If you’re just getting started with a crossbow, we’re not gonna lie but it can be pretty tough to master the crossbow just in a day.
There are many hunters out there that use crossbows to hunt. Crossbows have been a great asset for the hunters since forever. But many hunters often fail to shoot a crossbow accurately most of the time.
So, how to shoot a crossbow more accurately while hunting?
There are 5 major tips that can get you to the top of your hunting skills. You need to tighten the crossbow’s parts first. Then, center your bowstring and wax the bowstrings every 10 shots. Also, you should use quality oil-based rail lube on your crossbow. Make sure that you use the right bolts for the right moments too.
However, if you can spare a minute for the sake of your hunting, it’ll be the best minutes that you’ll be wasting in your whole hunting career.
So, let’s get ready to be on target and dive deep into it-
How to Use a Crossbow and What is It Really?
Before you learn how to shoot a crossbow, don’t you think that you should know what it is really and how do you use it?
Well, you don’t have to draw the bowstring to shoot an arrow in case of a crossbow. It’s a mechanical bow that uses moving parts to project the arrow.
Crossbows basically shoot short arrows which are known as bolts. And you don’t have put an extra effort to draw the string because the mechanics and moving parts take care of it for you.
Most of the modern crossbows are shorter in size. But you can’t underestimate the power of the crossbow. It can be deadly for the largest wildlife creatures.
Where all the other bows (i.e. compound bows) focus on vertical shooting, the crossbow is designed to be horizontally active.
Crossbows have been with us for a long time like all the other categories of the bows. And with time it got more developed and more deadly.
How to Use a Crossbow and What is It Really?
To handle the amazing modern crossbows, you also need amazing skills to gain.
As people say that it’s not the ride it’s the rider, the same goes in case of the crossbow. It doesn’t matter how powerful or amazing your crossbow is if you’re not capable enough to unleash its full potential there’s no use to it.
So, to unleash the full potential and to hit your pray more accurately, we’ve got some tips for you that’ll make it more efficient.
Tighten the Crossbow’s Parts
Suppose you have a bike with a loose brake. So, you know what’ll happen once you get on the roads with it. There’s a high chance of you getting in an accident.
Exactly the same thing goes for your crossbow. If you don’t have your crossbow components or parts tighten, there’s a chance of causing harm to yourself and missing your target.
If you have an older crossbow, you might notice the loosen bolts and screws. Those happen because of the movement and torque from the use of it. And this can cause it to shoot slightly off-center because of the added vibrations that’ll cause.
However, if you have a brand new crossbow, you probably won’t need tightening. But it’s better if you just give a quick recheck.
Center Your Bowstring
You need to keep in mind to keep the bowstring lined up before the bolts are placed every time. If the string is not centered, it won’t shoot the arrow straight.
So, you can mark the string on either side of the crossbow rail with a permanent marker. It’s a simple hack that will have you to keep shooting straight.
Now whenever you look to check your bowstring, you can just look at the marks and know that you need to adjust the bowstring. Make sure that you check the string every single time before you shoot the arrow or bolt.
Wax Bowstring Every 10 Shots
Waxing the string helps abrasion and rubbing between the crossbow string strands. Waxing it after every 10 times might seem like an overkill but it’s not.
You should start doing it before your bowstring starts fraying. Because it’ll be too late then. However, most of the hunters who hunt every day, they wax the string every 2-3 days.
Quality Oil-Based Rail Lube After Every 50-75 Shots
It’s very important to keep the crossbow components smooth and keep on running. If you don’t want your bowstring and string serving gliding over the rail, you should be lubing the rail more often.
However, you shouldn’t just lube the rail of your crossbow. You need to lube the trigger, the cams, and anything else that is mechanical and you think that needs lube.
But there’s a fact. You can’t lube too often or less. You need to lube after 50-75 shots. Lubing too much might also ruin your accuracy also.
If you ever get into the rain and wet your crossbow, you should dry it and then add a fresh coat of rail lube for better performance.
Use the Right Bolts
You need to focus more on the less wide broadhead bolts. The shot will be more accurate because of that. It’ll also make the bolts faster.
So, you can use a 100-grain broadhead that is 1 inch. The performance of that will be up to mark for you.
Moreover, you need to keep in mind that mechanical broadheads fly much more similar to field tips than fixed-blade do.
If there’s less wind, you should consider using a fixed blade. Because there’s less room for the mechanical error at that time.
If it’s windy out there, you should use a mechanical broadhead. The wind will not be able to alter the blades of the broadhead in that case. Because the blades remain inside the broadhead until it hits.
Conclusion
Now, you know how to shoot a crossbow more accurately while hunting. You need to remember that everything comes at a price. You won’t be able to master the crossbow without failing.
The more you’ll fail your shots, the more you’ll know how to do it perfectly. However, if you follow all the tips that we gave you today and start practicing, we are quite sure that you’ll master the crossbow in a short time soon.
So, start practicing, and let’s do some hunting.
Check our tips for improving accuracy with compound bow : 6 Easy Tips on How to Shoot a Compound Bow More Accurately