5 Tips for a Beginner Crossbow Hunter

For the hunter who wants to switch to crossbows, there are things you must know. Below are five tips that can help beginners in crossbow hunting.

Table of Contents

Tip #1. Buy a Crossbow which suits the animal you will hunt

The strength of a crossbow is defined by its draw weight. What does this mean? Draw weight refers to the power required to pull the string of your crossbow. The harder it is to pull; the more powerful your crossbow.

Different crossbows come with different draw weights.

You can get a crossbow with a draw weight of 70 pounds or one with a draw weight of more than 200 pounds. If you are going to be hunting birds or rabbits, then a crossbow with a draw weight of even 50 pounds will do.
If you wish to hunt animals like bears and mountain lions, then you will need to get a crossbow with a draw weight of about 125 pounds.

The draw weight of your crossbow should also be defined by how strong you are; believe me; pulling 200 pounds crossbow string is no joke. Don’t buy a crossbow that you cannot pull its strings. If you are strong enough to only pull a Crossbow with draw weight of 80 pounds, buy that. But before you buy a crossbow of a particular draw weight, check for what the legal system of your country or state say about it. Some states only legalize the use of crossbows of draw weight between 75 and 125 pounds.

Tip #2. Always use Good Arrows

As we all know, arrows are to a crossbow as bullets are to a gun. The type of arrow you use can be the difference between a miss and a hit. Some arrows are easily swayed away by wind while some usually stay on their path and hit their target. Draw weight determines how fast your crossbow will release its arrows, but it is the job of those arrows to carry that momentum until its target is hit. Very light arrows are not that good for hunting because they waste momentum; this makes them hardly maintain a straight path over long distances. They quickly change from a straight shot to one determined by projectile motion, making it easy to miss your target.

Good arrows equal straight path & longer distances

Today crossbows which can fire arrows at up to 400 feet per second exists, but if you have one that can release an arrow at speeds of about 250 to 300 feet per second, you are ok.

Tip #3. Always use a Scope Sight

It is still possible to find crossbows which still come with open sights, but I will advise you not to go for these. Buy only crossbows which have scope sights; especially since you are still a beginner. When you use these optical sighting devices, it is easier for you to make accurate shots. What magnification you choose should be determined by the distance you normally fire from. On average, a scope sight with 5X magnification is good. Just as crossbows differ, so does scope sights.

Reticle Helps Target Objects.

It may be a red dot or vertical and horizontal cross hairs. It stays suspended on the scope sight’s lens. Using them, one can focus on a game as far away as 20 yards. But for objects father away than this, you may have to increase your point of sight to one higher than what it is supposed to be.

This is to allow for projectile motion. Today scopes with more than one reticle exists; you can even get some with up to four reticle points. These extra red dots or horizontal lines allows for projectile. The normal 20 yard dot or line is usually at the center while the other dots or horizontal lines are arranged below each other. Each new line is meant to allow you aim at father objects. The next dot might be for 30 yards, the next for 40 yards and the last for 50 yards.

Tip #4. Always use Good Arrow Heads

An arrowhead is the piercing part of an arrow. It is responsible for most of the momentum of the arrow and its projectile motion. A very light arrowhead cannot be used to shoot far objects because they hardly make good projectile and usually lack momentum but very large arrowheads are also problems; they don’t get far before they hit the ground. This is why buying the right arrowhead matters a lot. If you are to get an arrowhead, try and get one of about 100- 125 grains.

Tip #5. Begin Practice at a Range

Since you are a beginner, I would guess that your aim is not that great yet and most likely fail to hit a bull’s-eye. What this means is that, you could accidentally hit someone if you practice where there are people and cause a whole lot of pain for that person. To avoid trouble, I will advise you go to a shooting range and practice your aim there.