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I'm about to cave, I need help!

Never been a fan of cross bows either but if your trying to get the distance you need to practice more. Im very consistent out to 50yrd with my Mathews. I have site pins out to 70yrd but have never taken a “hunting” shot out that far. I’ve shot many deer out at 40-50yrds with no problem but it takes practice and confidence in your equipment. I’m sure you can do the same with a cross bow but it’s gonna take the same practice and time. If you have a good setup you should be shooting out past 30-35 yrds.
This is just my opinion and cross bows do have there place, just not in my hunting plans. Lol
 
I didn't even start shooting a bow until 2006 when I was 48 years old. Got myself a Mathews Switchback compound & a Ten Point crossbow around the same time and had a former world champion archer set em' up for me and then she taught me how to shoot. I love shooting both and both are deadly accurate out to at least 50 yds., I haven't tried shooting any farther than that because that was as far as I had in my yard to shoot em'. I can't shoot that far anymore since some jerk developed the woods behind my house into a freakin' subdivision, now there's a house behind mine about 20 yards beyond where I had my target hanging. Anyway, I was hitting plastic coke bottle caps at 20 yds and 3" groups at 50 with both bows. My crossbow will literally put 2 bolts in the same hole at 20 yds and someone with younger eyes and a steady hold could probably do better than that easy at longer distances. The great thing about crossbows is you don't have to draw it when a deer or turkey gets in range and spook em' off, it's already set and ready to shoot all ya gotta do is aim & fire. And that Ten Point has one sweet trigger on it too. If you're gonna get one go ahead and get a real good one and don't skimp on it, you'll be much happier with a quality bow. Ten Point & Excaliber are probably the top of the line as far as I know, the Ten Point is a compound crossbow and the Excaliber is a recurve. Just all depends on what you like best. YMMV and it's just my two cents worth. Good luck & happy hunting!
 
I've practiced/sighted in out to 60 yards with compound, which makes 30 easy peasy. I still would never shoot over 40. So many variables beyond that for whitetails make for more of a marginal/nonethical shot. Everything I've shot has ended up under 25 yards, mostly a lot less. I would think 50 or maybe a little more should be doable with a "string rifle".
 
To be clear I can hit deer vitals sized targets out to 50 yards with my compound, but after 35-40 yards it becomes a probability game and I feel the least I can give the deer is the most humane death possible. If that means I get to lower the chances of a wild shot with a crossbow then why not?
 
I'm not trying to be one here but.......when I bow hunted I felt my absolute max range for a consistent kill shot was 40 yards, although I preferred 30. It simply made me learn to be a better hunter. I had success from a tree, but as the years went by I began to have better success from the ground. I saw way more deer than I ever drew on, but I learned to read sign, move slowly and quietly and sit still. Could be frustrating as all hell, but I look back on those years as some of the best hunting times of my life.
 
I'm not saying anybody should shoot beyond the capabilities of their equipment or their abilities. Max with compound for me is 40, as is my crossbow. Performance begins to fall off dramatically beyond that.
 
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