[br0adhead]

I am trying to buy a recurve crossbow for a 14 year old girl. She is 5 ft tall, 110 lbs. As a point of reference, she is unable to cock a 135 lb draw weight compound crossbow I own. So I look for a youth bow and find, for example, the Excalibur Matrix Cub. On the specs it has a draw weigh of 190 lb. Huh? I'm confused. How in the heck is a youth going to draw 190 lb weight crossbow? Can a youth that has a 25# draw on a regular bow cock a Matrix Cub crossbow with a 190# draw weight?
Also, would much appreciate any recommendations for a good quality recurve for this young lady. Thank you!!

 

[JOE PA]

I actually had the same issue when my wife wanted to shoot a crossbow this year. Shoulder problems made it necessary for the crossbow to be very light. I tried a Bruin Attack 265 (175# draw), but her arthritic hands couldn’t finish the draw on that bow either. I ended up making her a light recurve that she could cock with a crank. If you want a recurve, higher draw weight (at the end of the draw) is going to be part of the equation.

 

[Martymig]

It's going to be difficult finding a recurve crossbow under 150 lbs draw weight I think. There's alot of compounds though.

 

[dynamo61]

I am trying to buy a recurve crossbow for a 14 year old girl. She is 5 ft tall, 110 lbs. As a point of reference, she is unable to cock a 135 lb draw weight compound crossbow I own. So I look for a youth bow and find, for example, the Excalibur Matrix Cub. On the specs it has a draw weigh of 190 lb. Huh? I'm confused. How in the heck is a youth going to draw 190 lb weight crossbow? Can a youth that has a 25# draw on a regular bow cock a Matrix Cub crossbow with a 190# draw weight?
Also, would much appreciate any recommendations for a good quality recurve for this young lady. Thank you!!

I think a Member here, Elno Lewis, bought one for his Wife.
Do a search for posts and threads by the user name "Elno Lewis".

Here's one thread he started that may help you:

Roh Oh!

So, bought the wife a Centerpoint Volt 300 and it came today. I was all excited, but for some reason she got pissed--yelled at me for spending the money! I guess she was happy with me cocking my Sniper 370 all the time and then handing it to her to shoot! I were not, to say the least. I got...

www.crossbownation.com

Oh heck, forget it, that is a compound xbow...

Check amazon, there are some lightweight ones there:

Amazon.com : youth crossbow

www.amazon.com

Here's a popular one:

Amazon.com : Manticore 150lbs Black Hunting Crossbow with Scope, 8 x Arrows and Rope Cocking Device : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : Manticore 150lbs Black Hunting Crossbow with Scope, 8 x Arrows and Rope Cocking Device : Sports & Outdoors

www.amazon.com

 

[br0adhead]

It's going to be difficult finding a recurve crossbow under 150 lbs draw weight I think. There's alot of compounds though.

Marty, so you think she wouldn't be able to cock a Excalibur Matrix Cub? It's described as a youth crossbow. How do these draw weights translate? Surely the 285 FPS Cub is easier to cock than my 135 lb draw adult crossbow which shoots 370+ FPS.

 

[br0adhead]

I think a Member here, Elno Lewis, bought one for his Wife.
Do a search for posts and threads by the user name "Elno Lewis".

Thanks a lot for your input. I checked that thread and I checked out all those you mentioned and I'm looking for something a little higher quality, like an Excalibur or something along those lines.

 

[Oncebitten]

Get her something you can add a crank to. Excalibur 308 Short with a charger crank ought to do the trick.

 

[br0adhead]

I actually had the same issue when my wife wanted to shoot a crossbow this year. Shoulder problems made it necessary for the crossbow to be very light. I tried a Bruin Attack 265 (175# draw), but her arthritic hands couldn’t finish the draw on that bow either. I ended up making her a light recurve that she could cock with a crank. If you want a recurve, higher draw weight (at the end of the draw) is going to be part of the equation.

