To Scope...or Not to Scope...Quivering with fear?

[Mayor of Atlantis]

I have been shopping for a new or used Excalibur. I am looking for feedback on the use of the scope (or any other scope) as well as the bolt quiver that comes with many of the models sold. Moving over to a crossbow from a vertical bow I am not too sure about hunting with either of these attached to a crossbow.

I have been using on my vertical bow a simple, single crosshair bowsight setup with the single crosshair sighted in at 20 paces (no not yards or meters...just my wobbly paces). Along with the great, non-restrictive periferal vision it allowed I could quickly compensate for target range to known trees, rocks, marking tape I had previously paced out. I have found this is the best setup to use for close quarter treestand bowhunting.

I tried out a buddy's Axiom equipped with the factory scope and it was definitely spot on accurate. What I noticed however is that I found using it severly impaired my "hunting field of view" even though it does not magnify (or very little if it does). To put it another way I found it adversely restricted me to tunnel vision. I shoot right handed, I am right eye dominant and I shoot with both eyes open. I felt however after using the scope on the crossbow, albeit accurate for target shooting, that it would not promote effective hunter periferal coverage like my vertical bow crosshair setup did for bush bowhunting from a tree stand for whitetail deer.

The Axiom I tried out also had a quiver attached. I have always found that quivers of this type are usually more trouble than beneficial to hunting with a bow. I really don't see the hunting benefit to sticking one on a crossbow either. Yes they keep your broadheads in order but at what cost? Why attach it to the bow permanently or even worse attached with a "removable" connection? I find it better to keep hunting tipped arrows quivered safely and slung over your shoulder until you get setup in the stand. For target tipped shooting I find nothing beats the simple convenience of a belt mounted or free standing ground quiver.

To Scope...or Not to Scope...?

I am fishing for points of view and field experiences from using a scope on a crossbow as well as from those using open sights.

Quiver with fear?

How do other users find the attached quiver setup?

Thanks gang!

[vixenmaster]

I don't use a quiver on any of my Excals. I have it tied to my day pack. Holo sight would be yer style or possibly a red dot

[Steve_Guelph]

I only use the quiver to walk to my stand or blind and Remove it. If I was stalking I would put it in my backpack. As for a scope... I prefer the scope and the distance marks inside the scope. I also use a range finder and mark areas from my hunting location. No guess work. I do practice at estimating distance and verifying with the range finder to see how close or off I am.

[VixChix]

I use a scope. I'm left-eye dominant and shoot right so it's better for me to shoot with the left eye closed anyway. I'm also getting to that age where my eyes aren't as good as they used to be. I enjoy shooting 3D and I know I wouldn't shoot nearly as well without a scope.

With practice, target acquisition using a scope becomes instinctive.

I use a hip quiver for shooting 3D - it carries all my other necessities for competition too (arrow pullers, binos, lube, pens, score cards, insect repellent, etc.)

For hunting I carry my quiver on the bow using a MunchMount (top-mount quiver bracket). I take the quiver off once I reach my stand.

[Riflemanz]

The quiver stays on my 355 until I get to the tree and then it comes off to hang nearby.As far as the scope what I do is get in position to shoot,then stop the deer with a bleat,then I raise the bow up and shoot.

[LongCarbine]

I use top mount quiver when stalking but remove it when sitting . I carry to much other crap not to have it on the bow, As far as a scope you might have a little tunnel vision but you will be able to pick your spot on the deer better or see a hidden branch that's in the way.

[DaveShooter]

I like a scope maybe just me. I too am left eye dom but I shoot right handed. I keep both eyes open sometimes I will squent my left eye almost closed as well as closed for a good shot or try to get a decent hit or shot. As far as Quiver mine is the one that came with my Xcal Vortex, and I remove it once I get tyo my place i'm gonna hunt- I would set the bow up the way you like it or what suits you

[Galgo]

I scope because of my poor eye sight. light gathering capabilities of the scope is a must for me. I also switched to a hip quiver after year one. Love it would never go back to a bow mounted quiver.

