In the last few years there has been much ado about nothing over the fear that a new tool would destroy our outdoor heritage.  Much of what we heard was due to fear of the unknown, we tend to be afraid of what we don’t know instead of investigating and then making an informed decision or opinion on the subject.  The famous quote “we have nothing to fear, but fear itself”  stands true in this situation!

     By now your probably asking yourself, what the heck are you talking about here?  What I’m speaking of is the recent passage of a law allowing crossbows to be used liberally in the upcoming Michigan hunting seasons.  Before, during and after the discussion and passage of this new law there was a strong force opposing this and another that strongly supported this law.  I did some research on the subject by looking at what the weapon was, what other states have faced since they allowed them, and then I looked at what both sides were saying before I formed an educated opinion on them.

     Once the new rules were voted on and passed I began to think about what arguments both sides used to sway the Legislature into seeing their side of the equation.  I thought about why I thought this would be a good weapon to allow people to hunt with and looked at some of the problems that might arise along with the arguments of the non-crossbow hunters.  It was then that I thought about doing a field test of my own to see what arguments held water and which ones were a wash!

     Since I had no experience using a crossbow or hunting with one for that matter, I thought I could be as unbiased as they come to try and figure out just how viable a weapon this would be.  So I began the task of contacting each and every crossbow manufacture that I could find to see if they would be willing to allow us to shoot, test, and hunt with their offerings.  I had three companies step to the plate and take the challenge.  The first company was Ten Point, they allowed us to put their “Titan” crossbow to the test.  Next was PSE, which chose to offer the Sidewinder out of their stable.  The third company to take the challenge was Excalibur which selected their Phoenix recurve crossbow to be put up against the other two companies.

     Each of the three crossbows have very different features that distinguishes them from one another, yet they all still offer the crossbow hunter or shooter the basics in what one would expect in a newer crossbow package.

     The first experience we had was with the Titan from Ten Point during a spot and stalk hog hunt at a hunting enclosure, basically we had live practice.  I thought that this would be a good opportunity to see what a crossbow could do, so I took one of our staff members along and allowed him to use the Titan for his stalk.  Chuck who used the Titan had never spent any time with a crossbow before, so he didn’t have an informed opinion one way or another.  We took some time for him to practice with it at the archery range and get familiar with the gear before heading out to the field with it.  Let me stop right here and say this:  We should have spent much more time practicing with it before heading to the field, just as we should if it were a bow, shotgun, or rifle!  That was one of the first myths that was being spread about crossbows, “they are too easy to shoot, they shoot like a rifle”.  Many people assumed or misstated the fact that they were so accurate and easy to use that you could just pick one up and if it had a scope on it you could hit the field running.  Wrong!

     After spending a day at the archery range shooting and practicing we thought that we could just hit the field running with it, although Chuck did get his hog, we later found out during testing that you need to spend time with the crossbow practicing to become proficient with it.  Just like any other weapon of choice you need to spend time with a crossbow to improve your accuracy and safety skills with it.  I will get into that later, but when Chuck took his hog, he was at close range when he placed the shot on it.  This crossbow shot just shy of 300 feet per second when we later tested it with a bolt and fixed three blade broadhead combined weight of 418 grains, the same setup as what Chuck used in the field.  We expected that this bow would have had a pass through shot at less than 20 yards, that wasn’t the case.  Chuck placed the shot just behind the front shoulder and it didn’t exit the other side what so ever, this with a 175 lb. Limb package.  The Titan was the fastest of the three weapons we shot, so this claim of super powered strength is not exactly what some are claiming.

     The Titan was unique from the other two crossbows in the fact that it had a draw assist device on the unit.  This allows the shooter to use a hand crank to draw the string into the cocked position.  This is a very important feature that we will cover later in this review.  When the crossbow is cocked the safety is automatically placed in the safe position.  This is a very important safety feature on this weapon.  The Titan also sported a 40mm multi dot scope for distances of 20, 30, and 40 yards respectively.  With an 11 1/8″” power stroke, it boasts a 300 feet per second speed which is close to what we tested it at.  Our chronograph speed was 298.7 fps with a total bolt & head weight of 417.9 grains and 287.9 fps with a bolt & head weight of 466 grains.  This crossbow weighs in at 7lbs 12 oz without any accessories, which is in the middle for weight for the three companies we tested.  The Titan HLX package starts out at around $519 and can be built with extras depending on the features you want with it.

