Don't waste alot of time trying to quiet your Xbow with Ad On's...

[sits in trees]

When I first started Xbow hunting several years ago with PA's new crossbow season I purchased my new Xbow and went out back and shot a few arrows and then immediately thought to myself man I have to quiet this this down, its loud as hell.

So I spent time and money buying stickey rubber things which flew off my limbs after 4 shots and all kinds of little doodad's for my string that did little if anything to suppress sound.

This is something almost every Vert bow hunter goes thru when first shooting an Xbow.

Xbows are loud and theres not much that can be done to prevent this, but the tradeoff is the not having to draw in the presence of game and the speed and accuracy a crossbow gives you out to 30 yds.

A lot of old time Xbow enthusiast's completely disregard the noise factor for the benefit of the speed you will get with an Xbow.

The noise an Xbow produces will make deer jump every time but if you keep your shots close that's rarely a problem, trouble starts when guys start taking 40 yd plus shots with their crossbows and the deer jumps.

Basically what I had to do was accept the fact that crossbows are loud and work within those limitations.

[wooly]

Planning on hunting with my x-bow the same way I do with the vertical bow.

Stand placement will be set much the same with shots no longer than 30yds but ideally most shots will be inside 20 anyhow.

That's just the way I like to hunt regardless of what weapon I'll be using. I can't say that extending my range was ever much of a factor for getting involved in the new season. It's still going to be a short range game for me and it will be interesting to see first hand how they react to the increase in sound at the shot.

I doubt I'll even bother with any dampeners or silencers before season arrives. A summers worth of shooting has made me realize the damn thing is gonna be LOUD no matter what I do, compared to my verti-bow!

[sits in trees]

The only thing I did to my Excal bows was ad their STS dampening systems to the risers, but that does zero in noise reduction but does help with the nasty recoil/jump the Excals in particular seem to have.

[nyslowhand]

Good point! If anyone has every shot a Xbow out to 40-50yrds, you clearly become aware of the potential of a deer "jumping the string". Of course, you can hit the bull's-eye at those distances! But.... as you pull the trigger, hear the loud thud of the string and watch the arrow/bolt arc through the air to the target, it seems to take an eternity for it to arrive. And this is in addition to the distinct click of the safety before the shot. And..the noise, movement & time required to prepare for any 2nd chances make it almost nonexistent. Anyone that is contemplating buying a Xbow with the falsely advertised perception of doubling their compound bow's range &/or hunting (shooting) like you previously had with a vertical bow - think again!!

Edited September 15, 2014 by nyslowhand

[Lawdwaz]

I'm sure plenty of guys will learn the hard way about deer jumping the string.........Deer Search could have a busy November.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Most crossbows arent much faster than a compound bow anyway. The only real advantage is not having to draw, but you still have to move to get into position and aim, so you dont gain much. You lose on the ability to take a second shot.

 

Ill wait to buy mine until people start getting disenchanted with them once they figure out they arent like a gun.