Our friends at Petersen’s Bowhunting Magazine give us the specs on 6 new crossbows that were unveiled at the 2018 Archery Trade Association show.
Since getting a good buck with a crossbow on TV is high on my bucket list—while I have killed my share of deer with vertical bows, I have never even shot a crossbow, much less bagged a deer with one—this article was of interest.
Some one-liners that caught my attention–I did not realize that crossbow technology and engineering had come so far so fast:
…the (Mission) SUB-1, so named for its ability to consistently deliver groups less than 1 inch at 100 yards.
At just 6 inches wide, the Stealth NXT (pictured) headlines TenPoint’s next generation of high performance bows.
…Excalibur’s 360-fps Assassin (has) an integrated silent Charger cranking system (that) allows for quiet, fast and easy loading and unloading, virtually eliminating draw weight concerns by reducing its 285 pounds of draw weight to a mere 12 pounds.
(CAMX’s) patented Thumbsaver technology protects the shooter’s forehand without restriction for the full travel path of the string. The A4 comes pre-sighted at the factory from 10 to 100 yards with four Accuspine arrows and field points…
…the compact, ambidextrous Versa-Draw Cocking System (Ravin R20) is integrated into the stock and provides the ability for simple cocking just 12 pounds of draw force and uncocking without having to fire the crossbow.
What really stood out (and in some cases shocked me) was the MSRP price of these new crossbows. While the PSE is around $600, the others in this overview run from $1,200 to $1,600 to $2,600. I had no idea that a Xbow costs that much, but then like I said, I did not realize that crossbow technology had advanced so much. Apparently with a new Xbow, like anything else, you get what you pay for.
I don’t know yet which one of these new horizontal bows I will get and hunt with this fall, if any, but I really do want to try it.
How many of you hunt with a Crossbow…how do you like it?
Don’t hunt with crossbow and don’t plan to for deer until I reach at least the age of 55. Crossbows making big impact in WI now. In many of the counties more deer are harvested with CB now versus VB. Sad to see but completely expected. Ok, let me have it… That said they are marvelous weapons and I’m sure are a ton of fun to shoot. I would love to try one on summer coyotes.