Consistent Crossbow Shooting

One if the biggest problems crossbow hunters have is maintaining the shot again and again. The first shot might be perfect but the second and third shots are a bit off while the fourth shot was right on target. There are a few steps the archer needs to take to help maintain the perfect shot.

Practice, Practice, Practice

To begin, set up a bag target in a safe place during the summer months. Using 100-grain field tips practice shooting your crossbow at the target. If it seems the same arrow is to be shooting inconsistently over and over again then get rid of it. It is nice to know in this case that the fault is probably with the arrow and not with the shooter.

Using the Broadheads

A few weeks before hunting season begins replace your field tips with fixed-blade broadheads. Make sure these are the exact same broadheads you will use during hunting season. Check your sight on your crossbow, as it will probably need to be adjusted now that the broadheads have replaced the field tips. Shoot your crossbow into a broadhead target and keep adjusting the sight until your arrow is making a bull’s-eye. Then shoot all the arrows you plan on using during hunting season. You will probably find a few more arrows that do not fly straight. Try using another broadhead on them just to be positive. If the arrow is still veering off course discard it. When you have approximately eight arrows that hit the bull’s-eye every time your hunting quiver is now full. As a vital last step be sure to sharpen the broadhead blades. They must be razor sharp if they are going to kill effectively and cleanly.

Expandable Broadheads

If you use expandable broadheads keep in mind they tend to act more like field-tips. However, you should still shoot them into a broadhead target with your crossbow. This way you will ensure they are not causing your arrows to fly off course. You will also have to adjust your sight as well with the expandable broadheads as you would with the standard broadheads. Once again, when your sight has been adjusted so all your arrows are hitting the bull’s-eye, shoot them all one more time into the broadhead target to ensure straight and accurate flight.

Adding New Arrows

As hunting season progresses arrows will be lost hopefully as a result of a good kill. When adding new arrows to your quiver, test each as you did the previous group of arrows. Use the same broadhead target and crossbow and, after testing, be sure to re-sharpen the blades you decide to add to your quiver. Don’t assume a new arrow will fly straight and hit the target with precision. Always test all your new arrows with broadheads on a broadhead target. And, do not forget to sharpen the broadheads so they will cut like a scalpel after testing.

Follow these simple steps and you will find your crossbow shooting will be more and more consistent. And when you do make a bad shot you can be sure it was not a fault of the arrow but rather the fault of the crossbow shooter.

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