Crossbow hunting is one of the most challenging ways to hunt an animal. It takes so much patience to wait for an animal to get close enough for the kill shot. Hunters need to master the skill of tracking and calling the animal they are after if they want to have any chance with a crossbow. You can’t sit in a tree stand in the middle of an open field and hit something 250 yards away like you can with a rifle.
If you are going to teach your teenager how to hunt, crossbow hunting is the way to go. It teaches them everything they would want to know about hunting while having plenty of fun. This is a great way to teach your young one how to be patient and wait for the right time, a quality that is hard to teach.
When looking for the right youth crossbow, you will want to focus on a few different things. You will want to make sure that the crossbow is going to be safe to fire. After safety, you should research the power and durability of the crossbow you are considering.
Safety
Safety is the main concern when you allow anyone to touch a firearm, especially if they are young. You want to make sure that your crossbow is equipped with a safety at the very least. An automatic safety is ideal, because this almost completely eliminates the chance of a misfire. The safety mechanism is a latch that prevents the crossbow from firing accidentally when bumped or dropped.
Another safety consideration is the trigger mechanism installed within the crossbow. A crossbow operates using a trigger connected to a hook that holds the string back until the trigger is released. While some crossbows come standard with all-metal trigger mechanisms, some of the cheaper models use flimsy plastic.
Power
Crossbows produce an immense amount of force to launch the arrow into the air to eventually hit the target. Each crossbow produces a different amount of force depending on the quality of the bow. We typically measure this power and speed as a measurement of feet per second (FPS).
When looking for a youth crossbow, you will want to find a crossbow between 200 and 250 FPS. That is enough to use for target practice, small game, and even medium sized game if you are close enough. Anything more than that and you will be into premium crossbows with premium prices.
Durability
When you are investing in anything that costs as much as a crossbow, you want to know that it is going to last. You don’t want your kid going out back to fire the crossbow for the first time and watch it fall into pieces after the fifth shot. You will want to read the reviews on the crossbow that you are considering and pay attention to any negative reviews by people running into quality issues.
It is also important to keep in mind that crossbow hunting takes part deep in the woods and you need to get your crossbow out there. You are likely going to be hiking through some woods in order to get to the location where you will be hunting. You need a crossbow that is going to make that trip without turning into a pile of sticks on the way.
If you consider these three aspects during your hunt for the best crossbow for your kid, you are sure to pick a quality crossbow. Don’t be afraid to “pull the trigger” on your purchase because there is no real wrong crossbow. Your kid will enjoy it and the time spent hunting with it for years to come.
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