Learn To Hunt: Crossbow Effective Range

Effective range of your crossbow might be shorter than you think. We tested several crossbows and their accuracy at set distances and while they can be sighted in at longer distances, discover why taking a longer range shot with a crossbow isn't recommended.
#crossbow #hunting #learnToHunt #wildlife #conservation #nature #PennsylvaniaGameCommission #PAgameCommission #GameCommission #PGC #habitat

[@jimpalmer4916]

30 yards is good enough for archery hunting anyway.

[@donwilson350]

Well you know if that's the case all these Hunters on the Outdoor Channel that are shooting compound bows I mean I realize they don't make quite as much noise as a crossbow but they still make noise in some compound bows might even be as loud why are all these guys shooting 60 70 and 80 yards on TV and showing everybody this and then you get the consumer watching this and they say well he can shoot 60 or 70 or 80 yards so can I how come nobody says anything about the guys on the Outdoor Channel shooting long distances but you're telling me with a crossbow don't shoot over 35 yards doesn't make much sense I know I try to keep my shots between 35 and 40 yards at the most

[@AlbinoMutant]

Those clips of the deer literally dodging the incoming bolt are insane.

[@mafirearmsafety]

I will not shoot past 30 yards with a bow or crossbow

[@cliffburlew9209]

That was great advice I have been shooting cross bow for a long time my max is 30 yards

[@currituck]

Same for me. Practice to 40. Limit myself to 30. Preferably I put my self for shots 20 yards and under.

[@robertyetsko80]

SOUND ETHICAL ADVICE ON SHOT SELECTION...RESPECT THE ANIMALS BEING HUNTED!!!

[@ieatcaribou7852]

I’m glad you recommend this. Too many “KZbin” hunters are shooting both verticals and crossbows at 60+ yards. It’s absolutely ridiculous to think you can reliably quickly kill an animal at those ranges, even if you got lucky “that one time”.

[@stuartmacdonald5729]

Ok , I'm ridiculous,have in over 60 archery kills,only time bow needed cables and loose fletching, otherwise chick bow goes off,deer stops to listen,wack -hit... ,go find deer 🦌

[@nothingtosee314]

Meh, I have several kills from 50 to 65 yards with a crossbow, and they were pass-throughs.

[@jordynexley6817]

30 yards max if you ask me

[@michael65550]

Id probably give it 40, but yeah pretty much

[@johnrudy9404]

Great information! The scenes of the deer evading the shot are thought provoking. Fall of '24 will be my first XB season. Plus, i hunt from the ground. I will definitely keep the shot close.

[@frankcobbs8350]

Same here. Happy hunting!

[@taylorharbin3948]

Same here. Good luck!

[@kylebaker8020]

Good luck ur gonna love it. Such a trill to get em in that close. I've had them one right up to my blind and walk by. Your heart wants to come up out ur throat especially when it's a buck in mud rut. scary sometimes lol. They get that close and u can smell em before u see em.

[@robertmumaw6720]

I just shot a 224lbs 146in 10 point buck on the 26th at 40 yard's and he went down after 60 yard's. last year I took 11 point at 51 yard's and he went 600 yard's befor he went down. I would say from experience no more than 40 yard's

[@douglasborgaro6801]

@robertmum Make sure to let all the whinny anti crossbow people of PA know about your results so they will stop whining about how crossbows have killed off all the good deer.

[@seasickmike1604]

As a seasoned archery hunter, I can confirm that these are critically good points, hope hunters follow them. I also would like to add the fact that ALL shots need to be at 90 degree angles. Like a bullet the arrow travels in a straight line,but unlike a bullet the arrow has no shock impact and must hit the vital organs, no relying on kinetic shock damage with a broadhead. That said, an angled hit aimed behind the shoulder, might exit through the brisket or stomach.....usually an unrecoverable deer.

[@douglasborgaro6801]

@seasick The arrow doesn’t travel in a straight line, it’s an arc with trajectory. Crossbows are not even close to guns, but are in somewhat different categories as far as penetration and energy.

[@dylancohen9166]

My question is can you carry a crossbow in a public place or ride around with it your vehicle if you are not hunting?

[@frankcobbs8350]

In most states you can, as long as it is unloaded, but check your local and state laws.

[@robertlivingston1634]

Wish more people would take the responsibility to understand what you're trying to tell them, another thing that I've experienced is that an arrow or bolt that stays embedded contributes to the animal to continue running trying to get away from whatever is attacking it.

[@pgithens1]

It's really a shame that Pennsylvania didn't implement mandatory bowhunter education for an archery license prior to crossbows becoming a legal weapon.

