Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Crossbow advice

So I'm looking to buy a crossbow for my son for Christmas. My budget is $500. Any suggestions?

Thanks

Had a last minute bowhunting lease come up this year, so I bought the daughter a Centerpoint Sniper 370 in order for her to be able to hunt there also. Impressinlgy quiet and shoots stupid good for the money.....

The supplied scope is functional, but I didn't trust it. I ended up bolting on a SWFA 1-4 I had laying around. With a 6 pack of Easton arrows, broadheads, and decocking arrow I'm into it for a little over $400.

I'd second the Centerpoint Sniper 370, several members on here use them with good results, and I've watched several hunters in my deer management group use them.

Tag

The Barnett terrain or the green version at Cabelas is decent for sub $300. I have two buddies that have no problems out to 50 yards with them.

You simply can't beat the Centerpoint Sniper 370 for anywhere near the money. Fast, quiet and crazy accurate.

the centerpoint sniper 370.for the money,great bow,fast accurate,deadly

deputy30,

It may be a little late to start looking for a Christmas present BUT you could do far worse than find/buy him a "used" but in mint condition Horton Yukon XL or another similar "brand name XB". - There seems to be a considerable number of old, good quality but "as new" XBs "out there" & for sale at a low price.
(I bought mine, complete with a Horton XB scope, cocking strap & 2 dozen NEW broadhead hunting arrows, for 225.oo. = Mine was out of an estate sale & the PO had NEVER even bothered to unpack it out of the factory wrap.)

My Yukon XL is likely the only XB that I'll ever buy as it is sturdy, deadly accurate at any reasonable range for feral hogs, deer & coyotes AND will likely outlast me W/O anything more than an occasional new string.

The MAIN differences in a "modern XB" & my "old school" one is arrow speed and the name-brand XBs are a GREAT DEAL more money to buy. A WT or feral hog won'y notice or care that they were killed by an "old cheap crossbow".

yours, satx

Buy it right the first time.

I’m a recurve in the 300-350fps fan, it just works.

JohnnyLoco,

In the unlikely event that I ever buy another XB, it will be a recurve. = An EXCALIBUR.
(EZCALIBUR XBs are nearly faultless & I personally know of one that survived flying out of a PU onto Interstate 35N at about 65MPH & without any damages but a few minor scratches.)

yours, satx

Keep an eye on the Cabelas website. They put different Xbows on sale daily. I missed out an a couple good deals but was in one of their stores today and picked up a Cabelas branded Excalibur package for just over your budget price ($540...regular $900!). They show sold out on their website but still some in stores if you have one near you.

http://www.dunhamssports.com/product/centerpoint-tormentor-whisper-380-package/

$299 after rebate. Love mine.

Agreed - simple works, and not inheriting somebody else's mistakes.

Getting a used crossbow is asking for problems unless you know the FULL history of the crossbow, know the owner, and know what you getting. Parts for the older crossbows are getting harder to find, and the last thing you want is a "new" Christmas gift that is unusable after the first outing.

Can't tell you how many times I've watched an older crossbow come into the local shop with a "never shot by the previous owner" story and the limbs are somehow cracked, servings are missing, and the signs of a dry-fire are there.

For the price of a Centerpoint Sniper 370, you get a warranty (Five years?) and you get a bit of backing if the lad makes a mistake, or the factory shipped a problem out. Shouldn't happen, but it does occasionally.

^^^^Yep, that.

Bulletproof, easy to change strings, uncock without shooting after the hunt, and nothing to go wrong. Excalibur all the way, and one can buy a slightly used one for $400 or less, with everything needed to hunt the next day. Bought my step daughter one, and found one for my buddy's stepson as well.

+1 on the above. Have Excaliber Matrix and love it. Scary accurate, user friendly.

Mike

Excalibur ALL the way.
Simple, TOUGH!!

For the Excalibur fans. Does the new noise damping technology warrant the expense and the added weight?

Any one here use have or been around the Koda bow?

Sort of - it helps, but the older models, with the wider limbs are just loud - keep in mind this is a subjective opinion.

Stopping the string will help, but only so much.

I've shot the Koda the Outdoors Show in PA, they usually have a booth there.

I think you are over-paying for what an Excalibur will do, and it's a niche company with a niche product. They don't seem to break, and they seem to be well made.

