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I have a vortex Excalibur and it is the balls like other have said no wheels and that saves a lot of things that could go wrong ,and after using carbon arrows for hunting , no more I will stick with aluminum

Of the nine topics listed, I'd focus on:

Mass weight - how does the bow point for you? Where does it balance, and is it something you can hold on a wary buck that hasn't committed to walking past your stand? The compound models tend to be some nose heavy, and the longer ones are more so.

Width - how much room do you need to swing it around? It also drives how big of a case to get for the bow. This importnat to me, less so to others. One thing you will find, cross bows are bulky to store if you have a limited amount of space. Most of the crossbows in for repair in the local archery shop are drops from the stand or a limb strike on a object while firing. If the limb slaps soemthing hard on the shot, it tends to crack them.

Trigger Pull - earlier X-bows had heavy @ssed trigger pulls, and the range of poundage was highly varied. Most now have settled in the 4-6 pound range from what I've shot lately. I think most crossbows now set the safety to the "on" position when cocked, and I'd call that a must have on my crossbow.

Would 500-600 get me something that I wouldn't want to upgrade a few seasons from now?

Very good suggestions! I've only hunted a few times with an older Barnett compound and that things is about as awkward and unwieldly as it gets. I'm thinking of getting a newer Xbow as I'd like to take my kids archery hunting and they are not big/strong enough for a legal vertical bow. The new narrow Excalibur that was linked to previously has my attention. It only weighs 5.2#! While a 5+" longer than some others, I like the idea of the lighter weight for my kids. Only thing I don't know as I've never held one is if the LOP is too long for them...

Balance is another problem I have with my current Xbow. The few times I've handled them, I like the balance of the reverse draw Xbows, but I'm only aware of one still being made. My son was able to reach the trigger on a Horton reverse draw, but they are no longer made and he really wasn't able to hold it up easily. While better balanced, it was still probably over 8#s.

Regarding LOP, I like the idea of the Xbows like the Parker Gale Force that use a collapsible AR type stock. It'd make it easy to fit anyone, but then there's the weight and balance.

Good discussion. Hopefully the tax man doesn't hurt me too bad and I can do a bit of Xbow shopping this spring.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004PYML90?vs=1 ?

Good review of crossbows at different price points. There are several other good references if you do a google search.

http://www.bestcrossbowsource.com/#price

I'd go to a shop where you can shoot a few and get advice from a knowledgeable salesman. Don't forget you'll need to buy broadheads and a target that will stop a bolt. Those 2 items will be about $100.

I went through this last summer and ended up with an Excalibur Axiom SMF. Very simple and easy to use and I can cock or uncock it in the field with no problems. The scope on it is fine IMO.

Had an Excalibur and it was all everyone has said. My issue was its width, which made it difficult to hunt from a stand with. One of the problems with crossbows is getting to the shoulder when you see a deer. With a regular bow, you wait for the deer to have its head behind a tree and raise it up. With the much wider crossbow, deer can see the tip of the limbs unless you are very careful and wait for it to go behind something large to raise. I have been busted far more with a crossbow (used them for 8 years because I have to) than with a compound.

Not sure how the newer narrower Excaliburs are. Just bought a new Parker that is the most narrow I have see and love the fit/feel of it. Looking forward to next year!

Really - this is the best advice for a starting point, get into an archery shop and shoot a few before making any decision. The Bass Pro in southern MD wasn't a bad place to start the touchy/feely phase.

Like your vertical bows and firearms, each will feel somewhat different in the hand, and will influence your decision. Then, you can look for a bargain on the exact model you want.

Woodson, if you are thinking about going with the recurve (Excalibur) bow, give Chuck @ Kodabow a call. Nice bow that comes with a scope better than most (Hawke). Also comes with stringing aid, extra string, several arrows, and has the best trigger in a factory crossbow.

In the final analysis, the choice is yours. I may like Dodge trucks, you may like Chevy. Choice is what keeps thing interesting.

Here's the first deer I shot with the Excalibur last fall. I bought it at Cabelas and shot several others before I picked the Axiom. It felt better to me than the others I shot and that's what mattered to me at the time. They are wider than other crossbows but it just takes some getting used to. It's like a 40 inch bow that most of us used to shoot compared to the more recent 30-34" bows.

Thanks for sharing .

The Excalibur Matrix 330 seems like a good compromise. Seems like the "down side" of the recurve design is its width. The Matrix and to a greater extent the Micro seem to curb that. Figured the 330 because it's not outrageously expensive.

I bought a Barnett Ghost 410 two years ago and so far I've been really happy with it. Nice trigger, accurate and fast. The only problem I had with it was the guy at the local bow shop convinced me that it was ok to shoot a flat nock bolt out of it. BIG MISTAKE! The string jumped the bolt and I got the lashing of a lifetime when the string snapped. It didn't do any damage to the crossbow, it just hurt. To his credit, he re strung the bow for free and apologized. It took about two weeks of practice to get rid of the "shooters flinch" after that incident.

