Crossbow

How a hunting crossbow works

A crossbow stores energy in short, stiff limbs mounted crosswise at the front of a stock. You draw the string back until it catches in the trigger mechanism, which holds it under tension. Pull the trigger and the string drives the bolt (a crossbow's arrow) down the rail.

The parts you'll handle every hunt:

• Stock: the rifle-style frame you shoulder
• Limbs and riser: the bow itself, crosswise at the front
• Rail: the track on top where the bolt rides
• Retention spring: holds the bolt down on the rail until the shot
• Trigger and safety: hold the string, then release it
• Stirrup: the foot loop at the front for cocking
• Scope or sight: on a mount above the rail

Bowhunter's loading steps are simple. With the safety on and the crossbow pointed somewhere safe, slide the bolt's odd-colored vane into the slot in the rail. Push it under the retention spring until it seats against the latch.

There are several kinds of crossbows, and each has its own page here. This page covers what they share and what to compare. The product table lists every crossbow we track, fastest stated speed first. Pistol, compact and youth models are on their own pages.

What to look at when you pick a crossbow

Here's what actually changes from one hunting crossbow to the next, in the order the table shows it. The table shows the maker's value, or the Amazon listing's where the maker is silent (marked as a listing value); when neither states it, you see a dash.

Type decides how the limbs store energy

The type column says how the bow is built. On paper, the differences look like this:

• Compound: cams (wheels) and cables at the limb tips, like a compound bow. One maker's style guide says this design has the largest market share.
• Reverse draw: a compound turned around so the limbs face back toward you, for a longer power stroke.
• Recurve: plain limbs, no cams. Simpler, and usually lighter.
• Pistol: a short, one-hand-grip bow with a much lighter draw.
• Repeating: a magazine that feeds the next bolt.

The section below on types says when each one makes sense.

Speed is the headline, not the whole story

Speed is how fast the bolt leaves the rail, in feet per second (FPS). Bowhunting.com puts modern crossbows anywhere from 265 to well over 400 fps. One maker's current lineup lists models from 390 to 515 fps.

Makers measure speed with a specific bolt, and a lighter bolt flies faster from the same bow. So two speed numbers are only comparable if the bolt weights match. Some makers print the bolt weight next to the speed. If yours doesn't, treat the fps figure as the bow's best day.

Kinetic energy is speed and bolt weight together

Kinetic energy is the punch the bolt carries, in foot-pounds (ft-lb). Quick math, from Buckmasters: speed × speed × bolt weight in grains, divided by 450,800.

Their example runs one crossbow two ways. A 370-grain bolt at 440 fps carries about 158.9 ft-lb. A 445-grain bolt at 410 fps carries about 165.9 ft-lb. The slower bolt wins by 7 ft-lb. Heavier bolts also leave less leftover energy in the bow, so Buckmasters says the shot gets quieter and the parts see less stress.

Makers list kinetic energy on their own pages, not on store listings, so the table shows it only when the maker does.

Draw weight sets how you'll cock it

Draw weight is the pull needed to bring the string back, in pounds. On a crossbow it's high. One maker's cocking guide says typical modern draw weights run 200 to 350 lb.

You won't pull that by hand, and you don't need to. The cocking device column matters more to your shoulders than the draw weight does. Draw weight matters for one more reason. Some states set minimums for hunting, so it's worth a check before you buy.

Cocking device: rope, crank or built-in

The same cocking guide lays out the options:

• Rope cocker: hooks and pulleys that cut the effort by half. A 270-lb bow takes about 135 lb.
• Detachable crank: a winch you attach to cock, then remove. It works, until the morning you leave it in the truck.
• Integrated crank: built into the stock. In some cases the effort drops to 5 to 10 lb.

A rope cocker is the same trick as a block and tackle. Bowhunting.com's how-to has you stand the crossbow on its front end, put a foot through the stirrup, hook the string close to the rail on both sides and lift with your legs and back. Then check the safety before you load a bolt. A crank is slower and quieter, and it's the easier pick for cold hands at 5:30 in the morning.

Safe de-cocking saves you a bolt every evening

Most hunts end without a shot. Then the crossbow has to be uncocked, because one maker warns that leaving it cocked for more than a day stretches the string and cables early and can damage the limbs.

A crank doesn't mean the bow can de-cock. That maker says most crossbows cannot. The ones that can use a modified crank to let the string down slowly. Everything else gets uncocked by firing a bolt into a target or soft ground. The "Safe de-cocking" column is marked yes only when the maker or the listing says the bow de-cocks without firing.

Width (cocked) is the number that matters in a blind

Width is measured axle to axle with the bow cocked, because that's how it sits while you wait. In one maker's lineup, cocked widths run from 5.75 to 9.75 inches.

Bowhunting.com notes that wider bows are harder to handle in dense cover. A narrow crossbow fits a ground blind window and swings around a tree trunk in a stand. If you hunt open field edges, an inch either way won't matter much.

Length and weight are what you carry in

Length is stock to limbs. That same lineup runs from 26.5 to just over 33 inches. A shorter bow is easier to swing in a stand and to carry through brush.

