Cocking question

agingcrossbower · Post by **agingcrossbower** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 9:03 pm

Thats a great idea Ischa. How did you do on your hunting trip?

lscha wrote:I have adopted the practice of the rubber band on the safety until I have full control of the crossbow: from the atv to the actual stand unless I have both hands on the bow. Thank you TPM!!

lscha · Post by **lscha** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 9:38 pm

agingcrossbower wrote:Thats a great idea Ischa. How did you do on your hunting trip?

That idea came from TPM. or Mr. VixChix LOL!!!! (sorry, couldn't resist).

The deer are very smug in my woods right now. They are frolicking through the woods and think they have outsmarted me. I shall sneak out to watch them again this weekend, I hope.

TNXBow · Post by **TNXBow** » Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:48 am

The terrain is difficult to manage when I walk and climb up the ridges where I hunt, so I prefer an uncocked bow going in and out. I do the same as most everyone. I cock mine on the ground by the base of the tree, put the safety on tie hoist rope. climb tree pull it up. Only when I am up the tree and ready do I put the bolt in the crossbow.

wabi · Post by **wabi** » Fri Oct 09, 2009 7:23 am

I never carry my crossbow cocked. I have had the safety flipped off (by brush) when carrying it slung over my shoulder in the past and decided carrying id cocked was not a good practice. The rubber band might help, but then the brush could break a rubber band.

I have some stands where cocking the crossbow in the stand is no problem, and a couple stands where cocking it is somewhere between difficult and impossible. In the stands where it is east to cock, I cock it in the stand after hauling it up. In the others I cock it on the ground below the stand and haul it up with the safety on and no arrow loaded. I always unload the arrow before lowering it, too. If the haul line were to break there's no guarantee the bow would fall to the ground in the pointed down position, if it somehow flipped and was pointed up when it hit it could lead to another bad news story.

lscha · Post by **lscha** » Fri Oct 09, 2009 10:00 am

wabi wrote:I never carry my crossbow cocked. I have had the safety flipped off (by brush) when carrying it slung over my shoulder in the past and decided carrying id cocked was not a good practice. The rubber band might help, but then the brush could break a rubber band.

What's nice about being old is, you stay out of brush that will break your rubber band, flip your safety off and fire your bow.

mjm · Post by **mjm** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 10:33 pm

lscha wrote:I have adopted the practice of the rubber band on the safety until I have full control of the crossbow: from the atv to the actual stand unless I have both hands on the bow. Thank you TPM!!

That's a great idea.I started doing the binder thing today.Thanks for that.

saxman · Post by **saxman** » Sun Oct 11, 2009 8:41 am

TripleM wrote:Thanks for that rubber band hint lscha. Simple yet clever.

I will have one on the trigger before tomorrow's hunt.

A safety device on the safety mech. Great post as far as I'm concerned.

Great idea

Phoenix_Tom · Post by **Phoenix_Tom** » Sun Oct 11, 2009 11:06 pm

I had one of those "it'll never happen to me" moments. The day after reading this post I was climbing a ridge overgrown in young poplar, with my xbow cocked and slung on one shoulder, with an 8' ladder and 3 2x4x8s lashed to it on the other shoulder. There was an animal den dead ahead and as I turned to warn my son of the hole in the trail, my right leg went in up to my crotch in the den as it caved in. Suffering from that sudden crotch contact made the pain of the ladder's rim, with it's additional load, digging into my shoulder hardly noticeable. As I was collecting my breath and wits and contemplating just taking a break here, I then had the realization that the den might be occupied. Adrenaline is a wonderful drug and I was up and out of the hole in about 1 second. In fact, I went about 10' in that second. Which is right around the point that the bottom sling swivel broke, the Phoenix hit the ground on it's butt stock pointing straight up, and it dry fired. At this point I was overwhelmed in the moment and I set a very bad example yelling one loud explitive. But I needed to release that anger at myself, frustration, and the pain I was in. I checked the xbow limbs and they're still good to go. The safety had probably been disengaged by the first fall and then the shock of the second fall a second later triggered it. Or possibly a poplar took the safety off. At this point it doesn't matter. I should just mention here that I've never had a problem
with it firing accidentally as long as the safety is on. But I've learned my lesson. I shouldn't have even had it cocked. It might have been easier to get it through the poplars with my lazy man's load, but it wasn't a good idea. And it's not like I would have been able to even take a shot in those poplars or with that load. I've got to watch the things I do as a force of (bad) habit.

XbowMisiu · Post by **XbowMisiu** » Sun Oct 11, 2009 11:33 pm

I cock my bow when I am up in the tree. I am also using a climber with a rail around it but have no problem cocking it while up there or uncocking it by hand when the hunt is over and it’s time to get back to the ground.