Help in picking out first crossbow

[RON17T]

I'm looking to buy a crossbow for hunting. Won't be using it often so I don't want to spend a lot on one.I also know almost nothing about crossbows. They're not legal for hunting in my state so it will only get used on select hunting trips. Any suggestions on brand,type-compound or recurve,arrow selection would be appreciated.

[Yak Angler]

I would recommend Excaliber -- they have a great website as well, Just google excaliber crossbows and take some time to read through the information on their site. Will bring you up to speed and help you decide which model meets your needs. I personally own the Excaliber Vortex which is rated for 330FPS and comes with a thumbhole stock. I would not buy anything deifferent it is extremely accurate and easily capable of shooting robin hood's all day long at distances out to 30 yards and can be used for anything from small game to the largest animals north america has to offer.

Other then that the same rules that apply to regular bows concerning distance of shots and shot placement apply exactly the same to crossbows.

[longwinters]

When you say I don't want to spend alot, its kind of relative.  I never want to spend a lot....but.... If you have been reading the posts on this forum, you will probably see that the Excalibur and 10 Point are the top dogs.  Both have many models and prices.  There are many other brands also, but these two are consistently at the top in ratings.  Have fun researching.

Long

[RON17T]

Would a crossbow in the 300.00 range be along the line of what I'm looking for?

[Yak Angler]

$ 300.00 is probably not going to get you a new excaliber or ten point.

I live in Canada so that usually means i will pay about 15-20% more then someone living in the U.S for the same hunting product. Excaliber's least expensive crossbow is called the phoenix and they usually sell new for around $ 550.00 where i live. My Vortex was $ 600.00 keep in mind that is just for the bow by itself by the time you add a 4-5 bolts some broadheads , destringing tool, cocking tool, quiver etc i think i am up at around $ 800.00 to get a hunting ready rig.

If you knock 20% off that if you live somewhere in the U.S you probably need to spend about $ 650.00
or so to go hunting with one, its worth it though for the difference in quality and performance over the other brand's of crossbows.

[Hunter2]

I would say shoulder all you can find then set a price point. Then buy the best performance you can find.