X-bow Lessons Learned

[bigcountryok]

So for those of us who tried out the x-bow in the woods this weekend, what did you learn?

Here are a few of mine.
1) X-bow and ground blinds (pop up or natural) are a good combo.
2) There is no confortable way to hold one for a long period of time while standing.
3) They are a bit akward to still hunt/stalk with. (I'm thinking of trying a single point sling to help with 2 and 3)
4) Treestands need to be set up for x-bow hunting not just bow hunting. I set up most of my stands so that the bow is in my hand 90% of the time, most shots are to the left, and I'm standing at least 50% of the time. This doesn't work well with the x-bow.

This was just in one afternoon and one morning. I'm sure there will be more to learn. I like the x-bow, but it has it's place.

What did you learn?

 

[nobuttbrian]

1) no need to stand
2)mine has a scope on it so it draws light faster than pins
3)they are heavy and bulky
4)I like mine, shot a nice 4 point this morning and he went 30 yards and was done.He dressed out at 100 lbs.even and before anyone starts flamiing, I could give a rat's arse about horn size or mass or any of that other BS.

 

[dennishoddy]

before anyone starts flamiing, I could give a rat's arse about horn size or mass or any of that other BS.

OMG! you killed a baby deer???

Just kidding
Congrats on getting some backstrap!

 

[dennishoddy]

I'm into my second year with the Xbow.
I have the Excaliber Equinox with a recurve style that is wider than the compound style.
I'm not having much of a problem taking them thru the woods as they can be turned to work around trees, and I have a 2 point sling on mine, that allows me to put on my back pack on and sling my bow on shoulder. I have a 3/4 mile walk to my closest stand and thats one of 4.

I'm in agreement with 1,3,4.
My new stands all have the rail around the front of them for a couple of reasons.....
#1 to keep me from falling.
#2 to provide a rest.

 

[MarcusR]

I ran into the same thing in my stand. Tried to use a ground blind this weekend but where i hunt NW of Alva the wind was bad Saturday morning and blew it around a lot. So i tried a natural blind with some cedars and as soon as the sun came up and hit the scope and silver on it they could see something was wrong from across the canyon.

 

[bigcountryok]

Well, another lesson learned yesterday.

ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOUR BOLT IS AGAINST THE STRING.

Had a buck come in I made my move, sqeeezzzed the trigger and just heard a slight ping and saw my bolt just slide off of the end of my x-bow and fall. LOL

My 10pt Xbow has a dry fire preventor. Apparently if the bolt isn't right against the string it will catch it. Well over the next 3 min I was able to use my finger tips to move my string back the 1/2 to recock it, get another bolt and put the smack down on the 146lb 10pt. He went 50yrds.

 

[Danny]

I ran into the same thing in my stand. Tried to use a ground blind this weekend but where i hunt NW of Alva the wind was bad Saturday morning and blew it around a lot. So i tried a natural blind with some cedars and as soon as the sun came up and hit the scope and silver on it they could see something was wrong from across the canyon.

I used to rifle hunt in Major County, so I know what you mean about the wind and the blind thing. I fixed that by a little tree trimming. I'd find a decent size Cedar, and cut out a place for the blind to fit back into it. Just be sure to cut enough so that limbs don't slap against it. Then I piled the limbs up around the front of the blind to help hide it. Worked pretty good. Shot a nice 8 pointer out of it the next day.

 

[AllOut]

1) no need to stand
2)mine has a scope on it so it draws light faster than pins
3)they are heavy and bulky
4)I like mine, shot a nice 4 point this morning and he went 30 yards and was done.He dressed out at 100 lbs.even and before anyone starts flamiing, I could give a rat's arse about horn size or mass or any of that other BS.

it has nothing to do with horns or mass it has to do with age and maturity... Does have back staps too

 

[Survivor]

Hate to admit this but I was hunting as a guest on his lease in SW OK. and he wanted me to shoot a doe to thin the herd. This was rifle season by the way and an early morning hunt. I spotted a doe which looked to be 200 yards or so away. I went to the prone position and cranked up the scope to its highest setting and made the shoulder shot which dropped the deer on the spot.

I prepared to shoot again just in case but the deer never moved. As I got closer to the deer which was actually only about 75 yards from me I could see it was quite small and had buttons on its knobs on his head.

So I had killed a button buck instead of a doe because the light wasn't that bright and I was unfamiliar with how far the landmarks were. The deer looked further away because he was so small.

Great thing about bow and Xbow hunting is that the range will always be close, so although it is possible to shoot a button buck the odds are more in your favor of seeing if there are any knobs or not on it's head. It is great that OK is allowing Xbows in place of regular bows now.

I have an Excalibur Exocet recurve Xbow with Varizon scope on it and love it. Good luck guys.