Sigt In Distence

[hunter1947]

I just put 6 bolts in a 1/2 inch group in my target with my cross bow at 20 feet ,now what are the next steps to zero it in at 30 yards ,i am using 125 grain field tips for sighting this cross bow in. I am using a tasko 4 power scope. hunter47.

[pupper]

Hi wayne

just shoot at a bail 30 yds away and slide the pin to where the bolts are hitting. Example: if the bolts are landing higher than you are aiming move the pin up. If the bolts are lower than your aiming point, move your pin down a hair.

hope this helps

what crossbow did u get by the way?

what are you planning to hunt with it this year? archery island elk?

Justin

[hunter1947]

I don't have pins ,i have a scope ,4 power tasco. I have an Excalibur. I just shot a 6 inch group at 20 yards within 1 inch all i did was adjusted the scope the same way i would with my rifle scope . http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif hunter47.

[pupper]

oh, does it have little mini cross hairs? or just one cross hair in the center?

maybe shoot at 30 and see if it is realitevly similar

sighting in for 30 yds might be your best option and then just see where the bolts are hitting when you are shooting 20 yds. It will probably be pretty close.

and with a crossbow I heard the bolts lose kinetic energy fast as they are short so you probably want to keep your shots around 30 yds anyway

Justin

[hunter1947]

oh, does it have little mini cross hairs? or just one cross hair in the center?

maybe shoot at 30 and see if it is realitevly similar

sighting in for 30 yds might be your best option and then just see where the bolts are hitting when you are shooting 20 yds. It will probably be pretty close.

and with a crossbow I heard the bolts lose kinetic energy fast as they are short so you probably want to keep your shots around 30 yds anyway

Justin It the scope on my cross bow has x hairs just like my Leupold 3x9 scope.hunter47.

[hunter1947]

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/car_0051.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=5037&size=big&cat=recent&limit=recent)

[hunter1947]

Hear is a group at 20 yards

[pupper]

yah, I bet at 30yds it will be bang on eh

try it

[hunter1947]

yah, I bet at 30yds it will be bang on eh

try it First time i ever have shot a bow off any type pupper ,i think i am doing alright ??? :lol: . hunter47.

[chrisco]

fore sure wayne:)

I am not an expert on crossbows but I bet that thing has a pretty flat trajectory. let me know where u are hitting at 30 & 40

[Bow Walker]

Take a shaft (or two) and put 125 gr. broadheads on them Wayne, then shoot at 20 yds.

Depending on where they hit, step back to 30 yds. and try them there.

By the way - what's that hole right at the top of the phonebooks? I think that it is what archers call a flyer.8-)

Otherwise your group looks not bad at all for your first time.

[BlacktailStalker]

I was wondering where my phone books went Wayne :)

[Eagle1]

I'd sight it in at 30 and then practise at 20 and 40 and I bet you'll be surprised at the little differance in height. Excaliber make a x-bow scope for the speed of the bow, just sight it in at 20 and it has other lines for the other distances and they will be right on for the bow speed/set-up.
The scope you have works just fine just do a lot of practise at the other distances to see how high or low you will shoot, oh ya and come to our 3-D shoot for good hunting practise."THE BIGGEST SHOOT ON VANCOUVER ISLAND" ALPINE ARCHERY/ COWICHAN BOWMEN HELL HOLE 3 - D CHAMPIONSHIPS. Look in the sticky under target archery forems for more info, and yes you can shoot your x - bow.

[Dirty]

Not too bad of a group. I bet the tape makes it a bitch to get those arrows out.

[pupper]

like eagle1 said

your 30yds should be spot on and then practise 20 and 40

thats cool that you can go out to the hell hole shoot with a c-bow

it would be nice if more clubs did that, practise makes perfect

[Bow Walker]

Wayne - are you going to go to the shoot with your crossbow?

Look me up, I'll be the older, pudgy guy in jeans, t-shirt, and my HBC hat.

Oh yeah.......I'll be wearing my grey hair as well.

