I'm looking for a little advise...
 

I've been looking for a crossbow for hunting this year, I've finally hurt myself to the point that I think a crossbow may be the way to go, at least for this year anyway...
I've been eligible for a permit since 1988 and have thought off and on about getting one over the years anyway so I guess this isa good excuse...

I've pretty much narrowed it down to a Horton explorer or a PSE rattler, my father has a Horton explorer and it seems pretty decent and I've read some decent reviews, I've looked at Horton summitsand Ididnt think much of them though... I've been looking pretty hard at that PSE rattler for a number of reasons, the problem is that there is very little info on it, or any that I can find anyway,and noone seems to know much about it so obviouslyI was wondering how it compares to the Horton, I'm looking more at things like overall quality, balance, trigger quality, accuracy, ease of use, dependability, inherent problems, basically the pros and cons of both in the use of deer/smallgame hunting and not just things like top bolt speed

I found a Darton that IREALLY liked, and I'm a big Darton fan, but I'm not spending $700 on a crossbow only to find out that it really isnt my thing and then it just sits in the closet unused, I'll probably go that route in the future though if I find that I'm going to stick tocrossbow hunting(which I'm sure is going to be the case)

thanks for any help...

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

KLS, I been bow hunting over 30 years, when I decided to get a xbow, I was all set to buy a brand name compound crossbow till I started reading and asking questions, I ended up with a Excalibur Vixen and glad I didn't go with the compound. I suggest you do a lot of research before you buy. Just my $.02's[/align] Good Luck[/align] Joe[/align]

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

KLS, do a research of the Pros & Cons between Compounds and Re-Curves? Asking on here is only going to cause everyone to tell you about theirs!:)

Yes, every X-bow kills game, but which ones are easier to maintain?

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

If you need to use a crank the best is 10 point,if you can use a rope cocker the you get the best bow for price with Excaliber. Horton is ok if you get the top end but the top end are expensive much more so than Excaliber.
check here for good prices
http://www.bowhunterssuperstore.com/index.php?cPath=40_145
Lee

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

KLS, just to be very honest with you, sounds to me like you're scared to spend big money on what you want. If you buy a low cost xbow and find you like xbow shooting/hunting, then want a higher cost xbow, you may or may not get your investment out of the lower cost bow. Then you have a pickle where a peach could have been in the first place. I have been bow hunting for 30+ years and went to the pro shop and picked up many xbows and shot/shook/looked at/stared at/held like a baby/rubbed/fingered/patted/and otherwise slobered on all of themuntil the darling one xbow thatfit my body and soul like a glove was chosen. I spent $1300.00 on my xbow and was glad I done it. I have never regreted it one little bit, but after spending that much on just one xbow, I MADE myself like it and it likes ME! It darn well better or I'll shoot it's limbs off with my 7mm mag. But the point here is, uh, what were we talking about now? Oh heck, just forget it, I don't make much sense to myself sometimes. Good Luck to you and yours. LOL
BBO

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

What Rebel Hog said is very sound advice,never thought I would say it but be very leery of Barnett the problems with them is getting worse
day by day!

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

:D:D:D:D:D:D:DThat same one can be installed on Excal's..


Here's martinfaw's Exomag



Here's Digger's Exocet

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

I got an Excalibur Vixen in Feb. I had never done any kind of archery before, so I didn't want to deal with pulleys/cams. After some practice, I can shoot groups under 2" at 40 yards w/field points. You won't catch me complaining.

