Killer Instinct crossbows?

Neot · Sep 23, 2017

I'm kicking around the idea of getting a new crossbow. My Barnett Revolution is going on 13 years old or so and although it still drops deer, something smaller would be nice. I saw this brand and didn't know a whole lot about them. Reviews seem to be pretty positive, mostly in regards to the accuracy and trigger. Does anyone here have one or had experience shooting one?

Doco Overboard · Sep 23, 2017

I don't know but I shot a crossbow the other day and from a rested position it was as accurate as could be out to 50 yds. This one was a wicked ridge and It must have been some sort of a knock off of a ten point point which I had seen before but never tried and I was impressed. The draw back was it was heavy and different to me but I say if the one you are looking at is easier to handle try it out.
I couldn't believe how well it worked, now I know why they are so popular. I would think that all established manufacturers must be making a decent product or they wouldn't last in today's market.

Neot · Sep 23, 2017

Doco Overboard said:
I don't know but I shot a crossbow the other day and from a rested position it was as accurate as could be out to 50 yds. This one was a wicked ridge and It must have been some sort of a knock off of a ten point point which I had seen before but never tried and I was impressed. The draw back was it was heavy and different to me but I say if the one you are looking at is easier to handle try it out.
I couldn't believe how well it worked, now I know why they are so popular. I would think that all established manufacturers must be making a decent product or they wouldn't last in today's market.

So Wicked Ridge was it's own company then was bought up by TenPoint, just like Horton was. The Wicked Ridge crossbows are't bad but it's pretty close in size/weight to the Barnett I have. The next step up is a TenPoint and they start around $599. With baby #3 on the way I don't want my wife to kill me lol.

Doco Overboard · Sep 23, 2017

I don't blame you been down that rd 4 times myself, I always thought when the prices approached the point of a decent center fire rifle that would be the tipping point for me but what I learned after buying tons of stuff its better to get quality right off the bat. Easy for me to say because my kids are grown but the other thing to remember is that confidence is everything with whatever your shooting or hunting with. Usually I have found that higher quality things last longer in the original way they were purchased if cared for properly and that's where the return on the extra dollars comes from.
With all that, I have never owned over the top archery equipment but do realize quality in a product. Ive been shooting archery for nearly forty years and have seen all kind of crazes come and go. Archery has been around for like 200,000 years in one form or another and the end result is comes down to confidence and knowing your equipment.
I shoot a Bear lights out that's probably six or seven years old now and does the job nicely although its not really a good bow in my book, I'm just confident with it, that's all.

Doco Overboard · Sep 23, 2017

My wife goes nuts every time I buy something and Ive been married 25 years. Shes really going to go nuts today because I might pick up a clone m14 after lunch if I don't have to go through a lot of grief at the gun-shop.
I would be patient if cost is a issue and there is no problem with the rig you have now, maybe if you can get one more season the one you want will be on sale later on.

ohen cepel · Sep 23, 2017

I think Doco is right, wait till this season is over and pick up on a sale.

Something which bothers me about archery stuff is as soon as next year's model comes out what you bought this year is worth 50% or less. Yes, you may take a hit on a firearm but not usually that bad. Also, a 10yr old firearm likely held it's value or went up, seems rare with archery stuff.

Yes, I crossbow hunt, but only because I have to here.

Neot · Sep 23, 2017

Doco Overboard said:
My wife goes nuts every time I buy something and Ive been married 25 years. Shes really going to go nuts today because I might pick up a clone m14 after lunch if I don't have to go through a lot of grief at the gun-shop.
I would be patient if cost is a issue and there is no problem with the rig you have now, maybe if you can get one more season the one you want will be on sale later on.

I'm usually the buy once, cry once type but when I see the cost I compare it to guns. I think, "Hmmm I could buy a really nice gun, or several, for this price" lol. Hope you get that M14 clone....is it a Norinco?

Neot · Sep 23, 2017

ohen cepel said:
I think Doco is right, wait till this season is over and pick up on a sale.