[hunter1947]

Well i guess we will both look the same LOL. No i won't be there Bow Walker ,i will be headed up to somewhere around the lens creek area to try and film some black bears for the long weekend ??? that's if my camera holds out this time. hunter47.

[hunter1947]

like eagle1 said

your 30yds should be spot on and then practise 20 and 40

thats cool that you can go out to the hell hole shoot with a c-bow

it would be nice if more clubs did that, practise makes perfect I shot my c bow right in my back yard :lol: ,wayne.

[hunter1947]

Why do you have to pratice at the 20 and fourty yards ???? and why do you have to practice with broad heads as for field tips ?????.

[pupper]

Why do you have to pratice at the 20 and fourty yards ???? and why do you have to practice with broad heads as for field tips ?????.

so you know where your bolts hit at 20-40yds. so if your dialed in at 30yds you know you will be a tad high at 20 and a tad low at 40yds, practising will show you the variance.

broadheads also fly a little different than field tips depending on what type you use so it is best to know where they are hitting and sight in before you go hunting with your broadheads.

[Bow Walker]

Pupper....good answer, just what I would've said.

Wayne....

It's like knowing where your rifle hits if you're dialled in for 100 yds and you aim at something 200 yds away. You've got to know where you're hitting in case the animal isn't standing exactly 30 yds away.

Broadheads do act differently than field tips. Get your X-bow set up for hunting and shoot the broadhead (you only need one ) until you know exactly where they are hitting at 20, 30, and 40 yards.

It'll take probably 4 phone books to stop your broadhead. You can then re-sharpen it and hunt with it.

Good luck
Dan.

[hunter1947]

I grabbed a peace of star foam that is 14 inches deep ,they are what holds up warfs ,i am going to dobble them up so there will be 28 inches deep ,will my broadheabs pass though the bouth of them ???.

[Bow Walker]

From at least 20 yds you should be OK.....you might have to dig for your bolt though.

[greybark]

:) Hey Wayne , If it is the foam I am thinking about you will not have any problem with pass throughs. You will have difficulty in pulling out the bolts and a shaft lub would help...

REMEMBER -- Keep Your Fingertab On --

[loki]

So what Excal did you buy? Phoenix, Exocet, Max, etc?

As Eagle 1 said there is a crossbow scope made to fit your crossbow, either called the Vari-Zone, or the new Lumi-Zone. The lumi uses fiber optic to light up your crosshairs with ambient light for poor light condition, but the Vari Zone gathers light well enough for all conditions I've been in.

With these scopes I sight the middle crosshair for 20 yards, and I then have 10, 20, 30, 40, and the unethical 50 yard hairs. The scope has little triangle hairs along the center line for each range. The other thing this scope allows is to sight to the FPS you are shooting. My recommendation is to always leave it 10 FPS below than what your chrono at, as it leaves room for wet string conditions or other variables. All other decent scope abilities are built in as well, rear optic focus adjustment, horizion and vertical adjustment (with crossbows in mind, 1 click = 1 inch at 20 yards, or something like that, I'm not looking at it at the moment), etc.

Otherwise, I'd suggest the old rear pip 2 front pip sight system you'll see in the owner video. It's rifle style and allows for quick yardage adjustments, 10 - 50 yards. Only thing this thing doesn't have is light gathering ability, which sucks, but if you have got good eyes you're laughing.

If you're wanting to keep your sight I'd say once sighted the difference of 10 yards = 1mm above or below your hair, very minimal. I guess it also depends on the power of the scope as well though.


Hey Wayne , If it is the foam I am thinking about you will not have any problem with pass throughs. You will have difficulty in pulling out the bolts and a shaft lub would help...
Agreed. I use a furniture polish on the first 3 inches of the bolt, makes retrieval a breeze. Do not let any lube, polish, or whatever get onto your power side/serving, = BIG ouchy.

Really after the cost of new shafts, vanes, broadheads, the cost of a decent target is worth looking into. All you have to do is blow through two boxes of bolts to have paid off 2 bag targets (my shooting friend just learned this the hard way). I'm still using my original set, and shoot into a Block 4x4, and retrieved my broadheads from it easily as well.

