Step-by-step crossbow how-to guides: sighting in, cocking, choosing your first bow, safety, and shooting skills.
How a Crossbow Works A crossbow is a bow laid sideways on a stock, with a trigger that holds the draw for you. A vertical bow archer holds the full draw weight with muscle power until the moment of release. A crossbow hunter does the hard work once, while cocking, and then the latch carries…
Crossbow Hunting Guide A crossbow lets a new hunter join archery season without spending years learning to draw and hold a vertical bow, but it is still a short range archery weapon, not a rifle with a string. If you get three things right before opening day, you will be ready: you are legal, you…
How to Shoot a Crossbow While Saddle Hunting Yes, you can shoot a crossbow from a tree saddle, and it works well once you learn the setup. The bow is already cocked and ready, so there is no draw cycle to give you away, and the saddle lets you turn around the tree for shots…
The Short Answer Tuning a crossbow means getting three things to agree: the bow, the bolt, and the optic. Inspect and tighten everything, set brace height on a recurve or check cam timing on a compound, make sure your bolts spin true and group with your broadheads, then calibrate the scope. I learned this the…
As an affiliate, ProCrossbow may earn a commission if you buy through links on this page, including the product picks below. It costs you nothing extra and keeps our guides free. The Short Answer I will be honest with you: when I got my first crossbow, maintenance was the part I ignored completely. I shot…
Safety first: Uncocking a crossbow means releasing stored energy, and every method below involves a loaded weapon pointed in a safe direction. Procedures are model-specific, so check your owner’s manual before trying anything in this guide. This article contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost…
Here is the honest truth about my first day with a crossbow. I walked onto the range acting like I knew what I was doing, wrapped my front hand around the forend the way I would grip anything else, and David stopped me cold. He pointed at the rail and said, “Put your thumb there…
When I bought my first crossbow, I did what almost every beginner does: I walked in, asked for the fastest one I could afford, and walked out with a bow I could barely cock. David took one look at it, laughed, and spent the next hour teaching me everything I had ignored on the box….
Affiliate Disclosure: ProCrossbow.com is reader-supported. When you buy through links on this page, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Our rankings can’t be bought. See how we research and test. The Short Answer To cock a crossbow, set the safety to fire, plant your foot in the stirrup, attach a…
Affiliate Disclosure: ProCrossbow is reader-supported. When you buy through links on this page, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Our rankings can’t be bought. See how we research and test. My first attempt at sighting in a crossbow was a disaster. I burned through a dozen bolts in one afternoon,…
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