Many crossbows are capable of hitting that shot, but the majority of shooters are not, especially in a hunting situation. The worst group was thrown out to account for human error, and we averaged the best two groups for the final score. The Excalibur Assassin TD had the best average, but all five crossbows shot groups effective enough for any hunter. This category is all about the user experience. We looked at ease of use, balance, and fit and finish of each crossbow.
It allows for decocking with the crank system without worrying about your hand slipping and potentially ruining the crossbow. The Ravin and Excalibur both have silent cranks that can be used for cocking and decocking as well, although not as fail-safe.
Many high-end crossbows sold today have a built-in crank. But there is something to be said for cocking a crossbow with a rope cocker. It is simpler and much faster.
To measure velocity, we fired three shots with each crossbow through a Comp-etition Electronics ProChrono Pal Chron-ograph. The speeds were averaged todetermine the net score. While this cate-gory may seem to leave no room for subjectivity, there are variables here as well. The Ravin R29X shot the included grain arrow at fps. The CenterPoint shot the included grain arrow at speeds far below the advertised fps. The Mission and Excalibur shot as advertised, but both use a grain arrow to gain those speeds.
All of these crossbows are worthy of consideration. All have strengths and weaknesses. Seek out the advice of as many unbiased, experienced crossbow shooters as possible to find the right crossbow for you. Excalibur Crossbows are widely known for building high-quality recurve crossbows. The built-in crank makes the crossbow easy to cock and decock.
The Assassin TD really shines while traveling. The limbs can be removed quickly from the stock and reinstalled in a snap without losing zero. Ravin Crossbows continues to innovate and build increasingly impressive crossbows. The R29X is 20 feet per second faster, shooting fps. And it features an integrated, completely silent crank, the first Ravin Crossbow to do so.
The R29X is the most compact crossbow in our test at just over 29 inches long and nine inches wide at the widest point when cocked. TenPoint Crossbows has a reputation as a leading innovator in crossbow technology. However, TenPoint owners have always had to shoot to decock them, until now. The new ACUslide system features an internal brake that prevents dry-firing during cocking and decocking, an industry first. With that in mind, if you stick to the best crossbows only as listed on our website, and if you make sure that the draw weight is a minimum of lbs.
The limbs are the two parts attached to the riser, and it is at the tips of the limbs that the string is attached. If you see a crossbow with limbs made of aluminum or wood, better stay clear of it as they will likely break on you soon enough. Most crossbows come with what is called a stirrup, and it is that semi-triangular hole located at the front of the crossbow. You place your foot inside the stirrup, press down with your leg and entire body weight to fix the weapon firmly to the ground, and then use your body weight to lift the string upwards into a cocked position.
When cocking a crossbow using this method, make sure that you hold the string at equal distances on both the left and right side of the stock basically your thumbs should be as close to the stock as possible. As mentioned above, the manual way of cocking requires you to dead-lift a weight equal to the draw weight of your crossbow. This might be a problem for some: since you want to get a model with a minimum of lbs. If not, then one of the following two cocking solutions will be more appropriate for you.
When using a rope, you effectively cut the force required to draw the bowstring in half. In other words, to cock a lbs. As an added bonus, rope-cocking makes it much easier to draw the string evenly on both sides of the stock, which — as mentioned previously — improves shooting accuracy and extends the lifetime of your crossbow. The crank mechanism is attached to the back of your crossbow and you simply turn the crank in order to draw the string.
Using this approach will allow even a small kid to accurately draw a crossbow with even a lbs. There are two distinct disadvantages to this method, however:. Please see here for our Crossbow Ballistic Calculator — you can calculate arrow drop, speed, kinetic energy and momentum for up to 70 yards out. If you want, you can also provide details on fletching length, fletching height and shaft length to get some fine-grained results though we do populate those three fields with the most common values to make things easier for you.
You should always sight your crossbow after you buy it. These come in two different varieties: the single dot red-dot scope and the triple-dot red dot scope.
As the names suggest, these differ in the number of dots you will see when looking through the scope. You will obviously need to get good at judging your distance from the target. They are usually a little heavier but come with a wide range of accessories. The optics included are very high quality, comparable to what is used in rifle scopes. The stronger models have a single-tube design, meaning there is a smaller chance of anything breaking. They allow for magnification, typically in the 1x to 5x range, and the vast majority are both water- and fog-proof as well.
As is the case with red dot scopes, optical scopes come in two main varieties: single and multi-reticle; these reticles serve the exact same purpose as the dots in red dot scopes, as described above. The main difference between recurve and compound crossbows lies in the limbs and the mechanism used to draw the string.
