I use a Center Point Sniper 370. Got it 3 years ago and this thing hasnt let me down for a $300 crossbow. Comes ready to go other than some good broadheads. Sling, scope, cocking rope, 3 bolts and quiver. 370 fps, hence the name. It is a very accurate crossbow. So much so i have split bolts at 30 yards with it.
Ive taken 2 does with, 1 at roughly 20 yards and the other at about 30 yards. Both heart shots, abd didnt run far.
I bought this for just getting into crossbows for hunting, and i dont see me switching for a long time if ever.
Heres a link for it at Cabelas, though sold out at the moment
I bought a centerpoint sniper 370 last year. Did not get much hunt time with it. As said above, it is very accurate. I can not use the same dot on my block for more than one bolt as it will robin hood them easily. Good setup for the money. I got mine from Dunham's for around $250, they go on sale there a lot. I did buy some bloodsport hunter bolts and rage hypodermic broadheads. My weekends should be freed up more this fall to spend more time in the woods.
Barnett C5 with scope firing 100 grain Cyclone broadheads. Well sighted in now, but no deer seen during season the last two years. Last shot I took missed high. Found the bolt in the field, had deer hair stuck in it.
Two years ago I used a Barnett Quad 400 (340fps) to take 2 button bucks with one arrow, and one shot.
A complete pass through on both deer.
I hit the first one from about 20 feet, but did not realize the second was behind him.
I might try my luck again this year, but I'm not expecting to replicate that outing...
I also got a sniper 370 last year and repeat what everyone else said. Took 2 shots at does last year at 35 yards and both were heart shots right where I was aiming. Keep an eye on amazon, the price there seems to fluctuate. I think I got mine for $215
I got the CenterPoint Whisper 380 (just because a buddy has the Sniper 370 and I wanted to compare) from Dunhams last year. I think I paid around $320 with a $50 mail in rebate.
I settled on Victory Decimator bolts after trying Piledrivers and a couple others that didn't group well. I found the Decimators on sale at Dicks and grabbed a couple dozen.
I'm using the Amazon knock off of the Rage hypodermic broadheads. I only shot at one doe last year, killed her dead and opened up just as they should so no complaints on the cheap knock offs.
This thing is super quiet, much more quiet than the Sniper 370, but they are both so fast that it probably doesn't matter. I got good groups, 3" or so all the way out to 50 yards, plenty good enough for hunting.
And it's fun to sit at a picnic table and shoot 70-80 yard shots with this thing. (Not a hunting situation, just for fun)
It has been an awesome entry into the crossbow world and everything is affordable. If you have the $, Mission, Ravin Tenpoint all make super nice crossbows but if you just want to get into the sport look at the Sniper 370/Whisper 380
I use a Parker Thunderhawk and it's been a great bow. Light, compact and accurate. Not the fastest but good enough plus it's fairly quiet. I shot a couple does with it and one ran about fifty yards the other one just walked about ten and fell over.
I thought about buying a different one but this shoots so good that I'll keep using it.
What do you use for target practice? I can easily get hay bales. Do I need one of those special foam targets?
I need a crossbow starting this year. I can't recall which a buddy recommended but it is $600. I can stomach that -- but until I know if I really enjoy using it, and one significantly less (like those mentioned above) work, why not?
I took my Whisper 380 out of the garage to shoot about a month ago. Noticed one of the limbs beginning to splinter/crack.
I emailed their customer service, they were quick to get back to me during business hours. They paid return shipping and after about 1 week I had a brand new crossbow.
It was less than 1 year old, maybe 50-60 total shots through it. So, it was a bummer to have to send it back but I can say their customer service is top notch as well.