How Far Can You Shoot a Crossbow?

Crossbow hunting and shooting has been around for a very long time already. While it’s a classic sport and hobby, a lot of people are still interested in it. A lot of people is also curious as to how far a crossbow could shoot so that they could estimate how much their distance from the target needs to be. So, if you are a beginner, or you want to explore the world of crossbow, you need to be familiar with it. You have to start with knowing which crossbow you should own. Try this Trail Camera for hunters.

What You Need To Keep in Mind:

There are endless of options when it comes to crossbows. While it would be very confusing you have to start narrowing down your choices. Start by answering what you would need a crossbow for? For what purpose? Do you just want it for target practice? Are you planning to go hunting? If you are planning to hunt then what animals are you aiming for? When you have the answers to that, the next one is do you want a recurve crossbow or a compound crossbow? A recurve crossbow is the classic simple and reliable type while the compound is the new, more popular, higher speed level, and comes with a lower draw weight. The last thing you need to consider as you purchase your crossbow is the range you would want it to reach.

There’s an old myth that says shooting a crossbow is similar to shooting a gun. While the mechanism of both is quite similar, and both have the same functions, it doesn’t mean that when you shoot your crossbow it would reach upto 200 yards just like when you shoot a gun. So, when you shoot a crossbow, how far can it travel? Unfortunately, there really isn’t a definite answer to that. The distance would depend on a lot of factors including:

  • The technique used
  • Your experience
  • Your crossbow velocity

But, most of the crossbow come with the speed to help you estimate how far it could go. For example, if you aren’t keen on target hitting, you can use a solid 350 FPS crossbow that would send your arrow over 500 yards if you shoot it up the air.

Hunting Range

The hunting range of a 300+ FPS crossbow would be around 50 to 60 yards. While it could go as far as 80 yards and still be powerful for medium game, how well you actually play, your precision, and how it penetrates the game’s organs would really matter. Check out the best Solar Camping Light before your next camping trip.

There are only a few people who have perfect precision aim and could do this consistently. This is one of the reasons why a lot of people usually shoot nt more than 35 yards away. This is because anything further would not kill, but at this distance, there’s a big chance that this arrow would hit where it’s targeted at. Wounding and not killing the animal is something we don’t want. Every ethical hunter would only aim to kill an animal in a single shot.

Effective Target Practice Range

There’s more room for error in target practice. If you choose a 300+ FPS crossbow, the arrow will penetrate into the target foam as far as 180 yards. But when you constantly hit the bullseye from a distance this will be like a miracle. But, a lot of people are very skilled and capable of shooting 2” arrow groups from 80 yards or more. With such distances the velocity of an arrow would deteriorate and the trajectory would also start slowing down after a little more than 30 yards.

Conclusion

There really isn’t a definite answer as to how far a crossbow can shoot but after you read this article you definitely understand how far an arrow travels in different situations. When a professional shooter shoots an arrow, it could travel 80 yards, but in most cases it would only go as far as 60 yards so you should at least be 35 yards away from your target to kill it with a single shot. But from practice you could let your arrow travel as far as 180 yards, especially when you have a lot of experiences. Remember, when shooting without a target, it could reach even 500 yards, it’s a different story when you are aiming at something. Also, it’s better to be safe than sorry when hunting, the goal is to make sure you kill it with a single shot, if you know it won’t kill it when you take the shot, it would be better not to do it. Try this Coyote Lights Hunting for better hunting and Visit Re-String Crossbow for more options.

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