My 17 year old daughter is wanting to crossbow hunt, and has researched crossbows and found the Barnett Jackal to has the best reviews for a mid-lower end unit. She is working and saving to buy it for herself.  The guy at the pro shop made them out to be junk and tried to sell her on a $800 Cross Point. So will the jackal be a good starter unit for shots on deer out to 40 yds or so ? What are the cons of the unit ? Anything to keep an eye on ? I'm a firearm guy and know nothing of archery or crossbows. Any advice or opinions ? -Thanks

This thread is relevant to my interests.

Its a decent bow...

She may have trouble cocking it without a assist.

40 yard shots not a problem get her a scope with the 4 position marks.

I have a C5 WildCat and feel it is all I will ever need. All the reviews I have looked at say the Jackel is a 4-4.5 out of 5. I am going to suggest though you look at one of these, Recruit, Raptor FX or if she likes Pink Lady Raptor FX.





I have held a Raptor and Recruit and have almost bought one for the simple reason they are light and narrow, over a 1lb lighter and 10"narrower. They would make a great tree xbow or blind bow.


I had a Quad 400 and was just too heavy and wide.





I had hunted with a Horton Hunter and Yukon before and was like night and day going from 265fps to 315. I feel the 300 of the Recruit to be plenty for a 40yd shot but if you want to spend money one time the Raptor at 330 will serve you for years.
Barnett has great customer service and I know of two different people who splintered their limbs and they replaced them for free. Try that with a horton, especially now.

 

Come on over to Crossbow Nation and read the reviews. Nothing wrong with buying a Barnett. I bought a Recruit and have been shooting it almost daily.

Bought the Raptor. So far it's been great. Hunting with it for the first time next weekend so we'll see how it goes.

i have one, i really like it.  my first crossbow so i cant really compare it to anything.  i'm not a hardcore bow hunter either.  i got it mostly to shoot in the backyard since i live in the city limits and cant shoot guns lol.

the only thing i dont like about it is the red dot and that's only cause my eyes are getting older and i cant see shit lol.  plan on buying a 3-4x scope sometime for it.  

i didnt even have to zero mine either.  the first 3 bolts i shot were all touching at 20 yards.  i've actually ruined the fletching on the bolts that came with it because they always hit eachother.  

make sure to get some beeswax for the string, maybe some extra bolts and shoot the hell out of it.

I use to own a Jackal and I absolutely loved it! I think if you are buying a crossbow for your kid the best thing to do is make a small investment, that way if they give up or lose interest you haven't thrown money away. She doesn't need anything over the $500 range to have a good time bow hunting. I personally would recommend the Jackal because of its quality and low price range. Here is a review of the Jackal crossbow you might enjoy link to the article.

It is absolute junk. They use the cheapest materials in the business for strings and cables. I have repaired over a dozen this season. Save your money and buy a Ten Point.

Old post, but I would echo the advice to stay away from the lower end Barrett crossbow line.

I had a Wildcat package, it would eat strings and cables about every 50-100 bolts fired. I expected to replace the factory set, but the second set from a good archery shop did not last any longer. I bought a third set and sold it.

The bolt safety lever was quirky, and unpredictable in blocking the firing safety. The bolt safety has to move, before the firing safety can be moved.

Fixed it for you!!