Weight is the bare bow, without the scope or quiver when the maker separates them. Bowhunting.com points out that crossbows are heavier than vertical bows and suggests a padded, non-slip sling. A pound sounds small in the kitchen. It sounds different on the second mile uphill.

Optic included: scope, red dot or nothing

Most crossbows come with a scope or a red dot, and the table says which. Bowhunting.com says you don't need much magnification, but a lighted reticle helps at dawn and dusk. Bowhunter notes that a factory scope still needs fine-tuning. Zero it at 20 yards from a solid rest, then work out from there. More on optics is on the crossbow scope page.

In the box: what you still have to buy

"In the box" lists bolts (count and length), quiver, cocking aid and optic as the maker or listing gives them. Two crossbows that look alike can arrive very differently. One ships ready to hunt, and the other still needs bolts, broadheads and a cocking rope. Read this column before you compare anything else.

Crossbow types and which one fits

Compound crossbows are the common choice for deer. They're narrower and faster for their draw weight than recurves, but harder to work on at home. See the compound crossbow page.

Reverse-draw crossbows move the limbs back toward the shooter. One maker credits the layout with a longer power stroke and better balance. See the reverse-draw crossbow page.

Recurve crossbows have no cams to break and no cables to change, per goHUNT. Bowhunting.com adds that the string can be swapped in the field. The recurve crossbow page has the rest.

Compact crossbows are built short and narrow for blinds and tight stands (compact crossbow page). Youth crossbows come with lighter draws and shorter stocks (youth crossbow page). Pistol crossbows are one-hand target tools, mostly not deer tools (pistol crossbow page). Repeating crossbows feed bolts from a magazine (repeating crossbow page). And if you'd rather buy the scope, bolts and quiver together, there's a crossbow package page.

Bolts, nocks and broadheads

Bolts are not interchangeable. Use the length, weight and nock style your crossbow's maker names. Bowhunting.com warns that a bolt that's too light amounts to a dry fire, which can damage the bow. Bowhunter suggests bolts in the 300 to 350 grain range for hunting, before the point. The heavier bolts carry more energy downrange.

Nocks matter more than they look. One maker explains that flat, half-moon and capture nocks worked on wider bows. On narrow, fast crossbows the string can ride over or under them, which acts like a dry fire. They can also wear the string's center serving early.

Broadheads rarely hit where field points do, per Bowhunter, so practice with the exact heads you'll hunt with. The bolts themselves are on the crossbow bolts page, and heads are on the crossbow broadheads page.

Who a crossbow suits, and who should skip it

A crossbow suits a hunter who wants to hold at full draw without holding the weight. That covers new hunters, hunters coming back from a shoulder injury and hunters who sit long in a blind or a stand.

My one opinion on this page: rangefinders save more hunts than new crossbows do. The reason is on the box itself. Bowhunter says to keep shots on deer within 40 to 50 yards, and Bowhunting.com warns that an alert whitetail can jump the string even at 20 yards. A bolt at 400 fps still drops, and the deer still hears it. Knowing the yardage does more for the shot than another 30 fps.

From a stand, nothing about the safety rule changes for a crossbow. Harness on and clipped to the tree before your boots leave the ground, and the crossbow comes up on a haul line after you're tethered, never in your hands on the ladder.

Who should skip a crossbow? Hunters in a state or season where it isn't legal for them. Hunters who walk a long way in and want the lightest gear. And anyone who enjoys the draw itself, the part where the bow fights back. Shoot a vertical bow instead. Start with the compound bow or the recurve bow.

Setting up and caring for a crossbow

Read your owner's manual first. The two makers' guides I read disagree on basic care. One says to wax the string and lube the rail whenever they look dry. The other says never wax the string, center serving or cables, and never put lube on the rail. Both are right for their own bows. Do what your manual says.

A pre-season routine from both guides:

• Wipe it down: clean the rail groove and the limbs
• Check the limbs: look for splinters, nicks or chips on the edges
• Check the fasteners: hand-tight only, never forced
• Inspect the cocking aid: cords, hooks and handles
• Check every bolt: cracks, damaged nocks, torn vanes
• Tighten the scope mount: rings and base screws

Strings and cables wear out on a schedule. One maker says to change them every two years even if they look fine, and always together. The other says every two years or 400 shots, whichever comes first. If the bow has cams, that's usually a shop job.

Crossbow safety

Treat every crossbow as loaded. Keep your fingers, thumb and hand below the rail and out of the string's path whenever it's cocked, and make sure the limb tips are clear of branches before you shoot.

Never dry fire it. Never climb into or out of a stand with a bolt on the rail. Wisconsin's DNR says to raise and lower the crossbow uncocked; Iowa's DNR allows it cocked but unloaded, on a haul line, front end pointed at the ground. Wear a harness and stay tethered from the time you leave the ground.

Crossbow seasons, minimum draw weights and broadhead rules vary by state. Check your state wildlife agency before you hunt.

That's the whole crossbow in one table and one rule: pick the cocking method first, the width second and the bolt the maker names. Then write the yardage down.