A limb on my crossbow cracked... now I want a compound bow

[Yard Candy]

This morning while in the stand I noticed one of the limbs on my Bear Archery Karnage Apocalypse crossbow was cracked. Since there is no way to de-cock it other than shooting, I immediately, and nervously, fired the bolt. I sadly climbed down and went home. I contacted Bear about it and will see what they say. The bow was purchased in June 2019 so it's not had much use.

If they cover it under warranty (I don't even know what the warranty is to be honest) I'll keep using it. I've got 2 white tail kills with it from last year - it's accurate and I'm good with it. But if they don't cover it under warranty I'd like to switch to a compound bow.

Either way this couldn't have happened at a worse time - right in the middle'ish of the white tail season. I assume warranty repairs would take too long for me to back in business this season. And if I switch to compound it's a whole new skillet I currently don't have. I don't see that happening this season either. Though I am a quick learner and usually really good at everything I put work into.

If I get a compound bow, any recommendations? I have ZERO bow experience. I'd like to stay at or under $400 for a RTH bow. I understand I'd also need to get arrows, heads, and a release.

I plan to visit a local shop - but still - seeking recommendations on everyone's personal experience.

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[John pettimore]

Bows are a very personal thing. Your on the right track heading to a shop though it is unlikely they will have anything within your budget. But, you need to shoot as many as you can and decide what feels the best to you. No one else can really give you that answer and really, they are pretty much all quality now days so brand isn’t too important.

To hit that budget your going to have to buy used or pick up one of the package bows from a big box store.

 

[Xbow hunter]

Get an Excalibur crossbow and an extra set of limbs for insurance. As long as you don’t get the fastest models they have you should be fine. They have a lifetime warranty to cover anything that may fail. If anything fails it’s usually a limb splinter. Use the extra set of limbs while they send you some new ones if anything does ever happen. They will cover it even if you drop it out of your tree stand.

 

[kloppy]

excalibur x2 ^^

 

[cuttiebrownbow]

Diamond Edge 320 would be a fantastic first bow that would fit your price point.

Just like with any ‘big box store’ set the accessories will be the weak link but they are certainly good enough to get you started.

I know these are sold in big box stores but one of the small shops local to me sells them as well.

For a release a wrist rocket like a trufire will work and not be very expensive and then for arrows gold tip hunter xt are a good arrow that will perform well, not break easy and are middle of the road in price.

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[Yard Candy]

Get an Excalibur crossbow and an extra set of limbs for insurance. As long as you don’t get the fastest models they have you should be fine. They have a lifetime warranty to cover anything that may fail. If anything fails it’s usually a limb splinter. Use the extra set of limbs while they send you some new ones if anything does ever happen. They will cover it even if you drop it out of your tree stand.

What's special about the Excalibur?

And what's wrong with the fastest model?

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[Desk Jockey]

That definitely sucks. I tell you to focus on fixing your crossbow for now. Warranty or not, it will probably be cheaper than even a bargain bow set up. The other issue, is that even if you buy the bow today and unless you are a prodigy, it will take you a few weeks of slinging arrows to get good enough to hunt with it. I am also north exactly familiar with that bear crossbow, but I bet you would cut your effective range in Half as well. i have shot compound bows for 6 years and stay under 40 yards on my shots. My crossbow buddies hardly practice and don’t think anything of shooting 80-100.

 

[Billy Goat]

Pics of the crack?


If it isn't major I'd keep hunting it for now. Put super glue on it to help seal it up and stop it from getting worse if it's just a splinter off the edge.


Follow up:

Talked to a buddy who deals with them. He says he wouldn't keep shooting it as it's only going to get worse on them. He has one right now with cracked limbs that he has been waiting 4 weeks for limbs. So don't listen to what I previously said.

Best compounds are going to be from a local dealer you can get customer support from. I think bear makes a nice bow, you might have a sour taste from the crossbow tho.

 

[LostArra]

In your warranty negotiations you might offer to take a Bear compound in exchange for the busted Bear crossbow.

 

[Yard Candy]

Pics of the crack?


If it isn't major I'd keep hunting it for now. Put super glue on it to help seal it up and stop it from getting worse if it's just a splinter off the edge.


Follow up:

Talked to a buddy who deals with them. He says he wouldn't keep shooting it as it's only going to get worse on them. He has one right now with cracked limbs that he has been waiting 4 weeks for limbs. So don't listen to what I previously said.

Best compounds are going to be from a local dealer you can get customer support from. I think bear makes a nice bow, you might have a sour taste from the crossbow tho.

Here's a few pics. I don't think it's terrible, but you can definitely see a line where it's wanting to separate even further.

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[Yard Candy]

In your warranty negotiations you might offer to take a Bear compound in exchange for the busted Bear crossbow.

Clever bear you are

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[Yard Candy]

Bear got back to me. They said:

Hello,
I am sorry about the issue, If you take the bow to your archery shop they can call us to order you a new set of limbs under warranty.

Thats good, but now the question is does warranty only cover the cost of the limbs or will they also cover the shops rate to install them?

I'll follow up when I get a response incase anyone is curious.

