What speed shoots flat at 40 yards?

12845 Views 78 Replies 34 Participants Last post by jon.henry755, Oct 4, 2019

bobby5

Discussion Starter · Sep 12, 2019

I’m looking into purchasing a new crossbow and was wondering what speeds you guys are shooting and do they shoot flat up to 40 yards. I don’t plan on taking any shots beyond 30 yards and hate using scopes with multiple dots for different yardage. If a buck of a lifetime sneaks up I don’t want to worry about yardage and what crosshairs to use. I like a single crosshair. I was wondering what your speeds of your crossbows are and if you sighted it in at 30 yards how low at 40 and high at 10 and 20 you are I’d just like to take the yardage guessing out of it lol.

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Iron Duke

· #2 · Sep 12, 2019

Simple … the faster you go the flatter your arrow flies. The fastest bow that fits your budget and buying philosophy is the one to get. They're all reliable.

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Gabowman

· #3 · Sep 12, 2019

.300 Win Mag

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bunnyrabbit

· #4 · Sep 12, 2019

As "Iron Duke' mentions. A lighter arrow will also fly with a flatter trajectory, but for hunting one requires one heavier than for target shooting.

A few things to keep in mind in regards to purchasing a crossbow:
1)are you going to be servicing it yourself?
2)do you have a good bow shop near by if their service is required?
3)do you require a crossbow that is crank compatible now or in the future?
4)check the crossbows you may be interested in for weight, length etc. Some bow shops may let you shoot it while others will not.

Using a heavier arrow-point weight over what the manufacture has used to supposedly reach their advertised speed in feet per second, for every 10 grain over, one will lose approximately 3 feet per second.

If you find a crossbow you like, check the classifieds, Ebay, Amazon etc. where you may get a better deal. You could find a good used one for less money, which then you have extra money to maybe purchase more or better quality arrows, a scope up grade etc.

All the best with what ever you decide.

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Wapster

· #5 · Sep 12, 2019

Dont overthink it Bobby....just buy one and enjoy....

Any of todays bows can suit your 30/40 yrd criteria

Bigger question is what is your price range?

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Huntersthompson

· #6 · Sep 12, 2019

Flat at 40 with a 400 gn arrow will take more than 400 fps. My ripper shot right at 401 fps with 403 gn arrow. 2.5 inches low at 40 yards. Your gonna need some heat to get zero drop at 40. They make em. I just cannot afford them. Well maybe the Barnett predator, but if you need a crank it a no go. You can get the predator for $650.00

TomOnTheRun

· #7 · Sep 12, 2019

So are we saying flatter equals a more effective killing weapon? Not sure I agree if that is the energy here. To be more effective with your Xbow, to me it is centered around practice and familiarity with how you Xbow shoots. All things being equal shooting at your game 20-40 yards. Even more practice beyond that.

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canuckarcher

· #8 · Sep 12, 2019

I have my Orion extreme shooting 440 fps zeroed at 30.....
20 a tad high maybe an inch.
About the same at 40,maybe 1.5....
For all intents and purposes I just put the crosshairs on a big old Canadian bodied buck out to 40 and let er rip.
Practice is still key but it's nice when they sneak in that I don't have to start picking crosshairs.

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Blacktail

· #9 · Sep 12, 2019

Flat trajectory you will not get in slower fps crossbows ! So lets take my older slow wide limbed recurve, its 2 3/4" high at 20 yds. Its dead on at 30 yds & its 3 1/2" low at at 40 yds. I use a one dot red dot, i hold under n over never have trouble with clutter using it. It also has plenty to do with your arrow weight

coltchris

· #10 · Sep 12, 2019

Been checking various arrow/broadhead combinations out of my Ravin R29 with Leupold VXR 2-7 x 33. My max range for hunting is 40 yards. Using a 428 gr. total weight (125 gr. Thorn & 305 gr. BEE) shoots as follows:
20 yards: 1" High
30 yards: Dead Center Bull
40 yards: 3.25" Low

Haven't check speed in a while, but should be about 420 fps.
Could adjust scope to be closer at 40 yards, but most of my shots will be 30 yards or less.

pinshooter

· #11 · Sep 12, 2019

Gabowman said:
.300 Win Mag

This ^

TomOnTheRun

· #12 · Sep 12, 2019

Blacktail said:
Flat trajectory you will not get in slower fps crossbows ! So lets take my older slow wide limbed recurve, its 2 3/4" high at 20 yds. Its dead on at 30 yds & its 3 1/2" low at at 40 yds. I use a one dot red dot, i hold under n over never have trouble with clutter using it. It also has plenty to do with your arrow weight

Blacktail, exactly why I went to a single red dot. Less clutter. This approach may not appeal to all but for this guy I like the simplicity of this approach. Scope Clutter and eye relief with crossbow scopes are a challenge for me.

