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| Contributed photo Outdoor writer Bill Graves poses with his first every bear with a crossbow, his new Excalibur Equinox, and it also is the largest bear he has taken thus far. |
MAINELY OUTDOORS
by Bill Graves
A few weeks ago, just prior to bear season, I penned an article detailing my trials and tribulations selecting a crossbow to hunt big game. It had been roughly 25-years since I purchased my first and last crossbow, and during that span technology for this intriguing weapon grew by leaps and bounds. Several styles of stocks and fore ends evolved, at least four types of limbs including compound, reverse, double limb and recurve now exist and triggers, safety and cocking mechanisms all improved.
Fiber optic sights, scopes, arrows (which are called bolts for crossbows), broadhead designs, and high-tech materials for all these components combine to create a dependable and deadly hunting tool produced by over half a dozen top rate companies. Selecting just the right crossbow to meet my needs comprised no easy chore, but after research on line, visiting a few archery shops to handle and test-fire a bunch of likely candidates, an Excalibur Equinox with all the bells, whistles and a factory selected kit of accessories came home as my new pride and joy.
Over the next couple of evenings I got my crossbow ready for the practice range. I attached a quick-release quiver which holds four hunting bolts, added a stock extension to better fit the bow to my arm length and placed the scope rings and scope in place. As well as a printed owner’s manual and directions for use, a DVD included in the accessory kit covers every aspect regarding safety, included components and how to use them, and advice for novice and veteran shooters.
After viewing the DVD I put my target bolts together and then set up my 150 grain, 3-blade hunting bolts. I practiced cocking and releasing the bow string, which required 255 pounds of pull to set. Using the rope cocking aid cuts the pull necessary by half, allowing hunters of moderate size to use the powerful crossbow.
Any questions regarding efficiency and doubts about effectiveness of my new crossbow quickly disappeared during my first trip to the practice range. Excalibur’s Varizone multiplex scope is amazing; sight in to hit the bulls eye at 10-yards, then use one of the four descending hash marks and your shot will be dead on at 20, 30, 40, and 50 yards as well, with no manual compensations! Within half an hour I was placing three-shot groups of field points in a two-inch bulls eye every time at 30 yards.
When I fired one of the 20-inch carbon bolts armed with a 3-blade hunting broadhead at a dense foam 3-D bear target, it went half way out the opposite side. At 350 feet per second it was just a blur with deep penetration, heavy knock-down power and deadly accuracy. After a few more successful outings to the range I was fully in tune with my new crossbow and ready for a real quarry.
Within a week of setting up my two bait sites bruin began visiting both spots so I put out trail cameras to check how many, how big, and how often. Over the next two weeks over a dozen black bear of every size and shape showed up in digital photos, including two huge brutes of 350- to 400-pounds. They didn’t get old and large by being foolish and they showed up only after dark to raid the bait barrel.
Having bagged ten black bear, each with a different caliber and style of handgun, over the last decade, I’d made up my mind to shoot at least a 200-pound bruin with my new crossbow or none at all. In all I sat eight nights alternating bait sights randomly and saw 21 bear, a few were repeat visitors. Despite being excited about using my Excalibur crossbow, I truly enjoy watching the antics and interactions of bear and had no intention of taking a shot until the final week unless a real giant showed up.
I passed up a shot on a good bear at 6:30 on Monday because I had a 7:30 obligation and knew I’d never meet the time line if I downed the animal. Two nights later the bear returned but never presented a good shot, and two smaller bear visited as well. On Thursday, two nights before the season ended, after four evenings in the same stand, I made the decision to relocate. For once I was in right place at the right time.
Around four o’clock a sow and cub arrived and offered entertainment for nearly half an hour. Suddenly her head came up, she uttered a small woof and the two bear departed post haste. I spotted motion in the woods about 20-minutes later and a bear in the 250-pound range warily entered the bait site, after watching for a few minutes I decided to take a shot. As I followed through the scope, background movement caught my eye and I raised my head to see a splotch of black in the brush. It had to be another bear.
After 10 minutes of pussy-footing around a larger bear entered the clearing and quickly asserted dominance chasing the other bruin away. Waiting patiently, watching through the scope for over 10 minutes, the big bear finally presented a broad side lung shot and I slowly squeezed the trigger. As my ears heard the string twang and swoosh of the speeding bolt, the arrow had already passed through the bear.
At 311 pounds with a full, glossy coat and no rub marks, this was the largest black bear I’d ever shot. The bruin piled up only 35 yards from where it was hit and I was really hooked on hunting with a crossbow. For those sportsmen who have never tried target shooting or hunting with this amazing style of archery gear, I highly recommend it. It’s a true challenge and thrill.
