Being successful at wielding your crossbow often entails the tiniest of differences. The way you cock and load your crossbow can be the determining factor hitting the bullseye on a target or missing completely.
Using a crossbow for hunting or simply target practice can be a fun and exciting activity for enthusiasts of all ages. Learning how to cock and load a crossbow safely and correctly is a few of the critical elements to a prosperous hunting season.
This article will cover some of the basic steps to cocking and loading a crossbow, common mistakes that you should avoid, and a few cocking gadgets that will assist you in getting the job done just a little more easily. Sit back, relax, and get ready to learn how to cock and load a crossbow so that you can take aim for success!
Table of Contents
Basic Steps for Cocking a Crossbow
Learning how to efficiently and adequately cock your crossbow is no different than mastering any other skill. It will require repetition and practice to become proficient.
There are two methods for cocking a crossbow that we’ll cover in this article: manually and device-assisted. Let’s cover the steps for cocking your crossbow manually first.
Steps for Manually Cocking a Crossbow
Disengage the safety switch of your crossbow (switch to the firing position).
- Using either foot, place the ball of your foot into your crossbow’s cocking stirrup.
- With both hands, firmly grasp the string of your crossbow with a steady, even grip.
- Without yanking, drag the string backward firmly and evenly until it locks into place (you’ll be able to tell this has occurred by an audible clicking sound).
- Re-engage the safety switch of your crossbow.
- Remove your foot from the cocking stirrup and get ready to load your crossbow.
Steps for Using a Device to Cock a Crossbow
- Disengage the safety switch of your crossbow.
- Place the ball of one foot into the cocking stirrup of your crossbow.
- Anchor the center of the rope of your cocking device at the back of your crossbow’s stock.
- Evenly place the clips of your cocking device on the string of your crossbow.
- Firmly pull on the handles of your cocking device with a constant, smooth movement until the string locks into place.
- Re-engage the safety switch.
- Remove your foot from the cocking stirrup.
- Disengage the cocking device from your crossbow and get ready to load.
Note that the steps for both methods are very similar. The main difference is the attachment and removal of an assistive device. Remember, safety is key when cocking your crossbow.
Now that we’ve covered cocking a crossbow, let’s cover a few common mistakes that can lead to a disastrous experience and how to avoid them.
Tips for Cocking Your Crossbow
Here are a few tips and tricks for properly cocking your crossbow:
- Read the owner’s manual and become familiar with all the parts of your crossbow.
- Mark your string for even hand (or clip if using an assistive device) placement to ensure even cocking of the crossbow.
- Never point the crossbow at you or anyone else. Keep the nose pointed safely downrange at all times. Safety always comes first!
- Do not dry fire (firing the crossbow with no arrow loaded) your crossbow. This almost always leads to damage. Instead, you’ll need to learn how to decock your crossbow.
These are just a few of the many tips and tricks that you can find for cocking a crossbow. Let’s move on to the different devices that you can use to assist you in cocking your crossbow.
Crossbow Cocking Assistive Devices
Manually cocking a crossbow can be difficult for even the most seasoned shooters. This is especially true for those who may deal with a disability or issues with strength or mobility.
Today’s crossbows can have draw weights over 150 pounds, and it can be easy to improperly align your crossbow string when you’re wrestling a heavy draw weight.
Cocking assistive devices can help you get your crossbow cocked and ready to load. These aids allow you to keep your string centered and reduce the strain that manual cocking can have on your legs, back, and arms. There are two main types of cocking assisting devices on the market today: rope cockers and cranking devices.
With cocking your crossbow out of the way, let’s continue on to loading a crossbow.
Basic Steps for Loading a Crossbow
Once you have cocked your crossbow, the next step to shooting it is to load it. Loading a crossbow seems as simple as putting an arrow in your cocked crossbow’s barrel, but there are a few more steps than that.
Let’s quickly go over the steps to properly load your crossbow:
- Before loading any arrow, make sure to inspect it properly for damage.
- Hold the arrow firmly behind the tip or broadhead with your middle, index finger, and thumb.
- Orient the arrow with the cock fletching (off-color fletching) down toward the channel of your crossbow’s barrel.
- Being confident your crossbow is pointed away from anyone or anything that could be hit, lay your arrow on your crossbow’s barrel.
- Push the arrow toward the string until the nock (end of the arrow) of the arrow is almost to your string.
- Once the nock of your arrow is under the fire control body housing of the crossbow, push the arrow firmly into contact with the string, making sure that no space exists between the string and the loaded arrow.
- You’re now ready to take aim and fire your crossbow.
As always, safety is first when it comes to loading a crossbow. Make sure that your hands and fingers are in a safe space when handling arrows to load your crossbow. Accidents can (and do) happen, and you don’t want to lose a finger!
Final Set Up
We’ve covered a lot of ground, from correctly cocking a crossbow to loading your arrows, and now it’s time for you to take all of this knowledge and put it into practice. So, get your targets set up, aim, and fire.
