compounds vs recurves

[Al]

Ive been hunting with the same bow, Browning midas hunter, for over 10 yrs. I shoot with fingers and was looking into buying a new bow. Technology has changed so much there are very few choices for finger shooters and it seems like you need to many gadgits to strap on to your bow now.
So to heck with it Im buying a crossbow for next season. I used to rabbit hunt with a barnett yrs ago . I only killed one though but that was at 35 yds and with a field tip the bolt passed completly through. I was impressed with its performance and its acuracy.

My question , is there any advantage to having a compound crossbow?

[Duster]

The only differance is just like compounds you have the weight reduction at the rollover point when you pull the string. Without this you would be pulling the entire weight and just like a recurve or longbow it only increases as you reach full draw.

Non compound crossbows are quiter upon release, simple fact it has less moving parts.

[Willie]

Al,

I reserached crossbow quite a bit when I had to switch over. I came to the conclusion that the compound technology in crossbows was not needed as the crossbow held the string back in place.

I also recalled when I hunted out west witha vertical bow, all I had to take, in addition to my recurve, was an extra string. When I took my compound I alway took a back up BOW. Not too many bow presses at 7,500 feet on the side of a mountain.

The recurve crossbow is simple and even I can change a string on it.

I woudl suggest that you PM Multidigits as he has the best prices going now for member of the new crosbow organization. It costs $10 to join and you'll get 15 - 20 times that back in savings on the purchase of a crossbow.

To answer your question I am reposting a post from a fellow crossbower that does a LOT of crossbow shooting.

I did a lot of "high volume" shooting for a number of years where the number of arrows shot ranged in the 1,000's/year.

IMHO, folks can buy what they like but for my own use, I will only consider the Excalibur recurve. The reason is logical and experienced based, described in the lengthy narrative that follows......

My bias towards Excalibur recurve crossbows has been documented in the past on the forum, a lot. This is based on what I describe as reliability. The reliability ensures that the accuracy will be retained and the point of impact will not shift due to some tuning problem related to cable, string and cam system issues.

The reliability issue is mainly one of string and cable wear on compounds, vertical or crossbow. Shoot them just for hunting and occasional practice and they are just fine, they will last for years. Generally when they are shot through a full season of 3D shooting where with practice and the actual shoots, the archer may shoot hundreds of shots/week and the likelihood of problems increases. There are a number of highly stressed, small moving parts like cams, axles, bushings etc.

Some shooters will get a longer life out of their compound strings and cables and that's great, but the trend in this volume of shooting is that there will likely be something that causes some grief. If you don't mind the occasional problem and are good at dealing with them then the compound could be just the ticket for you.

My personal 23 years of experience with compound verticals and many observations of other problems at shoots indicate that a string, cable or serving failure that will put you out of action is very likely. At our February 2002 3D shoot we had three shooters who had to quit part way through the shoot due to string/cable failures they could not repair in the field. These were two vert compounds and an Excalibur Paradox (compound) Crossbow.

I am able to change a string, in the field in minutes and the recurve crossbow will retain the exact same point of impact, there is absolutely no need to sight in again. To me, this is very important for my enjoyment of shooting.

As for accuracy, they will shoot better than most of us can hold. On a day with no wind, when I am in my best form, I can hit a playing card at 50 yards offhand; I STRESS, this is strictly target shooting/3D/Practice type stuff, I do not advocate for one second shooting at live game at this range. Off the bench on a 20 yard indoor range you can shoot a bolt from my Vixen into a fresh target, go up pull the bolt, cock and load it again and shooting it into the same hole.

The advantages of the Excalibur, aside from the limb/string system and accuracy we like to expound on, are;

1. IMHO Best trigger in the business, all models share this trigger.

2. Top release latch mechanism which allows the use of flat base nocks, no cock fletch required, no special nocks. All models share this feature. The Horton doen't have this.

3. Aluminum deck on all models, not just the most expensive models.

4. Components are often improved but the critical dimensions match existing models, i.e. you could retrofit a 1994 manufacture Exocet with a machined riser and or limbs with Mag Tips. Some models in other brands become obsolete, i.e. steel cable assemblies can no longer be obtained for some models, you have to find a shop that can still make up steel cables.

5. Simple, solid scope mount system.

6. There are three separate scope models, you can chose one that works with your crossbow and it's velocity/trajectory.

7. The Excalibur service department will address any question very quickly, at least more quickly, thoroughly and accurately than any vertical archery manufacturer I have dealt with in the past 20 years.

8. Good line of simple, proven accessories that work well with the crossbow.

9. Repairs seldom required, if they are needed, Excalibur works with the owner and makes sure it is made right.

[Kansas]

Al, I have had 2 10 pts and loved them.
It looks like excalibur and 10pt have a lot of similar options.
1.The 10 pts have the same trigger deal where it catches the string fom the top. From my understanding, this keeps the string from jumping as it goes down the barrel.
2.10pt all have machined aluminum barrels.
3.My older 10pt could be upgrade with lots of the new changes.
4.ther are 3 scopes that 10pt offers now. I like the 3 dot scope. No need to compinsate for different yardages.
5. They have an all machined trigger and top for a solid mount. Barnett and some other still use plastic scope rails.

