All the crossbow isnt archery talk aside... I am looking for a economical crossbow.

Why you ask??
For starters I am a devout archer, shot archery in 4-H and hunt with a Jennings Carbon Extreme LXR I got my Sr year of high school. Great bow.

My dad would shoot an old fred bear something bow, however in his older age now just does not have the strength to pull-hold a bow back like he use to. This year when we would go down the road from our farm to hunt during archery season he would just sit in the truck or go sit in a rifle blind and just watch whatever came out. I feel bad and would like him to hunt with me more so was thinking of getting him a decent crossbow for his birthday (next week) and christmas that way he can take advantage of the 1 month archery season.

There are a lot of crossbows in the $200-$250 range and was just wondering if there are any decent ones out there or not.

My dad started doing this a few years ago to extend his bow season into the colder months. He just couldn't draw on deer anymore in the colder weather (plus the deer get really spooky in dec/jan). He bought his at cabelas- not sure on brand, etc but I think it is a great gift

Here

http://www.alloutdoor.com/2013/12/03/crossbows-viable-shtf-option/

Just sayin'

I've only messed with a couple of crossbows that our clients bring out every now & again. I don't know if its the brand they have, but cocking them is harder than drawing my compound bow. And we were using the string/cable that is for cocking them. I think they were Ten Point brand?

Parker ThunderHawk. American made, life time warranty, all metal trigger mechanism, anti dry fire, 6 lbs, with scope, quiver, four bolts for less tha $600.00. It's the bomb at 320+ Fps, 165lbs draw, camo......see the reviews! Love, love, love mine! Did I forget American made with lifetime warranty??

Parker is slick, but obviously a little higher than you want to do. There is a Barnett (which is a pretty big name in crossbows) package that you can get around your price point that includes arrows and a quiver, plus you can use a cranking device on it. It has a 130# pull to it. That should run around $250 or so, depending on where you can find it. It's called the Recruit. That being said, if you step up around $100 bucks, you can get into a lot better options.

My dad has a PSE tac elite, I really like. But that's probably on order of magnitude more than you want to spend

I have a Barnett Wildcat 5 that I bought 2 years ago for about $300. I have not hunted with it and just played around with it target shooting. They are not easy to cock but they make the crank things for them that are supposed to make it easier. Hell, you could cock it for him before the hunt if that was an issue.

Excalibur Axiom.....simplicity works here

i love my excalibur because of it's simple design and it's easy to re-string in the field.

my next bow will be a scorpyd though. best bow on the market.