We receive a plethora of varied questions through our customer support, and one of the most common ones is how far can I hunt with the Bat and Bat Reverse crossbows. On our website, we provide an approximate range for recreational shooting, but hunting is somewhat different.
Some people compare our crossbows with other full-sized crossbows available on the market, but it doesn’t work that way. With the release of the Bat and Bat Reverse crossbows, we created an entirely new niche, in some sense we hacked the system. There was a niche of recurve pistol crossbows, which are essentially more of a toy and are exclusively intended for recreational shooting. They would be a good fit for children and teenagers.
There was also a niche for full-sized crossbows designed for hunting. Let’s say, nobody buys them purely for entertainment or target shooting like one would with a bow.
A few years ago, the Cobra crossbow (and now its successor Cobra Siege) was marketed as a pistol crossbow, but this is far from reality! In terms of its size and weight, it is only slightly smaller than full-sized crossbows, and those who have handled it can confirm this.
The Ballista Bat and Bat Reverse don’t fit into either of these categories. On one hand, it can’t compete with larger crossbows in terms of power, speed, and long-distance shooting, but it was designed as a super-compact crossbow, including for hunting at shorter ranges.
On the other hand, despite being similar in size to most pistol crossbows on the market, it is not a toy, and its potential goes beyond recreational shooting.
You can compare it to a Swiss Army Knife by Victorinox or a Leatherman multitool. If you need to perform heavy-duty work, you would of course pick up regular pliers or a saw, but you wouldn’t want to carry around a toolbox all the time while a multitool is always with you.
In other words, Bat crossbows are neither a toy nor a large hunting crossbow. It’s a super-compact crossbow that you can use for fun with friends, spend quality time with your children teaching them new skills and knowledge, and also pack the crossbow into a small backpack and go hunting.
And now, let’s talk about the scope of use for hunting. First of all, it’s evident that small game hunting would work great. It would be highly impractical to use a large, heavy crossbow for hunting rabbits or raccoons. Therefore, the Ballista Bat crossbow is a perfect fit for that.
It is also applicable for medium and big game hunting, but with certain limitations. Regarding the crossbow, this refers to the Bat Reverse, as it is more powerful. In terms of hunting format, it is applicable for stand hunting – for example, tree stands or hunting tents with shooting distances of up to 25 yards. If you are hunting in the woods, say from a tree saddle, your field of view will be rather limited, and most shots will be within this range (up to 25 yards). For long-range shots in open spaces, it is obviously better to use a larger crossbow. If the format and locations where you plan to hunt do not involve long-range shots, then the Ballista Bat Reverse will be an excellent choice. If you plan to hunt lightly, frequently changing locations, it is much more convenient to carry a compact crossbow. If you prefer saddle hunting, for example for white-tailed deer, and want to stay light, then the Bat Reverse is your choice.
The situation is similar to firearms. When going hunting for rabbits, you take a .22 caliber rifle. If you are stalking deer in the mountains of Idaho or Montana, you are most likely to take a .308 or 6.5 Creedmoor caliber rifle. As an example, you wouldn’t hunt rabbits with a rifle of .300 Blackout caliber. It’s suitable for long-range. But what about deer or moose? If the distance is up to 200 yards, it will work. The same story with the 450 Bushmaster caliber. At short distances, you can hunt any animal in North America with this caliber, but for longer distances, it is better to use something else.
Often, people use a larger caliber to compensate for a lack of shooting and hunting skills. However, it’s not the caliber that kills, but a well-placed shot (in the kill zone).
When hunting with crossbows, there are also many factors that affect success, such as choosing the right distance for a particular animal, accuracy in hitting the kill zone, selecting the appropriate broadhead, etc. I want to emphasize again that it’s not the joules or kinetic energy that kills, but a precise shot placement. People have even successfully hunted deer and bison with slingshots! To put this in perspective, Tim Wells (Slock Master) has proven this fact multiple times by hunting boar, deer, and bear with a blowgun! What are we even talking about when it comes to kinetic energy?! In accordance with the format of hunting with projectile weapons, a small dart blown through the blowgun tube by the strength of a person’s lungs hits the kill zone and causes bleeding, from which the animal dies. Yes, it doesn’t die immediately, unlike with firearms, but that’s the essence of this form of hunting. For the Bat and Bat Reverse crossbows, we have developed special micro-diameter hunting arrows whose potential, on the one hand, vastly exceeds blowgun darts, and on the other hand, have much better penetration than standard crossbow bolts.
In conclusion, hunting skills and precise shooting are primary, while the choice of weapon is secondary. No matter what you hunt with, remember that success in hunting is 99% preparation and only 1% luck.
