decisions,decisions

[John M]

Have narrowed down my initial purchase of crossbow to either an excalibur 380 or a barnett ghost 410. Any recommended suggestions on arrows to use and broadheads? Also appreciate feedback on some of top crossbow scopes. Thanks
John M

[mrbb]

well as for what bolts to use, I would honestly use the maker of the X bow, as this way you know they are made for your x bow,
both the X bow makers you listed have bene known to shoot 22 -24 and 20 inch bolts
and all make x bows of all different draw weights
thus when they sell a X bow in a package, they have bolts made just for that bow,
NOT saying you cannot match up other makers bolts
but since costs are so close, why bother I say

as for scopes, same deal, many have the hash lines set to match there bows,, thus meaning being a little different from brand to brand name Spec's
I like the reticles that can be light up, and even change color
and still have the standard Black , so in case if a battery dies, your still good! in Low light the lighted reticles are sweet, BUT make sure there is adjustable brightness, or they can be over powering, defeating the benefits

[Big_Holla]

Looking at the two on-line it looks like two excellent choices. The Excalibur being a recurve style @ 380 fps and the Barnett with a little more hi-tech look @ a whopping 410 fps. My thinking is I believe the recurve style is somewhat quieter than the cam style. I may be wrong on that so if there is a chance you can shoot both then do it!! That's the first thing we always say to someone looking for a new bow, shoot them all and then make your decision. Something to also consider in a crossbow is weight, the E weighs 5.9 lbs while the B weighs in at 7.2 lbs. Toting one around for the kids over the last couple of years has opened my eyes to the fact that those things are heavy!! Something to consider when hunting as well. Let us know what you decide!!

As far as a scope goes, we have a red dot style on our crossbow and I don't believe it has any magnification. It can change from red to green, variable brightness settings and has either three vertical dots or three vertical hash marks to choose from. Way too many options for me but it works well enough that the kids can use it easily.

[mrbb]

well Outdoor life Magazine, just did a good write up on x bow tests
the Barnett 410 got there writers best pick of 7 good x bows they tested , gave it 5 stars, and here are some results the sound level on the 410 was 94.95, and 149.99 lbs of KE
the E 380, had 98.2 db's of sound( a little louder) and 109.27 lbs of KE, a little more
the E 380, they only gave it 3 & 1/2 stars rating
real world speeds they got out of them were on the B 410- 417.48 fps
and on the E 380- 357.11 fps, so a little off on the claimed speeds, but sure rom x bow to x bow out the door stored energy can be slightly up or down a little
all I read on the B-410, in a couple mags so far, however, is its Always been higher FPS than rated but a 2-3 fps
so seems like the B 410 is the better pick,
OH and for real world weights of them, the B-410 weighted in at 8.67 lbs
and the E -380 in at 8.07 lbs
so splitting hairs there too I think
so a LONG walk that extra almost lb will add up, but its not a major deal in my book
maybe HOW and where the weight is once shoulders is however
I find that is more important to me, where the weight is on a x bow rather than totoal weight(to a point of course)
plus I gather what excesories you add or don't can change weights a bunck too! so room to work on saving or adding there!

[Big_Holla]

Hmm, then both of their sites are wrong on the weights. Surprised about the sound factors too. Pretty informative mrbb!!

[mrbb]

yea outdoor life any more does some good testing with , well there real numbers?
I am not 100% how ecactly they get there weights, as if there in the package set up and then weighed, or just stripped down
and or, if they use all same scopes, and not just the OEM scopes/quiver etc
so that could change weights off MFG's web sites I guess
but the speeds and noise levels and KE are all good to real world hunting info I think
but I still wouldn't buy a what ever without shooting it myself, and seeing how it fits me/feels in hands and at the shot
One thing they didn't show results for, but wish they did was trigger pulls on the X bows, as that can for sure make a bow easier to group with, and pending how light(read some these days have less than 2.5 lb triggers) as too light can not always be so good for new shooters or for wearing gloves/hunting