Do you hear it? The crossbow train is rolling and continues to gain momentum — a sound most all shooting sports retailers need to heed. 

In 2023, Minnesota legalized the use of crossbows by any eligible hunter during the state’s archery season, which resulted in thousands of hunters getting outfitted with new crossbow packages. Rest assured, many more are to come.

Interestingly, Minnesota’s decision came a full 10 years after the state’s neighbor to the east, Wisconsin, made the leap to archery season crossbow use back in 2013. Today the two are among 29 states that have legalized crossbow use during regular archery seasons.    

It’s no secret that lots of outdoorsmen continue to harbor strong opinions on crossbows — both for and against their inclusion in archery seasons. But for most archery retailers the questions are far more practical. A big one: How do you maximize sales with crossbows and their accessories? We talked to several shops caught up in the excitement of the recent expansion.  

Bill Rusch, currently an employee at J’s Archery in Antigo, Wisconsin, remembers the frenzy that legalizing crossbows during the general archery season can bring. Rusch sold his own Wisconsin-based pro shop to J’s owners Jody and Brian Walbogel back in 2017, but his memories of Wisconsin’s 2013 crossbow explosion remain strong. 

“The first year we had crossbows [legalized during archery season] here, I couldn’t believe the response,” Rusch says. “Back then I sold the Scorpyd brand, but they’ve since gone factory direct, so we don’t currently carry them at J’s; we currently carry TenPoint, Mission and Ravin. But back then I had a couple days where I did $22,000 or $23,000 in a day — and that’s a big day.” As Rusch intimates, it did not take long for Wisconsin hunters to embrace crossbows following their 2013 archery season legalization. In 2017, just four years later, crossbow users killed more deer than those using vertical bows — for the first time in state history. And that trend continues. According to figures posted by the Wisconsin DNR on Jan. 9, 2024, the 2023 Wisconsin crossbow deer harvest was 53,954, versus the state’s 2023 vertical bow harvest of 35,306.

As you might gather from those numbers, crossbows continued to move very well at J’s in 2023. When I spoke to Rusch in early September 2023, he was busy assembling and readying crossbows for sale.

“Over the last few days I’ve assembled three pallets of TenPoint crossbows; we assemble them and sight them in at 20 yards, so new customers are going to at least be on target,” Rusch said. “I wish I had a nickel for every crossbow I put together in the last couple years; I do a lot of that.”

The Impact In Minnesota 

 “Crossbows really took off this year, but the economy is not helping anything,” says Andy Larson, manager of Bwana Archery in St. Paul, Minnesota, a third-generation pro shop that’s been around since 1974. 

“I would say that for any [vertical] bow that we did not sell, we sold a crossbow for it,” Larson continues. “And for me, it doesn’t really matter too much which product segment those sales are coming from. We definitely did see an influx of crossbow hunters with the new regs. Many of those longtime vertical bow guys who maybe had been nursing a bad shoulder, and maybe those who didn't want to do the paperwork [for a medical reason to shoot a crossbow before 2023], a lot of those guys jumped into crossbows.”

Jeff Byrne, owner of Victoria, Minnesota-based Cabin Fever Sporting Goods, a full-line shop offering archery, fishing and guns, says there are pros and cons to crossbows. “You buy a vertical bow and you need a sight, rest, stabilizer, and there are lots of quiver options. With crossbows there are not as many accessories to sell, so we are a little concerned. Because each of those accessories has a good markup on it, our profit on a high-end vertical bow package is huge compared to high-end crossbow package.

“Because we’re so close to Wisconsin, where they’ve been legal in archery season since 2013, we’ve already sold a lot of crossbows,” Byrne says. “But we’re curious about numbers here with the new Minnesota regs. Our first fall [2023], I thought I’d sell a few more to kids, but it was not nearly as many as I’d thought. We have a lot of kids in firearms safety who just don't like the noise and recoil of a gun, so they seem like a great fit.

“For us, crossbow sales are all about keeping people in the sport. People are always transitioning to something different; I’ve got some longtime compound guys who are stepping into traditional bows, because it’s something different.

“I just sold a crossbow to a young gal in college. She’s going bowhunting for black bears with her dad this spring up in Alberta, and she doesn’t really have time during college to do the practice necessary to become proficient with a vertical bow. So they thought the crossbow would be a great choice, and it gives her time to do some neat stuff with her dad, and what a great thing. And the dad said he might then use that crossbow, versus his compound bow, during the late season, when it gets bitter cold here in Minnesota.

“If you can get a new person to use a crossbow, maybe, at some point they go to a vertical bow. Who cares, as long as we have people in the sport — so we have those numbers that give hunters clout in legislative issues.”

Byrne also explained that he wishes the state of Minnesota, which does not break down crossbow versus vertical bow figures, would do a detailed survey of those purchasing the crossbow archery license option.

“I would be interested to know, do people buying the crossbow option still have a vertical bow?” he wonders. “And are they using both during the archery season? I wish the state of Minnesota would look at that more closely with a whole series of questions that would be helpful. We had some longtime vertical bow customers buy a crossbow, primarily for use in the late, cold-weather season. And some simply traded their vertical bow in to purchase a crossbow.

“Our crossbow sales growth the past five years has been great, but it’s too early to tell if we’ll be eating into our vertical bow sales moving forward; we should know more later this year. But ever since last year, we’ve been convincing people not to get rid of their vertical bows, especially if they want to hunt in another state. We definitely sold more crossbows in 2023 because of the new law, but it’s not like it was a crazy-high percentage of sales. It’s not to that level here yet.

Some Curious Repairs

“As far as repairs go, we do well on crossbow repairs, and we actually repair more of the newer, higher-end ‘self-decocking’ crossbows,” Byrne said. “You would think that would be the other way around, that we’d repair more older bows, but that’s not the case. And there are several reasons.”

