cost you a piece of your thumb. Dryfiring can damage the crossbow and possibly injure the shooter. Most modern crossbows have protective "wings" mounted along the sides of the stock to keep fingers out of the string path and an anti-dry-fire mechanism that prevents discharge without a bolt. These safety features are highly recommended to ensure safe shooting. SAFETIES AND SIZE Like any sporting arm, a crossbow incorporates a safety that prevents it from firing until desired. While all crossbows have safeties, some set automatically when the crossbow is cocked, while others require the shooter to engage the safety manually. The automatic safety surely is more convenient. Crossbows also vary in overall weight. Some are just over 5 pounds, while others are more than 8 pounds. The difference varies among manufacturers and design. Keep the weight in mind, especially when buying the crossbow for a shooter who might find the weight too heavy. Design influences crossbow length 62 and width. The narrower the crossbow - limb-tip to limb tip - the easier it can be maneuvered in stand or while moving through the woods. Widths of cocked crossbows can range from about 24 inches for some recurve models to as little as 10 inches for some new reversedraw models. Smaller makes a big difference in the field. Some crossbows feature adjustable butt plates and cheek pieces to allow for a custom fit and feel for the shooter. These features are great for any shooter, but especially for shooters who still are growing. An adjustable cheek piece aids in quick scope alignment and promotes a full sight picture when the bow is brought to shoulder. COCKING AND NOCKS Crossbows either are cocked using your hands, a cocking rope - which cuts the force required by 50 percent - or a built-in or add-on mechanical-cocking mechanism that reduces cocking force to about 5 pounds. Accuracy can be impacted greatly by hands-only cocking, causing windage misses. Using a cocking rope or