Hi guys,

I'm currently in the market for a crossbow. I'm going to trade in my compound since my shoulder is giving me troubles again and doc says not to shoot anymore.

My local dealer carries excalibur and horton.

Does anyone have any experience with these? I kind of have to chose between these since he's giving me a good deal for a trade in.

How accurate is a crossbow?

I've read that excalibur is a noisy bow, is this true or myth?

Thanks,
Mike

get the Excalibur. Hands down the best. You won't need a bow press, no cables and wheels to mess with. The machined trigger assembly is far better built than the stamped Horton's. The 175 Phoenix or 200 Exocet. The big 225 is hard on string servings.

Do a Google search and you should find plenty of info. Theres an Excalibur Crossbow Hunting forum.

I've had minimal experience with the Excalibur X-bows, tons of experience with Horton X-bows. As far as accuracy goes, they are usually extremely accurate. All crossbows will be much louder than your compound. Use limb and string dampeners to lessen this, but you'll definitely have more noise either way. As far as brand preference, shoot a few if you can and see which one you feel more comfortable with. I prefer the Hortons, but the simple fact is they are both good, otherwise they wouldn't be so prevalent. Another word of advice, if you're having shoulder trouble, it would be wise to get a wind-up cocking device for your crossbow. As was previously advised, anything between 175lbs and 200lbs will be the best. Also, check your local regulations to see what is legal, here crossbows cannot exceed 200lb draw weight for hunting.

gd

Thanks for the info. I see there are compound crossbows and solid limb bows. Is there an advantage to one or the other or is it simply a preference thing?

the solid limb recurve without wheels has no cables. It only has a bow string and does not require any type of press to change the string.

The compound type bows with wheels/cams will require a press to change strings or cables.

Recurves are wider compared to compounds. Recurves are basically a simple design and a little more user friendly as far as maintenance goes. Do some more research on some of the Archery and bowhunting sites.

Really if you have any local Archery shops you can try them at that would be your best bet.

beretta96. Your right around where the Excaliburs are built are'nt you? At least I thought they were built in Ontario

there built in Kitchener ON. Canada

I had no idea they're canadian. I'm headed out that way next month, I'll check them out.

Thanks.

How about the Barnett revolution? I like the price and looks comfortable to shoot? Any thoughts on Barnett?

I started out with a Barnett, but didn't stay with it long. Prices are lower, but they aren't nearly as good as the Hortons or Excaliburs. JMHO

gd

I tried the excalibur, horton and looked at Parker and Tenpoint. I've settled on the Excalibur Equinox. I prefer the looks of a compound but the Equinox felt right so I went with it.

Thanks for your help guys, I'll try it out at home this week some time.

good choice. Make sure you get a good crossbow type target that will stop your arrows, there shorter than standard arrows and you'll damage flecthings if they over penetrate.

Mine came with a VCR instructional video and it pretty much covered everything.

I did it,

I bought the Equinox. What a smoking crossbow! Comes with a DVD, mostly hunts and history but nonetheless pretty cool, it demonstrates quite well the power.

The lumizone scopes is nice, I chronoed a few arrows to dial it in, and I'm averaging 350.3 fps. I dialed in to the 350 setting and it was awfully close.

Like you mentioned Lennyzrx, the fletching dissapears at 20 and 30 yards. I practice at 40 and 50 now. Off the bench at 50 I'll bust arrows for sure, they usually touch, I have to use different target spots for sure.

Very nice trigger, quiet safety, well balanced. No regrets.

Mike