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

well, spending the money on one doesnt really bother me, orwouldnt under different circumstances anyway, as long as its not a foolish waste of money...
nothing is set yet and at this point I'm still in the "research" phase andmy buying one is still a few months away, in reality the amount I'm going to be able to spend is also going to be based on my ability to to do my job yet(or anymore), I had surgery last august to rebuild my right wrist and just got released to go back to work a couple weeks ago and being a union carpenterwith my right wristpermanantly disabled theres a bigquestion as to my what myability to do my job is going to be


in all honestyI dont reallyNEED a high dollar crossbow anyway, nor am I really out looking for a high dollar one, all I'm going to do is hunt with it so all I'm looking for is a dependable one that shoots good, has a good trigger and doesnt blow up in my face after three shots...
I get into bows pretty heavy and I've bowhunted all my life, deer, smallgame, bowfishing, traditional, so I'm pretty firmiliar with and fairly good with a bow, the problem is that I havent ever really messed with crossbows enough to have much knowledge about them, or whats good or bad about them andthereisnt really anywhere aroundmy area that really stocks them either, much less lets you shoot one,and I dont want to drop a large amount of cash on one unless I'm certain its my thing... I've learned that the dollar amount of an item doesnt always dictateits quality(even though most of the time it does), in fact one of the best shooting varmint rifles I've ever owned was low cost savage model 112

I guess I wouldnt be against a recurve, like alot of people who have never dealt with one I guess my first reaction to a recurve is that it would be a disadvantage, but after doing a fair amount of reasearch lately I'm starting togather that that really isnt the case

for some reason I'm still drawn pretty heavy to that PSE rattler, I guess I'm looking for someone who's dealt with one to give me a report on wether its a decent crossbow or not worth the money and then take it from there...

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

It's a matter of personal preference, but 90% of crossbow guys agree the Excalibur is on top of the pile, and better yet they are far from the most expensive.
Good luck!

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

sounds like you have already done some research. i think the most important things are the trigger, ease of maintainence, how it feels to you, and customer service. i would definately go with a "name brand". they hold their resale value. if you want a compound, i think the best ones out thereare the tenpoints. best recurves are the excals. i went with the exocet and i'm in love with it. it's the only bow i have ever seen that can shoot better than i can. hehe. good luck and enjoy.:)

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

btw....excal makes their own crank and it works great. that's all i use because it hurts me to use the rope cocker. good luck. and welcome to our little forum.:)

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

KLS, the only thing I can add to this thread is welcome to the forum. You've been given good advice!

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

True, the Excals are not too high priced, especially for what you get. My Vixen with the scope package came to less than $600 shipped. I got it from bowhunters superstore. Their store on ebay that is, saved about $30 off the catalog price.

I have a crossbow due to injury also. I went with the Vixen since it only has 150# draw, I didn't want the extra weight and bulk of a crank, and the rope cocker allows me to cock the crossbow without too much difficulty. It is also the least expensive Excal hunting crossbow.

BTW the Excal forum is great!

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

those are some of the main concerns I have also... I want a good hunting crossbow, I really dont care how fancy it looks or that it shoots 500fps, it just needs to serve its purpose...
you guys have me seriously considering a recurve now andthe more research I do the more I'm starting to think that may be the way to go...

like I said earlier, my ability to physically handle and fire crossbows is pretty limited because there just isnt many places around here that deal with them so my decision is going to be based alot on opinions I get from other people and surprisingly the recurveseems to bepretty popular, and about the only disadvantage I can really see anyone come up with that would bea concern for me is that they're slightly wider than a compound, and even that isnt much of a concern, and it seems likethe recurve has the advantage in pretty much every other consideration I have...

like I said before I think alot of new guys are probably turned off by recurves because they just dont seem like they would be as good as a compound, myself included, but I'm getting over that way of thinking pretty quick, we'll just have to see what happens I guess...

thanks for the replies guys...

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

Alot of good info you have so far. The Excal's are a good line of CB's from what people have to say on here about them, I have never shot one, but alot of good people on here seem to like them. The recurve CB does not compare like its vertical cousin does. The only thing thats makes it similar is its width like the vertical its long. The width is only a few inches when cocked, but when shot it is wider and you have to remember that if you plan on hunting from a blind, but up in a tree it should not be a problem. I have always shot Horton's and never had any problems, but seems like alot of guys are having problems with the cheaper ones, not sure if it is a price to quality issue, or a price to buyer to brains issue. But I have always had the higher end Horton's and never had any problems. Not alot of people that CB hunt use PSE CB's. PSE must just not advertise much cause not many people use them so there is little feedback on them. But I can say that I have not heard anything really bad about them either.If you want quality and a price that is good then the Excal's should fit you well. They have a good resale value, just look on Ebay, so if you changed your mind you could resell and get most of your money back. Alot of others do not have as high of a resale as Excal.

