3 Easy-Peasy Cocking Rope Hacks

In 2010, I hunted with a crossbow for the first time.  As luck would have it, a nice 8-point buck showed up at 8:00, and I thought I had made a great shot.  However, I couldn’t remember how to cock the crossbow and didn’t want to trail the deer without an arrow on the string.  Feeling both embarrassment and excitement, I hurried back to camp and implored the first person I met, “How do I cock this thing?”  Back to the stand, I quickly found the deer and learned a lesson I’ll never forget.

Adjust the Length of the Cocking Rope

I recently did a field test of the AXE 400.  With a 200-pound draw weight, I wasn’t sure I could cock it with a rope, but I did so with some difficulty because of my 5’7″ stature.  After the first cocking episode, I realized that the rope was about six inches too long which caused me to have to pull the string with my shoulder muscles rather than my upper leg strength.  As a quick field fix, I hooked one side of the rope to the bowstring and roughly measured where the other would go if there were no slack.  I tied a knot which shortened the string, and instantly, the bow was much easier to cock.

Red Right Handle

When I began testing Mathews’s crossbows like the Sub 1, I noticed that one cocking rope handle was red and wondered why?  I quickly realized that “red means right,” and that helped me cock the bow with the hooks pointing up.  Since that time, I have labeled the right handle of any cocking rope so that the hooks always point up the first time and cocking becomes quicker and easier.

Store on the Bow

Where do you keep your cocking rope?  If you adjust the length of the rope to fit your crossbow snugly, why not keep the rope attached to the bow?  In this way, you always know where it is.  Also, cocking ropes can become tangled with a scope which can make the process unsafe.  You instantly know something is wrong if the rope hooks don’t reach the string.  Having the rope slip from the cocking groove or becoming tangled with the scope are frequent issues a taught cocking rope will quickly alert you to.

These are three easy tips that make cocking your bow safer and more fun.  If you have other suggestions, please contact us so we all benefit.