New to the forum and new to crossbows!

Sauerkraut · Post by **Sauerkraut** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 3:54 am

Hey, I just wanted to say hello to everybody. This is my first post to this forum. I've been lurking here for about a week, doing a lot of searches and getting as much information as I can about crossbows and crossbow hunting. I'll be buying my first x-bow in a couple days and I haven't totally made up my mind of what I'm going to buy. I know that I will be buying either an Excalibur Phoenix or Exocet along with a kit. I just haven't made up my mind which of these two bows I want to buy and whether I should buy the scope kit or the standard kit. I only hunt in Pennsylvania and will not be hunting with the x-bow for anything larger than deer. My gut tells me to buy the Phoenix simply because that is all I need. My main questions regarding using the Phoenix for deer are whether the slightly flatter shooting Exocet would make a difference for shots at deer out to 25 yards and at 25 yards is the Phoenix going to have the power to break bone and still penetrate good enough to put the deer down quickly? I have vertical bow experience both with recurve and compound. I know what my recurve could do to a deer even though it didn't have a lot of power behind it compared to my compound. It still always had more than enough power to pass through the deer completely. I just don't see the reason in exerting extra stress to my body cocking that extra 25 lbs. I also figure that the Phoenix may have a slightly better trigger and the bow would last a little bit longer than the Exocet due to less stress to the bow. I know, I know, if properly cared for they will both probably outlast me! Hey, I guess I just answered my own question about which bow to get. I just want to be sure that I kill the deer as humanely and efficiently as possible. I just have questions about my weapon and gear choices because crossbows are new to me. Using a vertical bow I know what will and won't get the job done. With this crossbow gear, I'm unsure because I've never used it before. That brings me to my next question about putting a scope on my bow. At first I figured I would just use the peep sight because I thought that using the peep would be more simple. Also I figured the peep would be better suited for me because the majority of my shots at deer are 15 yards sometimes they are almost directly under me. I worry that if I use a scope that I may have trouble finding the deer in the scope and also have trouble picking a spot on the deer because it is magnified. I know that the Excal. scope is only 2.5X but this is my major concern with using a scope. A buddy of mine borrowed a Horton last year to hunt. It had a 4X scope on it and he had trouble finding the deer in it at first. I also worry about the scope fogging up from me breathing too heavy when I have that buck of a lifetime in front of me. The pros. for the scope are it gives me a finer aiming point/reticle for those 25 yard shots, it will help me to be more accurate in general, I hope, and it just looks soooo..... sweet on those recurve limbed bows. Most important for me regarding the sighting system I use is that it must be robust/reliable. Not that I'm going to beat the heck out of it, but I want to be able to have complete confidence in my equipment. Well, any advice you guys can give me will be greatly appreciated. I know that I will have many more questions in the future. Thanks again!

Boltshooter · Post by **Boltshooter** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 4:26 am

Welcome Sauerkraut!

Not too shabby for your first post

While I am new to crossbow shooting, I've done a fair amount of reading on the topic, and I feel confident in saying that you can't go very far wrong with either the Phoenix or the Exocet 200. . . .although my bow of choice is the emax. Are you planning to use the rope cocker? If you are, you should be able to draw either of the bows easily. Also, the discontinued Exomag was possibly the most popular excal bow ever, and it had the 200 pound draw weight like the new exocet.

Sauerkraut · Post by **Sauerkraut** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 4:37 am

I do plan on using the rope cocker. The Exocet is the max lbs. I can use for hunting in Pennsylvania. We have to use x-bows between 120-200 lbs. That doesn't really concern me though because I don't want to, nor do I need to use more than 200 lbs. anyways. I even doubt that I really need more than 175 lbs. for PA deer. I also had a question in regards to the Excal. quiver. When I bowhunt I remove the quiver from my bow when I get situated in my stand. I wondered whether the bracket that the quiver attaches to will make any vibration noise when I shoot it without the quiver attached. Since it hangs out away from the bow I worry of getting some twang. I figured if there was some noise on the bracket I would hopefully be able to silence it with a Sims accessory silencer.

wabi · Post by **wabi** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 9:30 am

Welcome!!!!
It sounds like you've narrowed it down to the Phoenix, and IMHO you've made the right choice! I know a lot of people want the biggest, baddest crossbow made, but the Phoenix is about the same as the old model Exocet and that's what I hunt with. It's more than enough for deer within what many hunters consider ethical range (under 30 yards). I sight my Exocet at 25 yards with a red-dot sight, and it's well within the kill zone for an adult whitetail out to just over 30 yards. If you have good eyesight the peep & fiber optic pin are a good choice. I use the red-dot for vision enhancement, but like the peep sight, too. I have a backup "ghost ring" peep that fits the scope rail, and can change to peep & fiber optic in minutes if I need to.
As for penetrating bone, the best shot with an arrow avoids any heavy bones! As for ribs, don't worry! There isn't enough resistance from the ribs to worry about with any of the Excaliburs. I do most of my shooting from a tree stand, and the arrow usually buries at least half it's length in the ground on the other side of the deer I shoot.

LoneWolf · Post by **LoneWolf** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 9:56 am

Congrats on going with a quality brand crossbow!

Enjoy the new toy!...

Sauerkraut · Post by **Sauerkraut** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 10:05 am

About the breaking bone part of my question, I should have been more specific. I meant would the arrow have enough force left at 25 or 30 to break the rib bones instead of deflecting in the deer. Like I said, I know how vertical bows and arrows behave just wasn't sure with the shorter crossbow arrows.

LoneWolf · Post by **LoneWolf** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 10:53 am

Sauerkraut wrote:About the breaking bone part of my question, I should have been more specific. I meant would the arrow have enough force left at 25 or 30 to break the rib bones instead of deflecting in the deer.

Yes that bolt will go through any deer without a problem and break it's rib bones without having it deflecting. As long as it ain't too much of an angle shot you don't have to worry about the bolt and broadhead doing what it's suppose to do...

BigUgly · Post by **BigUgly** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 10:57 am

Welcome aboard be safe and have fun.