Something which bothers me about archery stuff is as soon as next year's model comes out what you bought this year is worth 50% or less. Yes, you may take a hit on a firearm but not usually that bad. Also, a 10yr old firearm likely held it's value or went up, seems rare with archery stuff.

Yes, I crossbow hunt, but only because I have to here.

You're right, as soon as the season ends the prices drop. Generally year to year there are rarely any big improvements to a bow/crossbow. I'll probably keep the Barnett until the end of this season unless I stumble on a deal like Black Friday.

Doco Overboard · Sep 23, 2017

Neot said:
I'm usually the buy once, cry once type but when I see the cost I compare it to guns. I think, "Hmmm I could buy a really nice gun, or several, for this price" lol. Hope you get that M14 clone....is it a Norinco?

Yeah, but I cant get past the money part. I think I would rather just buy another service grade because I don't think I would be happy with it no matter how well or not it works.
I know a young man that I mentored when he learned to hunt went to hunters safety with him, taught him to shoot archery, call turkeys and all that and now that he's grown and with a young family he is still an avid outdoors-man.
Anyhow he shows up one day with a absolutely beautiful and very expensive bow, I think it was the latest and highest end Hoyt or Matthews or whatever and it was no comparison to the tackle Im running now. This thing shot to sixty yards what Im running off the shelf. I was proud of how well he was doing for himself and how accomplished he had become in the woods but when I asked him about the cost he said it was a challenge but that's what he wanted and he was happy even though it was hard to balance with a new mortgage and a small child.
I think maybe, it had pushed him to an even higher level of achievement just by the additional level of expense for the equipment because he has managed some nice trophies in the interim. Confidence is everything I guess and when things do not come easy you want to get the most from things that you can. So it was a win and besides, even though archery gear is expensive more towards the cost of a decent firearm, what the hell, the worlds not going to end.
What I noticed was that little Caroline county brush popper running around with his toy bow next to him. Thats worth the extra cost right there in my book. Just wait till he gets a few more of them and has to buy all them arrows for that tribe and finds half of them vertically stuck in the roof.

outrider58 · Sep 23, 2017

The price of Xbows is insane(like everything else in the hunting/fishing market). Paying over $1K for a Xbow that will have a very definite life span is more than I could reconcile.

BTW, I was just in Dick's and saw a young man walking around with one of those Yeti buckets. I wanted to say "Hay, c'mere. I'll sell you two buckets for $20". I resisted of course.

Neot · Sep 23, 2017

outrider58 said:
The price of Xbows is insane(like everything else in the hunting/fishing market). Paying over $1K for a Xbow that will have a very definite life span is more than I could reconcile.

BTW, I was just in Dick's and saw a young man walking around with one of those Yeti buckets. I wanted to say "Hay, c'mere. I'll sell you two buckets for $20". I resisted of course.

Yeti is something I never quite grasped. You could get the Walmart knock off that's close in quality for 1/3 the price. I guess it's a status thing.

I can't and won't drop $1,000 for a bow or crossbow. Like the Ravin will supposedly group 3" at 100 yards. While that's awesome, how practical is it? How often am I taking a shot at a deer that far away? Where I hunt right now there's so much brush that I can't see more than 35-40 yards lol.

outrider58 · Sep 23, 2017

Neot said:
Yeti is something I never quite grasped. You could get the Walmart knock off that's close in quality for 1/3 the price. I guess it's a status thing.

I can't and won't drop $1,000 for a bow or crossbow. Like the Ravin will supposedly group 3" at 100 yards. While that's awesome, how practical is it? How often am I taking a shot at a deer that far away? Where I hunt right now there's so much brush that I can't see more than 35-40 yards lol.

Exactly. I have a few friends who really like the Excalibur line, but they're getting up there too.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Doco Overboard · Sep 23, 2017

I'm sitting in a great big corn field right now that's 300 yards across.
I want to be 20-25 yards down wind with my bow in about 25 minutes.

hi3cho · Sep 26, 2017

I don't have any experience with higher end crossbows but for under $200 you can get a Barnett package with a scope and be dead accurate to 40 yards at min and comfortable out to 55-60 which is about all you are going to need bow hunting. With a gun I can see spending a little more money because it will not really decrease in value and the variance in accuracy increases the farther out you get. I have a Barnett jackal that I paid $240 for a few years ago, and it has tons of shots with little to no wear. I just can't justify $600+ for an xbow.

