How much draw weight do I need for crossbow hunting?

You'd be surprised how many people aren't aware of fact that crossbows have varying draw weights to accommodate wide range of hunting available. In fact, gulf varies from 50 lb. draw pistol crossbow to 200-lb.-plus, full-size crossbows. That difference in resistance can mean a bolt ejected at 130 feet-per-second (fps), or one ejected at over 330 fps. But how does draw weight - and resulting speed of bolt - factor into hunting?

If you have your sights set on taking home a rabbit or two, you won't need much more draw than 150 lbs. That degree of resistance will typically give you a bolt speed of 220 to 250 fps. This is actually plenty of power to bring down a turkey, an antelope, and even a deer - provided you wait for right shot and hit a kill zone.

Believe it or not, rabbits are tricky beasts to nail with a crossbow because they're relatively small and are prone to either crouch, jump, or dart when they hear twang of crossbow. Because of their meager size and therefore naturally smaller kill zone (as compared to a deer or antelope), speed of bolt is actually more critical than it is for larger animals. You'll want fastest bolt speed possible to actually hit a coney, rather than grass where it used to be.

For larger animals with thicker hide and more fat density such as elk, caribou and small bears, you'll want a crossbow with a draw weight of 175 lbs. or more. Note that these larger animals aren't particularly quick about getting out of way of a bolt or arrow. What's needed here is raw power to penetrate into kill zone of animal - not speed - although you'll have plenty of it to work with. Some 175 lb. crossbows fire bolts at speeds up to 300 fps or higher.

Burglary and vandalism are crimes of opportunity. Criminals know that boats are frequently left unattended for long periods of time, making them an easy target for burglary and vandalism. Imagine showing up at your boat on a beautiful Saturday morning looking forward to a great day on water only to find out that all possession you stored on your vessel were stolen or that your boat has been seriously damaged, criminally or otherwise. That beautiful day just turned ugly very quickly. This is when you realize that, unlike your home or car, your boat is quite vulnerable without you there to protect it.

Crime prevention is a national crisis for boat owners all across United States. What can boat owners do to alleviate this problem? A neighborhood watch style program would be a great start - fellow boat owners could then practice techniques for observing and reporting malicious activity. Unlike a neighborhood watch program though, concerned citizens can’t just knock on your boat door to inform you of theft or stolen property from your vessel. They can report it to local law enforcement, but there are some unique challenges with that:

Can local law enforcement get in contact with you?