[@houndsmanone4563]

Definitely sound advice. 👍🏽🤠 03/01/24

[@richardhoytman]

Great video.

[@server1ok]

Excellent video, I thank you

[@rreevesb3]

I know people who with 60# draw and pass throughs. Arrows, bolts, and bullets all start to drop out of the bow, crossbow, rifle they all a have that arch.

[@jimjessie2704]

a bullet or arrow does not rise --the arch is due to the sight plain--gravity goes into effect the instant the bullet or arrow clears the barrel or rest

[@nothingtosee314]

Meh, I have a ton of crossbow kills between 50 and 65 yards. All were pass-throughs and the animals didn't run more than 40 yards before piling up.

[@TrehanCreekOutdoors]

All three points are good ones for bowhunters of any kind to follow for the reasons cite. I concur with all of them...to a point. However having been a traditional archer for well over a half century, I can say no matter what self limits a hunter places on the shots they take, some will still not work out well. Some deer will hear the shot, or see it coming, duck, dodge, jump, or whirl, causing the arrow to either miss entirely or worse, such as hitting the deer poorly at an odd point of impact. Other times, there will be a small twig out there which you don't see but which the arrow hits before it gets to the deer, sending the shaft off target. Also, arrows are not bone crushing bullets so if the arrow tip hits a bone, even a smaller one like a rib bone, it can glance off the bone and exit in an unplanned manner. I once shot a crossbow bolt at a buck quartering toward me at less than 10 yards in an open field. I was in a pop up blind. The entry point was great, entering the bottom of the lung cavity. The deer did move at the sound of the string, causing the arrow to glance off one of the rib bone then travel below the spine toward the rear hip on the opposite side of the entry point. The arrow tip then solidly lodged into the main hip bone, causing the arrow to remain ENTIRELY within the body cavity. The deer died within 75 yards but was one of the most difficult tracking jobs you can imagine as there was next to no blood drops. My point is no matter if the deer is very close and there is nothing to impede taking a shot, the hunter NEVER can predict what the animal or the arrow will do. Thus passing up shots purely because of a "what if" conversation that plays out in the hunters mind is somewhat ridiculous as it limits the opportunities for harvesting game. Arrows that penetrate will eventually kill the animal. It make take a few hours of internal bleeding but the deer will die. And a hunter may have to do a grid search to find the deer. But trying for perfect shots so that an arrow drops the animal swiftly and within a short distance is expecting too much. I suggest using good judgement but don't over think the shot. If you get a sensible shot, take it! If the arrow hits a twig, the deer moves, the arrow gets stuck in a bone instead of passing through, or there isn't a complete pass through due to loss of kinetic energy, so be it. That's part of the unpredictable consequences of the hunt. Game wardens tend to be soft hearted in favor of the game animals like deer never being injured but not recovered. But they don't seem to care if a fisherman has to cut the line in order to free a fish that can't be landed. Leaving a fish hook and line entangled around a fish may doom that fish to death. But no one sheds a tear. Too bad the same concepts don't apply to ALL the wildlife the game wardens are pledged to protect.

[@e.m7110]

To add to your point, it's also in perspective of the narrator's hunting lifestyle. It's super easy to be more picky and selective with shots if you're someone who gets to hunt every day or week (like a hunting KZbinr for example). You're out there every day as part of your job, if you leave a dear then so be it you'll get another chance tomorrow. Some of us have other jobs and busy family lives to keep operating on top of hunting and we are just out there to feed our family. We don't get all the opportunities of a frequent hunter. It just annoys me when I see these full time hunters and fishermen telling people to be more selective and only pick certain animals etc and only take enough for a feed when some of us can only make it out once a month and this is our source of food.

[@Waty8413]

Crossbows were one of the worst things to happen to PA archery season. The other is allowing tree stands to be set up for the entire season on state game lands.

[@douglasborgaro6801]

@Waty Blah, blah! Quick note: 28 states now allow crossbows for all hunters in all seasons. In all of the states including PA, 60-70% of all deer taken in archery season are taken with crossbows.. Crossbow hunting has been studied and re-studied for over 30 years, going back to when Arkansas and Ohio first legalized them. The same results are consistently found. No detrimental effect on the deer, not taking all the good bucks, not overcrowding the woods, not causing other hunters to quit, not causing more poaching and last but not least, state kill totals haven’t changed. This is why people who complain like you keep losing the argument. In fact the argument is long over with for most state conservation agencies. You now join crossbow season! Not the other way around.

[@ken5042]

Back in the 70's they said the same thing about compounds..We got over it, and you'll get over crossbows, they are here to stay.

