Newbie hoping for some guidance

[jay1972]

Hello everybody,

i am relatively new to bow hunting and was lucky enough to harvest my first Blacktail last season
My current setup is a bulldog 380 shooting 475gr approx 340fps and worked great

So here is my question

1) i was thinking of upgrading to a bulldog 440 and shoot approx 450gr
maximizing for my forever bow

I've heard about the possible Limb problems and understand the risk but feel if im using a heavy arrow it should reduce the risk and give me a little extra insurance. Giving me almost 160 ft/lb kinetic energy.

my second question is
i have a opportunity to purchase a bulldog 400 is it worth it or should i just stick with my 380?

i understand most people have been suggesting the micro series except I'm not a small man and find i cant get enough eye relief and the bows feel really small when i shoulder them
does anybody have any suggestion on extending the stock?

also any ideas of getting a adjustabke cheek piece

sorry for all the questions

[janesy]

Hey welcome!

Honest answer, stick with what you've got. Definitely no "Need" to go 400. Outside of wanting one.
440 is a beast, but it's gonna take everything to the next level, harder on strings, targets, arrow... You. Louder, more vibrations, heavier.
The BD380 is a sweet setup. I'd stick with it. The blacktail will not know the difference.

Regarding the micro, all the micro bulldog setups use the exact same stock as you have now. None of the dimensions change. There is a newer stock design as well from Stryker, but dimensionally it's identical.
Besides, the Bulldog 380 makes the best Micro doner bow should you ever decide you wanted a micro.

Adjustable cheekrest here...
https://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=73354

Also, Excalibur makes a stock extender kit that fits all the stocks universally.

I think I covered all the bases

[flightattendant100]

Hello everybody,

i am relatively new to bow hunting and was lucky enough to harvest my first Blacktail last season
My current setup is a bulldog 380 shooting 475gr approx 340fps and worked great

So here is my question

1) i was thinking of upgrading to a bulldog 440 and shoot approx 450gr
maximizing for my forever bow

I've heard about the possible Limb problems and understand the risk but feel if im using a heavy arrow it should reduce the risk and give me a little extra insurance. Giving me almost 160 ft/lb kinetic energy.

my second question is
i have a opportunity to purchase a bulldog 400 is it worth it or should i just stick with my 380?

i understand most people have been suggesting the micro series except I'm not a small man and find i cant get enough eye relief and the bows feel really small when i shoulder them
does anybody have any suggestion on extending the stock?

also any ideas of getting a adjustabke cheek piece

sorry for all the questions

I can help with the adjustable cheek rest. Message me for details. Paul

[W.Miguire]

He’s right

[mr meat]

Welcome to the forum

[IronNoggin]

Nice to see you took my advice & signed up here!

WELCOME!!

I believe you can already see the benefits.

Cheers,
Nog

[galamb]

I started shooting crossbows a little over 30 years ago.

My first was a Horton Recurve that had "spring steel limbs" wrapped in nylon.

It was rated at 240 fps - blistering fast at that time but shot closer to 210 set up for hunting - a number of deer fell to that crossbow.

About 20'ish years ago I made the switch to Excalibur - upgraded to the "way faster" Vixen 2 rated at 285 fps - shooting my almost 400 grain arrow set-up it pushed it down to 272 fps - a number of deer fell to that crossbow.

I could have lived the rest of my days with that bow and not felt handicapped at all in the deer woods - it was more "deer deadly" then I really needed.

But sometimes the "I want" creeps in so in the last year I relented and upgraded to one of Excalibur's current "slowest bows", a TD 340 Micro.

(I'm 6'1" and draw 30" on my longbow and recurve and have no relief issues with the scope on the micro but it is mounted near the front of the rail)

After a few shot I quickly realized this is a Moose Killer so I tossed the quills, built some customs based on Gold Tip Ballistic shafts that finished up at just over 500 grains (503) with a 125 grain head. I can bury them to the fletching in a "Block" crossbow target that is supposed to handle "excessive speed crossbow" and I'm only whacking it at 299 fps at 30 yards.

I have "no doubt" that my set-up will blow right through a White Tail and I will likely have to recover the arrow from the next county and if it doesn't completely pass through a moose it will come pretty close unless I strike heavy bone.

So the 340, at least in my opinion, is more than I will ever need for any animal in North America so your current 380 is "way ahead of my ability".

There is no need for "faster" so at least admit that.

But if you WANT that is a whole different story

[jay1972]

Thanks to everybody that replied to my question i really appreciate the feed back.

My initial reason for wanting to upgrade my setup is for a couple reasons i know this setup is more then adequate for all the deer i could ever find in BC and most likely Black bear.

My current setup is 325gr zombie slayers with a 125gr Tooth of the Arrow 1in S series giving me approx 450gr total weight.@ around 340fps.

But my Bucket list is to hunt all big game in BC
Moose, Elk, Caribou, and Even Bision and possibly some sheep. Knowing this i realize that it would probably be benificial to use a heaver setup with more FOC for the larger Game .around the 500 to 525gr.

