Long Range Shooting

powhs · Post by **powhs** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 1:43 pm

I am amazed with Matthias 110 yard groups on the Venatores Forum.
It has inspired me to purchase a new Exomax. I have a covered porch and lots of room to shoot that distance if I can set up the bow correctly. First I need to pick a scope and mount. Any help you can give me will be appreciated.
A lot of the scope makers make crossbow scopes. Have you tried any of them have opinions?

Pydpiper · Post by **Pydpiper** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 3:59 pm

That is a porch I would like to see!

powhs · Post by **powhs** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 6:21 pm

The porch is regular size. But I have loads of room in the yard. Can't wait for the bow to arrive start shooting.

wabi · Post by **wabi** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 7:07 pm

Don't confuse a hunting crossbow setup with a target crossbow setup. The Excaliburs are quite capable of being #1 at both applications, but most of the accessories such as scopes Excalibur offers are designed for hunting. The crossbow has a limited range in hunting, not because of a lack of accuracy, but because of the relatively low velocity af the arrows it launches. A game animal can react to the sound of the bow firing and move before the arrow gets there if you push the distance limits too far.
For long range target shooting I would contact Matthias and ask about the scope & mount he uses. I believe it's a custom made adjustable (for elevation) mount from Europe (Germany?).

Grizzly Adam · Post by **Grizzly Adam** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 7:28 pm

Guess I ought to get busy seeing how far I can shoot from and still hit the target ... I've got about 600 yards to the south that no one can tell me to do otherwise on!

Problem is, you can't buy a wind-free day here. Those Wright brothers knew where to go, huh?

Boo · Post by **Boo** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 7:31 pm

wabi wrote:Don't confuse a hunting crossbow setup with a target crossbow setup. The Excaliburs are quite capable of being #1 at both applications, but most of the accessories such as scopes Excalibur offers are designed for hunting. The crossbow has a limited range in hunting, not because of a lack of accuracy, but because of the relatively low velocity af the arrows it launches. A game animal can react to the sound of the bow firing and move before the arrow gets there if you push the distance limits too far.
For long range target shooting I would contact Matthias and ask about the scope & mount he uses. I believe it's a custom made adjustable (for elevation) mount from Europe (Germany?).

Well said Wabi!

powhs · Post by **powhs** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 10:06 pm

If a guy can hit a small bullseye at long ranges it only makes him better at hunting ranges.

Grizzly Adam · Post by **Grizzly Adam** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 10:16 pm

By the way, Powhs ... looks like you're a new poster. Welcome to the forum!

Acceptable hunting range is a bit of a "hot potato" subject here. I think most of the guys only want to emphasize that you can shoot a crossbow accurately at much farther ranges than you should hunt at.

Your point about target proficiency and hunting is well taken.

Enjoy the discussion. Mutual respect between posters is what makes this forum great!

butch · Post by **butch** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 10:53 pm

Good evening all. Those are impressive ranges for target shooting for sure!!I have a concern about bolt speed and penetration at a 4 legged target, not to mentioned windage and spin drift. It would be interesting to chronograph the bolt at 100 yards and see if it has sufficient speed and energy to kill a deer humanely. At that range the bolt would be on a significant downword trajectory and by nature of the bolts terminal ballistics you would have to change your point of aim to ensure a humane kill.

wabi · Post by **wabi** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 4:08 am

powhs wrote:If a guy can hit a small bullseye at long ranges it only makes him better at hunting ranges.

I agree, practice is important and I like to shoot at the longest range my scope will allow. I use a TenPoint Pro-View scope and have it sighted for 15-25-35 yards. It has 3 horizontal crosshairs, but the vertical crosshair is like a "duplex" crosshair (thick at the edge and thin in the center) and the bottom thick portion (I call it a post) is on at 45 yards. I would never shoot at a deer at that range, but I have a target set up on a dirt bank at 45 yards so I can shoot it to unload my crossbow when I get back to my truck after hunting. I have an old plastic 16oz water bottle for the target, and it has a lot of holes in it.

Matthias72 · Post by **Matthias72** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 8:38 am

Yes very good points, bstout. On my opinion targeting and hunting are linked: a crossbow is not a traditional instintive bow, in effect normally if you with a traditional bow train yourself in long distance, when you shoot close your arrow groups arrive highter respect the aim point, because your mind register the old arrow trajectory; but the crossbow is much more similar to a compound bow, your arrow trajectory is shown by the riflescipe reticle, so if you naturalize your shooting tecnique on long distance for sure if you suddently shoot close, your shoot will be much more accurate. Besides the long shooting oblige you to understand some crossbow/equipment behaviour and accuracy that the short distance doesn't show. So, in my opinion, in training, naturalize yourself at the maximum distance as possible USING THE SAME HUNTING EQUIPMENT.
But, we know well that The SHOOT IS ONLY A PART of the hunting, so we can find amazing shooters that are scarce hunters (as well as many hunters that are poor shooters). The hunting shoots are done often in very cold contitions, with few light, with positive or negative slope, with emotions, with an animal that can move or watch you, it can do a string jumping reaction, you can have tree or brenches on te arrow trajectory, wind, etc... so the hunting distances are closer than the targeting or training distances for this reason, because at the present-days, where normally we hunt not to survive, we are learning the respect for our prey, to avoid as much as possible the risk of wound.

Regards

Matthias

Grizzly Adam · Post by **Grizzly Adam** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 11:03 am

A good friend of mine who is a hunting guide always says, "Put hooves and fur on the target, and everything changes!"

He's absolutely right. And I have observed an associated phenomena: Put claws and teeth on the target, and everything changes more!

I too have known some pretty sharp target archers (and riflemen) who always blow a circuit when a hunting shot comes their way ... especially when it's a big ol' bear in their sights!

I believe target practice is helpful in every way, but I know what Bob is gettting at, too: all the target practice in the world doesn't necessarily mean anything when it comes time to shed blood.

This is all good news, of course, because it translates to:

Practice like it makes all the difference.

Hunt like it made no difference.