[Bowhunter4life]

The question was "Opening Day".

If it's "opening day" and it's no set season. (i.e. Bow), and I have no bow, then it's my custom-made HS Precision in 7mm STW with the Mark 4 Leupold it wears. 🤣😂

BUT...I digress!!

Bow Season ONLY, actually any season these days, it's some type of Excalibur. I just trust them. I can work on them. They have ALWAYS been good to me, so why change.
In other words, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
Tomorrow, (the 27th of September), is opening morning here. Supposed to be upper 50's. Clear skies. Light northeasterly wind, that means it will be blowing in my face, as I'm perched up in my tree stand. And I'll be looking for Bambi.
Oh yeah, with my old Micro Suppressor 355.

Old men have bad habits!! 🤣😂

I have a Stainless Ruger .300 WSM with a Silver Leupold Vari-X III that I haven’t shot in over 20 years now… Come to think of it may sell that thing and get another crossbow… 🤔

And those aren’t bad habits - I’d consider those good habits! 👍

 

[lacky]

The question was "Opening Day".

If it's "opening day" and it's no set season. (i.e. Bow), and I have no bow, then it's my custom-made HS Precision in 7mm STW with the Mark 4 Leupold it wears. 🤣😂

BUT...I digress!!

Bow Season ONLY, actually any season these days, it's some type of Excalibur. I just trust them. I can work on them. They have ALWAYS been good to me, so why change.
In other words, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
Tomorrow, (the 27th of September), is opening morning here. Supposed to be upper 50's. Clear skies. Light northeasterly wind, that means it will be blowing in my face, as I'm perched up in my tree stand. And I'll be looking for Bambi.
Oh yeah, with my old Micro Suppressor 355.

Old men have bad habits!! 🤣😂

I had to look that cartridge up but my God that's a beast. My .300 wsm is the upper limit of recoil I want to deal with. Impressive but I'll pass. Course your from Texas, your probably tougher than I I'm.

 

[Bowhunter4life]

I had to look that cartridge up but my God that's a beast. My .300 wsm is the upper limit of recoil I want to deal with. Impressive but I'll pass. Course your from Texas, your probably tougher than I I'm.

No kidding - looks like an artillery shell. 🤷‍♂️ Thought about the 300 Remington Ultra Mag at one time but had a friend that had one and got to shoot it - once… Think I still feel the recoil from it. 😳

 

[Gabowman]

i would look for a good used Excalibur Matrix 380 with a crank.

 

[bowman81]

My Excaliburs have treated me right. If buying new I would probably opt for a Mag Max or another Mag340 (I have two 340's and intend to keep them)

 

[USAF Ret in Wis]

Scorpyd deathstalker lt
Excalibur Hybrid x

Both so good

 

[Blacktail]

Ummm all y'all not string making people are going to be in a serious world of hurt with your choices. I was looking at the Thread makers list of allowed ! Now since y'all have bent the text to include 2 or more. I will stay with my 1st choice, but allowing that I will include my R29X. For myself I no gotstid worry about making strings & cables as I can do that for myself

 

[NDPronghorn]

Ravin’s: Another R 470 & R29X. Got the perfect arsenal now, why change? Will say I’m enamored with the new Excal Hybrid but not enough for my exclusive western type hunting.

 

[Huntersthompson]

Would skip the Ripper 415 disaster. Straight to the TS 370, then when Northwoods was clearing em out for $250... Bought 2 more. 1100 shots on custom S@C,never failed to get s pass thru, Trigger is superb. As easy to rope cock as they make,aluminum rail and aluminum buttstock slide. 6.9 lb .Perfect hunting xbow.

 

[shoeminator]

Mission Sub 1XR for hunting

 

[FatManInaCamoSuit]

Mission Sub 1XR for hunting

That Venom X took that doe out for you just fine...nice video!

 

[shoeminator]

Mission Sub 1XR for hunting

That Venom X took that doe out for you just fine...nice video!

