Crossbow

[wolc123]

I finally got the Sniper sighted in this afternoon.   The first bolt, from 20 yards, struck right on left/right, but about a foot low on my "rag-bag" target, using the top crosshair.   I turned the vertical dial up 1/4 turn, and that only raised it about an inch.  Another half turn brought the 3rd bolt up another couple of inches.   One full turn up of the dial after that, put the fourth bolt right on the mark.  

Next, I moved the target out to 30 yards and put another bolt right on the mark using the second crosshair from the top.   I figured I was done at that, but my daughter came out on the deck and wanted to try it.   I set the target back out at 20 yards and she put one right on the mark.   That bolt penetrated deep into my target bag and tore a couple of the fletchings loose.   I will have to glue those back down before using that one again.  

Now I am ready to try it on a  turkey this weekend.  I will go with my 2" diameter, 100 grain NAP broadheads which ought to do a decent job on those.  I like the factory scope.   I don't think I would try a shot on a turkey much beyond 30 yards with it because their "kill-zone" is pretty small.  I am guessing the other two lower crosshairs would be good for 40 and 50 yards.   I will verify that before deer season.   This thing definitely packs an energy punch, compared to my Barnett Recruit, based on how deep it burried those bolts into my target bag.   Certainly it ought to have an effective range for deer to 50 yards at least.       

I like the trigger.  It seemed quite forgiving.  My last two shots struck within 1/4" of my point of aim (as did my daughter's).   I also like the adjustable stock which made it very easy to share with my daughter.   She did get "scoped" a bit on her shot.  A fair amount of pain, but it did not cut her or leave a mark.

Edited May 14, 2020 by wolc123

[wolc123]

I am ready to go for the turkey tomorrow morning with the Sniper 370.   I picked up a $ 9.00 standing-hen decoy from Walmart last night.   My plan is to set that up 20 yards from my two-story ground blind, which I made from an old construction-style truck cap.   I will hunt from inside the lower level and only open up the window on the side facing the decoy.   I will place the decoy in the same spot where that nice 8-point (top euro in photo) stood when I bolted him with my Barnett Recruit last fall.  I was up on the upper deck (built on the ladder-rack) of that blind for the shot, but the turkey's eyes will be way too sharp for that.     I also was able to locate my "secret-weapon", which helped out with the recovery of that buck, and I hope to find some way to deploy it on the turkey.  It is the little red pocket-sized New Testament that is visible on the top shelf of the gun-rack in the photo.    I had misplaced it in February, but I just found it in my Ice-fishing pack. 

    

[Steuben Jerry]

10 hours ago, wolc123 said:

my two-story ground blind, which I made from an old construction-style truck cap. 

Post a pic of this?

[wolc123]

On 5/16/2020 at 7:46 AM, Steuben Jerry said:

Post a pic of this?

No luck hunting turkeys out of it Saturday or Today.  I did not even hear any today.  Saturday, I heard one gobble a few hundred yards away, but no response to my calls.   The pill-box up top is sided with weathered American Chestnut siding that I pulled off from a barn that my great-great grandfather put up in 1883.  For a few years, I tried snow-fence with leaves and branches weaved thru but that never worked.   I have killed (2) 3-1/2 year old bucks and a 2-1/2 from behind that barn siding over the last few years. 

As long as it is not raining, I hunt from the top box for deer, and all of the antlered bucks that I have taken from it were from up there.  I have killed a button buck or two and a handful of does from the lower level.   No spring turkeys out of it yet, but I am still trying.   I have been setting my decoy out about 20 yards from the open fold-out side-door.   I did kill a hen two falls ago, from a similar sized barnwood sided box ladder-stand, from about the same height.   

The stand in the photo is very comfortable in any weather conditions, and I positioned it in a spot that has been the most productive on out farm thru the years.   I had a rinky-dink wood ladder on it for a few years, which I replaced with that steel lower section from a store-bought ladder stand a couple years ago.   That killed two birds with one stone, lowering the ladder stand to a height much more comfortable for me to hunt from, and giving me a safe ladder to access the upper deck of my two-story blind.   

The solid side faces the West, which is the prevailing wind direction.  The East side is open to the weather and every few years I have to replace the marine-plywood floor across the back of the first floor.  The second floor deck (built on the ladder rack) is made from plastic decking and should be good for several lifetimes.   The barnwood siding has got to be close to 200 years old and is more or less completely maintenance free.