[hunter1947]

I have no proublums sighting in this cross bow ,it is just like sighting in your gun. I will be shooting it all weekend long so will keep you up to date on how i did when i get back from my camping trip.http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif

[hunter1947]

Well,,,, i put new string on the xbow ,,,it is wear the bolt rests against the string ,,,had a hell of a time treading it on ,,,a archery shop told me how to do it ,but i kept snapping the darn string trying to pull it through when i was at the end to lock it. Don't know what you people out there call what i just did ???? http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon11.gif

[loki]

Yeah it's called a mistake :wink:.

Are you using the stinging aide? Or trying to manually string with good ol elbow grease?

Cross bow stringing aide video (mms://64.15.155.134/Media/excalibur/high/pt1_003_256k.wmv)

(If it doesn't load for you watch your ownership DVD)

If you're using elbow grease be careful to only apply pressure to the limbs and not the body. You will warp and strip the bolts otherwise.

So what model Excalibur did you buy? .:Curious:.

[hunter1947]

I bought the Vixen ,with a tasco 4 power scope ,i bought it from someone on this forum.

[loki]

A Vixen? I already have a good idea from previous posts, but what exactly are you hunting again?

Allow me to link you to some model choice charts, clicky here. (http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/demo/m/content/article.php?content_id=153) And the model specs charts, clicky here (http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/demo/m/content/article.php?content_id=143) and don't forget the ballistics performance chart based off of the average Vixen FPS (http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/demo/m/content/article.php?content_id=242).

Review those charts and you may find that you have purchased the wrong bow for your game of choice. I'd have my doubts if a Vixen can take an Elk beyond 20 yards, Whitetail and Muleys yes, Elk are questionable.

Don't get me wrong, the Vixen is a sweet bow. But it lacks the kinetic punch downrange for large game. Don't forget, just because it says 285 FPS on the box is not a guarantee of bolt speed. These conditions were with Flemish fast flight strings, 400 grain bolt, at 20 yards, and most likely indoors or in perfect weather. All of this adds up to mean that your average Vixen shooter is throwing bolts downrange at around 250 FPS. Of course get yours chronied, so you can better make judgement.

[hunter1947]

This vixen was specialy ordered ?????? and it has smaller lims on it wich makes it 310 feet fpc.

[hunter1947]

I guess it is the same old story as a rifle ,will it get the job done??? ,as in a xbow it is shot placement when you don't have the fps as of a faster traveling xbow. http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif.

[loki]

Ok, as this thread is more for sight in distance I will lay off here after this post, if it's shooting around 310 FPS it should have more than enough power. Sounds like a honey of a bow.

My thought here is the smaller limb system is what makes up the Vixen Light, in other words it's a less powerful model than the Vixen itself. Perhaps you would want to get it chronied to better judge what you're hitting at, and if you paid for the wrong thing.


as in a xbow it is shot placement when you don't have the fps as of a faster traveling xbow.

This is always the story, shot placement is crucial with archery products as we just don't have the bone shattering power of a rifle, no matter what the FPS.

Even with proper shot placement if you don't have the downrange kinetic energy you will not make penetration to the vital organs. Lower end hitting kinetic energy archery products should not be attempted with big game.

The way I found this out was shooting using my old clothes as a backstop, and it happend that an old thin leather jacket made it into the pile. Long story short my old Browning 40# draw weight bow and my friends Vixen did not penetrate the leather jacket very well, the bolt from the Vixen penetrated more than my bow but only went three inches into the jacket before halting, and had that been an animal all we would have done is wound it. In this same example my Exocet, another friends Phoenix, and my new Commander are all blowing through the jacket with straight pass throughs. All of these shots were taken from 20 - 30 yards.

Of course I was using my target broadheads, that I don't keep razor sharp at all times. However even with broadheads the wound will close around the bolt (arrow) as it's passing into the animal causing friction. If the bolt doesn't have enough energy even the sharpest broadhead won't penetrate.

