Reverse Draw Crossbow Spooking Range

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Jimmy Rustle
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Reverse Draw Crossbow Spooking Range

Post by Jimmy Rustle »

I've done a search and can't find anyone posting firm data.

I had a couple of Axis deer does . Dropped one and thought the other one nearby would spook, but it didn't. The rangefinder to that doe was ~25m. It was walking across my path, not towards or away, so I was under the impression from this that the bow has a spook range of 25m or so.

I've just had a Muley buck drop in a similar fashion and a doe was 18m at the time of rangefinding, which couldn't have been more that a second later, walking at a similar transverse angle, which also didn't flinch. This leads me to believe that the spook range for the bow itself in the region of 20m, possibly as low as 15m, if the other animal is not close enough to the target animal to get spooked by the drop.

Both of these were does, which are not the sharpest knives in the draw, but it gives a baseline as to what you can get away with for dealing with multiple animals.

I'm interested to hear if anyone else has any other numbers to either confirm or improve on the above numbers.
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Kozimierz
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Re: Reverse Draw Crossbow Spooking Range

Post by Kozimierz »

I have similar feeling.
On WHI I noticed it on tower 18 (second southermost one). You have a treeline basically up the tower to the north. I was able to drop a pack of 3 or 4 does with crossbow just a meter or two into the forest from the tower and they didn't spook.
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Jimmy Rustle
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Re: Reverse Draw Crossbow Spooking Range

Post by Jimmy Rustle »

Update: After another similar incident I'd say the spook range for the noise of the reverse draw is definitely 15m at most.

Mule buck comes ambling along to ambush spot 20m away. A doe is not far behind. Buck stops and gets dropped. The doe is also stopped. There is a track marker where it stopped. Range finding after the deer started walking towards the ambush sight, reveals the doe is now 15m away. Range finding the track marker where the doe was when the shot was fired gives 17m.

I'll have to test this more, but it seems more quiet than the Tenpoint. From my experience when using the Tenpoint, and multiple animals are involved, everything spooks. It's just been a given.
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Jimmy Rustle
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Re: Reverse Draw Crossbow Spooking Range

Post by Jimmy Rustle »

Further Update: It's spook range is definitely 15m. I had two Blacktail bucks, one smaller close up at 13m, in clear view of a far higher scoring one at 35m. I dropped the one at 35m and the closer one who hadn't moved fled immediately. With either the heavy recurve or Snakebite I've dropped multiples when the distance between the deer is far closer than 20m without any spooking at all.

I'm definitely liking this bow. It's the Pig Destroyer. Ploughs right through the beast at up to 40m. It's penetration might still be good at 60m, but I wouldn't bank on accuracy at that distance, given the wind factor as well as the poor sight. No doubt there is someone out there claiming multiple kills at 80m, but I'd bet they're outnumbered by the poor shots that end up running for a few hundred metres rather than clean drops or shorts runs from lung shots or multiple organ damage that this thing is easily capable of.
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DanthemanBoone
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Re: Reverse Draw Crossbow Spooking Range

Post by DanthemanBoone »

Dont use it much because of the rubbish scope. !0 point is much better and just as reliable out to 60 yards.
Mind you, I did kill a roe deer doe Front on at 100 yrds once with the reverse x bow..
Lined her up, allowed half a body width for wind, and used the top of the thick part of the bottom reticle post as range. Dropped her dead first shot.
I just Knew you would want to hear that.
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Re: Reverse Draw Crossbow Spooking Range

Post by HooCairs »

DanthemanBoone wrote:I just Knew you would want to hear that.
What would this place be without you Dan! :D
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