96 yard crossbow shot

[barry]

No, not me, I wouldn't even dream of taking a shot that long.
I was watching huntin' shows yesterday and Craig Morgan, country singer & wannabee huntin' star, took that shot OFF HAND at an antelope. Yes he hit and killed the goat. I know they say it ain't braggin' if you can do it but 96 YARDS??? Where does the word ETHICAL come into play here?

[redarrow]

I get concerned at 30 yards myself.

[Hognutz]

It's all about T.V. If he had not hit the goat, or if it got away, they never would have aired the shot. Shame on them...Mike

[drenalinld]

Irresponsible.

[Kylongspur88]

I have absolutely nothing against crossbows or the people who use them, but I do have a problem with the perception that they are like rifles and able to shoot long distances. I know people who buy a cross bow and sling arrows at deer 50, 60 or more yards away, miss or wound the deer and wonder what happened. Airing that crap shot just adds to the misconception that so many people adhere to and now wannabees are going to be prowling the woods slinging bolts at deer standing wayyy out of range. I don't care if it's a crossbow, compound, recurve, or long bow (STICK+STRING=LIMITED RANGE)

[timbrhuntr]

On another board there is a big discussion going on about this now. It has nothing to do with crossbows but a compound shooter and taking 60 yard shotrs at deer. Some feel that because hunting shows condone these types of shots at game it is okay for everyone to do on all game. Others are totally against it. Its an interesting discussion. I find it interesting that some try to put it on the crossbow but Saxton Pope was taking shots at these distances at deer a long time ago with a long bow trying to show that it was an efective weapon for hunting.

[Wingbone]

I'm not condoning it, but these new 400 fps crossbows are unbelievably flat out to 100the yds. I have shot them and seen it for myself. With that being said, if I owned one I'd have no problem attempting it whenever I felt the urge. I don't own one though. I have a Barnett Wildcat and draw the line at 40 yds.

[flintlock]

Crazy!!!   

[Woodsman4God]

I'm not condoning it, but these new 400 fps crossbows are unbelievably flat out to 100the yds. I have shot them and seen it for myself. With that being said, if I owned one I'd have no problem attempting it whenever I felt the urge. I don't own one though. I have a Barnett Wildcat and draw the line at 40 yds.

My wife has a ten point crossbow and with it is a dvd showing proper care etc, in it they compare one of their 330+ fps crossbows and a 70lbs 300+ fps compound and once they hit 40 yds the compound is equal to the crossbow and beyond that it is better than the crossbow because of the better power stroke on the compound. Realistically I believe a crossbow is ethical out to 40 yards and same with my compound however after that the odds of wounding an animal is just way too high, even the slightest wind or miscue on your part is a wounded animal and totally irresponsible, I wanna know how many times did he miss one near 100 yard shots and or how many animals were wounded to before he got that one at 96 yards, like hognutz said if he didnt make the shot we would have never heard about it, how many didnt he make beforehand?

[VaTuRkStOmPeR]

I doubt Craig morgan practices enough to be proficient at that range.

If he does, I have no qualms as long as the decision to shoot was reached after careful assessment of the wind, distance and animal's behavior at the time of the shot was made.

My younger brother shoots 5" groups at 100 yards with his 80lb Hoyt alpha max and regularly shoots deer at 60-80 yards. There are a myriad of factors he takes into consideration before he lets those arrows go but I assure you, there is no question in his mind once he is at full draw whether or not he is capable of cleanly and ethically killing the animal.

It's easy for those who are unwilling to invest the necessary time to develop such a unique skillset to criticize those who have it and choose to employ it.  Classic debate between those who have and those who have not.

[TalksToTurkeys]

It's unethical, irresponsible, and just plain stupid to take that kind of shot. The fastest crossbows on the market today list their maximum effective hunting range as 44 yards. The Kinetic Energy of that bolt at 96 yards is far below the minimum kinetic energy needed to ethically kill an animal.
I would like to see someone chronograph their arrow/bolt at the ranges they shoot an animal and calculate the kinetic energy. I'm sure most would be surprised to see how quickly the speed drops off. There's more to it than just being sure you can hit the animal.

Velocity x Velocity x Arrow Weight =
Divided By 450,340 =
Kinetic Energy In Foot Pounds.

http://www.crossbowmen.com/index.htm.energy.html

[chatterbox]

Pesonally, I would never try it.
There is an old saying. "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should."

[guesswho]

At my age I can't see 96 yards so I don't have to worry about it. 

I can't speak for Craig Morgan but I know I don't need to be taking 96 yard crossbow shots at live critters.  Bad things would happen more often than not!

[Woodsman4God]

It's unethical, irresponsible, and just plain stupid to take that kind of shot. The fastest crossbows on the market today list their maximum effective hunting range as 44 yards. The Kinetic Energy of that bolt at 96 yards is far below the minimum kinetic energy needed to ethically kill an animal.
I would like to see someone chronograph their arrow/bolt at the ranges they shoot an animal and calculate the kinetic energy. I'm sure most would be surprised to see how quickly the speed drops off. There's more to it than just being sure you can hit the animal.

Velocity x Velocity x Arrow Weight =
Divided By 450,340 =
Kinetic Energy In Foot Pounds.

http://www.crossbowmen.com/index.htm.energy.html

Great point I would love to see that info as well

[Reloader]

It would actually have far more than enough KE to kill and the velocity would be high as well.  Arrows do not bleed velocity like some think.

I just ran the calculator on a 400gn 20" crossbow arrow with an initial V of 400fps.  At 100yds it still is traveling 362fps and carrying 116ftlbs KE.  


I admit, I used to think they bled off quickly as well until I saw the calculations for the 1st time several years back.


Easton used to claim it only takes 25-41ftlbs to effectively kill deer or lope size game.  I'm not sure if that's still their claim.  Some claim anything over 66ftlbs is enough for dangerous game.

That doesn't mean it's right or should be done by any means.  I shoot one xbow that gives a MV of 360fps with a 405grn arrow.  My limit is 40, but much preferably less than 30 on game.  They react more to xbows than compounds due to the loud pop.