Cross Bow kills ??

[the blur]

I'm considering getting a x bow.   How far do deer typically run?   Similar to a bow, or similar to a rifle hit ?

[ATbuckhunter]

Same as a bow. Id say get a vertical bow, but eventually xbows will be allowed all of bow season. 

[wolc123]

I shot at and killed two deer with my 300 fps crossbow.   The first (aprox 140 lb, 1-1/2 year buck) was at 59 yards broadside, struck thru the heart.  The bolt only penetrated 8" into the deer at that range which caused me to limit future shots to 50 yards max (I bought a laser rangefinder to make sure of that).  That deer ran 40 yards and expired, just out of view from my stand (I heard the fall).  

This years deer (aprox 170 lb, 2-1/2 year buck) was quartering to me at 20 yards and struck behind the shoulder.  The bolt traveled diagonally thru the chest, exited the opposite side lower buttox, and buried 2" into the ground.  That buck staggered across an open field about 50 yards, dragging the injured hind leg.   I watched him wobble and fall, try to get up twice, then go down for good.  

The crossbow has 3 advantages over the vertical bow.  First, no need to draw with the deer in close.  That greatly reduces the need to shoot at "alert" deer, which often happens when they get a glimpse of your draw.   Second, they can and should be fired from a rest.  That greatly improves accuracy compared to shooting offhand as any rifleman knows very well.   Third, they alow the use of a telescopic sight which allows the deer and the sight to be in near perfect focus at the same time.  With a vertical, two of three ( peep, pin, or deer) will be blurry, hurting accuracy.  

All those advantages improve accuracy thus reducing the odds of a miss or a wounded deer.   That is why I will not use a vertical anymore.   I can pick out a hair on a deer and hit it every time with my crossbow with under and hour of total practice time.  Not so with my vertical.  A pie plate at 30 yards was the best I could do with many hours of practice. 

 

Edited November 24, 2016 by wolc123
typo

[nyslowhand]

Specifically to the OP's question - Once an arrow from a vertical bow or a bolt from a Xbow are released, the exact same thing happens upon impact. It's a cut on contact, bleeding out type of wound and it kills the same as for ALL of bow hunting. Nothing like rifle or shotgun impact wounds or kills! Drop 'em in their tracks is not in the bow hunter's vocabulary! Again, after the arrow or bolt flies, the advantage goes to the Xbow! More likely to get a pass thru due to Xbow's inherent higher fps & Ke. Not to say the performance of newer compounds don't rival these or even those that shoot ~60+# draw wgt aren't in the same ballpark.

[wolc123]

You get a real good idea of the power advantage of a crossbow compared to a vertical the first time you fire one into a foam target.  It buries the arrows much deeper into the target, usually requiring a beefier one than is made to be used with a vertical bow.   It is also a lot harder to pull those deep buried bolts out of the foam.   I no longer use a foam target with mine because a bag full of old rags stops the bolts better, makes them a lot easier to pull out, is lighter and best of all, did not cost me any cash.  After every hunt, I unload my crossbow into a dot on that bag,  That keeps me sharp and able to "hit that hair" throughout hunting season.   You would be surprised how much it helps your confidence shooting game when you know you have just hit a dime prior to going after them.  

That power advantage also helps the crossbow reduce wounded and unrecovered deer during archery season.  Although I would never target the shoulder blade, I am confident my "entry level" 300 fps crossbow would penetrate it easily from under 30 yards.  Shoulder blades have cost me the recovery of (4) deer over 30 some years with a vertical bow.   All of those were struck due to "string jump", which also becomes less of an issue with a crossbow, due to increased likelihood of shooting at "relaxed" deer.     

[Buckmaster7600]

You get a real good idea of the power advantage of a crossbow compared to a vertical the first time you fire one into a foam target.  It buries the arrows much deeper into the target, usually requiring a beefier one than is made to be used with a vertical bow.   It is also a lot harder to pull those deep buried bolts out of the foam.   I no longer use a foam target with mine because a bag full of old rags stops the bolts better, makes them a lot easier to pull out, is lighter and best of all, did not cost me any cash.  After every hunt, I unload my crossbow into a dot on that bag,  That keeps me sharp and able to "hit that hair" throughout hunting season.   You would be surprised how much it helps your confidence shooting game when you know you have just hit a dime prior to going after them.  
That power advantage also helps the crossbow reduce wounded and unrecovered deer during archery season.  Although I would never target the shoulder blade, I am confident my "entry level" 300 fps crossbow would penetrate it easily from under 30 yards.  Shoulder blades have cost me the recovery of (4) deer over 30 some years with a vertical bow.   All of those were struck due to "string jump", which also becomes less of an issue with a crossbow, due to increased likelihood of shooting at "relaxed" deer.     

There is no power advantage, 300fps is 300fps. And I would guess your shooting around a 400gn bolt. Your Xbow has significantly less "power" than my vertical bow. Shooting 320fps with a nearly 485gn arrow. There are Xbows that are more powerful than yours but to say yours is more powerful than a vertical bow is wrong.


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[Deerstalker]

20 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

There is no power advantage, 300fps is 300fps. And I would guess your shooting around a 400gn bolt. Your Xbow has significantly less "power" than my vertical bow. Shooting 320fps with a nearly 485gn arrow. There are Xbows that are more powerful than yours but to say yours is more powerful than a vertical bow is wrong.


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Yea my bow is set up to shoot 300 plus with 400 grain arrows .

But there are crossbows that are shooting 400 now .  Its the ease of use that make the crossbow more effective really . Just easer to learn  then a bow .