Will the Excalibur " break down" like the Koda does?

I haven't looked at how the Coda breaks down.

For the Excalibur - mine anyway - the limbs and center limb bracket could be unscrewed from the end of the barrel (stock) in in one piece, with no issues that I found.

You, as the owner, could de-string the limbs on the Excalibur, and then remove the limbs if you needed to.

I un-strung limbs, then just pulled the whole "bow" off for long term storage, and shipping.

I hunt on mules.

So I want one that comes apart, and more importantly reassembles quickly......even when elk are whistling!

Looks like the Excalibur is a one bolt wonder. As it self aligns as you tighten.....the Koda needs two with perfect snap in allinghment. Not the best when experiencing " bull fever!"

I bought an Excalibur SE this year and hunted with it a couple of times this week. It is easy and quiet to remove the quiver in the stand making it pretty comfortable to hold in the stand for a few hours. It is light compared to others I used years ago. It is plenty accurate for the distance I will shoot at game.You can't shoot at the same dot practicing or you will break the bolts hitting them together. The bolt retention tab that holds the bolt in place is solid and a nocked bolt stays in place which I like for hunting. The one negative is the supplied scope does not have an illuminated reticle. And the scope on it blacks out before I'm ready to quit hunting in the afternoon.I will be upgrading that before next season.

See if this guy will ship

https://nmi.craigslist.org/spo/d/vortex-by-excalibur-cross-bow/6470327731.html

Excaliburs are very good, but above my wallet. I have two crossbows, a Barnett Demon. And a Horton. They both hit thier targets well. The Barnett is a take down model, as the bow separates from the stock with one hand bolt.

Edit: last recurve crossbow I owned was a Barnett RX-280, and NO commercially available hard case would fit it. I had to build a hard case for it.

As per a suggestion from one of our members here, I picked up an Excaliber Ibex, and have never looked back. Very good bow for the money. I'm looking to upgrade the scope. It's functional, but I want a better piece of glass on it, and I'm sure the bow will shoot tighter groups.

If you want tighter groups you gonna need spine indexed arrows, not necessarily another scope. Of course it couldn't hurt tho..I use spine indexed Spynal Tapp arrows from Southshore archery supply in my Tenpoint FX4. Tremendous arrows......

I haven't heard of this before. Could you please explain what spine indexed arrows are? Thanks for the suggestion.

It is a process where they turn the arrow finding the "weak" and "strong" side of each arrow. They mark the arrow so that the cock feather can be placed in the same relationship to the strong side of each arrow. This helps assure that when the arrow is shot, the flexing that occurs is in the same plane/relationship for each arrow, resulting in more uniform accuracy.

Somebody else can likely explain better, but basically it is setting up each arrow as close as possible to the others in the group. They can also be weight sorted so that total weight stays within a certain range to help accuracy.

at hunting ranges (35 or so yards and under), these are probably overkill as most set ups will give accurate enough results for hunting.

A cheap way of indexing is to find the arrows that don't group with the rest, turn nock so that a different vane becomes the cock vane and shoot. If arrow shoots to the group, mark that vane and use it that way. If not, try the other vane.

joe6555 is right. It is a process where the "stiff" side is identified, marked and then fletched between the hen vanes on crossbows. The idea of turning nocks will work but as mentioned it will result in a different cock vane. That could cause a problem if loaded with limited light.

Also, overkill was mentioned. There's no such thing as too much accuracy.

Very true, but for the guy not wanting to spend a great deal on equipment until/if the crossbow bug hits hard, the extra cost of spine indexed, weight sorted arrows may not seem justified. By the time you buy the arrow and add a quality broadhead, you can easily be looking at $15 a pop. Lighted nocks and other goodies can push the price over $20 pretty quick.
Lots of rifle hunters out there seem satisfied with a budget priced rifle shooting the cheapest factory ammunition they can find. While I reload and strive for accuracy out of my rifles, I can't begrudge those who are only interested in hunting and do not want to spend the money to find/develop the best load for their rifle. In time, many will decide to try to find a better shooting combination, but others will remain happy with what they have. JMOYMV

No one ever said accuracy was cheap..Im just giving options to those that want more than mediocracy. www.tapp-nation.com