crossbows for nighttime coon calling

skooter

skooter

New member
I have a lot of properties I call on and would like to be as quiet as I can and I do have rimfires for places that will let me but I want to buy a bow or Xbow or maybe a 17wsm with a silencer. I see a lot of guys use red lights on there bows to call in coyotes, Fox & coon but I can't find anyone who uses a crossbow on raccoons, when I call in predators at night I get more raccoons then coyote or fox so what I want to know is if a cross bow would work for raccoons? Or would I be better off with a regular compound bow? What do you use and why? Any info would be very helpful, thanks guys

And if anyone has some night hunting set ups on a show, bow or rimfire rifle I'd love to see em! Specially with silencers if you got em.. come on fellas let's see what you play with when the lights go out!..lol I need to come up with something and make a decision..
 
I started using a Barnett Recon Light Crossbow for night hunting this year.
The is a 60lb model that is idea for predator hunting. I chose this model so I didnt loose as many bolts as I would with a 130+lb model.
Message me or email me at jeremiah@boondockoutdoors.com if your interested in one as I'm a dealer for these crossbows as well as other fine predator hunting gear.
 
Yeah I've been checking out boondocks alot, wether or not I go with xbow, bow or rimfire I really need a good red scope/bow light and red headlamp. When I go out at night I don't use dogs or just shoot in trees I use a set of mouth calls on a lanyard around my neck or I use an a turbo dogg ecaller so all of my shots are on the ground and anywhere from 20 to 120yards away. Now I just had an AR15 special ordered from CMMG and I paid $1,500 for it but it only took me 10 rounds to figure out I hate the AR platform..lol I felt one of the new ambushes at shot show last year and thought they where all the same ...I was wrong ... But all in all I like rimfire with my ecaller but some friends lately have been going out with bows (with pressure switch red lights from boondocks that screw into the counter weight thread hole) and coon/yote/Kat diaphragm calls and they say it's amazing! And there comming home with 5 or 6 coons, 1 or 2 yotes & maybe just maybe a Kat.. Now that sounds fun as [beeep] but I'm no good with a bow so that why I ask about xbows because I'd like something quiet but I still don't want to miss that bobkat orcoyote at 80 yards so if I did get a 150lbs show couldn't I just use fire knocks and bludgeon tips? My wife and friends just keep saying get a regular small frame bow, some red lights & just practice ... What do you think? Because I'm about 3 seconds away from trading this AR for a 22mag or .17hmr/wsm and throwing a silencer on it.
 
You're not gonna be shooting Bobcat at 80 yds with a crossbow with regular success, IMO. Coons at 20-30yds is another story. I don't think you will get away with bludgeon tips either, probably will have to use a broadhead of some type, and that will mean holes in the fur unless you can headshoot them all.

A rimfire with a moderator would be the best route, IMO. A 22 Mag that shoots well, should be good to 100yds, even for yotes.

Keep us posted, I've been kicking the idea around of using a thermal on a 22 for night coons here in IA. We can't use a light unless a dog is present. My long term goal is to have a cross bow set up for quiet night killin', would be a great asset for a SHTF scenario also..
 
I recently bought the Ruger American Rimfire compact 22 mag with threaded barrel. I should be able to pick up my suppressor any day now, just waiting for the call. Once I have it I can report on how it sounds at night. It shoots the Hornady factory ammo about 1" groups at 100 yards and I just picked up some other loads to see what shoots the absolute best through it. It's a very light and compact set up, much more so than the Franklin Armory 17wsm I was lugging around for a while.
 
I have shot a few coons at night with a compound bow using broadheads like I use for deer, almost all of the have run quiet a ways before expiring. They are tuff. If you are just wanting them dead you prolly can do that with a crossbow. If you are wanting to recover them and save the hide, taking only head shots with target points should work. Broadheads mess them up.

If you are not already an accomplished archer, hitting coon sized vitals with a regular compound bow will be MORE than a challenge. You are talking about something the size of a tennis ball. That ain't easy. Anything over 30 yards even with a cross bow will be a challenge as well. 80 yds at night with any bow cross or not? forgetaboutit.
 
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Sounds great and I love shopping boondocks for all kinds of stuff so it would only be natural that I would buy an xbow and a red light from you guys...
 
Yeah I love the idea of an Xbow with a scope & red light but then your loosing arrows, shredding fur & slow follow up shots.. I guess I was just thinking I could put up a tree stand andask ecaller and then I wouldent have to keep moving my stands. Ssuppressors aren't really anymore quiet then a 22 so I figured that wouldent do me any better. What do you guys think about the savage 93r17 fv-sr? They come with the 16.5" pre-threaded bull barrel? I wanted to get a savage Bmag 17 wsm but they have such [beeep] reviews about bad accuracy, trigger & clip fitting problems. If the 17WSM was a 1"moa rifle I'd just go get one threaded for a silencer but since I keep hearing it's not I'm thinking 93r17 fv-sr w/ silencer or xbow.. if I wasent poor I'd get both but that's not happening..lol
 
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