou cant beat advice you get on here.

i have HORTON but i dont like REPAIRS you get into with compound bow.

i am very lucky i have MILLERS GUN SHOP only 10 minutes away and they handle repairs and ordering the parts for bow.

if you can relaxe the string, i would.

horton told me that limbs will go bad on compound bows from just sitting for many years.

my bow is 9 years old..

if i had choice now, i would have got exocet 200 but what do i know.:eek: