I bought a crossbow last september and shot a bull moose on the first sunday in October up in Quebec. I never owned one before that.
The scope came mounted. All I did was read the instructions which indicated what horzontal line in the scope to line up for the 30 yard shot. My scope has 3 lines or dots when I turn on the lighted reticle. They are graduated to match the tradjectory of the bolt. The crossbow came bore sighted so left and right was fine but I could fine tune it the same way as a rifle scope with the wndage adjustment. Up and down is done the same way also. I was hitting bull's eyes on the second shot. I found it to be very easy. that was shooting on a calm day. Very little tuning. Fairly straight forward.
Buy the bolts from where you buy the crossbow. They are made for each bow. For example I buy the Ten Point bolts for mine and they shoot the same every time. No need to worry about length. They are all the same unlike draw length for a compound bow. You don't have to worry about spine and arrow length.
My ten point scope was graduated for the tradjectory using a 100 grain broadhead. So that is what i used. No need to buy bigger in my opinion. My bolt passed through my moose at 40 yards.
There is no arrow rest adjustment. The bolt sits in a grooved channel. One fletching sits in the groove and the other 2 clear the string.
It's fairly easy to pull back since you are using both arms and your foot to hold it to the ground. But many of the brands have an optional string cock mechanism instead of using your arms. More money but well worth it. I might get one for my Ten Point crossbow since I tore my rotator cuff and getting surgery in July.
AS for practice. Yes practice. Wind and terrain play a big part in your shooting abilities just as shooting from a treestand or on the ground. Try all positions including standing up. Try it with heavy clothing and light clothing. It's basically similar to holding a gun but the wind and shooting positions affect it much more.
The scope came mounted. All I did was read the instructions which indicated what horzontal line in the scope to line up for the 30 yard shot. My scope has 3 lines or dots when I turn on the lighted reticle. They are graduated to match the tradjectory of the bolt. The crossbow came bore sighted so left and right was fine but I could fine tune it the same way as a rifle scope with the wndage adjustment. Up and down is done the same way also. I was hitting bull's eyes on the second shot. I found it to be very easy. that was shooting on a calm day. Very little tuning. Fairly straight forward.
Buy the bolts from where you buy the crossbow. They are made for each bow. For example I buy the Ten Point bolts for mine and they shoot the same every time. No need to worry about length. They are all the same unlike draw length for a compound bow. You don't have to worry about spine and arrow length.
My ten point scope was graduated for the tradjectory using a 100 grain broadhead. So that is what i used. No need to buy bigger in my opinion. My bolt passed through my moose at 40 yards.
There is no arrow rest adjustment. The bolt sits in a grooved channel. One fletching sits in the groove and the other 2 clear the string.
It's fairly easy to pull back since you are using both arms and your foot to hold it to the ground. But many of the brands have an optional string cock mechanism instead of using your arms. More money but well worth it. I might get one for my Ten Point crossbow since I tore my rotator cuff and getting surgery in July.
AS for practice. Yes practice. Wind and terrain play a big part in your shooting abilities just as shooting from a treestand or on the ground. Try all positions including standing up. Try it with heavy clothing and light clothing. It's basically similar to holding a gun but the wind and shooting positions affect it much more.