One big difference between a recurve and a compound is the length. The recurves have to be wider and longer to get the same speeds as the compounds. ( shhh.. no different then a regular bow) I looked at both and thought the shorter narrower bow would be easier to get around in the woods. The excaliburs are lighter though.

[Al]

Kansas, can you adjust each indivuial dot on your scope ? If so what yardages do you have them set at? Thanks

[Kansas]

Al,

The dots all move together, but it is dead nuts at 20, 30 and 40. It has a whole bunch of brightness levels too. Mine is a 30mm but i see they have a 40mm this year too.

[Willie]

Al,

I will admit that IF I were going to shoot and hunt with a compound crossbow TenPoint would be the one.

It is in a class by is itself in the compound crossbows.

But, I'm a KISS man.. Keep It Simple Stupid and just love my keep it simple recurve Excalibur crossbow..

[Kansas]

Willie
I know excalibur is all about simplicity and I agree it has it's place. Out of curiosity Willie, how many times have you had to change your string in the field? Do you always carry the extra string and the re-stringing(sp) thing?
I gotta say they are nice and light.
Thanks,
Kansas

[Willie]

I've never had to change my string yet in the field.

But all it would take is once.

I have stupidly cut my vertical bow string before and the hunt was over until I went to town and to a bow press.

I do take a broke in string with me into the field.

I can string my bow without a stringer.

[digger]

One other thing you might think about with an Excalibur recurve is that it is very forgiving of dry fires. There is not a lot of cams and wheels to be thrown out of kilter or bend out of shape. The Excalibur people dry fired one bow 50 times without a nasty incident happening.

Digger

[Multidigits]

My distributor has several older model Exocet in 175 pull. What difference is there between those and the new 200? Anything other than bolt speed???

[Willie]

The riser is different on the Exocet200. It is made to have the limbs tilted more forward. What this does is put more bend in the limbs. Basically a prebend before it is even cocked.

The difference is one bow is 175# and the other is 200# and that will get more speed.

I believe there is a different camo job on the Exocet200. Not sure on that though.

The Exocet200 is a very sweet bow. The Exocet 175 is a great bow also and will kill deer just as dead.

I sentyou a couple PMs.

[Xtreme]

My distributor has several older model Exocet in 175 pull. What difference is there between those and the new 200? Anything other than bolt speed???

More than likely the newer models will have a much better trigger. The R&D on xbows have been the emphasis on noise, trigger pull [older xbows have an absolutely ghastly trigger] and breakdowns i.e. serving wear etc.

By the way, the industry standard is now 3 and a half pounds trigger pull.

My God man, am I going to have to offer my services on this communist site as a consultant?

There is not a smiley face known to man that I could place here:D :D :eek:

[gwhilikerz]

More than likely the newer models will have a much better trigger. The R&D on xbows have been the emphasis on noise, trigger pull [older xbows have an absolutely ghastly trigger] and breakdowns i.e. serving wear etc.

By the way, the industry standard is now 3 and a half pounds trigger pull.

My God man, am I going to have to offer my services on this communist site as a consultant?

There is not a smiley face known to man that I could place here:D :D :eek:
No you don't have to offer your services here. you can go sit on your thumbs . That should give you a big grin.

[Xtreme]

No you don't have to offer your services here. you can go sit on your thumbs . That should give you a big grin.

I don't want to sit on my thumbs as I have a hemmorhoid or two, they remind me of you:D

Hey, that rhymed:eek:

Git er done:cool:

[Multidigits]

I don't want to sit on my thumbs as I have a hemmorhoid or two, they remind me of you:D

Hey, that rhymed:eek:

Git er done:cool:

Good one.....thanks for the advice. I'm still waiting on my "free" crossbows but I'm about to give up hope.

[wabi]

I love Excalibur's simplicity and ruggedness. I tried several crossbows (compound) and had given up on the crossbow as an option for hunting. Just too complicated and cumbersome. The final straw was when I got a finger in the string's path and cut it almost off, and broke two bones in it! Then I heard about Excalibur and had to try one. I've been crossbow hunting ever since that day, and no regrets!!!

And I have replaced a string in the field. I did the dry-fire thing :( . Never found the origional string, but the spare in my pack was a simple matter to put on, and the Excalibur suffered no damage and was still dead-on accurate. Try dry-firing a compound and see if it does any damage :eek:

[Kansas]

Al,

My 10pt has a latch that won't let you dry fire the bow. It catches the string before it can fire. It only travels about a quarter of an inch. I did it once by accident and it scared the hell out of me, but it did it's job.
Find some place that you can shoot several and try them all. That is the best bet.