Crossbow Hunting

View 352 hunts

352 hunting trips from 86 outfitters starting from $104

352

hunting trips

$104

starting from

outfitters

138

animals

About Crossbow Hunting

Crossbows were known since antiquity, and in the Middle Ages, with the help of using metals for arms and a system of levers for pulling the string, obtained such efficiency that some called for a ban on them. The controversy lives on. A crossbow, simply put, is a bow with a rifle-like stock and a trigger mechanism that holds the string in the drawn position. In terms of killing power, it is on the same level as a modern compound bow, with comparable energy, trajectory, and range. Consequently, crossbow hunting is in many ways similar to archery hunting – the hunter needs to get within a short range of the animal, must end the hunt with one well-placed shot, and a lot of what is being written about the extra challenge and satisfaction of bowhunting applies. On the other hand, a crossbow has a stock, that allows to hold it with more stability. You could shoot a crossbow from a rest, a prone or sitting position. As you don’t have to keep the string at full draw, which is not easy even with a modern compound bow, you can take your time aiming. Last but not the least, a crossbow can be equipped with a telescopic sight (and even night vision or thermal devices). All this makes it easier to connect with your target. What’s more important in a hunting environment, the motion that is required to bring a crossbow on target is significantly less conspicuous to the animals than the motion of drawing a bow. For these reasons, bowhunting purists look down on crossbow hunters.