[hunter1947]

This vixen i bought ,it will go through a telephone book with field tip heads using a 125 grain ,so i had to put two phone books together in order to stop the field tip from passing through the book. This was shooting at the 30 yard distance ,so i think i am in the 330fps category ???. how can one test this xbow to find out the fps ????.

[Bow Walker]

Wayne, you have to shoot through a chronograph to get the f.p.s.

Know anyone who has one?

[loki]

Yup that sounds sufficient for downrange energy.

To test for FPS go to an archery club that allows crossbows, archery proshop, or a really friendly paintball range, and ask to shoot through their chronograph.

Either that or I have seen paintball chrono's surfacing that fit onto your foot stirrup (or stabilizer for compound bows) becoming popular for portable FPS testing.

[jessbennett]

[quote=loki;150885]A Vixen? I already have a good idea from previous posts, but what exactly are you hunting again?


Review those charts and you may find that you have purchased the wrong bow for your game of choice. I'd have my doubts if a Vixen can take an Elk beyond 20 yards, Whitetail and Muleys yes, Elk are questionable.

]well wayne, people have been killing elk for generations with stickbows and wooden arrows at ranges past 20 yards. (not trying to stir a pot loki8)).
sharp cut to the tip broadheads, two blade if they work for you. (check out the b-52 by g5.). as stated before, shot placement is MOST important of all.

ive heard of elk being taken at 40 plus yards with 45-50 pound compounds. heck ive seen fred bear take a moose at 100 yds (i think) with a recurve. (you probably can get the video off the net somewhere). you'll just have to find the setup that works the best for you.8)

[hunter1947]

Wayne, you have to shoot through a chronograph to get the f.p.s.

Know anyone who has one? Thats what andy ,blacktail stalker told me last night ,he is going see if he can borrow a chronograph from his friend so i can see what the fps are.

[hunter1947]

I will be after rocky mt elk and like i said earlier in this post ,shot placement is everything ,i know how to judge distances and i no that i will shoot out at only 30 yards ,i will be using a montec broadhead and with the elk sideways from me at 30 yards and my shot placement is smack on i know that this elk will be a dead elk ,if i can pass through a phone book at 30 yards without a broadhead then what will a happen when the broadhead is shot ???. This xbow should have no problems entering the main organs of an elk for a clean kill. I'm no expert on bows etc ,but what i have said makes sense to me. http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif

[jessbennett]

makes perfect sense to me too....:wink: just go out and get elk, and good luck....8)

[Bow Walker]

Mmmm.........fresh Elk liver frying up with bacon, onions, an biscuits! Now that's a meal fit for a hunter! After the morning hunt of course.

[hunter1947]

Mmmm.........fresh Elk liver frying up with bacon, onions, an biscuits! Now that's a meal fit for a hunter! After the morning hunt of course.
That's exactly what i do after i get an elk down ,but have a nice drink of rye with the liver also.http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon12.gif

[loki]

(not trying to stir a pot loki:cool:).

Suuure you're not, we all know you carry a stir stick the size of an oar :-P. It's all good Jess, I take very little that I read on Internet forums to heart. I was just trying to make sure that Wayne didn't get ripped off, which all sounds good.

I'm sure that packing the punch that Wayne is saying it will drop his game. Still worth finding out that FPS though :wink:.

[Bow Walker]

That's exactly what i do after i get an elk down ,but have a nice drink of rye with the liver also.http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon12.gif
Make that Bacardi's Ciclon and I'm your man!!!

try this recipe Wayne......http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=151954#post151954

[hunter1947]

Well hear it is right from excaliber. The vixen would have enough energy to harvest an elk ,the record moose in ontario was taken by a vixen. Your vixen with stock carbon arrows will put out about 65ft.lbs.,of energy and with 2219 arrows and a 100 grain tip it would have 75ft. lbs.,an elk needs about 40ft.lbs. of energy to penetrate it. People have taken large animals with old recurve bows that have considerably less energy then your vixen ,it's about shot placement. Regards ,peter balfour.http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif

[hunter1947]

Well i can put a group in the 3 inch bulls eye at 20 and 30 yards ,i will not shot out any further then the 30 yard distance ,whats next ???.

