An unhealed elbow fracture ruined my conventional archery many years ago. But a Dr. letter and paperwoork got me into a crossbow back in 2001. Since then, the crossbow is valid for ALL hunters in the Commonwealth. I've had very good luck with my HuntMaster Advantage which was built by Ten Point.
Ten Point has a number of models to choose from that run a wide range of pricing. This is a solid company with excellent customer service.
I advise you to look to
Parker for your first crossbow:
- made in Virginia, USA
- lifetime warranty
- number of innovative safety features
- very accurate
- low to medium pricing compared to other brands
- sometimes eBay has low pricing for recently discontinued models such as Spartan or BuckBuster; closeout pricing!
I'd
avoid Barnett because of the cheap plastic components that are metal with other companies. Barnett does NOT have a good reputation.
Low end Horton models do not hold up well either. I suggest avoid Yukon and Summit models. But the Legend model is a keeper.
You should plan to scope your crossbow. I've had good luck with Simmons.
I suggest aluminum XX75 arrows with ThunderHead broadheads for long life, durability, and accuracy. Some guys like carbon shafts but I've witnessed breakage several times. Some guys like mechanical broadheads but I've always have very lethal good luck with ThunderHeads - why switch?
You should invest in a good grunt tube that features several grunt and bleat sounds.
You'll probably want to hunt from a climbing tree stand. API Grand Slam is a lightweight but safe product. I've had great luck with mine.
Crossbows are great fun for target shooting and very lethal hunting tools.
Good shooting to you.
Jack