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

This will get you in the game http://cgi.ebay.com/Excalibur-Vixen-Crowwbow_W0QQitemZ230116357238QQihZ013QQcategoryZ3 3972QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Joe

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

I'd rather have a Vixen than anything Horton's got (no offense, Hotburn ;)). But I think the Phoenix is probably the best bang for the buck crossbow on the market. That's what I'm saving my nickles and dimes to get.

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

KLS, tell you what i will do! If you buy the Excal Vixen itself and don't like it. I will give you $300 fer it includes shipping to me. You can ask most any of the folks on this forum about that. I am a firm believer in Excals CB's! Now i won't buy any other brand from you just the Excal Vixen. I would say any Excal but i have an Exocet 200 and the Vixen i could get fer my Mrs.!:D

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

I'll give you $320.00 us! LOL!

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

Or he will give you about 420.00 Canadian :D.

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

$330.00 US! DTF :D:D:D

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

$321.00 ??

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

do I hear 322.00 U.S. :D

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

$319.95 at bowhunterssuperstore, I'm pulling my bid!!!

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

as the feathers hit the floor :D.

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

aaww man, you wrecked it... I was all set on waiting for it to hit $700, dumping that Vixen, and running down and picking up that Darton I like so much...

I guess that ends that...

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

I do have one more quick question though, exactly how wide is a Vixen from tip to tip both drawn and undrawn?

I'm almost sold on a Vixen, it seems like everything I'd need, I'm just wondering how "mobile" it is for hunting, alot of my bowhunting isnt stationary, especially small game hunting, I do alot of sneaking around through trees/brush and even though I said before that the width of a crossbow wasnt much of a concern for me its about the only thing thats really holding me back from being 100% sure of going with a recurve

I've kind of decided against that PSE rattler I think, theres a couple things holding me back on that one, first is the fact that trigger pull/operation is a major concern for me, I like smooth and light triggers, and I cant find any info or comments on that PSE's trigger to save my life, andthat alone isenough to keep me from buying it...
second is the fact that, besides the trigger,Icant seem to find any infoon it at all, or enough toreallyform a good impression anyway, not even on PSE's own website, I cant even seem to find anyone who's actually SHOT one to give any personal input about it... so I think I'll pass on that one...
besides, weight is another big concern of mine and at 7.8lbs that PSE is heavier thanany other crossbow I've considered, it also has a 28inch width which is 2" wider than the Horton I was looking at, but the PSE has an alumin. rail and the Horton doesnt

I hate it when I cant make up my mind... I always seem to start pickinglittle things apart, overanalizing things, andputting more drama intothe situationthan needs to be

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

LOL, it's called being anal retentive, me and Pydpiper got it, welcome to the club!! All the Excals have the same limbs and are the same width. About 36" uncocked but strung. I like the Phoenix a little more than the Vixen cause I shoot 70 some grain heavier arrows than stock, and end up about the same fps as a Vixen w/ stock 360 gr arrows. Either of which is a lot lighter than a wheel bow. Like anything else, there's trade offs. I live a real long ways from a shop, so I like the fact I can do all my own maintenance at home in a few minutes. I seem to recall reading somewhere the PSE xbows are made in Taiwan, but don't know for sure. I had one of them in the late 80's that was a good bow, but no where near my Excals. Good luck!!

ps: all Excals have the same fine triggers, about 3#'s

RE: I'm looking for a little advise...
 

KLS, my Vixen when strung is 34.4" wide. Before I got my Vixen, I asked myself what are the advantages of a compound crossbow over a recurve and the only thing was the width, but I can live with 34.4" [/align] Good Luck[/align] Joe[/align]