     The next piece of gear we obtained was the Excalibur Phoenix of which I wrote a first impression review on earlier this season, you can find that review here.  This crossbow was different from the first two in the fact that it sports recurve limbs on it which boast a draw weight of 175 lbs.  They advertise a speed of 305 feet per second with a 14 ½” power stroke, but we measured speeds of 285 fps with the 417.9 bolt and 280 fps with the 466 grain bolt respectively.  The Phoenix must be drawn by hand or with the aid of a cocking draw string.   The safety on the Phoenix must be engaged manually every time it is loaded unlike the other two offerings.  This is the lightest of the three crossbows we shot, coming in at 6lbs 3oz.  This is due to the stock thickness being machined down, thus keeping the weight at a minimum.  This crossbow starts out at $519 and can also be built with extras as you see fit.  The model we obtained came with the “Lite-Stuff” package, which included a scope, quiver and bolts for a total of $770.

     Last but not least is the PSE Sidewinder XB.  This crossbow has compound bow limbs with a draw weight of 185 lbs.  The Sidewinder has a power stroke of 12 ½” which produces a claimed speed of 310 feet per second.  Once again we saw something a little different with the two bolts we shot.  The bolt that weighed in at 417.9 grains chronographed at 317.6 fps and the bolt weighing 466 grains came in at 301.3!  The Sidewinder must be drawn manually also or with the aid of a draw string, it also locks the safety in the on position when cocked.  This is the heaviest of the three crossbows weighing in at 8 lbs.  The Sidewinder comes in a package deal that includes a scope, quiver, and bolts  for $400.

     That covers the basics, now let’s get to the other aspects of our test.  When we set this up for the accuracy and penetration testing we did so with a bench rest shooting vice and an uncompromised broadhead shooting block.  We took a new broadhead and placed it on the bolt for each penetration shot we did for each crossbow with the two different weighted bolts we used.  The Excalibur Phoenix with the 417.9 grain bolt penetrated 15 7/8″ in the block and the 466 grain bolt penetrated 16 7/8″ deep.  The Titan from Ten Point with the 417.9 grain bolt penetrated 18 7/8″ in the block and the 466 grain bolt penetrated 20 1/8″ deep.  Last is the Sidewinder from PSE  and with the 417.9 grain bolt we had a penetration of  19 5/8″ in the block and with the 466 grain bolt we had a penetration of 19 5/8″ deep .  Why we obtained the same depth with this last crossbow we haven’t figured out, except for the fact that there might have been a harder spot on the target with the last shot?   

     When it came to the accuracy test we had an interesting dilemma.   We began to shoot the Excalibur by hand cocking the crossbow, we soon saw accuracy results all over the page with one eventually missing the target completely!  Remember we were shooting off of a bench rest gun vice!  We then started looking at how the crossbow was loaded and cocked.  It was then that we realized something was wrong when we saw that the serving on the string was longer on one side of the rail than the other after being cocked.  I called the Excalibur factory rep and explained what was happening.  He told me that there was virtually no way to hand cock any crossbow and get any consistency out of them.  What happens he explained, is that everyone is either right or left hand dominant which leads to one pulling harder on one side of the string than the other.  This leads to power loading or over cocking one side of the crossbow than the other, thus ruining your accuracy!  This is very important to understand since it caused us to completely miss a target at 20 yards!  Imagine what could happen in the field, either a missed game animal or worse yet an injured game animal!  The rep also explained that this could happen with a string aided cocking device if the string hooks and guides are not placed directly against the rail before you start to load the string.  So much for once again picking one up with no practice and heading to the field like some do with a rifle!