[greybark]

8)Hey Wayne , A serious question . If you group 3in at 30yds why wont you harvest an animal at 35-40yds ? Heck if I could group 3in at 30yds (which I can`t) with my recurve I am sure my group at 35-40 yds would be effective . Your set-up would be even more effective .
Glad to see you have taken up crossbow hunting ....


REMEMBER -- Keep Your Fingertab On --

[hunter1947]

8)Hey Wayne , A serious question . If you group 3in at 30yds why wont you harvest an animal at 35-40yds ? Heck if I could group 3in at 30yds (which I can`t) with my recurve I am sure my group at 35-40 yds would be effective . Your set-up would be even more effective .
Glad to see you have taken up crossbow hunting ....


REMEMBER -- Keep Your Fingertab On --
The reason is my cross bow is only 275 fps ,i would ratter not go out to far for penetration ????.

[Bow Walker]

Wayne, my setup is shooting in the 250's fps. I'd certainly consider a shot at an unsuspecting, relaxed, feeding animal out at 35 - 40 yards.

The conditions would have to be right though - none, or at least very little, cross wind for one thing.

[hunter1947]

Bowwalker ,how much will my bolt drop from dead center at 30 yards compared to 40 yards ????

[hunter1947]

Will the same wieght broad head shoot the same as a field tip bolt ,at the same yardage ???. I am afraid to shoot the montec broadhead ,because they are coastly if i missplace my shot and damage the head.

[Bow Walker]

Will my broad head shoot the same as my field tip using the same grain at 30 yards ????. The reason i don't want to use my montec broadhead is there so coastly.
Wayne - Your grouping at that distance should be the same.....that is if you get 4 or 5 inch groups with field tips, you should get the same with broadheads.

It's a matter of how far apart the two groups are that counts. You may have to adjust the scope a tad just to bring the two groups closer together - that's only if the groups are more than 4 inches apart.

I haven't shot or even handled a crossbow so I'm working by-guess-and-by-golly mostly here. I would seriously suggest that you take at least two broadheads and shoot them with your field points so that you know where the two tips hit the target. You can always sharpen the Montecs after.

[greybark]

:-DHey Wayne , I agree with BowWalker inregards to at least trying a couple of broads along with your field points . At 20 yds there should be no problem and any difference in grouping will be evident .
:-DOne more point to consider . Those two broadhead bolts should be kept for practice and confirmation . I suggest you take a file and desharpen the blades for less penitration and easier pullout .
Good luck.....

REMEMBER -- Keep Your Fingertab On --

[Rainwater]

Great Group!

[loki]

Bowwalker ,how much will my bolt drop from dead center at 30 yards compared to 40 yards ????Wayne,

The answer to this question depends on your FPS (do you know for sure what you are shooting?), this chart is from the Excalibur site, and is based off of your 275 FPS, click here to see the chart for yourself (http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/demo/m/content/article.php?content_id=243).

As you can see 275 should be sufficient enough for Elk at 50 yards as long as your shot placement is true :wink: I use the information gathered from charts like this to estimate my arrow drop from long range, as you can see 50 yards drops 35 inches, and is far from a flat trajectory.


Will the same wieght broad head shoot the same as a field tip bolt ,at the same yardage ???. I am afraid to shoot the montec broadhead ,because they are coastly if i missplace my shot and damage the head.Don't forget you can buy Montec practice G5's that will fly and weigh the same as their razor sharp counterparts. A little more costly, but not as costly as ruining a hunting head :shock:.

[hunter1947]

Well i put the bullet with the montec broadhead in the bullseye at 30 yards yesterday ,there was no difference between the field tip and the braodhead in drop page http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Bow Walker]

Looks like you're good to go Wayne. Don't forget your camera...

[BlacktailStalker]

I thought he had a robin hood it was so close to the field point !

[hunter1947]

I thought he had a robin hood it was so close to the field point ! i won't be doing the shooting Andy ,you will ,i am only the back up person that will be doing the buddy system calling.