Hunting Crossbows Power & Range, High Velocity:
In this crossbow guide we will review proper crossbow set-up, arrow recommendation, broadhead recommendation, point blank range sight-in, deer size animal shot placement and whether you should ground blind or treestand hunt with this crossbow.
High Velocity; 325 - 375 feet per second arrow speed crossbows.
36 Yards - Maximum Point Blank Hunting Range.
44 Yards - Maximum Effective Hunting Range.
Arrow flight time till impact at 44 yards, approximately 4/10 of a second.High Velocity Crossbows.
These high velocity crossbows are the fastest crossbows that are known to give long, dependable, service to the purchaser or consumer without fear of catastrophic bow failure of limbs or strings.
Barnett Crossbows: Buck Commander, Predator, Quad 400 & Revolution.
Excalibur Crossbows: Equinox, Exocet, Exomax & Vortex.
Horton Crossbows: Legacy CS 225, Team RealTree & Vision 175.
Parker Crossbows: Buck Buster 175, Cyclone Express 175 & Tornado HP 165.
TenPoint Crossbows: Phantom CLS, Phantom CLS-S & Phantom XTRA.
6 Point Crossbows: Defender CLS & Defender Mag Combo. This is fast becoming popular in the crossbow velocity ranges as more and more crossbow manufacturers slowly figure out how to extract more speed from their crossbows. These crossbows are capable of taking very large sized game animals effectively, when set-up properly.
All of the major crossbow manufacturers produce crossbows in this velocity range. Some recurve crossbows in excess of 200 pound draw weight but most are compound crossbows for the simple fact the compound crossbows can achieve this velocity using only a 150 - 175 pound draw weight.
In this category of crossbows the choices range from very precise ergonomical pleasing crossbows that are very expensive, some right around $2,000.00 to the real work-horse class which will get the same job done but at a much lower cost to the consumer, right around $400.00. Most Popular Crossbow In This Velocity Category:
By far, the most popular crossbow in this velocity range is the Barnett Quad 400 Compound Crossbow as it is tough, well made and quite accurate when set-up properly for hunting. They are fairly priced $350.00 - $450.00, an internal crank to cock system can be added and they truly are very accurate. 
Full Review Of The Barnett Quad 400 Crossbow.Product Recommendations to gain maximum accuracy, power and range:
Based on our field testing of archery products for crossbows.
1. One of the first things I recommend is a good quality scope for these crossbows, if you have a barnett crossbow it accepts a 3/8" dovetail scope mounting which is the same as most .22 rifles. Mount a quality scope on the crossbow.
Note: Most crossbow manufacturers use a 7/8" weaver style scope mount.
2. To acquire maximum accuracy and power for these crossbows buy good 20" or 22" carbon arrows, not aluminum, carbon arrows are lighter and tougher than aluminum arrows. We ran multiple tests on the StalkerXBolt's from Cabela's and found them to be highly accurate, most of the crossbows we had worked with gave 1 1/2" accuracy and under at 50 yards with these crossbow arrows.
(Highly Recommended).
3. Arrow points and broadheads need to be the same exact weight which is 100 grains and no more, this will give the correct F.O.C. for the arrow. The broadhead diameter needs to be 1" - 1 1/16" of the fixed blade type to gain maximum accuracy and penetration on a deer size animal. Absolutely no larger than 1 1/16" diameter broadheads of the fixed blade type.
Further field testing of hunting products carried by Cabela's revealed that the Saunders Combo Point and the Trophy Ridge Ultimate Steel Broadhead of matched weight, impacted the targets in a near exact match. High Velocity Crossbow Sight-In:
Now that you have the correct set up to extract all the power and range these crossbows offer, lets sight-in for maximum point blank range.
| 350 Feet Per Second Maximum Point Blank Range, 36 Yards. |
| 5 Yards |
10 Yards |
15 Yards |
20 Yards |
25 Yards |
30 Yards |
35 Yards |
36 Yards |
| + 1" High |
+ 2" High |
+ 3" High |
+3" High |
+ 2" High |
0 |
- 2" Low |
- 3" Low |
 As you see by the above chart you sight your crossbow in at 30 yards and use a dead on hold for all shots out to 36 yards, which will give you the correct impact zone as illustrated below. Maximum effective hunting range for this power of crossbow is 44 yards, any target that is beyond 36 yards you must raise the crosshairs and crossbow to adjust additional arrow drop while still keeping the target in the crosshairs.
Raise the crossbow and scope to the top of the back of your sighted deer and hold dead on at this point for the correct arrow strike out to 44 yards as in the illustration below. High Velocity Crossbow Power:
These crossbows are very powerful and offer a good trajectory for hunting purposes, which would include all of North America's game species.
These crossbows have enough arrow energy for hunting anything, they generate 100 - 133 foot pounds of energy and when coupled with good fixed blade broadheads they can be used for hunting medium sized game such as Deer and Antelope, Large Game such as Elk, Black Bear and Wild Boar and the Toughest Game such as Cape Buffalo and Grizzly. High Velocity Crossbow Blind and Treestand Hunting:
Because of the velocity of these crossbows you need to be as close to your target as possible, however they are powerful enough to be used from a treestand as they will drive the proper sized arrow and broadhead through most animals on an angling shot. High Velocity Crossbow Shot Placement:
These crossbows launch arrows hard enough to supply plenty of energy for quartering shots on most animals, that would include Black Bear, Deer, Elk and Wild Boar. Animals larger than this I would opt for a broadside shot only. |