It did for sure, thanks.

 

[Inspector98]

Either the Tenpoint Venom X or the Turbo X, followed by a Mission Sub One series bow. I'm enjoying the heck out of my Venom X. Fits me like a glove and shoots very well 👍.

 

[tree-rat]

Venom x is hard to beat for a all round dependable work horse.

 

[Bowhunter4life]

Venom x is hard to beat for a all round dependable work horse.

Agreed! 👍

 

[Driftless Hunter]

Since I don't really hunt with a crossbow, I can wait & see what 2026 will bring.

If I am being honest, I want to see what Mission might offer next. I might be disappointed, but I don't use the crossbow I already have. Thus, buying a new one now would be silly.

 

[Bowhunter4life]

Since I don't really hunt with a crossbow, I can wait & see what 2026 will bring.

If I am being honest, I want to see what Mission might offer next. I might be disappointed, but I don't use the crossbow I already have. Thus, buying a new one now would be silly.

In this scenario all of your bows are gone for whatever reason - vertical or otherwise… Opening day is upon you - what do you buy to get you out opening day and through the season? We’ve had a lot of crossbows plus rifles… Haven’t had a vertical bow listed yet. 🤷‍♂️

 

[DuckHunt_In_WV]

Excalibur 380 Matrix.

If not that, then a Matrix 355 full camo version. I like my Micro, but the Matrix is better for a number of reasons. Not to mention that if you can find one now it'll likely be cheaper than a new Micro.

 

[Rocky1]

Already have dozens of guns I don't shoot, don't need or want a half dozen crossbows I don't shoot. I want one crossbow, I want it to be dependable, and if it fails, I want Customer Service I can depend on and parts close enough I can take an afternoon off and go get them if necessary.

That having been said, I was in exactly that position last year, and 2 years and 3 years prior to last year shooting a KI, so it definitely would not be a Killer Instinct, ever again. Fair product, but my experience with Customer Service sucked, every time,
during season.

Having seen issues across all manufacturers' products reported, seeing 400 FPS plus increasing the probability of issues reported, having experienced the lack of Customer Service with KI... I looked at bows below 400 FPS, from manufacturers close to home.

Didn't see anything in Bear's product line that impressed me, they're only an hour away. Most were bigger and heavier than what I wanted, found lots of reports on failed product, and a lot of bad reviews on their customer service.

Barnett is only 2 hours away, so I started going through their product line. Neighbor has always spoken very highly of their product, has a Recruit he's had for years without a hiccup, his son has a Recruit, granddaughter has a Recruit, never had a bit of trouble out of any of them. Needed a minor part for one of them, called 2 pm and ordered it, had it the next day at noon. Niece's husband broke a limb on his Barnett 2 years ago, bought it NIB but second hand, wasn't registered, he called them Monday morning, they registered it, accepted the warranty claim, issued RA number, told him to ship ASAP, he shipped Monday afternoon, had his bow back Friday morning.

Looking at their product line, I was leaning toward the XP370, but found a better price on the XP380 on Amazon, checked Availability from other Sellers, and found a 380 in a damaged box for 35% less than the 370, so... I'm shooting a Barnett XP380, and I would do it again in a heartbeat, knowing what I know now.

 

[Driftless Hunter]

In this scenario all of your bows are gone for whatever reason - vertical or otherwise… Opening day is upon you - what do you buy to get you out opening day and through the season? We’ve had a lot of crossbows plus rifles… Haven’t had a vertical bow listed yet. 🤷‍♂️

I couldn't really answer that question. I would be trying out the Mathews Lift X 33, Elite Exalt-35, Darton Sequel 35 ST2, & the Bowtech Proven 34. Bows are expensive, & you're not done spending when you buy one. I'm not buying something I can't shoot first. I shot all the major brands before buying my current compound. I have zero brand loyalty.

I prefer my 2013 Prime Impact (solid limbs with parallel cams) over anything offered on the market today. Losing it would be sad!