New ibex owner here!

[iBexSlayer]

[*]Takes a bow[*] Thank you kind folks of the Excalibur Forum.

Just bought it last week, and shot it for the first time yesterday. I have to say, I am very impressed with the ibex. My buddy brought over his Barnet Jackal Compound Cross bow, and we shot together at a Hurricane Bag.

So far, I just added the S5 System ( Don't ask me if I noticed the difference as I installed them before I even starting shooting the bow )

Firebolts with 150 grain heads I believe came with the SMF set up.

Now, on for some questions...

1. What is an ideal bolt / broad bolt setup for deer? I am new to all of this, and I don't know the technical terms for everything. I pretty much want a ready to fire setup.

2. The scope that comes with the ibex is ok, but I was wondering, are there scopes out there with built - in range finders? I am horrible at judging distance, I mean really bad. Or do I have to have a range finder mounted off to the side to judge the distance of the deer?

3. Are there any digital books out there I can purchase for my iPad that gives detailed instructions on how to field dress / gut various game?

I have never hunted in my life. I will be practicing with my friend until deer season starts with targets / 3D targets. All in all, I am trying to avoid a bad experience taking down my first kill. I am softie, meaning I don't have it in me to see animals being killed. However, I am 40 years old now, and honestly believe I can take a life of an animal in which I intend to eat. I won't kill for sport or fur, I just won't.

Thank you in advance for helpful insights and criticism

[kd8jgu]

Welcome and congrads
I had a Ibex used Firebolts with Boltcutters
Killed a lot of deer and hogs with that setup.
As far as scope with range finder
The price is why I have not considered one.
I carry a range finder if I am hunting a certain area I will mark out distance.
I also will go out to an area carry range finder.
First I will pick something in view try and figure distance then check my distance with range finder
With practice I am getting better

[vixenmaster]

Welcome to the Forum & congrats on a fine Excal you bought. S5 i believe it will help dampen the string vibes & its really ok as an add on. Dbars on the other hand now are obsolete because the S5 is much better product. To each his/her own on arrow weight n BH's. I preferr 100-125 gr BH's, i use alum. 2114 & 2216 arrows. Plus i do use carbons & hope to have Blk.Eagle Executioners .001 by this summer. Someone else chime in on range finders as i am great wid that in my head, plus i seldom ever shoot deer or hogs past 35 yds. Lots of practice is very good!

[Hoagy]

Welcome to the forum & congrats on the Excal choice. Glad to have you ibexslayer.
You can search the forum knowledge base for answers to a lot of things & theres always a great group of people here glad to help you.

[Hoagy]

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[yooper_man]

Welcome and congrats on the Ibex.

I shoot the Equinox and use fixed bladed broad heads and had great luck with Excalibur's 150 grain 3 blade boltcutters, but now I switched to 150 grain 4 blade Slick Tricks Xbow broad heads. I feel the added 150 grain weight is important when using firebolts.

Optics with built in range finders are very expensive and heavy. I recommend a handheld range finder. Also practice at judging ranges around your home then pace it off. If you hunt out of a stationary stand, put out markers of known ranges too help when a deer walks in. Making an educated guess out to 30 yards isn't too hard, plus a few inches high or low on a broadside shot is usually lethal.

I used Google.com and found https://www.deerdummy.com/mobile_app

I am not sure if its good, but I bet its better than nothing, but I strongly recommend watching a veteran hunter on how to field dress properly.

Enjoy,
Andrew

[iBexSlayer]

Thank you all for the inputs so far! So, built in range finder scopes are out. I haven't got that kind of money

The D-Bars were never really an option for me to consider. Before making my choice on Excalibur, I lurked the forums for lots of information. Money was a factor in which model to get. The Ibex was 550.00 new, and the Matrix 380 was 1099. They had several Matrix 380's and a few 355's

I will certainly attempt to learn to judge distance, I like the ideas given so far. Portable range finder is something I can put into my budget. I will be in a tree stand, so when I go to scout ahead of time, I guess I can place visible color markers on nearby trees. Different colors for different yardage for fast target placement.

I knew I made the right choice, and came to the right place

[awshucks]

Check out the Excalibur range finder mount. Put's it on top of your scope. Welcome to the forum!

[mr meat]

welcome to the forum!

[kd8jgu]

A few more ideas
Where I have been hog hunting I have a haybale bling and 3 tree stands.
For distance marks I have used things that are around the area.
Things the animals are used too.
There are a lot of old fence post that I have moved to 20, 30, 40, and 50yrds
I do my measurements from base of tree.
For the blind it is 20yrds off a brush pile I can pack with bait.
There is a corrall that is 35yrds out.
These are all things that the yotes, hogs, and deer are used too.
So good luck

[maine hunter]

welcome, nice bow you got. my first bow was the smf axiom. shoots great. and now i have an vortex also. i use firebolts,150 fp's,and 125 rages,125 g5 montecs. fly great for me. i bought a range finder on ebay for 90.00. comes in handy. good luck.