HatchieLuvr

I'm a self admitted stick in the mud & approach technology with a cautious eye. My ol xbow is 11yrs old (TenPoint Titan TL-4) She's slow but rugged & steady. So anyway, back in early summer I was knockin around the local BargainHunt & made out with a NIB, never assembled nor fired, Barnett Jackal with the RTH pkg. (Ready To Hunt, bolts, quiver, scope, rope cocker etc) & only paid $150 for it. A buddy works there & he's a former mgr at our local Gander Mountain. So I asked him where & how they got such merchandise? He told me they bought returned merchandise from Amazon because Amazons policy is not to resell returns. Most of the unassembled, untouched stuff was likely gifts that recipients returned to Amazon for whatever reasons. The Jackal has been flawless & I must admit its a lil faster & considerably lighter than my TenPoint.

So then today I was back in there & they had 2 Barnetts in the box & on the shelf. A BCX for $379 & a Predator for $285. Both had the RTH pkgs but the Predator had been assembled and fired before. So I called my hunting bud who's been looking for a decent xbow at a steal & told him I thought the BCX was worth well the $ at that price! So I got it for him, took it home, put it together & headed for the backyard... WOW is this thing a Corvette compared to my ol Caprice (TenPoint) That thing will HONK a bolt now! (365fos) I likewise REALLY enjoyed the lightweight, compactness & the scope on it. 2 shots at 10yds & I had it ready to hunt with the top dot/circle all the way back to 30yds. I was amazed how easily I could fling broadheads right beside field points with it all the way back to 50yds with it.

I honestly probably wouldn't have bought either of these Barnetts at full price but I'm in both of them for less than 50% of avg retail at BPS, Cabelas, Gander etc so I think they are reasonable at those prices. I even considered keeping the BCX & talking my bud into the Jackal...

rafsob

Good luck with your find. Some folks aren't too fond of the Barnett bows. I have no experience with them. But for that price, go and have fun!!!

flyinlowe

I have read on here and other forums that Barnett have a higher failure rate then other manufacturers. In my eye it doesn't matter what you paid for it if it blows up on you. I spoke with a family member yesterday who is on his third string in two seasons with his Barnett. Not sure which model though.

tourangeaud

Traded my first CB, a Barnett, to a friend for partial payment toward the painting of my deck. I may have used it hunting a half dozen times the previous year. My friend used it a couple of times before the limbs cracked and broke. He sent it back to Barnett for repair and they replaced all the limbs. He used it a couple of times target shooting after the repairs and the limbs shattered once again. I would very cautious of a Barnett CB. You get what you pay for.

HatchieLuvr

I know Barnetts aren't a TenPoint. I have an 11yr old TP Titan TL-4 that has been flawless but it's a little slow & heavy & imho buying these Barnetts at "1/2 price" makes them an "acceptable value". I read ALOT of negative posts about Barnett but between the Jackal I bought earlier this year & now this BCX of my buds, I can't say that I've had any problems. I THOROUGHLY lubed the bow, use better than supplied rail lube & EVERY square inch of string & cables is wet with wax. I keep everything snugged up with Allen wrenches & keep the servings tight. So far so good. I think alot of problems are operator error.

There's certainly no "maintenance free" xbows but obviously a "tank like" design like my Titan is better for a neglectful owner than essentially any of the Barnetts. I suspect same could be said for the majority of other xbows out there as well. My fugly ol, ancient 1980 K10 Chevy farm truck will still likely be sloggin swamps in another 30yrs while the computerized, plastic Toyotas of today will have already laid down. After seeing the benefits of the considerable difference in speed & distance abilities between my buds BCX & my ol TenPoint I have told him I might bite the bullet & get a new TP Stealth by next season! But I seriously doubt I'll be finding one 1/2 off on the bargain shelf!

tourangeaud

If you want maintenance free, buy an Excalibur. A little string wax once in a blue moon. Plus you can change a bow string in seconds. Thats what I call maintenance free.

Mr. Longbeard

I'm a Parker fan!!! Haven't read anything bad about them yet

Buckhunter46755

Without a doubt.... I've had my Vortex for several years now and like you said, they don't get much more "maintenance free" .

The only way I'd ever part with my Excal would be for one of the newer model Excals. Though what I have more than meets my needs for deer hunting...

The CB, ML, & SG in my signature will last me the rest of my life. And they didn't break the bank buying them.

Saschnee

Barnett's BCX 0wn....its a 800.00 crossy... the barnetts that break are in the 200-350.00 range... you get what you pay for.