bought an Excaliber Exomax

[ratherbefishin]

After looking[and wishing] a long time I finally bought an Excaliber Exomax .Yes,I am well aware of the continueing controversary over crossbow vs hand held bow,but the deciding factor was accuracy-I hate hurting anything.I'll kill an animal if I have a reason to do so, but hate wounding them,and while I am well aware many bowhunters are proficient enough to hunt with confidence with their hand held bows-I'm not.Missing [fortionately cleanly]a couple of bucks did it for me-I could have hit them in the guts.Yes,I know I could do the same thing with my crossbow-but from what I understand, the odds are somewhat better to shoot accurately with the crossbow.
But-who knows-maybe I'll come back to hunting with a hand held bow again when I develop more confidence.I doubt if the range is much diferant in either weapon from what I have been able to understand -30-40 yards being pretty much the maximum-but most of my rifle killed deer have been within that range anyway

[Bow Walker]

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_1_11.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZSYYYYYYJOCA) http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_1_21.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZSYYYYYYJOCA)Good on ya! Welcome to the ranks of "stick" flingers. There is a growing number of X-bow hunters out there - and they are beginning to come out of the closet.

Mark these dates on your calendar - June 2 & 3.....there is a great 2-day shoot at the Cowichan Bowmen Club. Crossbows are welcome...they have there own 'class' so you will assuredly have a good time.

Check out the details at these two locations. http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=11773

and http://www.cowichanbowmen.com/#

Hope to see you there!

[loki]

Good to hear, you'll be loving the nail driver in no time. I have a Exocet, and I am learning archery as well, but I can get 100% bullseye shot placement with the Exocet, with one inch group consistency. This is what I am going to use until I am 100% with my compound bow that I can hit vitals, and even then the crossbow has advantages like when your shoulders are too sore to hold draw, etc.

What made me avoid the Exomax is that I have been hearing they are hard on the front limbs and dissipator bars. From what I have heard you have to replace the bars at least once a season, tell me if you notice this please, I'm curious.

The important things to remember with crossbow shooting are:

~ Follow through: Hold that bow on target until you hear the thwap of the bolt meeting target. This will improve consistency of shot, and allow you to scope your target to see shot placement, which is a great habit to get into for game.

~ Kick forward: Excaliburs have a good deal of kick forward, and if not braced for the forward kick, it will set your shot way off. There is no back kick like a rifle, so brace it with your forward leading hand.

~ Keep those fingers below the feed rail: Fingertips hovering too high will get caught in the action when you squeeze that trigger, 225 lbs of draw = broken fingers.

Have fun with it ;)

[hunter1947]

After looking[and wishing] a long time I finally bought an Excaliber Exomax .Yes,I am well aware of the continueing controversary over crossbow vs hand held bow,but the deciding factor was accuracy-I hate hurting anything.I'll kill an animal if I have a reason to do so, but hate wounding them,and while I am well aware many bowhunters are proficient enough to hunt with confidence with their hand held bows-I'm not.Missing [fortionately cleanly]a couple of bucks did it for me-I could have hit them in the guts.Yes,I know I could do the same thing with my crossbow-but from what I understand, the odds are somewhat better to shoot accurately with the crossbow.
But-who knows-maybe I'll come back to hunting with a hand held bow again when I develop more confidence.I doubt if the range is much diferant in either weapon from what I have been able to understand -30-40 yards being pretty much the maximum-but most of my rifle killed deer have been within that range anyway Where did you buy it and how much did it coast you ,i would like to know ,hunter47.

[ratherbefishin]

Island Outfitters, $789 -see private message

[ratherbefishin]

I finally got around to shooting my new exomax crossbow-and am I impressed with the accuracy-right on the money at 30 yards,drops about 4'' at 40-haven't shot farther than that.I can see that determining distance is going to be crucial,and I doubt if I would attempt a shot ata deer over 40 yards-but the truth is by far most of my deer shot with a rifle have been under 50 or 60 yards-so I don't see this as a big handicap.

Sure-I like the idea of hunting with a traditional longbow shooting instinctively without sights but I also hate the idea of wounding an animal,and frankly-I see little diference between hunting with a compound with a mechanical release or using a crossbow when it comes to ''tradition''.

[Bow Walker]

Archery is archery. You know, after enough practice you'll know exactly where the bolts hit at 40, 50, and even 60 yards. Given enough KE, and the right conditions, I see a dead deer lying at about 45 - 50 yards in your future.

[bochunk2000]

Just as a point of interest I have talked to Martin and x-bows will be welcome at the Malahat on July 8th.
Steve

[loki]

Given enough KE, and the right conditions, I see a dead deer lying at about 45 - 50 yards in your future.Lol, if he's shooting near the money of 350 FPS that'll be 90 kinetic ft lbs at 50 yards. Given the right conditions I see it taking anything in North America at 50 yards, especially if he gets heavier bolts than the stock carbon ones.


I can see that determining distance is going to be crucialExcalibur just came out with a neat lil toy that mounts your laser rangefinder to your scope, so you can find the range and shoot quickly and without much fuss.


frankly-I see little diference between hunting with a compound with a mechanical release or using a crossbow when it comes to ''tradition''Meh, when it comes to "tradition" as far as I see it, it really is just a hyped word that makes traditionalists feel better about the way they hunt. I know a few that hunt traditionally because they love the sport, but I've met more that just feel superior because they're "traditionalists". Archery is archery, all weapons do the same thing; propel arrows designed to kill a target, and any fighting between hunting groups is counter productive. And of course, this is just one persons opinion based off of my experiences around my area.

Remember to please tell me how your front limbs and the dissipator pads/bars are doing after some use.

[blaker_99]

Once again welcome to the land of bolts/arrows and strings! I have been shooting an Exomax for the past 4 years now and so have my two brothers adn dad. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Make sure your confident, shoot lots, ensure your string is in the deignated hash marks at all times and don't keep the bow ****ed for long periods of time. I find when im out hunting i usually wil re-**** atfer the morning hunt, check the string location and then re-**** the bow. Good luck and it is too bad I didn't get the word out before as I am parting with my Exomax as I have just order a brand new Hoyt Vectrix compound bow. Cheers.

[Bow Walker]

It might be a good idea to do a bit of target shooting at your lunch break......sort of loosen things up a bit after being tightly ****ed for so long.