Which is why i was looking at the BD440.

Doez this make sense or am i still just looking at the a new Shiney Toy

[jay1972]

Thanks to everybody that replied to my question i really appreciate the feed back.

My initial reason for wanting to upgrade my setup is for a couple reasons i know this setup is more then adequate for all the deer i could ever find in BC and most likely Black bear.

My current setup is 325gr zombie slayers with a 125gr Tooth of the Arrow 1in S series giving me approx 450gr total weight.@ around 340fps.

But my Bucket list is to hunt all big game in BC
Moose, Elk, Caribou, and Even Bision and possibly some sheep. Knowing this i realize that it would probably be benificial to use a heaver setup with more FOC for the larger Game .around the 500 to 525gr.

Which is why i was looking at the BD440.

Doez this make sense or am i still just looking at the a new Shiney Toy

[janesy]

Thanks to everybody that replied to my question i really appreciate the feed back.

My initial reason for wanting to upgrade my setup is for a couple reasons i know this setup is more then adequate for all the deer i could ever find in BC and most likely Black bear.

My current setup is 325gr zombie slayers with a 125gr Tooth of the Arrow 1in S series giving me approx 450gr total weight.@ around 340fps.

But my Bucket list is to hunt all big game in BC
Moose, Elk, Caribou, and Even Bision and possibly some sheep. Knowing this i realize that it would probably be benificial to use a heaver setup with more FOC for the larger Game .around the 500 to 525gr.

Which is why i was looking at the BD440.

Doez this make sense or am i still just looking at the a new Shiney Toy

Lol, everyone is here because we are chasing a new faster toy. We all want it, but none of us need it.

I don't know any Bison hunters, But Keith from NC shot his a few years back(don't hold me to this) with a Micro335 a 500 grain zombie and a Ramcat.

I also brought a Vixen back to life for a fella last fall 2020 who shot a Bull moose the next week. That arrow was moving at 280 Fps over my chrony.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to talk you out of the 440, it's super badass. But right now you have an awesome all around bow that will last your lifetime. The grass under the 440 isn't necessarily greener but it will require more mowing

[vixenmaster]

Congrats on your Blacktail, i killed my 1st one in 1963. Unless you just want a newer model, the one you have wll do the job on all North American game. I have a BD360 i feel it can kill anything that walks on earth !

[nchunterkw]

Thanks to everybody that replied to my question i really appreciate the feed back.

My initial reason for wanting to upgrade my setup is for a couple reasons i know this setup is more then adequate for all the deer i could ever find in BC and most likely Black bear.

My current setup is 325gr zombie slayers with a 125gr Tooth of the Arrow 1in S series giving me approx 450gr total weight.@ around 340fps.

But my Bucket list is to hunt all big game in BC
Moose, Elk, Caribou, and Even Bision and possibly some sheep. Knowing this i realize that it would probably be benificial to use a heaver setup with more FOC for the larger Game .around the 500 to 525gr.

Which is why i was looking at the BD440.

Doez this make sense or am i still just looking at the a new Shiney Toy

Lol, everyone is here because we are chasing a new faster toy. We all want it, but none of us need it.

I don't know any Bison hunters, But Keith from NC shot his a few years back(don't hold me to this) with a Micro335 a 500 grain zombie and a Ramcat.

I also brought a Vixen back to life for a fella last fall 2020 who shot a Bull moose the next week. That arrow was moving at 280 Fps over my chrony.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to talk you out of the 440, it's super badass. But right now you have an awesome all around bow that will last your lifetime. The grass under the 440 isn't necessarily greener but it will require more mowing

Chris, you are right on the money. 500gr arrow tipped with a 125gr Ramcat, 30 yd pass through blowing through a rib. 2 yr old cow I think that was.

Jay
Take a look at this website to see what makes an arrow penetrate.

https://www.ashbybowhunting.org/12-arrow-penetration-factors

You are on the right track with high FOC and increased weight...but there are a few more factors you may want to consider as you go after some of that bigger game. Keep in mind he is talking about vert bows mostly. All the concepts apply 100%, but some are not as critical with crossbows.

I would agree with Chris that you don't need to upgrade to the 440 (or 400) unless you want to. Either will add a level of complexity. I would say if you make yourself an arrow around 650, you would be really good to go on anything you want to hunt.

Keith

[Normous]

You came to the right place Jay, WELCOME!!
Norm

[xcaliber]

You came to the right place Jay, WELCOME!!
Norm

Yep!

[IronNoggin]

But my Bucket list is to hunt all big game in BC
Moose, Elk, Caribou, and Even Bision and possibly some sheep. Knowing this i realize that it would probably be benificial to use a heaver setup with more FOC for the larger Game .around the 500 to 525gr.

Which is why i was looking at the BD440.

Doez this make sense or am i still just looking at the a new Shiney Toy

I believe you could take pretty much all on your list with your current set-up.
That said, the 440 will provide a lot more wallop, and better performance on the larger game animals.

All said, who doesn't like a new set-up??

Cheers,
Nog