FYI: With practice you can be quite accurate at longer distances with non magnified scopes. Practice, practice, practice. Also, I have similar experience with hold overs when I shoot 400 grain plus arrows shooting Xbows that top out around 385fps (Barnett TS-390 Xbow).

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Blacktail

· #13 · Sep 12, 2019

TomOnTheRun said:
Blacktail, exactly why I went to a single red dot. Less clutter. This approach may not appeal to all but for this guy I like the simplicity of this approach. Scope Clutter and eye relief with crossbow scopes are a challenge for me.

FYI: With practice you can be quite accurate at longer distances with non magnified scopes. Practice, practice, practice. Also, I have similar experience with hold overs when I shoot 400 grain plus arrows shooting Xbows that top out around 385fps (Barnett TS-390 Xbow).

I have a UTG red T dot that i like very well. I can put it on one of my faster models n reach 60 yds, it has a leg joint dropped that fits on the right on at that distance

Muley Hunter

· #14 · Sep 12, 2019

If you really set your max distance at 30 yds. Why does it matter what the drop is at 40yds?

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smong2000

· #15 · Sep 12, 2019

No projectile fired from anything will have 'flat' trajectory. It's just a question of understanding the trajectory of your weapon of choice. For a crossbow, the difference is only going to be roughly a couple inches from fastest out there to say 300 fps if you sight in at 20 yards. The drop is fixed by Newtonian Physics and depends on a few factors like arrow length, weight, drag, FOC and of course launch speed. The difference between POI and POA depends on the the height of the scope reticle or dot from the rail, the arc will be fixed but the sight determines where you slide the whole arc vertically.
So for your discussion, any modern crossbow is going to be flat enough to hit the vitals of a deer at 30 yards if you sight in at 20 yards and aim for middle of the chest. If you are seriously interested in shooting 40 yards, learn your bow and practice at double that range.

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Iron Duke

· #16 · Sep 12, 2019

You guys … are answering a determinate equipment or physics question that has a fixed solution with inserting a variable that isn't part of the question.

That "variable" is the talent, skill and training of the shooter.

The guy didn't ask if he should practice more with his slow bow; he asked if $250.00 for a 100fps increase to a fast 415fps bow is worth it. He doesn't want to "guess" at distance to target, which of course is a prerequisite that increases as speed decreases. Basically the guessing is inversely proportional to the speed. You're over-complicating a simple problem. 415fps = less guessing than 315fps.

Soooo, the clear answer is: "yes, he should buy the 415fps crossbow."

(.300WinMag indeed....lol)

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Muley Hunter

· #17 · Sep 12, 2019

True, but he doesn't need a 415fps bow to shoot 30 yds. He needs to make up his mind what his max distance is.

Moon

· #18 · Sep 12, 2019

Ceiling Room Beam Wood Building

This won’t work:- )

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TomOnTheRun

· #19 · Sep 12, 2019

Iron Duke said:
You guys … are answering a determinate equipment or physics question that has a fixed solution with inserting a variable that isn't part of the question. That "variable" is the talent, skill and training of the shooter. The guy didn't ask if he should practice more with his slow bow; he asked if $250.00 for a 100fps increase to a fast 415fps bow is worth it. He doesn't want to "guess" at distance to target, which of course is a prerequisite that increases as speed decreases. Basically the guessing is inversely proportional to the speed. You're over-complicating a simple problem. 415fps = less guessing than 315fps. Soooo, the clear answer is: "yes, he should buy the 415fps crossbow."

(.300WinMag indeed....lol)

Oh, we are now... LOL.... As with all things on this forum there are twist and turns with all OP's. Come-on now. You have a point but that point is never a straight line on this forum.

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Wapster

· #20 · Sep 12, 2019

To answer the question correctly one would have to know how high the scope is elevated above the rail.....

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