I need some help guys. I have not used a bow to hunt in about 15 years. Once I got married and moved back to the city, my hunting days kind of faded away. Its only been over the last few years since my kids have gotten bigger that I have finally been able to hunt again.
Over the last 3-4 years I have been hunting again, but only during rifle season. This year I am thinking it would be a good time to get back into bow hunting, and since Texas now allows crossbows, I have been thinking of going that route, but I need some help.
What are some of the things I need to be mindful of in purchasing a new crossbow. Draw length should not really matter much on a crossbow, or should it? What about weight, etc? I will have anywhere between about 300-400 to spend. Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

Depending on which city you are at there are places you can go shoot multiple crossbows. Cabelas has a lpretty good selection and a range they will let you try different ones on.

^^ x2

and if you say a location someone might have on around you they would let you pull the trigger on a couple of times and see folks pretty friendley around here

My wife and my daughter(11 yr old) tried out the Parker Challenger crossbow this past weekend and loved it. I think the package price is $379 but the scope was different on the one they shot and that would have been $399. I like the brand. I think highly of Parker brand and it was the first compound bow that I shot was a Parker Hunter Mag. They make good equipment in my opinion.

Oh...and it was also in pink camo and they really liked that. Getting them to share it will be a different story.

I'm a Ten Point fan, but I don't think they have any in that price range. Might check...

Most crossbows are pretty well made, but I would look for a metal safety and stay away from plastic.
I bought a Horton years back and still use the same crossbow which is probably outdated by todays standards but I really don't care if it's slow or old because it still takes down deer or whatever I shoot with it.

Go with a name brand that has a good reputation and like I said stay away from plastic in the firing mechanism if you can and speed isn't all it's cracked up to be if the bow is loud, and fast bows usually are.

Is Feet per second that important overall? Baically is it the same as a compund bow, as in more feet per second means you could potential to take a longer shot?
I am looking at the Barrett Quad 400.

Just ordered a Barnett Penetrator... Got it off amazon for $465 with a red dot, quiver,and a couple of bolts. Hopefully it will be good, I will look for this thread and try to post a report after I shoot it a bit!

I ended up going with it just as a compromise on price, speed, and a brand I had heard of...

Basically feet per sec is how fast the arrow flies at the point of release and is used to measure speed and speed is what gives you a flatter trejectory out to reasonalble bow distances of 20, 30 and 40 yards.
A very fast bow or crossbow can make the margin of error only inches say if you misjudge the distance by three or four yards and maybe more, but you still need to know your yardages.
You can't geusstimate a yardage of 35 yards and the target is actually 45 yards or you'll probably have a clean miss if your lucky.
A rangefinder and a crossbow and practice shooting at those distances are where speed and flat trajectory shine.

I ended up buying a Ten Point. While testing at cabella's range, the saleman wouldn't let me take a following shot without removing the bolt before it from the target. Turned out it was a good call. Put the bolt in the same hole 4 times in a row at 30 yds. Didn't try any other brand after that. Have no idea if they all are that accurate.

I have a Quad 400 and it's been great. I got it for less than $400 and it is accurate to about 50 yrds.

I bought my wife a barnett jackel and Its fast and shoots great i know people say its not that good but its light and Iv been shooting it for 2 weeks and I like it. Bass pro took all the Hortons off shelf

Why did they remove the Hortons? Any idea?

Also, Nick_Adams, I would sure love to hear what you think of your X-Bow after you have shot it a few times. I will be doing some hunting this year with a X-Bow, so I really need to get a move on, as in settling on wich one I want, and practicing. Archery season is just around the corner.

I have a Ten Point, I think that it is a great bow but was a little pricey, would definitely make the purchase again. I believe that you pay for quality once.

I have a Barnett Wildcat that I bought from PBS for about $350 a couple years ago. Came with bolts, and a red dot. Very accurate machine.

Don't forget to buy a cocking rope or pull. And remember to wax the strings often!!

JR

Good advise, but if you want to instead use your hands to pull the string back use your middle joints of your fingers and not the first joint or tips.
That 150 draw weight will rip right out of your hands and it hurts, and doesn't do the crossbow any good either.
Don't ask how I know this!

Don't even ask what a 175lb. pull will do to your fingers. Will bruise your fingers to the bone and nearly impossible to do. Buy a cocking rope and wax generously, the strings/cables and rail..

Ok, I made it out and shot my new Barnett Penetrator a modest amount this weekend. (Mentioned it in an earlier post).

Overall Impression: I liked it quite well. It is fast and accurate, and easy to [censored], load, and shoot.


It quickly became apparent that shooting groups would be hard on the bolts, so I shot at separate spots on my bag-style target.

The crossbow shot very consistently and accurately. At 20 yards, I easily kept all shots within an inch or less of each dot I was aiming at.

I also shot at 30 yards and the groups opened up only slightly, and all shots were within 2" or less of point of aim at 30. I didnt shoot any further yet, but will next weekend.

The automatic safety and anti-dryfire features seemed good, and made me fell pretty safe while loading and getting ready to shoot.

Mine came with a barnett-brand red-dot sight, which I didnt really like. Optical quality wasnt terrible, but wasnt too impressive either, and the three red (or green) dots inside it were not very clear or sharp. So before I shot it, I ran to cabelas and looked at other optics. I ended up getting an Excalibur "Shadow Zone" scope that I liked the best of the scopes I was able to look through in the store.

It has nice clear optics, a fairly clean and easy to use reticle, and is calibrated so that the reticle will have the aiming points match up with point of impact if you dial in the correct speed. (Basicaly using variable power to compensate for differences in speed).

I dialed it in for 350 fps, and it put my point of impact/point of aim right on the reticle marks with no problems, so I think the crossbow is delivering right at 350 fps as advertised.

The trigger pull is light, but fairly long before it breaks, compared to a nice rifle trigger, but it is still very shootable.

Obviously, this is all based on just an afternoon of shooting, and I cant really say much about durability or long term performance under harsh conditions, but so far I am liking it just fine and have no complaints.

I was definitely able to pick it up and immediately be getting good hits with it.

Let me know if any of you have any specific questions or anything in particular you want me to look at or attempt to evaluate and I will do my best!

Recently shot a friend's Ten Point and was very impressed. I have little experience to compare against but I was amazed at the accuracy.

Great bow and customer service, best bolt out there "accuspine"
http://www.camxcrossbows.com/

Excellent bow, can't go wrong with the 350 or the 380, I have a 350 and it is very very good xbow. Quiet, good safety, excellent trigger.
http://www.strykerxbow.com/#/home?r=-1&i=0

Read up on bows here.
http://www.crossbownation.com/index.html

Read reviews on the quad 400. Some ppl have problems with limbs breaking. I decided to spend extra and get the Excalibur Axiom. Its much lighter and has better reviews. It should be in this week.

I saved up and went the pse tac 15 route... aka a crossbow that is an AR15. TACTICOOL! I got a good deal on the upper, aka the crossbow and assembled my own AR15 lower with a sweet 4.5 match trigger on it.

Few years ago I went with a Parker Tornado. Haven't regretted that choice. Lighter and smaller than a lot of the others. Accuracy is good enough for 70 yard shots but noise level limits shooting range as it will with any crossbow I have been around.

Keep the string waxed and the rails lubed, and keep those fingers out of the way.