New crossbow

I finally got and received my first crossbow today. I have wanted one for a few years now but could not afford one. I worked over time threw christmas in order to pay for the gifts for the ten grand kids and family, and it just seems like that's the way it goes every year. This year the wife surprised me and and had me stop at bass pro on our way to niagra just for a look around at things. While looking around i picked up a couple of bows and said to the wife when i get some money this would be the one i would choose. She went off to the wash room and i continued to wounder the store. When i met her out side didn't she surprise me with the bow that i wanted. said that she had put away the over time money for me. Wow, It is an excalibur micro AXE 340 Now that i have it i would like to learn every thing i can about crossbows such as what else is needed for it, type of case - arrows and broad heads and such. As well as proper distances for shooting while deer hunting. As well as every thing else that i should know. I am a complete newb on this and looking forward to many months of practice before the season. That is why i wanted one to extend my season outside of rifle. So any advice and tips are greatly appreciated as always. Thanks all Don

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Originally Posted by severn don

I finally got and received my first crossbow today. I have wanted one for a few years now but could not afford one. I worked over time threw christmas in order to pay for the gifts for the ten grand kids and family, and it just seems like that's the way it goes every year. This year the wife surprised me and and had me stop at bass pro on our way to niagra just for a look around at things. While looking around i picked up a couple of bows and said to the wife when i get some money this would be the one i would choose. She went off to the wash room and i continued to wounder the store. When i met her out side didn't she surprise me with the bow that i wanted. said that she had put away the over time money for me. Wow, It is an excalibur micro AXE 340 Now that i have it i would like to learn every thing i can about crossbows such as what else is needed for it, type of case - arrows and broad heads and such. As well as proper distances for shooting while deer hunting. As well as every thing else that i should know. I am a complete newb on this and looking forward to many months of practice before the season. That is why i wanted one to extend my season outside of rifle. So any advice and tips are greatly appreciated as always. Thanks all Don

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Treat your wife nicely!, other than that? I am not a crossbow shooter--compound bow .

A great bow congrats

Congratulations-i owe one,but an old one,so can not comment on these new models.
There is a multitude of videos on Excalibur website+ Youtube has a bunch.Try them..........

Keep your shots reasonable,and try not to go for the hype of shooting long range.The deer we are after deserve better then taking low percentage shots.
Enjoy......

Nice story and bow. I have the G340 model (much the same as yours) and it shoots awesome. I put on the dampering kit, not the air brakes but everything else and sited the bow in with 150 grain bolt cutters.
The bow comes with 100 grain tips but I switched to the 150 grain bolt cutters as recommended by my local bow shop. The heaver tip stablizes the front of center so the arrow will fly better at longer ranges.

The bolt cutters fly like field tips and have the ability to adjust the blades with your arrow fletching . Enjoy your new bow

You will be surprised at how accurate the Excalibur bows are when you fire your first shot. I would suggest sighting it in for 20 yards. The scope should have a grid that shows how much to elevate the big for 30 yards, etc. You Might want to get a range finder so that you know the exact distance you are shooting.
Enjoy the bow and good luck with it. Maybe you can try bear hunting to start.

Congrats, now get on the Excaliber forum ,and there you will learn just about everything you need to know.

The bow you can learn but woman you will never understand. Keep that wife around thats for sure LOL

Thank you for the responses, I will check out the excal site now.

Congrats on the new bow! nothing like it!!

I have been shooting Excaliburs since 2004. Much has changed since my first bow and I think I have owned most of them. lol

Case - Get the excalibur soft case. It's easy to deal with while hunting and all you really need.

Arrows - The factory ones are made by black eagle now and will get you started. When you start to loose them or damage them then you can buy more or get custom arrows made.

Broad heads. For that bow you can use pretty much anything. You can't go wrong with the Excalibur brand broadheads.

The thing with crossbows is you can really go nutz upgrading scopes, strings, cocking devices etc.... In reality the factory package is more than adequate for the average hunter.

Enjoy and be careful some-times they can be addictive and you some-times can't just own one... :)

Thank you this is the kind of advice I was looking for, do I really have to get those limb silencers and stuff, I cant find info on that. I don't mind as this will end up being the only bow I will own, but want to learn every thing I can to maintain and keep it for my life.As well what is the best distances to practice on for deer.

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Originally Posted by severn don

Thank you this is the kind of advice I was looking for, do I really have to get those limb silencers and stuff, I cant find info on that. I don't mind as this will end up being the only bow I will own, but want to learn every thing I can to maintain and keep it for my life.As well what is the best distances to practice on for deer.

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There is no hard set of rules on practicing Don-as long as You can consistently HIT a pie plate,You are good to practice at.

BUT-please remember,the deer are not MOTIONLESS paper targets,and you will be shooting being all EXCITED, on a live being.
That said ,practice as far as you feel you are happy with,BUT refrain from shooting at the deer more then 30 yards or so.

