Video: Long-Range Shots With a Crossbow

Transcript for Long-Range Shots With a Crossbow

We’re here today sighting in several crossbows. And even though I've been hunting with a crossbow for some time now, it still amazes me to see the technology behind these new crossbows as we're having no problems getting groups at 50, 60, even 70 yards. But one question that we often get asked from hunters just starting out with the crossbow is, should they take a shot at an animal when hunting at those distances? And our answer is that it's not recommended for three reasons.

On screen: Steve Smith, Director; Bureau of Information & Education

First, the sound of the crossbow going off has the potential to scare the animal and cause it to move forward. Second, there's a risk of the bolt being deflected while in the air.

On screen: shot courtesy of Jake Dingel

And third, the lack of energy downrange at a target at those distances. And I'll just take a minute and talk about what I mean for each of those three reasons.

First, as quiet as these crossbows are, they still make a noise every time the trigger is pulled. And once a deer hears the noise from a crossbow being fired, its first instinct is to move.

On screen: shot courtesy of GrowingDeer

This will often mean dropping down and then leaping forward. And the further away the animal is at the time of the shot, the more time it has to react to the sound and to move, meaning that, for those longer shots, it's very likely that by the time the bolt arrives, it will either miss altogether, or hit a spot on the animal different from where it was aimed.

Second, a crossbow, like any type of archery equipment, does not fire a bolt in a straight line. Rather, the bolt arches into the air and then drops down to hit the target. And at distances like 20 to 30 yards, that arc is almost unnoticeable. But once the target is extended and the bolt must travel a greater distance, the higher the arc must be.

Curved lines on screen illustrate an arrow’s expected trajectory at 20, 50, and 70 yards.

And while here at an open range the bolt can complete that flight without hitting any other objects, that's not practical for most hunting scenarios, particularly when hunting the thick cover that deer call home. Instead, what is likely to happen is the bolt will have branches, leaves, or saplings, all of which have the potential to alter the shot.

And third, at further distances there's a decrease in the kinetic energy necessary for the bolt to completely pass through the animal. Now, in archery hunting, every time we take a shot at an animal, our goal should be for the arrow to enter one side and exit the other. This creates two wounds for the animal to lose blood from, resulting not only in a fast and humane kill, but optimal conditions for tracking and recovering that animal.

On screen: shot courtesy of Jake Dingel

One of the worst things that can happen is for the bolt to enter one side but not exit the other. This decreases the likelihood that the animal will die quickly. And by the bolt staying embedded in the animal, it clogs the wound and prevents blood loss, thus making it almost impossible to track and recover that animal.

To demonstrate the decrease in energy at longer distances, here's the impact from a crossbow bolt shot at 20 yards, and here is a bolt shot at 75 yards. Notice the extent to which the bolt fired at the longer distance doesn't penetrate into the target nearly as far as the one fired at 20 yards.

A tape measure used on the arrow that was shot from 20 yards indicates that the arrow protrudes about five inches from the target. The arrow that was shot from 75 yards protrudes about nine inches from the target.

On screen: shot courtesy of Jake Dingel

And that decrease in energy may mean the difference between a bolt cleanly passing through the animal versus a bolt remaining embedded in the animal's body cavity.

So, for these reasons, while taking longer shots at a range during the off season is a great way to familiarize yourself with your equipment, but when hunting season begins and you're faced with a decision on whether an animal is in range, it's best to plan on limiting those shots to those within 30 to 35 yards, because ultimately, we owe it to wildlife to make sure we are only taking safe, ethical shots that will likely result in a quick kill and give us a good opportunity to recover and utilize that animal.