My Matthews DXT is still for sale, but the more I think about an Xbow, the less I like the idea. I've been hunting with a compound bow 45 years and it's hard to make that switch.

Has anyone on here ever used a draw lock device? That would be something I could still use if I could cock it with my left arm and leg before getting in the stand. My bow has 80% letoff, so I can manage it once it's back.

I've looked at a couple of the devices and didn't see one that works the way I would like. The ones I saw essentially turned it into a vertical Xbow, and the arm stays in place when you shoot it. I'd like one that was attached at the bow, but would drop out of the way once I pulled back a little on my release. Has anyone seen one made this way? It would need a hinge of some sort to let it drop down, and would probably need to be offset to keep it from touching the cables. I'm thinking I could make one if no company produces them. I'm thinking that an arrow is probably not sturdy enough to work as the arm; maybe a piece of conduit would work.

I'm just thinking out loud. No point in reinventing it if someone else already makes one. And another question - would such a device be legal? The regs used to state that any device designed to hold a bow at full draw was against the regs, but that was before they legalized Xbows for all. It would be illogical to continue to make them illegal, but that doesn't mean that they ever changed the regs. Thanks for any info or ideas

PCP, if it were me, I’d just go the xbow route. The limbs and the cable on that DXT aren’t designed to be locked at full draw for extended periods of time.

How much weight do you think you could draw? You could get some 50# limbs for it and turn it down to 40#. With a good cut on contact head, you wouldn’t have any problems killing a deer.

If I ain't mistaken and they may changed the law when they allowed crossbows but a draw lock use to be illegal in Alabama.
If you don't wanna crossbow and I completely understand that I'm with shaw get some limbs or a lower poundage bow build a good arrow get some sharp fixed blade or cut in contact heads keep the shots close 35ish yards and have at it
40-45 lbs draw with current technology is plenty enough to kill a deer

I’m in the same boat Steve. Might find you some 50lb max limbs and just shoot less pounds . The problem is finding 50 lb limbs.

Should still be able to get limbs for a day
What you need limbs for snuffy

A bad shoulder stopped my bow hunting. I bought a crossbow so I could hunt the early season with my buddy. I hated it. Just sold it and wait for rifle season.

You can order any part for any Mathews bow ever produced. That is one thing no other bow manufacturer does.

I had one in the 90s Mr. Steve. I hated that dang thing. You think a crossbow is cumbersome, try keeping up with a full draw bow in the deer stand for a couple hours. It didn’t last long.

Thanks for all the info. It sounds like this was just another one of my bad ideas. Shaw, I had no idea I could still buy lighter limbs; that would likely be my best option. I have plenty of strength to still draw this one if I don't use the release and just grab the string with my hand, but it really hurts that shoulder to do it. I hope to get a few more years before replacing it, so I want to be careful with it.

Likely the best thing to just retire from bowhunting. I'll enjoy reading the stories you guys post.

Ravin

Don’t retire from bowhunting. Get a 40-50 lb bow or get one of these super adjustable bows meant for youth. Stay with it until you just need the crossbow. No shame there either

I just put some 40lb limbs on a RX-3 for my wife. Took me a couple weeks to get them but was only 200.00 installed.