F

[Chris Dillard]

I used the factory peep and pin for 4 to 5 years, and then a Red Dot for 2 years. I recently switched to a magnified scope the Vari-Zone to be specific and I truely wish I had done this a long time ago. I can now routinely can hit a dot the diameter of a nickel at 10,20,30,40, and yes most of the time at 50 yards. I say throw a magnified scope on your bow. By the way I never hunt or practice with a quiver attached to my bow. Good Luck!

[BravoKilo]

Have been running my Phoenix with a single red-dot sight and this year I decided to make the switch to a scope. I always like the simplicity and unobstructed FOV, however I began to realize it has some downfalls.

My biggest issue is having to "guess" when shooting beyond your sight's zero. Depending on your zero, you can be looking at a good foot of drop from say 30 to 40 yards. To compensate I made a dope sheet and taped it to my stock that had arrow drops from 20 out to 50 yards. While I could comfortably estimate while standing on flat ground and shooting at pre-measured targets, the game changes completely when you're in a stand, shooting at different angles and at deer of different sizes. For the simple reason of being able to ensure a clean and ethical kill, I decided I needed to switch to a scope.

[wabi]

The factory peep sight works fine for my deer shooting ranges (I keep shots under 30 yards), but I found the fiber optics are not too good when shooting from inside a ground blind. In low light there just isn't enough light inside the blind to illuminate them.

I switched to a scope because of that problem. My eyes just aren't good enough to shoot well without that front sight lit up.
This season I had to rob the scope (2-7X Leupold) off the Phoenix to replace the Leupold 4X I had on the muzzleloader so the 4X could be returned to Leupold for service (adjustments got out of whack after 39 years).

I stuck a red dot (single 5 minute dot) on the Phoenix temporarily, and so far it seems to be working well. Took my son (who will also be using the Phoenix) to the range recently and he was keeping all the arrows in the 3" dots at 25 yards with the red dot. I tried it at 30 yards (my max range) and was still hitting the bottom of the 3" dot, well within "minute of deer".

I use a 25 yard zero for deer hunting. Any deer from 0-30 yards is dead with a "center of the kill zone" hold without worrying about exact range. All I have to do is range several 30 yard reference points, and when the deer steps inside my zone I can concentrate on getting a good shot off. Up close might hit slightly high, but that's not always bad from an elevated stand. So far every deer I've shot (lost count, but I've been doing it for a few years now) has gone down quickly and recovery was easy. At that range magnification isn't really needed. When I used the Leupold I usually kept it set at 2.5X which also made the duplex "posts" (transition from thick to thin on the reticle) an aiming point for 15 & 35 yards. Only used the 15 yard post once and it worked perfectly, but even using the crosshair would have meant another deer to tag.


Edited to add:
Oops, almost forgot the quiver question.
I've always used a hip quiver for archery hunting (longbows & recurves), so when I switched to a crossbow I just kept the same old hip quiver(s) and used them. I load the arrows in the 6 arrow quiver so I can grab a field point or broadhead out without looking. I keep a couple field points in the quiver for unloading the bow or just checking the zero of the bow if I have the need or desire to do so.

[Hester0305]

I've been using scopes on all my rifles so a scope is a must for me on my crossbow I love how it makes everything clear to me. I don't even think about any tunnel vision I guess everything is instinctive. They're several different options for scopes you can use a crossbow scope or a single crosshair rifle scope of your choice since you shoot 20 yards or paces or less. Like some others have said you can zero your scope in at 25 yards and kill anything that comes within that range without having to even think about the range.

The quiver question is a matter of choice, I have never hunted with my quiver on my vertical bow or crossbow. My quiver just carries my arrows to the tree. I don't use the Excal quiver I use the same quiver for my vertical bow and crossbow. I use a Bohning 4 arrow quiver and buy extra mounting brackets and mount these brackets to all my climbing and stationary stands so I take my quiver off and lock it in place with the quiver bracket. Good luck and have fun shooting.

[Cossack]

Definitely a scope. Magnifications enables one to aim at a designated spot on the deer, not the general area. Quiver to carry three arrows to the stand, then it comes off.