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How decent are cheap crossbows?

I

Iron_llama

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2020
Messages
2,236
Location
NW MN
So, MN changed the laws, and crossbows are now available to all during archery season. While I've been mildly curious about these, I'm now recovering from a hand injury that may require surgery that will take me out of the bow season. So, as a backup plan I'm looking at the local Dunham's budget inventory. Can anyone offer insights on:
KI Bone Collector 370
Centerpoint Sniper 370
Centerpoint Sniper Elite 385
Centerpoint Dagger 390

From what I can tell, the number in the model name is the FPS with a light arrow. They all seem to have adjustable stocks and come "ready to hunt". I understand that plastic rails are to be avoided. Obviously none of these will be as nice as a Ravin. What's to be avoided? What should I consider? Any horror stories?

Thanks in advance.
 
They work well! My first was a Carbon Express Blade Pro, a lower cost model
That was accurate and did everything I needed and nothing more or less. As long as the strings and cables are timed properly and you keep them lubed and the rail lubed, they work awesome. The entry level Xbows may not be as fast or narrow or balanced as well but they are more than enough if you are lukewarm and just want to get out and bowhunt. The HC Mini is excellent and still at a great price point. Darton came out with a new one this year and they are lesser known but were one of the first if not the first to come out with the bull pup design with a heavy duty rail system like Mission’s excellent SUB-1 Series. Both of these are in the mid price $800-$1500 category and will last you a lifetime and both made in the USA!! I’ve heard good things about the Killer Instinct SWAT as well for its price point….. not USA made however if that matters to you. My buddy has the Center Point 370 and seems to like it.
 
Entry level crossbow are heavier and bulkier. Other then that, there is nothing wrong with them and I would take them to the wood no problem. I would suggest changing out the scope because that is usually a cheap point in the package. Honestly with how fast a crossbow is, speed is just a number for marketing. I have a budget Barnett Jackal that is 300fps, the drop from 20 yard to 40 yard is an inch.

But remember to lube it!

I agree, the HC Mini is a good investment all around I think. I like that it uses regular arrows and there is no constant lubing involved.
 
The Centerpoint Sniper models in particular have a good reputation from what I have seen. One thing on lower end models that isn't as nice as more expensive ones is the trigger.
 
I have a Sniper 370. Haven’t killed anything with it but it’s dead on out to 50 yards. That’s the the furthest that I’ve shot it. I upgraded the scope to a speed ring scope. Get some quality arrows like Black Eagle Executioners and you should be good to go. The trigger is kind of mushy but you get used to it. I can’t complain for the $250 that I paid for it.
 
I don't have any concerns over accuracy on the cheaper ones. I acquired one of those cheap Killer instinct crossbow. Shoots nice, but I have two complaints.
First is the safety. Very hard to operate with one hand and it's noisy. I could foresee it being an issues at the moment.
Second is the finally last inch ruffly when cocking it. Feels like their is a little last hump at the end when loading it. Like it makes contact with the release, but needs an extra pull to finish cocking that last bit in.
But no concerns over the function of operation.
I can't speak to CP. But I would check the safety on the KI. Not sure if it is different than the one I got.
 
Also, this is an important benefit of higher end crossbows, the cranking system. Budget crossbow usually don't have this and are harder to pull and you might hurt yourself cocking it. If you already have shoulder injuries, you might not be able to pull the string back even with a stringer rope, something that people never realizes. "Cant use compound bow due to shoulder injuries, switching to crossbow, oh no....I cant pull the crossbow either!".

My Barnett Jackal is 300fps with a 150lbs pull. Even with the stringer, I'm still pulling about 70lbs to cock it.
 
I've got a Centerpoint Sniper 370 and it is as accurate as I need it to be with magnus broadheads on it. The safety isn't great on it, stiff and a bit loud. The cocking is fine but not easy per se, depending on your hand injury that may be an issue for you. The balance is very front of center on mine, freehand shooting would probably have to be inside 20 yards, adding a good bipod like a swagger QD 42 makes it a breeze to hold rock steady with it. Overall I'm very content with it
 
Thanks everyone! I'll keep cocking and safeties in mind. I'm guessing none of the entry-level models have fantastic triggers.