While the average compound crossbow is likely to be a little more deadly than the average recurve, this advantage is somewhat off-set by a few factors:.
Due to the above, we recommend that beginner crossbow-shooters should stick exclusively to recurve crossbows, at least until they acquire a thorough understanding of how the weapon works, and develop confidence in their skills to both use and service the crossbow. Crossbow arrows are usually made of either aluminum or carbon. An arrow is comprised of a few basic parts:. You will notice that crossbow arrows have different characteristics, for example, the grain weight of the broadhead.
As a general rule, a beginner should not worry about these values at all — the most important thing for you is to learn how to properly handle and aim your weapon.
Only once you have somewhat mastered that should you begin to concern yourself with in-depth specifications of the arrows you use. With that in mind, we recommend that you simply start by using the arrows included with the crossbow package that you will buy and if you need more, just buy an extra set of exactly the same or very similar arrows. Now I can cock it by hand.
You should not be attempting to shoot or even cock a crossbow with broken limbs, this could result in serious injury. I think John meant that he broke the limbs got new ones, and now he can hand cock it with little problem, My guess would be he hasnt got the string properly installed. Most of the info was very good, however the full list of knocks was not there.
Parker uses its own capture knocks, which to me appears as a modified half moon I personally have used the standard half moon knocks on my Thunderhawk for a year now with absolutely no problem. I have shot this xbow a great deal. I also like the heavier bolts if possible. They are quiter, seem to be more consistent 30 yds.
This is equal to the broadheads. At 71, I can shoot 4 inch groups all day long 50 yds. That should be good enough to get me a oinker 25 yds. Thank you for this Tom. Thank you Mr. I have a jackal xbow and I was wondering how much does the bolts weight in grns and which broadheads would be better mechanical or fixed blade and do you know of a video that shows how to lube a xbow.
Where can I get iron sights for my crossbow? Peep with yardage pins I assume. And will these sights work on most of the scope mounts? I would very much appreciate any help finding a replacement. So how much weight should I give to the malfunction factor? Every single crossbow you mentioned in your post is a fantastic hunting tool.
The malfunction factor is becoming less of an issue as compounds become better every year, with more reliable cam systems. If the Vapor is out of your price range, the FX4 is an absolutely fantastic bow to have. Question, have an opportunity to trade for a crossbow actually two. Barnet is a year old shot less the 20 times. Parker is brand new. I have sighted it in at 20 yds. Nice tight groups. But if I back up to 25 yds.
I have zero consistency. It has a Barnett 4x32mm crossbow scope. My question is does the Excalibur Ibex smf crossbow have a anti-fire mechanism?
If not, can I get an aftermarket put on it? Thank you for your help. I hear that thing is insanely powerful and has a kill range upto yards. I have been thinking of becoming a hunter and a crossbow seems to be the most logical weapon for me because a rifle would be too expensive in my country Brazil and a bow would be too difficult to use and it is not very lethal.
I am loving this website, it is giving me a huge amount of concise information and it is really teaching me exactly what I need to learn. Thank you guys so much for creating this website, it is being of great help to me, this website is just perfect. Actually, at longer distances most arrow shots from bows keep more kinetic energy downrange than bolt from crossbows. I have taken a whitetail buck with my Mathews Q2 at 25 yds and the broad head arrow went clean through. The Q2 is maybe over 10 years old now.
I have rifle hunted since I was about Now that I am disabled an in my 40s,I would like to return to hunting but using a crossbow instead. Which compound would you recommend I be on the lookout for, keeping in mind my startup price range?
This website is Awesome!!! Thanks again. So im looking at a Barnett Recruit. I want something that can still take down deer possibly bear kentucky. What would be the recommendations on this? Yes or No and should i zero in at 20 or thirty yards? Used to rifles and shotguns at Hi Dave, Did you buy the Barnett Recruit yet. Thats a nice xbow. Should have no problem taking a white tail or a bear with that.
For that bow I would zero at 20 yds. I really like the Rage gr. Use what eveer size arrow Barnett recommends. Wow wish I would have found this site 4 hr ago. Hmm you have any info on this xbow?
Great source of knowledge and valuable information. I am looking to buy my first ever crossbow and came a across this site through a search. Thank you for posting and sharing! Hi How come you did not review the Scorpyd cross bows.
I own 9 cross bows. It also has an ACUdraw mechanism and weighs just 6. The Invader X4 is It generates fps and as much as ft. This bow comes with a Ten Point multi line scope, a 3-arrow quiver, ACUdraw and 3 aluminum practice bolts.