IMO, it's a great bow but the scope that came on it was worthless.

My brother in law uses an Excaliber Matrix. I've shot it a few times and like it but he complains about the width of it too. I can understand the simplicity point of view about the no cam Excalibers but with that said, I've never had any trouble with cams and his just seems bulky to me. I guess if I was a travling hunter I would see it a lot differently though.

While I'm happy enough with my Barnett Ghost 410, if I was in the market today for a replacement I would buy a Mission MXP 400 XP Pro Made by Matthews. The build quality and balance of those things are just amazing! I think they are just a step ahead of everything else I've looked at and while they aren't cheap they come with the good stuff like nice optics etc..

Crossbows are easy. My top 3:

1--Tenpoint

2--Tenpoint

3--Tenpoint

I agree 100% that Excalibur makes a great bow. But the widths are ridiculous and far too wide for my liking. Narrow bows are a joy. Wide bows suck terribly in treestands and blinds IME. Even walking through thick woods they get in their own way. Excalibur may be "simple and easy" compared to some cammed bows, but Tenpoints are simple and easy as well. They don't break like many others. Plus, it is a fact that recurve bows are louder than cammed bows, in general.

Steer clear of cheap bows. And steer clear of Barnett and Horton. They spend more time in the shop than in the field. One friend bought a Barnett. Limbs cracked. Another bought a Horton after I told him not to. Limbs cracked. It took forever to get it back. Now, the last I hunted with him, he showed me where new limbs are beginning to crack again.

Tenpoint makes a very high quality bow. And there customer service is probably the best in the industry. They have an excellent reputation for quality backed by great customer service. Should something happen, they back up their products and turnaround times are fast compared to others.

I shoot a Tenpoint Turbo XLTII. It is wonderfully narrow/maneuverable, and highly accurate. Plenty fast also. I'd not trade it for any other bow at any price. It is that good IMO.

As you can see, it is only 17.5" uncocked, and on 12.5" wide cocked. I can't emphasize enough how much I appreciate that fact.

http://www.tenpointcrossbows.com/shop/tenpoint-turbo-xlt-II-crossbow-package/

Parker also makes a good bow. Triggers are good, but I feel my Tenpint trigger is a bit better. However, I do not like their stocks. Tenpoint stocks fit/feel much better to me. I have 2 friends with Parkers. Both bows have been trouble free, just like both Tenpoint bows I have owned.

My Tenpoint wears a Leupold scope. It is much better optically than the crap mfgs put on their bows. Nikon makes a decent little CB scope also. I believe another bud, who shoots a Tenpoint Wicked Ridge is about to put a Redfield CB scope on his. He buys Redfield everything.

My recommendation is to buy the best Tenpoint bow you can afford. The quality is there, as is the customer service, on every bow they make. I have yet another bud, Al, who shoots a Tenpoint Titan XLT and loves it.

You will never be sorry if you buy a Tenpoint IMO...




Notice how the quiver mounts in a way as to not increase width of bow. Not all do this. Of course if your bow is wider than bolts/quiver, I guess it doesn't much matter....

It seems to me, thus far, Matthews bows have exhibited a number of problems and they don't seem to have all the "glitches" ironed out yet. I'd give them a little time before I spent money on one.....

Here is a pic of my old Hunter's (Tenpoint) Titan bow. My bud now owns it. It is a highly accurate and quiet "old" bow, that has never given us a lick of trouble all these years....

10 Point Venom...

http://www.tenpointcrossbows.com/shop/tenpoint-venom-crossbow-package/


They are very expensive, but everyone that shoots mine can't believe the difference.

This is a doe I shot last season. In the bottom left corner you can see my arrow, and 12 yards away the deer's on the ground.






The scope is super, makes heart shots at 30 yards a "Gimme". Has lighted dots for 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 yards.
My 7 year old grandson has shot "Bulls eyes" at 30 yards with it.
The first time I ever shot it at 60 yards, I just knew I should kiss that arrow goodbye. To my surprise, using the scope that was only sighted in at 30 yards at that time, the arrow was only out of a 1.5" bulls eye by less than 2" using the 60 yard dot!

I think the less expensive 10 points are very good also.

Cool guys. I'll have to read more into these
ten points.

Bill,

How do you uncock and cock your crossbow in the field?

I had one of those pre-Tenpoint Hunters. It was a nice bow, but quiet is a description I sure wouldn't have used for it. Currently I have a Tenpoint Titan and an Excalibur Exocet and the Titan is noticeably louder than the Exocet. Granted it is not one of the newer short parallel limb models so I'm sure there's been improvements in that regard.