     Once we got the loading issue worked out, everything started to fall into place.  At a distance of 20 yards we saw all three bows basically shoot groups of 3″ to 4″ groups.  Not what I would call the accuracy of a rifle by any stretch of the imagination!  We found one other surprise while shooting these crossbows, especially with the PSE and Ten Point Packages.  Both of these crossbows came with scopes that had multiple dots or crosshairs for distances of 20 yds, 30 yds, and 40 yds.  The gap or what we archers refer to as pin gap was pretty wide.  With that being said, if you tried to shoot out to 60 or 70 yards or even 100 yards you would have to aim so high to get the bolt to fly to that distance you wouldn’t be able to see the target through the scope!  These crossbows might shoot out to those distances if you arc them high enough, but how in the world are you going to see your target through the scope?  Accuracy and distances of 100 yards like a rifle myth? Busted!    Then naturally the next argument will be that the TAC 15 by PSE claims 400 fps and 100 yard accuracy.  The State of Michigan has put an end to that argument as well.  They will not allow any crossbow that shoots over 350 fps to be used for hunting.  The Michigan DNR has said that they will ticket anyone who is caught with a crossbow that the manufacture claims will shoot over 350 fps, PERIOD!

     We did a comparison shot with a Bowtech Guardian set at 66 lbs, 29.5″ draw with a 29.5″ Carbon Express Aramid KV arrow @ 273 grains with a measured 106 grain broadhead.  We chronographed the bow at 280 fps with  a penetration of 23″ from a total arrow weight of 379 grains.  We saw better penetration with the conventional compound than that with a crossbow!  I can hold tighter groups with my compound also than what we experienced with a crossbow on a shooters bench!  One of the biggest things that everyone that was around us when we shot them noticed immediately was how loud the crossbows were!  That was their first comment, “Man that thing is loud!”  Noise is a huge concern for hunters who have to take their game up close and personal.    With those observations, I will stick with my compound bow until I can no longer effectively use it.  Then I will gladly take up a crossbow  to hit the field with.  I want to take the most effective tool to the field to use legally that I can when I’m pursuing game.

     While shooting these crossbows, one of my staff members had his daughter with us as did I also.  We naturally thought that these would be good choices for youth who couldn’t pull a high enough draw weight on a bow to effectively take a deer, so we had them try out all three crossbows.  Both of the girls liked the PSE Sidewinder for the simple fact that there was less hand shock from the forearm and stock.  Even though it was the heaviest of the three it was the favorite of the two girls.  We also had them try to draw  the string manually and with the draw string aid with no luck!  The only crossbow they could load themselves was the Ten Point Titan with the draw assist hand crank.  With that said, a parent would definitely have to be afield with them to aid them with handling of the crossbow.  This alone teaches parental supervision!

     Some other observations we found were mostly related to safety handling of the crossbows.  We found ourselves handing the loaded crossbows to each other to place into the bench rest and the person on the receiving end more than once started to grab the rail thought the already loaded strings!  Also, YOU MUST keep your thumb and fingers down off of the rail when shooting!  I have seen more than one instance where a shooter has lost the tip of a finger or thumb that got in the way of the cables or string coming down the rail!  Last point of safety we thought of, it might not be wise to use these in a simple treestand since you must bend over the crossbow to pull the cocking aid draw string or to manually load it by hand.  Doing so could cause one to become unbalanced and lose your footing or balance in the treestand!  If I were going to hunt out of a treestand, I would want a crank style device to load the string!

     All in all, I don’t feel that the people who spoke out against the crossbow issues have anything to worry about.  These are not the magic weapon of choice that they claim them to be.  They do have a place in our woods and should be welcomed to encourage those who can’t take advantage of the archery season for what ever reason to now do so.  Since I have spent some time shooting these three crossbows, I have learned a lot about them.  They are not like a rifle so don’t treat them like one!  They will not shoot accurately over a long distance and they are not quiet by any means.  Most newer compound bows can out perform them with a little practice.  A lot of people who are speaking out against them claim that crossbow shooters have an advantage by having the string pulled back and locked, which they do, but is that any reason to keep them out of the archery season?  I think not!  Modern compounds are more effective than a crossbow so should they too be disallowed from the woods?  Traditional archers have an advantage of an easier let down if busted by an animal than that of a compound shooter who has a hard time letting down with out a jerking motion once the cams roll back!  Should we disallow the traditional shooters for that advantage?  We can find an advantage or disadvantage with any weapon of choice.  Instead of knocking down one another, we need to be supporting one another instead!  The anti’s don’t have to fight us if we are killing our own!   No matter what weapon you choose to take into the field this fall, remember to PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!  When you get done with that, practice some more!