I'm seeing rope cockers, and crank cockers. Assuming my hand can tolerate either, is there anything to look out for with either method? Is a crank a worthwhile aftermarket upgrade?
 
I'd stick to online classifieds on crossbow nation and archerytalk. It would blow your mind some of the deals you can nab. Got a tenpoint turbo m1 as a backup bow for 550 ish two years ago on archerytalk. Thats a 900$ crossbow. Someone had the 10pt 505 for 1300 not long ago. Thats a 3k crossbow.
 
I have a Ravin R10, it's nice, but I wish I would've shopped around more and purchased a lower end brand/model. :rolleyes:
Reason being: Crossbows are "hot rods", built and designed for blistering speed and accuracy at longer distances. All of that comes at a cost of not being able to shoot it as often as I would my compound bow. Once it's sighted in, you might as well put it up until deer season. The life span of the limbs and cables are typically 2 years....tops. Kinda like my 450 Bushmaster....sight it in, clean it and put it away until deer season.

The lower end or less expensive brands will get the job done, for less money and last a little longer than my "hot rod" Ravin R10 at 400 fps. :) I shot a doe with mine and it was so uneventful, I will not shoot it again, unless I get injured or can't draw a vertical bow. :confused:
 
BowhunterXC said:
I have a Ravin R10, it's nice, but I wish I would've shopped around more and purchased a lower end brand/model. :rolleyes:
Reason being: Crossbows are "hot rods", built and designed for blistering speed and accuracy at longer distances. All of that comes at a cost of not being able to shoot it as often as I would my compound bow. Once it's sighted in, you might as well put it up until deer season. The life span of the limbs and cables are typically 2 years....tops. Kinda like my 450 Bushmaster....sight it in, clean it and put it away until deer season.

The lower end or less expensive brands will get the job done, for less money and last a little longer than my "hot rod" Ravin R10 at 400 fps. :) I shot a doe with mine and it was so uneventful, I will not shoot it again, unless I get injured or can't draw a vertical bow. :confused:
Click to expand...
I was at a shop last night and wanted to talk about the TenPoint and Wildgame Innovations and CenterPoint models, and homeboy would not. stop. talking. about the Ravins. Even after I told him I wasn't going to drop a grand on a crossbow. Even after I told him a Ravin was so far out of my budget as to be made of pure gold and unicorn farts. Even after I specifically asked him about upgrading the stock bolts on a Centerpoint. I gave up and looked at fishing gear instead. I'll have to find another bow shop that carries crossbows. And check the pawnshops.

On the topic of pawnshops, and used bows in general... any tips on looking at used crossbows? I see that I should inspect the rails for wear or damage, and run a cotton ball over the limbs to check for cracks. Any other tips?

Also - I'm down the heavy arrow / single bevel rabbit hole with my wheelie bow. Is bareshaft tuning and RF-style "handloading" bolts a thing with crossbows like it is with vertical bows? Or does the combination of short, fat shafts and being supported by the rails mean that paradox isn't so much of a thing?
 
Iron_llama said:
Also - I'm down the heavy arrow / single bevel rabbit hole with my wheelie bow. Is bareshaft tuning and RF-style "handloading" bolts a thing with crossbows like it is with vertical bows? Or does the combination of short, fat shafts and being supported by the rails mean that paradox isn't so much of a thing?
Click to expand...

I don't have vast experience, but I've yet to see a fixed blade that did not fly with field points out of mine (Sniper 370). I'm sure there's probably others with differing experiences
 
Ravin and Centerpoint are both owned by the same company. The CP400 is a Centerpoint bow with Ravin limbs. It’s also on sale.

www.centerpointarchery.com

CP400™

Crossbow With Silent Crank
www.centerpointarchery.com www.centerpointarchery.com
 
BuffaloBill said:
Ravin and Centerpoint are both owned by the same company. The CP400 is a Centerpoint bow with Ravin limbs. It’s also on sale.

www.centerpointarchery.com

CP400™

Crossbow With Silent Crank
www.centerpointarchery.com www.centerpointarchery.com
Click to expand...
Yeah, the salesdude mentioned that. A lot. If I like that $400 CenterPoint, I might as well buy the $1600 Ravin they had on special because it's the same company, I might as well just step up to the big boy crossbow. I was like... dude, I've owned multiple trucks that cost less than a Ravin, and I used those to get to work and back so I could make rent.