[@doitdoitright5916]

Sure they’re not going to take a shot at the maximum range of the weapon. Don’t be delusional. Crossbows should be tied in with Muzzle Loader season, not Archery.

[@douglasborgaro6801]

@doitdoit It must be frustrating for you that your opinions are of no real consequence. Things have changed since your state legalized crossbows. Now more than 60% of all deer taken in your state during archery season are taken with crossbows. Hunters have spoken with their dollars and cents. As a vertical bow hunter, YOU are now in the minority. This trend continues not only in PA, but 27 other states as well. Primarily because most of the criticisms and concerns people like you have spouted don’t really hold any water. The game commission is funded by license fees, permits and such. Crossbows have and do bring increased revenue to your state. Additional resources also fuel goods and services and tourism revenue. Cry and wine all you want, but you can’t put the genie back in the bottle. Irresponsible hunter behavior is not based on weapon choice, but rather the hunter themself. This is not new.

[@douglasborgaro6801]

@doitdoit By the way Mr expert that has it all figured out. I have harvested many deer with a crossbow. My furthest shot was 35 yards and my closest was 6 yards. This year I was very pleased to take a deer at 8 yards with a TenPoint Nitro 505. In case you didn’t know, that’s a crossbow producing in excess of 500 fps and with my arrow setup, over 260 ft lbs. Guess what? That deer was dead in seconds!

[@doitdoitright5916]

@@douglasborgaro6801 A monkey could kill a deer with a crossbow. Not so with a real bow. You’ll never experience the skill level or deep satisfaction of a kill in Archery. As matter of a 12 ga 2 3/4” gun with buckshot doesn’t have the effective range of a crossbow. So keep cutting corners in life, some people enjoy cheap thrills.

[@toddbennett6737]

Yep. Crossbows do not belong in archery season. It should've definitely had its own season or added to muzzle loader season. It's all about selling tags. It used to be only dedicated hunters during archery season. Now it's every Tom, Dick and Harry runs out and buys a crossbow and hits the woods !

[@MrRatlicker]

​@toddbennett6737 Can you come up with a more effective means to control their exploding population then? This 1 generates revenue for the state instead of costing it money. It puts money into local convenience stores, sporting goods retailers, restaurants, motels, etc. It gets people out into nature and off their buttons on the couch. Deer populations have been swelling both in Pennsylvania and across North America. If their numbers are not controlled, they risk death at the hands of an unsuspecting driver.

[@stuartmacdonald5729]

Sorry but my Xbox stops the deer when going off then wack ! Make clear shooting lanes ! Always had a pass-through if aimed at ribs ! Practice to find out what distance shooter is accurate at!!! What distance can U get 2-3" groups. That is your guide Otherwise teaching shooters to fail in their mind before the start ! Anti hunter tactic 😮

[@stuartmacdonald5729]

Xbow

[@stuartmacdonald5729]

U got that right 👍 Totally agree,use well tuned bow, quality arrows ,lots of practice !

[@kentlane8269]

I shot my first deer with a jackal crossbow at 45 yards . it passed through the deer and hit 10 feet past where it stood.

[@hans2five]

Alright you were making good points until you started talking about wound channels. I've been archery hunting for years and have only had one shot that went through both sides of a deer. Every other deer has dropped within 50 yards as long as my shot placement was good. Way harder to do with a compound bow than a crossbow. I've unfortunately done myself and seen plenty of KZbin videos of hunters having poor shot placement that resulted in the arrow passing through the entire animal but through their guts out in another non immediate lethal way. In those situations it can be a horrible death for the deer and you're lucky if you recover the animal. In sorry shot placement is key, not blow through. You should have stuck with your first point and called it a day. All of this "an arrow that doesn't blow through the animal will seal the wound" bull just makes people want to immediately dismiss your first few good points. Bad thing is that this is coming from the people who are tasked with enforcing game regulations. No wonder they believe stupid things like "shotguns are safer for deer hunting" and "if you leave a deer stand on public land overnight you'll damage the tree". Judging from this video you guys really don't do a lot of keeping up with current tactics and industry standards for equipment.

[@brob-zy8zi]

I thought the same thing about pass through shots. If that broadhead cuts ant major arteries it's going to be over really fast 99% of the time.

[@schoney1]

You can say many of the same things comparing a 30-30 vs 30.06 vs 300winmag. (all 30 caliber) (killed by a .22 is only half-as-dead as killed by a .44). Nothing was said about cut-on-contact vs mechanical broadheads. Weigh/length of bolt vs traditional arrow. FPS of high end crossbow vs high end compound (step off that distance) as it relates to speed of sound... and how that speed somewhat offsets the weight. Bloodtrail-heart vs bloodtrail-lungs. His, and my arguments are both incomplete. All that said... get as close as you can to hit accurately.

