A crossbow is a weapon used by many hunters on a hunting safari and is fixed across a wooden support, with a groove where the hunter will place the crossbow bolt. Both a crossbow and compound bow have a string mechanism that the hunter must pull, a crossbow can however take higher pondages as the hunter can load the crossbow with two arms and not release it immediately during the African hunt. While bow hunting in Africa, the hunter uses only one arm to pull the string mechanism and will either release the arrow when ready or let the bow down. An advantage of crossbow hunting is that the bolt is flying at higher speeds than an arrow however is also bulkier and heavier.
While moose and bear are generally the most common animals hunted with crossbows other species such as whitetail deer, wildebeest, impala or kudu can be hunted with a crossbow.
The type of crossbow a hunter uses when hunting in Africa will depend on what animal species they are targeting on their game hunting safari. When hunting African plains game, a compound crossbow with a draw weight of 175-220 pounds should work just fine on these species. When hunting larger game, a compound crossbow should ideally have a draw weight of between 175 -250 pounds.
When crossbow hunting in Africa a hunter can stalk up to the animal. A hunter can sit in a tree stand but shot opportunities may not be as much. A hunter can also sit in a blind/hide and hunt their desired species depending on the area and whether this is legal or not.
There are three types of bows that most countries will allow you to use when game hunting in Africa. These three types used on a hunting safari are a compound bow, a re-curve bow, and a longbow. A compound bow is a bow that uses a levering system consisting of cables and pulleys to bend the limbs. Compound bows are good as the pondages can be set to the hunter’s liking and can be very powerful, allowing for fast arrow speeds for large or small game. A re-curve bow is shorter than a longbow and has limbs that curve away from the archer when unstrung. A longbow is a large bow drawn by hand that was traditionally used by hunters and shoots feathered arrows.
When comparing bow hunting to rifle hunting or crossbow hunting it is shown that the hunter will need a higher level of skill, accuracy, and strength when on a bow hunting safari. Bow hunting on foot can teach hunters great skills on stalking incredibly close to an animal to get a shot. While it comes down to the hunter’s personal opinion, an arrow placed in the correct spot with a good broadhead can get incredible penetration.
Almost any animal species can be hunted with a bow, considering that a higher poundage bow can be used for both African big game animals and will work perfectly on smaller species too. It all depends on the legal rules that a country has to offer and the skills of each hunter to attain your animal of choice while hunting in Africa.
There are three main types of hunting methods used by bow hunters:
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