He didn't tell me about that CP400, though. I really like the looks of that. Price isn't too unreasonable, either. Thanks for that.
 
I have a Barnett Whitetail Hunter II - I only hunted with it one year due to shoulder surgery. That year I shot two gobblers with the Bullhead - shot ones head off and the other one kept his head but still hit him in the neck. I didn't deer hunt with it as I was able to pull a compound that fall.

The Barnette was less than $400 if I remember correctly and is a super accurate bow. I really like the trigger pull on it.

I had an Xcalibur grizzly before that - missed a coyote and a 10 point buck with that. The trigger pull on that one had a lot of slack and that threw off my shot when shooting at game. I was going to buy a Triggertech trigger for it as I hated the trigger pull so much on the stock trigger, but then saw I could get the Barnett with the triggertech trigger already on it for a couple hundred more bucks so went with the Barnett and sold the Excalibur.

So I guess the moral of the story is all 'cheap' crossbows are not equal but the Barnett Whitetail II is one of the good ones in my opinion....
 
Iron_llama said:
On the topic of pawnshops, and used bows in general... any tips on looking at used crossbows? I see that I should inspect the rails for wear or damage, and run a cotton ball over the limbs to check for cracks. Any other tips?

Also - I'm down the heavy arrow / single bevel rabbit hole with my wheelie bow. Is bareshaft tuning and RF-style "handloading" bolts a thing with crossbows like it is with vertical bows? Or does the combination of short, fat shafts and being supported by the rails mean that paradox isn't so much of a thing?
Click to expand...
Some sales dudes like to hear themselves talk and get diarrhea of the mouth. :rolleyes:
You don't know the history of a crossbow from a Pawn Shop. I would steer clear of that issue.

Here's the thing about modifications to bolts for crossbows.... Everything is proprietary with crossbows. Meaning Ravin crossbows have to use Ravin crossbow bolts and nocks to match their equipment. All crossbow companies are that way with their equipment....no matter if it's TenPoint, Wicked Ridge, Barnett, etc.

I talked on the phone with a Ravin tech about this very issue. He said that as long as I was using a Ravin bolt, adding internal tube weights (3 Rivers Archery), the only thing it's going to hurt is the bolt speed. Obviously, I'm not going to get 400 fps out of a bolt that I've weighted to a 500 or 600 TAW and that's to be expected. Adjusting the Ravin scope to the appropriate speed would allow all the internal sight marks to apply to the yardages they are intended. :) I described the heavy arrow setup that I use on my Elite Ritual 30 compound (brass insert, weight tubes, heavier broadhead, etc.) and he said the same thing could be done with a Ravin bolt....with no harm to the warranty or the crossbow itself. :cool: The "hot rod" crossbow, might actually last longer too.
 
BowhunterXC said:
Here's the thing about modifications to bolts for crossbows.... Everything is proprietary with crossbows. Meaning Ravin crossbows have to use Ravin crossbow bolts and nocks to match their equipment. All crossbow companies are that way with their equipment....no matter if it's TenPoint, Wicked Ridge, Barnett, etc.
Click to expand...

I don't believe this is a true statement. At least not for all the brands. I know for mine the first thing I did was buy some Black Eagle bolts to replace the factory Centerpoints. The Black Eagles are not marketed as Centerpoint specific at all. The only thing I had to do was make sure I had the correct nocks installed. Those came with the bolts though.
 
@87v6bird
If you used the nocks required by CenterPoint, you met the criteria of proprietary, for their components. :)
I could use a different brand of bolts, but it would void my warranty for repairs, if the crossbow broke in a way that could be proved by Ravin that the cause was improper components or non-proprietary components.

Personally, I don't see the issue, if there's enough bolt weight for the crossbow to push, there shouldn't be a breakage issue. Most of these manufacturers are building these crossbows to be "hot rods", for the high speeds as a marketing ploy and it's working....on most people. :rolleyes:
 
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