There’s nothing worse than preparing for a good score only to miss a shot with your crossbow. If you ask anyone how to improve your accuracy – they’d probably tell you to keep practicing. And it’s most likely that you were wondering how to shoot a crossbow accurately which is the reason you’re here.
Even though practice makes a huge difference and it’s very important – there are a couple of other things you should pay attention to.
Don’t forget to practice, but keep on learning how crossbows work, the proper technique, and even find a couple of tips that will help you handle and shoot your crossbow better.
That’s exactly what would help you improve your accuracy – and you’re in the right place as in this post, that’s exactly what you’ll find out if you keep on reading!
Practice Makes Perfect But…
It’s not all in the practice. We have to be real.
Especially if you’re someone who’s just starting, it’s not all in the practice. There is a right way to do things and there’s a wrong way to do things.
Most new crossbow hunters try their best to have a proper form and do things correctly which only leads them to have a form that’s not the best yet it’s not the worst one out there.
Practicing further with such form might help you improve your accuracy for a bit – but it won’t take you far.
Instead, you should start with the basics (even if you’re a veteran) and pay attention to things you often do and yet don’t even think twice about them.
This means that you’ll have to go all the way back to the basics to learn how to properly hold the crossbow, learn how to use it, and how to fully take the advantage of it.
It might seem like there’s a lot to pay attention to – especially when you’re preparing to score that shot, but it’s not that hard.
Below, we’ll show you some of the easiest tips & tricks that will help you improve your form and practice more to improve your accuracy.
How to Shoot a Crossbow Accurately
Pinpoint accuracy doesn’t happen overnight, and even some veteran crossbow hunters still miss shots.
However, if you’re missing every shot – then it’s most likely that you’re doing something wrong.
Remember how we said that it’s important to take things to the beginning and look at your form and your shots from a different angle?
That’s exactly what it all comes down to so here’s what you’ll need to do:
- Check if you’ve picked up a right crossbow for you
- Check if the flight trail is properly lubricated
- If you use a scope, calibrate it
You’ll know that you picked up a correct crossbow for you if you can hold it comfortably and you can cock the bow easily. This might seem a basic step but it’s a really important one that will determine your accuracy.
An unlubricated flight trail can lead to inaccurate shots, so you should ensure that it’s well lubricated. However, along with the flight trail, you should wax the sting too.
Always adjust the scope to the range you’ll be firing your crossbow from.
Even though the procedure seems simple – it’s all it takes to start improving your technique and truly learn how to shoot a crossbow accurately.
The Correct Cocking Procedure
Practice might make you perfect, but you need to get the correct technique down. If you don’t know how to cook or load a crossbow – here’s what you need to do:
- Place the crossbow on the ground and secure it with your foot
- Pull the string evenly on both sides
- Place the string in the cooking mechanism (you’ll hear a click)
- Put the arrow in the groove (top of the bow with the end of the bold touching the string)
If your fletcher (usually a feather or a plastic vane at the end of the arrow) sits properly in the groove, you know that you’ve correctly cocked your crossbow and that it’s ready to fire.
Now, once you aim at the target and shoot, your accuracy still might be off. However, this is the right time to put a couple of hours into practice and you’ll slowly but surely notice how you master the crossbow and improve your accuracy.
What to Consider When Choosing the Right Crossbow
We’ve mentioned that it’s important to choose a crossbow that is right for you, and now that you know how a right crossbow should feel – it’s the time to talk a bit more about the selection process.
With so many parts of the crossbow, it’s hard to learn everything about every part there is. However, what you should do is learn the difference between crossbow types.
The two most common crossbow types are one-handed and two-handed crossbow. If you require a lightweight option and you hunt small game – a one-handed crossbow might be a great fit. But if you’re thinking of the long-range – the most common two-handed crossbow is the right choice for you.
From there, it’s all in the different parts of the crossbow. They’ll be able to tell you a lot more about the overall quality of the crossbow.
And if you take things further, you should learn about the recurve or compound crossbows, the speed of a crossbow, and safety features.
Even crossbow and cocking weight can be important so that’s also something you should check out. Lastly, don’t forget to check out the arrow speed as well as the regular maintenance. They all play an important part and are linked together.
A well-maintained bow won’t only fire better, but it will last longer too.
Conclusion
If you came here trying to learn how to shoot a crossbow accurately, we hope that the tips you’ve found were helpful.
Even though these tips seem to force you to go back to the basics – it’s where mistakes happen most often.
Double-checking your form and your will help you improve your accuracy in no time. Still, you should practice even when you improve your accuracy to make it second nature to make good shots.
Hopefully, you’ll have a lot more opportunities in the future to take advantage of your crossbow skills!
What do you think is your biggest problem in achieving better crossbow accuracy?
