An alternative to the hand-operated types of winches is the rope cocking device which enables you to cock your crossbow at roughly half the draw weight. The winch is a type of hand crank that enables you to cock any crossbow, no matter what the draw weight is. The cocking device is a hand-operated winch that you have mounted on your crossbow. Although you can manually cock a crossbow, most hunters choose to use a cocking device, especially if they have a high powered crossbow. Most hunters find a cocking device to be an indispensable tool to have with their crossbow. Mechanical blades open during flight, allowing faster speed and excellent penetration. Fixed blades are razor-sharp blades that stay the same size.

Crossbow broadheads come in two different types: fixed and mechanical (also known as an expandable blade). While field points are good for practicing, crossbow broadheads are made to take down animals of all sizes, from elk and deer to wild turkey. In most cases, you’ll want to use crossbow broadheads at the end of your bolt to ensure the animal you hit will go down and stay down. Crossbow BroadheadsĪt the end of the crossbow bolt has to be some type of tip to cut through an animal, typically deer or turkey. (The same cannot be said for arrows used in bows.) Although most top crossbow bolts nowadays have vanes or fletchings like arrows, a bolt does not have to have stabilizing vanes. They are shorter than arrows that you use in bows, but many people use the term bolt and arrow interchangeably when talking about crossbow bolts. Similar in design to arrows, but much shorter, crossbow bolts are made from aluminum alloys and carbon fiber. Crossbow BoltsĬrossbow bolts are the arrow shaft you use to shoot at your game. Using a scope accurately takes practice, so once you choose your scope, you should practice adjusting the scope for different magnifications. Most scopes are optical scopes or red dot scopes. Your crossbow may already have a scope, red dot sight, laser sight, or fiber optic sight, but many crossbows do not come with them, or you may wish to change your sight or scope to something that will work better for you. Crossbow scopes are crucial for precision shots, which means a quick, clean kill and more meat on the table. Like a rifle, if you’re hunting any distance more than a few yards, you’ll benefit from a scope. Many crossbow packages will come equipped with many of these items out of the box, while others will require you to piece them together for a complete crossbow. If you’re a crossbow hunter, there are 10 must-have crossbow accessories you’ll need before you start hunting.

10 point crossbow accessories