Wow. You made a bow. No danger of that happening in this case. I can change a light bulb but that's about the limit of my handyman skills. 😁

 

[Gabowman]

I'd go the route of her using the crank. As she grows she may later on be able to rope cock but with the crank you can purchase a crossbow that she can shoot for many years.

 

[Inspector98]

I sent you a message...

 

[br0adhead]

Get her something you can add a crank to. Excalibur 308 Short with a charger crank ought to do the trick.

Thanks for your suggestion! Hadn't considered the Excalibur 308 with a crank. Definitely an option. Ideally I'd like something she can cock with a rope tho if possible.

 

[JOE PA]

Wow. You made a bow. No danger of that happening in this case. I can change a light bulb but that's about the limit of my handyman skills. 😁

Well, not exactly made a bow, just assembled parts I had and made a stock.

 

[Martymig]

Well, not exactly made a bow, just assembled parts I had and made a stock.

View attachment 180979

Pretty nice, if you ask me...

 

[Martymig]

Marty, so you think she wouldn't be able to cock a Excalibur Matrix Cub? It's described as a youth crossbow. How do these draw weights translate? Surely the 285 FPS Cub is easier to cock than my 135 lb draw adult crossbow which shoots 370+ FPS.

I don know, depends on her stregnth. Most recurves rely on a heave draw weight to get their power from. That's all I was saying...

 

[Gabowman]

Then maybe try finding one of these?!?

Vixen II - Excalibur Crossbows

www.excaliburcrossbow.com

 

[br0adhead]

Well, not exactly made a bow, just assembled parts I had and made a stock.

That is so nice.

 

[JOE PA]

I don know, depends on her stregnth. Most recurves rely on a heave draw weight to get their power from. That's all I was saying...

Exactly. My wife didn’t want any more mass weight than possible. We looked (online) at the CP Volt which I think she may have been able to cock. Too much weight was the verdict. In order to get a recurve your daughter can currently rope cock, it’s going to lob arrows at sub 200 FPS. If she ever wants to hunt, it would be marginal at best. If you get her a bow she can crank now, she may be able to rope cock it in a year or so, and it will be much better in the long run. JMO

 

[br0adhead]

Then maybe try finding one of these?!?

Vixen II - Excalibur Crossbows

www.excaliburcrossbow.com

Thank you for your suggestion. That's actually exactly what I'm looking for. I'm just confused with the advertised pull weight on these "youth" and "woman" targeted bows. Like I said she can't cock my compound crossbow which is 370+ FPS and 135 lb draw weight, and yet that Vixen II which is targeted for women has a pull weight of 150 lb. Makes no sense to me. I'm thinking that these draw weights aren't equivalent. Meaning that despite the advertised 150# pull weight, the Vixen II must be a considerably easier to cock then my 135 lb draw 370+ FPS crossbow, which I think about 80% of women would have trouble cocking. What do you think?

 

[br0adhead]

Exactly. My wife didn’t want any more mass weight than possible. We looked (online) at the CP Volt which I think she may have been able to cock. Too much weight was the verdict. In order to get a recurve your daughter can currently rope cock, it’s going to lob arrows at sub 200 FPS. If she ever wants to hunt, it would be marginal at best. If you get her a bow she can crank now, she may be able to rope cock it in a year or so, and it will be much better in the long run. JMO

Hadn't thought about that. Ok, so maybe a crank is the only option. I'll discuss that with her. Thanks so much for your help.

 

[wheelsquad]

@Moon has a micro he made even shorter draw than a 308 Short, thing still shot with plenty of speed I believe. Only 8" power stroke. Same thing could be done to a 308 Short if you like the Shorter LOP for her. But if she likes the standard LOP, then shortening an Axe/Mag looks like it could be really easy.

Excalibur Micro Runt

Yep, I named it the Runt after shortening the barrel to achieve an eight inch power stroke. It's one sweet little hunting recurve. Shooting heavy 16" Easton FMJ's, it's deadly at 40 yards. I had to modify the quiver bracket to get it to clear the fore end. Even with only partial use of my right...

www.crossbownation.com