I Need a Good Crossbow

I'm looking to buy a high end crossbow. What should I buy? Arrows?

I have been a firearm hunter until now.

It will be used primarily for deer but also be used for other big game.

There are a lot of really nice crossbows out there these days. The excalibers are highly regarded for their simplicity and reliability. Personally I think they are just too big and they aren't the fastest bow in the world. THere are a few manufacturers now making some ultra high speed xbows. The PSE model based on the AR-15 lower is one example but it costs a damn fortune and its huge. The ultra high speed bows can also be realy sensitive to arrow quality. Getting these bows to group well can require some realy consistent and expensive bolts. I would avoid the bows that are close too or in excess of 400 FPS. That much speed sounds good but isn't really going to offer any significant advantage over something in the upper 300s.

I just recently replaced my Barnett wild cat (a pretty low end bow) with a Strykezone 380. It's made by Bowtech. As it's name suggests it shoots 380FPS. It's fast but not so fast it's pushing the limits of arrow performance. Very flat shooting. Also has about the best trigger you can find on a xbow. Most xbow triggers are just fucking aweful. Also it has something of a bullpup design and reversed cams making it very short. It's pretty damn narrow too so overall a very compact package. My experience is that it's quite accurate with the supplied bolts which are pretty affordable. So overall, it's fairly light, very accurate, very compact, pretty damn fast, and has an awesome trigger for an xbow. The whole thing cam in a package deal including bow, scope, quiver, arrows, field points, rope cocking device, and sling for $749. Not cheap, but quite reasonable for everything you get. I looked at a lot of bows and in my opinion the Strykezone 380 is dollar for dollar the best bow on the market. Might be about the best bow on the market regardless of price in my opnion.

Adrock1

Horton.

Myself and a close knit group of friends (four of us) have, combined, personnally used most cross bows on the market. Name it. We have used it. browning, horton, barnett, etc etc etc. Our unanimous agreement is that we like the Excaliburs the best. Perhaps not the fastest but VERY accurate, simple, reliable and easy to use. trigger is very good, and accuracy is phenomenal. There is also a very hard to describe quality or feel when firing. The Excaliburs solid feeling, smooth, easy. Most of the others are not nearly so smooth and easy to shoot.

When buying a new crossbow a local shop permits prospective buyers to fire the various in-stock crossbows. All four of us now shoot Excaliburs. The others have been sold, given away or are gathering dust somewhere.

Your opinions may vary. This is what worked for us.

I love my Excalibur! You can't beat it

I've got a Parker Hornet Extreme that I'm quite happy with.

You absolutely MUST have a different point of aim w/ each arrow or you'll be buying new arrows.

I've only shot one other at Cabela's and I don't remember now which it was, but I'm happy w/ my purchase, and their customer support and service seems to be phenomenal.

K

My next one will be a Barnett Ghost 400. The 380 mentioned above does seem to be a nice bow however they do have a very very bad reputation for splintering limbs. I would stay away from them personally. The PSE Tac-15 is very accurate and very fast. It also has a self decocking feature so you do not have to shoot it to discharge it. That would be nice. It is a very long bow however. Take a stroll over to Archery Talk and see what you can find for info. And whatever you get enjoy.

TENPOINT BEATS ALL....

http://www.outdoorlife.com/photos/gallery/hunting/2011/08/new-crossbows-2011-new-hunting-crossbows-best-hunting-crossbows?photo=1#node-1001347921

Got a TENPOINT STEALTH AND IT is an incredible system.

I'm going bow hunting for the first time this year. Although they are on the hight end of crossbows...I like the features they offer...and I've got a lower ready.

This. Best of the best.

Actions speak louder than words:

Horton 175
55m



Obviously not all groups are that tight, but I was easily covering all 3-shot groups with the palm of my hand at that distance.

Look into the reverse limb technology...makes for a quieter, more stable, smaller package that delivers great speed and accuracy. I tried both the Scorpyd and the Horton and went with the Horton due to the difference of size and cost.

You can overbuy when it comes to speed. I learned this as I was looking for a high end crossbow set up. You get up to 400 fps and you're looking at specialty bolt and head combinations to maintain accuracy; let alone trying to stop it. It's hard enough finding good blocks for my Horton.

ETA: Make sure you shoot a variety of stuff before you buy. As you see, a lot of folks really like the Excalibers. I had settled on them due to their simple design and easy maintenance until I shot one. They're unpleasent to load IMO and loud as hell when fired...let alone the vibration. Just not what I was hoping for in a crossbow.

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