It has smaller limbs, so you might want to consider it if stealth movement is at the top of your list. The bow sights in after just shots and is incredibly easy to use from there on out.
It blew me away how well-balanced it is, especially considering the price. It shoots dead on the target, but the bolts it comes with are known to have some issues with tips and inserts, so I suggest upgrading to some grain Ten Point Pro Lite bolts. This xbow can more than handle them. It shoots at a whopping fps and generates ft. It has a G2 bull-pup trigger, which is sturdy and flexible, and an ambidextrous safety, alongside the anti-dry fire dock.
The draw is lbs , however the weight of the crossbow is 9. The comb will help you get a good cheek weld and a great sight down the scope.
The Turbo GT is stronger than the Renegade fps and ft. Best of all, it weighs just 6. At 40 yards the groupings you get with it are unbelievable. I was William Telling my arrows like it was nothing, and it has more than enough energy to kill a deer at that distance. The 4-dotted aluminum scope is the same as on the Renegade and it sights in quickly, in just a couple of shots. The groupings are immaculate at that distance and the cocking mechanism is integrated into the butt stock, which I especially liked.
T en Point Titan SS is an obvious choice in this price range and is among the highest rated crossbows as well. It sells like crazy and people are loving it. This xbow fires bolts at fps and up to fps with Ten Point Pro Lite bolts. This is a step up from the Renegade. Also, the buttplate has two positions so you can customize pull length. The scope is not illuminated but it has calibrated dots at 20, 30, 40 and 50 yards which is just about its lethal range for larger game.
Now, one thing you need to prepare for is that this one shoots a bit loud, so I suggest getting a dampening system. Ten Point Titan SS is a classic that will serve you for many years. The slotted barrel helps it stay light at 7.
The draw is lbs. The bow is extremely well built and has an adjustable comb 7 settings and buttplate 3 positions in quarter inch increments.
Playing around with this will enable you to fully tailor the pull length to your liking. I suggest you upgrade the scope on it right away, as the one it comes with slightly bottlenecks the performance.
One of the best scopes for the Horton Storm is the Hawke XB1 which has illuminated crosshairs for up to 60 yards and a yard aimpoint—it will make your Storm deadly accurate at even around yards. Horton Storm is well balanced and extremely comfortable when shouldered. The retention brush on it reduces the noise and centers the arrow on the middle of the barrel. Horton Storm RDX is a beast of a crossbow, capable of shooting at over fps with grain bolts.
Upgrade the scope for premium results. Simply put, these are the best crossbows in the world right now and they will instantly make you a deer hunting machine. The Assassin shoots at fps and with the grain field point arrows included in the box generates ft. The draw weight is lbs with the cranking system this goes down to 12 lbs and the bow weighs 8.
Another cool feature is the adjustable Tru-Fit stock which, coupled with an adjustable cheek piece, allows for a fully custom fit—this bow is comfortable regardless of your size. However, what separates it from others on this list is not its power but how silent it is. The guys from Excalibur really outdid themselves when it comes to stealth because once you put all the sound-deadening accessories on it, the Assassin is extremely quiet and vibration-free. In its essence, Assassin is looking to end the reign of compound crossbows and with this bow they are pretty close to achieving that.
The Excalibur Assassin is a perfectly balanced hunting and survival crossbow, primarily characterized by its accuracy and silence. You do not want to cross paths with someone carrying this as, in theory, it has enough power to achieve full penetration of two bucks placed side by side.
The R20 is the most powerful crossbow on the market: It shoots at an incredible fps and generates ft. It does all that at just The R20 weighs 7. Speaking of it being loaded, the package it comes with is also insane. Besides the bow you get a yard illuminated scope , six grain bolts, six grain practice field points and a cocking system which reduces the draw weight down to 12 lbs. With some practice, you can get full penetration at yards which is really as much as you can ask for in a bow.
Needless to say, the accuracy at anything less than that is mind blowing—a friend of mine owns this bow and I have seen him get 5 bolt 1-inch groups at 60 yards. It does not require any modifications at least not in the short-term and the scope is illuminated so you can hunt any time of day.
There are quieter options out there, but who would want The Beast to be quiet? The low weight is due to the fully carbon stock and barrel. The bow comes with an ambidextrous 3-arrow quiver, an ACUdraw cocking mechanism, 6 Pro Elite carbon bolts and an RDX string-stop system which reduces the noise and vibration. And what a scope it is.
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