My father who is almost 70 wants to buy a crossbow I told him that i would look to get one that is lightweight and compact. Any suggestions would be appreciated

Take Him to a Bow Shop and have him try out several different Crossbows....there are so many different ones and prices vary from cheap to very expensive and You can get one with either a pull strap to draw back the string or even 1 with a hand crank.Then there's a variety of different scopes to choose from and many different styles.
I've been looking at the Excalibur Crossbows and like the way they are made and the simple limbs they have on them.There a are many different ways Crossbows are set up,length and weight that You need to check several different Brands out to see which ones fit the best and the weight is distributed the best for shooting.

I agree, the best think you can do is have him go and shoot a few, as they don't all fit a person the same, and , then there is HOW he hunts, one too wide might be an issue for him
the reverse limb X bow's IMO< balance better and are easier to hold , and many are very narrow , which I prefer, as shooting out of blinds or even , allowing more room when from a treestand to get behind a tree?/

but thats MY preference, everyone can be different
best to always have them try what they will end up using!

as long as its a brand name and NOT there lowest model, there really isn;t any BAD X bows out there
just keep in mind, these things are not rifles, they still need up keep, string wear from being shot or NOT< safety is something to keep in mind,
a s is learning how to hold them when shooting, DON"T keep a thumb up!, or it can come off! LOL

I really like my Excalibur matrix 380. Easy to cock and fast flat shooting. I have hit the bulls eye at 100 yrds with no problem. The only down side I have found is that after shooting a deer at 20 yrds it can be a pain to find the bolt (arrow) as it tends to blow through the deer and end up some 50+yrds away. I have shot a buck from ground level at 20 yrds with him quartering to me. It hit just in front of the right shoulder and exited through the left hind and still ended up 50 yrds past the deer in a tree.


The customer service is excellent as well. I had my limbs crack on me and they hot shotted new ones with no charge.

after checking out all the xbows at Cabelas he ended up with a Parker Thunderhawk because he like the grip, and size.

well congrats to him then, best of luck to him as well on getting a big one with it !

tell him to get some lighted nocks for his bolt, MAN they make life a lot easier when you get older to follow the bolts to the target/deer, and recovery of them as well!

Mrbb, I know what you mean. I am colorblind and can't see small blood drops

I am late engaging this thread and that is the exact bow I have and was gonna highly recommend it.

I am 80years and 2 months and I shot every kind of bow as they came out my dad made long bows when I retired I switched to crossbows and I have had many different kinds. Last year I bought 2 Parkers and tried to hunt with them I wounded one deer and missed several the trigger pull was so stiff I had to have a bench rest to shoot them accurate, I tried a Excalibur Excoset I have had laying around for a few years but it was to hard for my old muscles to cock.
This year I bought a couple of 10 point xbows with accu draw I have taken the biggest buck I ever got was 8 point with a 20 inch spread and 3 does in the suburban hunt all clean kills and I recommend a 10 point with accu draw for persons old enough that are not as strong as they used to be.