The No. 1 problem, Byrne says, is many customers leave their crossbows cocked when storing. That’s a big no-no that will severely stress limbs and cables, especially over a wide range of temperatures. Blowups are common in this scenario.

“People spend $2,000 or more on a crossbow so they can de-cock it easily, but they don’t,” he says. Byrne explains the situation is made worse by the fact that lots of people, when storing, cram their crossbows into small/tight areas, where they might be crushed or otherwise negatively impacted. It’s a recipe for serious damage.

Another situation Byrne sees is crossbows being damaged by users attempting to go too fast while decocking. Some brands, Byrne warns, are better than others at preventing problems during this procedure. Patience rules.

“You know, we tell people, it might take you 25 seconds to go slow and de-cock your bow correctly. What’s 25 seconds of your day compared to blowing something up?” Byrne urges all his crossbow hunters to wait to de-cock their bows safely at the end of the day. He reminds his customers not to perform this procedure in full dark up in their treestands, or at the base of their tree, but rather, to remove the arrow from the string, and de-cock later — in good light at their vehicle. And if it’s too cold and gloves are a factor, to once again wait, and de-cock after taking the time to warm up — either back in their vehicle, or back at their home/camp/cabin. 

The takeaway here? Safety is first. And be sure to know your product lines and their capabilities intimately, and pass on any tips or warnings to your customers. It all comes down to following a few, but important details. And here again, is where crossbows differ from most peoples’ general perception of this platform. As effective as they can be in a hunting situation, crossbows also have some limitations some new users might not immediately grasp. To illustrate, Byrne offered the story of a longtime vertical archery customer, age 60, who was excited about hunting a huge buck he had located, with a new crossbow. “This was a guy who had located a huge deer; using his trail camera the guy could see this buck was coming into his setup regularly, and he was eager to take him with a crossbow,” Byrne recalls. “So after his purchase, he came into the shop three consecutive nights, and shot for an hour each time to prepare. He felt he was ready.

“The first night on stand, the huge buck appears right on schedule, and the guy shoots … and his crossbow blows up. He brought the crossbow in for us to look at; he had no idea what happened. But on closer inspection, we could see that his cam had hit his tree; there was tree bark wedged in one cam. What happened is he was following the buck in his scope and didn’t realize he was so close to the tree when he touched off. Not good. “My belief is too many people think crossbows are as foolproof as a gun, that’s it too simple. They think, ‘this is easy,’ and after the initial setup, they don’t shoot it much — if at all. And then, once in the field, they forget an important step — like limb clearance.” Byrne says his shop combats potential crossbow user errors in several smart ways. “We say to people, anything that comes back for repair, you have to shoot here in the shop. We carry a lot of strings and cables here to make those repairs, but for any trigger issues, the bow has to go back to the manufacturer. And that’s fine, because it releases us from any liability there.”

Another big one, says Byrne, is reminding customers to avoid buying cheaper arrows from other manufacturers. Sticking to the arrows designed specifically for the crossbow purchased is always the best option.  

Further, Byrne drilled down on three things his shop always does when it comes to outfitting a new crossbow customer:

Crossbow Sales Rule No. 1: “We don’t let a customer out the door without shooting the new bow on our range. And that goes especially for hunters who bring in crossbows that they bought online. That’s the advantage of a pro shop, to show them the many little things they have to do to ensure they don’t have a misfire, or maybe prevent a horrible accident that can occur, if you hold the stock with a thumb above the string path, or something similar.”

Crossbow Sales Rule No. 2: “We drill into new users’ heads never to put anything down near their bow when shooting from a benchrest. I can’t tell you how many times people set their crank down, or maybe it’s their eyeglasses, and at the shot they launch whatever it is, downrange — or wherever. Think of shooting from an elevated deck at your home, and hitting a post. It’s dangerous. It gets them thinking about crossbow shooting clearance, and helps eliminate or at least drastically reduce, those stories of hunters in ladder stands hitting the ladder and blowing up their crossbow. Again, most think they’re shooting a gun, and don’t offer the necessary clearance. We go over every common scenario when we instruct customers, and it’s not to scare them; we want them to respect the weapon.”

Crossbow Sales Rule No. 3: Before leaving the shop, new customers must demonstrate they can de-cock their new crossbow proficiently, and also, they receive a free shooting card with every crossbow purchase to access the shop’s indoor range. Cabin Fever includes 10 free half-hour shooting sessions to help ensure customers remain safe and proficient in the shot procedure. And watching customers as they cock and de-cock their new crossbow “many times before they leave the shop” helps them become comfortable with correct operation.

Some other crossbow sales observations from Byrne at Cabin Fever: “We’re lucky; in our area, guys just want the best stuff, so we sell a lot of high-end bows and crossbows. But the closer we get to the deer season opener, the more interest the lower-end models will get.”

Byrne also says shops must be vigilant with new products, as even many of the most-respected manufacturers have had problems with faulty products recently. Byrne’s examples include recent shipments of crossbow arrows with incorrect, or faulty, nocks. 

Another easy way to serve crossbow customers is by stocking plenty of batteries. Batteries? Many of his customers opt to purchase models equipped with higher-end illuminated scopes, and Byrne says many of those users inadvertently leave those illuminated scopes “on,” quickly draining those batteries. “That’s why when we sell a new crossbow with an illuminated scope package we’ll tape a spare battery onto their stock somewhere,” Byrne said. “We had a guy call us from the field one day saying his scope was broken, but we figured out it was simply a dead battery. He also didn’t know we had taped one to his stock, so when we told him about it, it was a quick fix, and saved his hunt. He was amazed.”