Got my first crossbow today. Barnett ghost 400. Got it used. Thats what us poor people do. Well it didnt have any optics on it. I see that most come with either a 4x32 scope or red dot. What do yawl prefer. And i heard that not just any optics will work. Has to be reverse recoil. Is there any truth to this?

Shoot it like you would a recurve.

I have a red dot on my used Excalibur. Love it.

I had a red dot on my Excalibur but now I have a 4x Excalibur scope on it. Love it.

Watch your thumbs had a couple of different friends new to crossbow hunting get em tore off just a heads up

Have shot both a scope and red dot....don't care for the magnification a scope provides at crossbow distances but at the same time, not a big fan of having to turn on the red dot....but, If I had to choose, I'd go with the red dot.

Have had both but use scope now mostly because I always forget to turn the red dot off and run down the battery.

have done that too. Now have a spare taped to the forearm. Haven't needed it yet , but it's there.

Scope

X2, ppl get bit messin with Crossbow's. I use the red dot but think I would prefer the scope. Keep a dummy bolt to unleash the beast.

Either will work. I Prefer not to have to worry about batteries. If you do get a scope make sure it is designed for the forward recoil of a crossbow. In most scopes the lenses are not properly blocked to handle being kicked forward and the internal lenses may come loose.

boy i got a lot to learn about cross bows .buying my first bow ever sat. doctor told me no more guns due to my pacemaker. seems like every time i shot the pacemaker acts up. same with my motor on my boat.

Most if not all of today's models of crossbows have foregrips with finger-thumb guards to prevent putting them on the rail.

If your bow does not have it, it may be able to be fitted with one. Pretty sure all the Barnett models of the last couple of years have the finger-thumb guards.

I prefer a scope simply due to the possibility of battery or electronic failure in the field with the red dots. I have a Nikon Bolt (crossbow) scope w/BDC reticle on my Mission 360. It does a good job.

I shot two bolts last weekend to check my POI.

20 yards



40 yards

nice

Be very careful loading the bolts. A friend of mine lost 3 finger tips year before last shooting a Barnett. He was reaching over to load the bolt and it fired. Still has the safety locked on to this day. After a 2 day stay at St Vincent's down town and PT he is back going. He actually gave the bow to a trail lawyer in Bham he told him he didn't think it would be worth a lawsuit because insurance companies won't pay much for list finger tips. I am not saying this knocking Barnett because I own a Barnett. Just saying be carful loading the bolts. Load with your fingers out near the stirrup.

Mine has the 5 line scope. I love it. I didn't know anything about the red dots.

Scope, the red dot will let you down eventually

Barnett can be tricky. I had a Yukon Horton SL - pull back the string, it engaged and locked the safety. Push safety forward - fire. The Barnett requires a bolt be loaded or safety won't disengage. No problem. But when you unload/fire it the safety is off (forward). And it won't go back and lock the string unless you either trip the lever (I use a pocket knife) or insert another bolt all the way to the rear.
No problem once I figured it out but it was very aggravating trying to lock the string back and it wouldn't do it.

thanks brothers