Idea that came to me in treestand

[nyexhunter]

While sitting in my tree stand this weekend I came up with the following idea for keeping my crossbow at the ready.

I'm not sure if the design folks at Excalibur intended this, however, the gap between the fore end of the stock and the front of the trigger guard fits almost perfectly over the front of the tree stand rail. Not where you may want it for shooting but for holding the crossbow at the ready this is good.

I put my arm through the opening in the back of the stock to keep it balanced with minimal effort and held it in place. This was good for a short time, however I think there may be a better way to hold and balance the crossbow in place until a deer comes in.

I'm going to experiment with wrapping a bungee cord around my thigh and through the opening in the back of the stock. I just need to get a bungee of the correct length to keep the crossbow held down at the back end. If I need to shoot I can just disconnect the bungee ends and I'm good to go.

[robertyb]

I hunt out of a Summit Viper climber and can put both my Vortex and my M330 with the front of the stock against the left corner of my bar across the front and the back end of the stock in the V created by the top rail by my right arm. I do not hold either bow at all until needed and even have enough room to stand and turn if needed.

[Normous]

For crossbow safety, I tether my Matrix with a 5' quick disconnect rope (through the thumbhole) to prevent accidental drops.

I position my Matrix the same as robertyb I might add.

[nyexhunter]

This weekend I tried different size bungees around my thigh around a foot up from my knee. The bungee that was about 24" long worked perfectly to keep the cross bow in place. The bottom of the bungee goes below my thigh and the hooks are attached together above my thigh after going through the opening in the back part of the stock.

If a deer comes in it is super easy - just a second - to take one hook off and bring the cross bow up. The design of the bow is fantastic as the gap in the forend fits perfectly over the treestand rail and balances perfectly with just a little bit of tension from the bungee. I should also add that I always tie wrap some foam pipe insulation around the front of the treestand rail to make it more silent.