Of course-here on the forum are many different strong opinions about this aspect,so it is eventually your call........but the deer deserve respect,and picking a fair distance is one sign of a respect.
You will have lots of fun.

Great story on how you came to have this crossbow! Congrats on the new toy and deer season extender!

I'll echo what some of the others have already said. Practice however you like, it's fun to see how well and how far the crossbow will shoot accurately. Just keep in mind that hunting situations have many variables and the closer you keep your shots, the less those variables can come into play. I would set up your hunting spots for 20 - 25 yard shots, and make 30 your maximum until you're more comfortable with knowing when you can stretch a shot a bit. You'll get used to reading the body language of deer.

Don't worry about the gimmicks like sound dampeners, etc., the crossbow will be loud in any case so it really won't make a practical difference.

Of course, when it comes to using archery gear, you have to be patient with shot angles. You can't punch a crossbow bolt through a shoulder bone like you can with a bullet.

As mentioned, the Excalibur forum is a great resource to learn, and there are plenty of threads in the bow hunting forum here that would be of interest to you.

Best of luck, and of course keep asking questions here as well!

Edit: One of the most important things to remember is to make sure your broadheads are going where you want them to. Field tips can sometimes fly very differently than your hunting broadheads. I set aside one broadhead for practice only and use it to sight in with for hunting.

Sent from my SM-A520W using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by severn don

T do I really have to get those limb silencers and stuff, I cant find info on that.

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I assume you have hunted for deer many years with a rifle, in such you must have had seen cases where just the smallest click of the safety has caused a deer to bolt. I lost a deer once who heard my glove fall from my knee to the ground .

Crossbows are a horrendously noisy piece of hunting equipment and efforts to try and silence them is rather fruitless. They will hear the bow the moment you pull the trigger and the energy is transferred from the bow to the arrow. So you have to have done all you can to know what you and your xbow are capable of and make sure your shot is well within those limits before you decide to pull the trigger.

Chances are slim you will ever get a second shot, so noise isn't really an issue. If you did everything else right, you won't need a second shot. :)

That was very nice of her, sounds like your family is awesome....
Best of luck with the bow

Thanks guys yes i have only rifle hunted and always in the deep woods. I know that all my shots have been under fifty yards. i want to do this right and learn and have confidence in myself and equipment. As i do in my rifle. So yes i appreciate you for letting me lean on everybody's knowledge here. As with every thing else, threw the years you all have helped me. Yes Fratri i can not state enough she has always been there for me and others the best. Once again thanks all Don

I shoot all my bows the way they came. Get yourself a good target,you might need two one for broadheads and one for field points.Bulldog makes a good target and rinehart 18x1 is another.

Death by Bungee on youtube has some good insite on Xcal crossbows, check him out......

Best and cheapest target that I us is a box full of rags. Easy to get arrow out and cheap.

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Originally Posted by JUDGE

Best and cheapest target that I us is a box full of rags. Easy to get arrow out and cheap.

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But no good for broadheads.....

A string changer is a must have.Theres a couple of guys on the Excalibur forum that sell a beefier one then Excalibur sells

Thank you I am waiting for approval, for acceptance to the forum then I will look it up.

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Originally Posted by severn don

Thank you I am waiting for approval, for acceptance to the forum then I will look it up.

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Do you need referances Don ? I'm sure we could draft up something...HaHa...:)

"Oh" Thanks MikePal I cant afford the bail lol

Good for you on your new bow. I got a new one from my kids for my birthday in November. It's an awesome gift and your going to love the extra time in the field with it.
Bows have their disadvantages though when it comes to hunting whitetail deer that you may not be aware of if you've only ever used a rifle.
Some have been mentioned already but i'll make a list. I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

-Trying to get a deer inside of bow range.
-Quickly and accurately guesstimating yardage inside your bow range.
-The arc of an arrow requires a larger window for a clear shot.
-Hitting the smallest branch can greatly change the course of your arrow.
-The ability of a deer to react and move on the sound of the shot and the sound of an incoming arrow.
-Your bows limb clearance from touching any branches, ground blind walls, etc. during a shot.
-It requires a more stationary target more often than not.
-Wind effect, both for arrow flight and scent control inside bow range
-The heightened sensitivity of noises you make inside of bow range.
-The heightened sensitivity of movement inside of bow range.

Despite all these limitations, if you know them and prepare for them, it can be just as rewarding as rifle hunting.

Fortunately for you, being a deer hunter, you likely have woodsmanship and tracking ability under your belt.
Both of those assets will become even more essential when trying to recover a wounded whitetail with a bow.
That's because everyone of the disadvantages I mentioned, quickly become advantages for a wounded whitetail to allude you if it has mobility.

Most bowhunters will tell you that a whitetail is the most elusive game animal to shoot with a bow. Trying to get a secondary shot on a mobile deer that knows you're coming is on a whole different level. Its the main reason bowhunters strive to make their first shot count.

Hope that helps. Enjoy your bow and i hope you get a deer with it this fall.