Over the past few decades, crossbow hunting has been on the rise and it has formed new opportunities for shooting enthusiasts. Although crossbow hunting was formerly limited to elderly and disabled hunters, almost all the US states now permit everyone in the general public to practice crossbow hunting.
If you are a novice starting with a hunting crossbow, you may wonder which crossbow attachments you should consider buying for a successful hunting adventure. Most crossbow kits already come with everything you need to hunt except the broadheads
. There are, however, several accessories that do not come with the package, and these accessories will significantly boost your chances of success and keep your equipment in good working condition.
Let’s take a look at some of the worthy crossbow hunting accessories:
Crossbow Scope:
A good scope will greatly increase the accuracy of your shooting and make the hunting process far more effective and convenient. For precision shots, crossbow scopes are important, ensuring quick and clean killing from a distance, making it one of the best crossbow accessories. While most crossbows come with pre-installed fiber optics, lasers, red dot sights or scopes, many crossbow companies sell this device separately, requiring the user to install it on their own.
RangeMaster Pro is an impressive scope with a sturdy built. TenPoint is also a crossbow manufacturer, so they have put a great deal of thought in designing this scope. The fully multi coated reticles along with magnifying lenses provide crisp images with high quality light transmission. The speed selector and arrow drop compensation setting on this scope helps in taking accurate shots at variable velocities with no adjustment for distance.
It requires a lot of practice to use a scope correctly so after you choose your scope, you should practice fine-tuning the scope for various magnifications.
Crossbow Broadheads:
When it comes to crossbow hunting, it is an activity that requires hours of chasing and positioning to get one flawless shot, as it might be all you get. Therefore, you should have a broadhead that can fully penetrate through your target and hunt it down with an enormous blood trail to follow.
There are multiple options for broadhead, you can choose between fixed, mechanical and hybrid broadheads for successful hunting. The fixed blade crossbow broadheads are quite sharp blades which remain the same size during the flight, while mechanical blades open, ensuring higher pace and excellent penetration.
The Excalibur Boltcutter is an incredibly precise fixed broadhead designed for professional hunters. This provides mind-blowing performance when used with quality crossbows, as it flies right into the target with high velocity. For the best mechanical broadhead, the Rage X would be a best option, considering its lightweight, durability and fine steel construction.
Cocking Device:
Most hunters consider a cocking device to be one of the must-have hunting accessories for their crossbow. While hunters can cock a crossbow manually, some prefer to use a cocking device, especially when they have a high power crossbow.
The crank cocking tool is usually mounted on the crossbow stock and is a small, manually operated winch that allows you to wind a compact crank handle to cock the crossbow. The rope cocking device, that helps you to cock your crossbow at about half the draw weight, is an alternative to the hand operated crank forms of winches.
Although rope-cockers improve the accuracy, crank devices allow the centering of the string in the trigger, while providing precision like rope cockers.
Crossbow Case:
Sometimes a crossbow can be dangerous if not carefully stored, so when not in use, you must keep it safely. Therefore you should purchase a case that will keep your crossbow secure all the time while carrying the accessories as well. The cases come in various shapes and sizes so that you can select the case that matches your crossbow brand.
Crossbow cases provide soft sided shielding for the most important components of the crossbow. To get maximum protection for your crossbow hunting gear, always choose a robust nylon shell that coats dense foam padding. Many cases also have an external quiver, where you can stick your arrows while wandering in the woods.
The best crossbow case should also have an adjustable shoulder strap, sturdy side panels, a long-lasting double seam construction and a zipper to allow easy access to the inside.
Crossbow Quiver:
While moving around in the woods, chasing the big game, you need a crossbow quiver to hold your arrows or bolts in place and keep you safe. You can lug a quiver, either on your belt or on your crossbow, depending on what you prefer.
The Allen Youth Archery Compact Back is an outstanding quiver with padded adjustable straps to rest comfortably on your shoulders. This durable yet simple quiver can conveniently hold up to 30 bolts for your long hunting ventures.
Crossbow Sling:
Crossbow slings are a wonderful creation that helps you to hoist around your heavy crossbow through hilly terrain and dense forests with ease. They have padded straps which make much longer trekking distances comfortable.
Slings are mostly durable and affordable and are a worthy investment for hunting enthusiasts. Your hands remain free allowing you to use your binoculars, climb over a tree, or even have a drink of water without putting down your crossbow stuff.
Crossbow Target:
When it comes to crossbow competitive shooting, the phrase “practice makes the man perfect” is certainly relevant. If you are about to enter the hunting season, or if you are new to this sport, you need crossbow target to train yourself before the real game.
There are a variety of target categories in the market such as Bag target, Foam block target and 3-D target. Bag targets which are specifically built for field points are the most cheap crossbow accessories. Foam block targets are typically used with broadhead but can also be used with field points. 3-D targets are basically foam targets shaped like real animals. Another feature of 3D target practice is that they show the animal’s vital organs to help you perfect your aim.
Crossbow Stand:
A crossbow stand will allow you to keep your crossbow aimed securely for a while after you are done using it at the range. This is also used to hold the crossbows at home, pointing down while still ready for use.
One of the best crossbow stands is one by the Excalibur, perfect for displaying your crossbow at home or for resting at the range. They are lightweight and inexpensive, made with black tubular steel, which is also powder-coated, and foldable for easy transportation.
Arrow puller:
The only choice when pulling an arrow out of a target is to grab the arrow with your hand from the shaft and try to pull it out. If an arrow is buried too deeply into the target, attempting to pull it out by hand can instigate undue stress on both your arm and arrows.
Arrow pullers are devices created to help with this tedious task. They differ in design, features and style and the small investment needed for an arrow puller can save your wallet over time from buying new arrows every now and then.
Lighted Nocks:
Crossbow arrows fly at a tremendous speed when shot making it nearly impossible to trace or track a moving arrow. Lighted nocks are a latest development, and a valuable addition to the collection of any crossbow hunter.
It helps you to see the flight route of your bolt with excellent visibility that will help you find the exact spot where you shot the animal, which is very useful when hunting in low-light circumstances. You can also locate your bolt conveniently in the dark when the lighted nocks are shining from a distance.
Conclusion
For hunting during the archery season, your crossbow should be powerful enough to easily bring down even the largest game. That is why you need the crossbow accessories to help ensure this year’s season is successful and safe. The crossbow attachments that we listed above would certainly boost your hunting confidence.
Master of Modern Bowhunting, Watson knows archery equipment forward and backward. An accomplished bowhunter in his own right, his successes in the field demonstrates to novices that bowhunting isn’t something to be kept behind closed doors. Making it more accessible to beginners and advanced bowhunters alike; Watson has become an expert in the construction and use of longbows, compound bows, crossbows, archery and bowhunting gear; he now shares his knowledge openly.