First let me say that crossbows are not rifles, they are almost equal in performance to a regular compound or recurve bow. You should never try to take game over 40 yds because the arrow flight time, string jump and arrow drop beyond this limit increases the chance of an inhumane kill or miss.

I NEVER shoot at game beyond my personal limit of 50yds and thats only if the conditions are perfect for the shot. However when it comes to target shooting I have no problem pushing the limits of the arrow and crossbow as far as I can. There are many folks out there on the web who consistantly shoot 2-3" groups at 100yds with there crossbows. I was always impressed by this level of acuracy. I am currently working on crossbow/arrow combinations to try 200-300 yds shots. It is extreamly difficult to put an arrow on taget after 60 yds because of the extream rainbow trajectory of an arrow.

First off a range finder is an absoloute must and even with one if you missjudge your +or- 1 yd you will be way off at 150yds. Crossbow bolts are shorter than arrows and are not as stable in flight due to this fact so they really have a tendancy to drop fast, @ 150 yds with my fastest crossbow if I make a mistake and dail my milldot scope to 145 yds I will fall as much as 20 ft short of my target. So the farther out you get the more important exact range estimation becomes. Like I said even with a laser range finder if your off by even 1 yd at 200 yds you will miss the target completely.

So why shoot that far, because it is a challenge. Its like shooting your 30-06 @ 2000-3000 yds, very impractical but certainly challenging and fun. I have my crossbows set up for long distance shooting much the same as my precision tactical rifles, I use harris bipods, mill-dot scopes w/target knobs, a sand bag, and the most accurate arrows and feild tips I can find.

I am excited about a recent purchase from Archery Connection right here on ebay, It is an Excalibur Exomax. My fastest crossbow at this point shoots 285 fps I cant wait to see what kind of trajectory I can get from 350 fps this may be the one that gets me to 300 yds. I will write a full review when the testing is done.

So like I said crossbows are not rifles and even @ 100 yds it takes skill and proper equipment to hit the bull. But this does not mean that it isn't fun, It is the challenge that I like best about any shooting. Please remember that target shooting and hunting are two different things and you should never shoot at game farther than 40 yds. I must tell you I had a lot of missconceptions about xbows when I first got into them years ago. the hype was unbelievable in the movies around campfires people truly beleived that crossbows were essentialy silenced rifles that could make five hundred yard shots all day long. First off xbows are not silent, a high poundage xbow shooting fast arrows is almost as loud as my .22 rifle and the arrow down range sounds like a swarm of angry flies being hurtled through the air at an ungodly speed. Second as I have said before, even shooting at 100 yds is tough so I had quite a reality check when I first started shooting an xbow.

I will write again when my Xcal gets here and I have had time to test it.