Edit: Called BassPro and they said they will ship the whole bow out to Bear, and I will just have to pay shipping. Should take 4 weeks. Just in time to miss the rut! Yay /s

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[Xbow hunter]

The best thing about Excalibur is they cover everything under warranty for life. The wider limb moderate speed bows hardly ever have any problems. The fastest bows in their lineup do get limb splinters from time to time. Some of that comes from user error by not having the bolts properly seated. They have no cams so you can easily change strings and limbs yourself.

 

[roosiebull]

This morning while in the stand I noticed one of the limbs on my Bear Archery Karnage Apocalypse crossbow was cracked. Since there is no way to de-cock it other than shooting, I immediately, and nervously, fired the bolt. I sadly climbed down and went home. I contacted Bear about it and will see what they say. The bow was purchased in June 2019 so it's not had much use.

If they cover it under warranty (I don't even know what the warranty is to be honest) I'll keep using it. I've got 2 white tail kills with it from last year - it's accurate and I'm good with it. But if they don't cover it under warranty I'd like to switch to a compound bow.

Either way this couldn't have happened at a worse time - right in the middle'ish of the white tail season. I assume warranty repairs would take too long for me to back in business this season. And if I switch to compound it's a whole new skillet I currently don't have. I don't see that happening this season either. Though I am a quick learner and usually really good at everything I put work into.

If I get a compound bow, any recommendations? I have ZERO bow experience. I'd like to stay at or under $400 for a RTH bow. I understand I'd also need to get arrows, heads, and a release.

I plan to visit a local shop - but still - seeking recommendations on everyone's personal experience.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

you could probably find a bowtech rpm 360 with original limbs for that price

joking aside, there are lots of good options in your price range.... lots of the older Elites are super forgiving nice bows (great first bow) and can be had in your price range. for a first bow, you can't go wrong sticking with something in the 32+" ATA and a 6.5+" brace height... make it easy on yourself.

the one downside to elite is i believe they were mod or cam specific draw length, which isn't great for a first bow

you may be able to find a PSE Evolve in your price range too, which is the nicest, most adjustable cam system to date...

luckily for you, there are tons of good options on used bows that are still great bows... i would avoid really fast bow, and really short bows. if you enjoy dedicating yourself to things, you will find compound archery much more fun than your x-bow.... if you don't want to practice, or won't make time to practice, you will probably end back up with an x-bow...... there is always time to shoot a dozen arrows a day almost all year long.... not having time is a BS excuse, not willing to make time is more like it.

 

[Yard Candy]

joking aside, there are lots of good options in your price range.... lots of the older Elites are super forgiving nice bows (great first bow) and can be had in your price range. for a first bow, you can't go wrong sticking with something in the 32+" ATA and a 6.5+" brace height... make it easy on yourself.

the one downside to elite is i believe they were mod or cam specific draw length, which isn't great for a first bow

you may be able to find a PSE Evolve in your price range too, which is the nicest, most adjustable cam system to date...

luckily for you, there are tons of good options on used bows that are still great bows... i would avoid really fast bow, and really short bows. if you enjoy dedicating yourself to things, you will find compound archery much more fun than your x-bow.... if you don't want to practice, or won't make time to practice, you will probably end back up with an x-bow...... there is always time to shoot a dozen arrows a day almost all year long.... not having time is a BS excuse, not willing to make time is more like it.

I appreciate the response - you included some good info for me to look into.

The Excaliburs that everyone is recommending sound cool, and I'm all about a lifetime warranty, but I'm not interested in investing more into the crossbow world. This is where personal preference comes in. I only picked up my current crossbow in the first place beause it was a cheaper way (meaning cheaper than buying a bow) to be able to hunt during archery season. Before that I only had a rifle, and in my state rifle is ~2 weeks long, which realistically to me means I only have 2 weekends to hunt. I wanted to be able to do more. So as a new hunter going into my second season (last year) a crossbow was my gateway to test the waters.

What I've learned since getting the crossbow is I definitely enjoy it. Even though the act of shooting a crossbow is "easy" compared to a bow, you still have to get so much closer than when using a rifle. It really is so much different than rifle hunting. I like the challenge.

My intention was to get a bow later on if I enjoyed hunting with a crossbow. I understand there is a big difference, a giant learning curve, and it's something you have to practice with and dedicate yourself to. That is me though, all the way. That's what really interests me in bow hunting is the dedication and practice, getting better, always learning, etc.

I'll look into some of the prodycts you've mentioned and probably pick something up and practice practice practice, and be ready to hunt with it next season.

Fortunately this season isn't ruined for me. It should take 3-4 weeks to have my crossbow repaired. I'll have to pay shipping to send it directly to Bear Archery's repair shop, but they will cover the limbs and labor. In the meantime I have a friend who actually has a second crossbow that he is going to let me borrow. So I'll have something in the interim.

The biggest thing I've learned this season is that gear doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you have "this" crossbow or "that" compound bow. It doesn't matter if your clothes are Kuiu, First Lite, or Walmart. You can have the best gear in the world but if you can't find the deer, it doesn't matter.