Charybdis69 · Sep 30, 2017

Save your $

I agree - you don't need that much $ for a crossbow to take deer.

hi3cho said:
I don't have any experience with higher end crossbows but for under $200 you can get a Barnett package with a scope and be dead accurate to 40 yards at min and comfortable out to 55-60 which is about all you are going to need bow hunting. With a gun I can see spending a little more money because it will not really decrease in value and the variance in accuracy increases the farther out you get. I have a Barnett jackal that I paid $240 for a few years ago, and it has tons of shots with little to no wear. I just can't justify $600+ for an xbow.

gunismyfriend · Oct 4, 2017

Hi, everybody,
New hunter here, would appreciate some pointer on this crossbow for $300: https://www.amazon.com/Barnett-Recruit-Terrain-Crossbow-330/dp/B06XKBPSS4/ref=dp_ob_title_sports
Features:
330 feet per second. Draw weight: 140 lbs Kinetic energy: 91.9 ft lbs
Overall weight 6.4 lbs | axle to axle 16.125" | dimensions 34.25"L x 18.25"W
Ships mostly assembled
Trigger Tech Technology with 3lb zero-creep release. All stainless steel components. Nock sensor and adf eliminate dry fires
Includes: 4x32 scope, rope cocking device, light weight quiver, two 20 inch Headhunter arrows, lube wax (we suggest you lube strings every 10 shots)

Good enough?
Appreciate it.

Archeryrob · Oct 5, 2017

As outrider said, its all a game of who has the newest stuff. Guys have to have the newest, fastest bows. Why do they need all this new stuff? Is it to kill deer better? No, its to brag to their friends how their bow is faster and more powerful than theirs!

Back in the 80's the "Bear Whitetail II" was out and I knew guys that started letting the weight down to 45# as they said the arrow will still go through the ribs and stick in the dirt, so how much more bow do I need?

My buddy shot a buck last at 20 yards with a recurved XBow ($150 bow) like the Barrett Recruit he bought for his son. It went through the buck and stuck in a walnut tree and we couldn't get the bolt out of the tree it sank so deep. That a 150# draw and 240 FPS. This bow is over kill and everything else bigger and stronger is just for chest beating.

Archeryrob · Oct 5, 2017

Gun is my friend, buy it and kill something. That is plenty of crossbow as long as the scope is good enough. But at 30 yards, you should be able to use iron sites.

On thing though, buy some blue loctite and remove all the scope screws and scope mount screws and all loctite and put them back. My daughter only had her Ten point a year and the scope was wobbling on one of her first hunts this year. xBows have so much left over energy in the bow they vibrate like crazy and try and shake the scope loose bit by bit.

gunismyfriend · Oct 6, 2017

Archeryrob said:
Gun is my friend, buy it and kill something. That is plenty of crossbow as long as the scope is good enough. But at 30 yards, you should be able to use iron sites.

Thanks.
How do you think about this Barnett Gamecrusher, only available at Dick's.
https://m.dickssportinggoods.com/p/...age-15bttugmcrshrxxxxabw/15bttugmcrshrxxxxabw
vs. Barnett recruit terrain
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06XKBPSS4/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile
They are both $300, and have a scope. Could you see much difference?
I like the recruit terrain since it's smaller.
Thanks again.

outrider58 · Oct 6, 2017

gunismyfriend said:
Thanks.
How do you think about this Barnett Gamecrusher, only available at Dick's.
https://m.dickssportinggoods.com/p/...age-15bttugmcrshrxxxxabw/15bttugmcrshrxxxxabw
vs. Barnett recruit terrain
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06XKBPSS4/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile
They are both $300, and have a scope. Could you see much difference?
I like the recruit terrain since it's smaller.
Thanks again.

I'm liking the Amazon bow. For what it's worth.

Killer Instinct crossbows?

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