[@josephgarlan4799]

Change rifle season to nov .1

[@Deerpoo22]

top end crossbows today are hitting way way harder at 200 yards than the most powerful 80lb bow at point blank. energy is no issue

[@rayking3466]

bullshit

[@toddbennett6737]

That's totally wrong? Lol.

[@blackops8996]

Open crossbow hunting on all states

[@jaysunkreuze1466]

I can point to a plethora of videos on KZbin debunking these assumptions. At further distances past 50 yards it's clear and proven in video on KZbin that deer and elk actually don't react to the bow, but to the noise of the incoming arrow. There are always exceptions, but I personally have shot bucks at 60+ yards with a crossbow during the rut and they never twitched. There is a lot more to this polemic than is clear or presented in this video and a ton of data is missing and no testing can be referenced. Out here in Montana long shots are the norm and the success rate at longer distances is quite high. Nature is dynamic and even at short range speed bows still cannot beat the reaction of deer. The fact is that past 50 yards the sound of a bow has a reduced effect on deer reaction.

[@jasonbrown467]

it does seem as if the deer know something is coming hard and fast at them and they can tell where its coming from and where it may hit them, which might be why they all duck, then take off.

[@erinkabler2361]

How many would shoot a crossgun if they had to use pins instead of a scope with a 200 yard reticle?

[@patrickgallagher4344]

How many would bother with a bow period if they had to use a recurve with wooden arrows??? Not you!

[@slugoo6474]

200 yard reticle?

[@robertmumaw6720]

I have 2 crossbows with scopes, one has cross hairs with 4 notches to go all the way too 100 yards. My other scope has no cross hairs just 4 red dots. Both work the same as pins. Only Difference is I save my shoulder

[@erinkabler2361]

I still shoot fingers.

[@cainhager9814]

Probably a similar amount because very few shoot far enough to need those optics so it wouldn't make much difference

[@andywhite8409]

I don't see how a real bow hunter can consider a cross bow being bow hunting. It's a weapon used for even more poaching.

[@scubaproflip]

I have a neck injury that prevents me from bow hunting in the traditional sense. A crossbow is a blessing to me because I can continue bow hunting, even with my neck injury.

[@dakotaeldridge7369]

Maybe because bow is in the name crossBOW.

[@dakotaeldridge7369]

Also the main limitation of bows is range compared to firearms. Sure crossbows have a similar setup to firearms, but just like bows you have to get within close enough distance to kill with a crossbow.

[@jaysunkreuze1466]

I don't see how a real bow hunter can consider a compound bow with a mechanical release aid being used for bow hunting. See how ridiculous your argument is?

[@cainhager9814]

I hope with this comment you are using a longbow for hunting, or at minimum a recurve, because all a crossbow is, is a bow, but crossways, and using a static release. If you use a compound bow with a button release, in essence it's the same thing as a crossbow, albeit a little more difficult as you are holding the tension instead of the weapon but same concept

[@Julie-u6r]

crossGUN BOLT_LETT are highly effective when used in conjunction with bait and box blind low light conditions light magnifing scope i love my recurve .

[@Sasiak1]

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@josephgarlan4799]

Change cross bow season to same as rifle they hunt after hours and wound too many deer .wake up pa. Game com.

[@brob-zy8zi]

I saw the same argument on a popular KZbin channel. Ironically it was a comment on a video where a guy hit a deer in the leg with a compound trying to shoot too far. Even more ironically, the prior video on the same channel had another guy wound another deer with a compound shooting out past 40 yards. The deer was not recovered. Then to cap it all of just a couple videos later on the same exact channel another hunter took a horrible shot and wounded another buck with a compound bow that was not recovered. There was a study done on a military base that allowed hunting with bows and crossbows. Each shot had to be reported whether it was a hit or a miss and it had to be reported whether the deer was recovered. Crossbows with mechanical broadheads had the highest recovery rate of all the hits. It's a myth that crossbow hunters run around wounding deer all season. They simply don't. Just look at John Eberhart's videos and listen to him talk about how the majority of the record book Bucks he shot in Michigan over the years had old wounds or broadheads stuck in them. This was long before crossbows were allowed in Michigan. Unethical doesn't know a weapon. If anything I would much rather see a poor shot with a compound kill a deer with a crossbow than wound several with a bow because they can't shoot.