HogHunter69

Are they as bad as i've heard... or am i delirious? Because wouldnt you expect Bowtech to make a nice Crossbow as well?

GrumpyTom

Well it takes years of development to develop a quality, dependable bow (crossbow). They jumped into the market with a very high preformance bow without much history behind it. Remember that crossbows are not guns. With guns the speed and power comes from the shell, no stored energy. With the crossbow, you have to load all the energy into the bow and it is stored in the limbs until it is released. This is a violant action. Sometimes this violance can damage parts and sometimes now, espically if there has not been enough testing.

Maybe in a few years they might get it correct. But the more power, the faster you go, the more chance you will have that something will fail.

Hotburn76

One of our forum members called BigbirdVA, I think, is having a bad experience with his right now. When people make stuff they have to come up with a strategy on how to appeal to the market to get people to buy. Excal does this with the simple and consistent recurve that they keep the same and only refine over time, and now they sell on simple and reliable quality. Horton does it with history in the CB and a wide range of products and prices and quality also. Ten point does it with innovation and quality, they have some of the newest ideas and some time under their belt to do so.

Bow-tech decided to do what the others could have, but did not need to. They came out with the fastest CB ever and all the people that like the biggest and the fastest lined up with wet pants and shelled out the bucks. The Stryker sold with nothing to offer but speed, no history in the CB field and no history for quality and customer service, onlySPEED!!!!!! SO there are people like our own BigbirdVA that have had problems and are not happy. BigbirdVA was lucky since the shop he used was willing to give them one of there own CB's for him to use, had they not done that he would still be up the creek. One more thing about the Stryker that should caution people. It is made by Bow-tech, so it is already a secondary made product line. Bow-tech has just been sold to Savage arms from what the guys in the regular Bow forum said. So now this puts the Stryker third on the list, who nows what they will decide to do with Bow-tech and the Stryker. It would all make me a little to nervous to part with 1600 bucks!!!

GrumpyTom

IT was not that Excalibur did not have to build a faster bow ........ Bill Troubridge has always said that he could build faster bows, that he could easily hit the 400 fps with a bow .... but at what cost. HE would not rist the safety of the shooter or the dependability of the bows he produces. The Exomax was tested for years before he decided to put on the market. As I said abiove ....... Crossbows store energy in the limbs, faster means more energy stored. More energy stored means more stresses on the bow and parts. This now brings it to the recurve / compound choices. With he recurve aspect, there is just the limbs and string, but with the compound, you have limbs, cables, pullies, cables, pins ect, that will have stress applied to them. Also remember that with the crossbow, all of this is in a very narrow (width wise) package, not like in the vertical bows which I believe went longer to lessen the stress on the pullies. Short tends to make a violent shoct while long makes it a gradual shock.

Hope this helps you.

awshucks

Truer words were never spoken, lol. I know for a fact that the Paradox/Maxpoint [2000-2004 R.I.P.] was capable of over 400 fps in 2000! It got "tamed down" before production and sales for just those reasons GT stated.

Gimphunter

Being an owner of a Stryker, admitting that I've got fewer than a hundred shots through it but I am impressed with what it'll do. This thing is built to top notch tolerances. The crank system, which I need is second to none. What the brochure claims is what I seem to have.

With that said:

If I'd found this site and the helpful experienced people on here before I bought it, I probably would have bought something else. For the price of the Stryker I could have had a top notch bow and a lot of extra toys for the same money. I can't close the hard case that comes with it because with the scope mounted it's too tall. I had trouble just getting the accessory package from Bow-Tech that included everything I needed to shoot it. Numerous broken promises but I finally got well over a month later. The most difficult problem I'm presently having is finding an appropriate target to practice on. I got the pricey "special" cross bow target. My arrows are so buried I can't get them out without an arrow puller and internal grumbling. The same problem whether it's at 20 or 40 yards. But at 60 yards I still have to use the puller but I don't empty my bowels pulling it out. [:@] I can't keep going to my daughter's ranch to practice on hay bails. (I live in an apartment)

Hotburn76

I hope you two kids are not misunderstanding what I said. I was trying to say it's not that Bow-tech is that smart, Excal and others could do it. But they did not have to because they already have a way to market there product, with quality and reliability. The only way Bow-tech could come up with to market their CBwas they needed to have something no one else has, on the shelf, 400FPS+ speed. If Bow-tech released a 320 FPS model and said buy here boys, they would not have had the quarter of the sales they did. So they had to do what Excal did not, market on speed and speed alone, we all know that is what sold that CB and nothing else, that crank may be good but it is not that good! So that is what I meant by Excal did not have to, they have there own market tools like reliability, quality and customer service. Then we all also know, at least any that has been on here or on the Excal site knows that Bill T is not willing to sell something that risk safety or quality. Most people had fears of the Bow-tech release, it is clear them fears are coming to bear fruit! Bow-tech also knows that there CB is not realistic, that is why they have the Desert model, now that they have a market share they can release a more stable product.

awshucks

"that is why they have the Desert model, now that they have a market share they can release a more stable product."

Jason, think we are all on the same page here to begin w/ but the DS is the one where all the first issues have to go back for trigger changes, most dealers/shops don't have a press to bend limbs, and there seems to be limb splintering issues above and beyond BiggBirdds problems. I've followed his saga on AT and their customer service seems non-existant.I deeply respect our right to choose as Americans, but didn't care for the initial issue full size Stryker because it came w/ sight that was graduated for 20, 40, 60 yds, and to me, no matter how fast a bow is, 60 yds is too farfor deer. If Bill T could shoot clean thru an elephant w/ a 225# 350 fps bow, what more do we need? Notice "need" not "want". Btw: for those who don't know the "elephant" story, it was a stock Emax w/ 900 gr arrow at about 250 fps w/ about 250 ft lbs ke. Would have been a complete pass through, but arrow hit offside leg bone. sorry for the "rant" and Jason, it's not directed at your post.

smokepolehall

I am trying to wean myself from so much computer time. Stryker's are having big problems with triggers that are failing. Plus limbs are splitting![]I don't really understand this got to have speed! Reminds my of my youth and drag racing as a poor boy. Speed within reason is good i reckon, i have an older Vixen. She sizzles with her arrows about 230 fps![]Don't tell the 2 Bucks fell to her swiftness![8D]I will shoot a deer if its a clear n clean shot out to 35 yds. quick!

awshucks

good post, Mike. Imho, there is alot more game taken w/ xbows shooting under 300 fps than there are over that.