Barnett Feedback
 

Hi All:

First off, I do not want this to be a Barnett bashing thread. I pretty well know and share most peoples opinion of Barnett on not only their products, but their business practices as well. the reason I am doing this is that the new representative for Barnett and I are getting together on Monday (he reps for a number of brands I sell, so this is just in the mix) and we have had a preliminary discussion as to why I dont choose to sell them. He assures me that they "seem very committed to turning their brand names upward" and "A couple of our people were in the Barnett plant last week and were very impressed with all the NEW items coming down the road and the strides that are being made to improve their product line"

So, that being said and me trying to keep something of an open mind I thought about it and figured that making an assumption that these "NEW items" are actually quality pieces Barnett would still have a ways to go to get me to sell them. However, these things are nothing that cant be overcome. So what I would like to know is what would Barnett have to do to get past their baggage and make it so many of you who would not currently own a Barnett consider them as an option? Assume that they have a quality product and a comparable price and performace range to other bows. Here is my personal list (mind you, some of my criteria is dealer specifc)

1: mimimum 5 year, prefered lifetime warranty
2: Ditch the lawsuits that are causing the prices for all the other bows to be raised (make money by producing a good product, not relying on your lawyers)
3: MAP pricing....they are so devaluated as to be a waste of time selling them
4: Focus on authorized dealers rather than big box stores. (with the new rep company that is a first step in the right direction
5: better fit and finish on the bows (right now they are pretty rough)
6: more compatable components ( like ditching that 3/8 scope rail)
7: Upgrade on the quality of accessories (better scope, etc..)
8: More clarification of EXACTLY what is made in America and what is not...too many rumors.

Over and above that, their bow has to impress me. The stakes have been raised high enough now that if the bow is not good quality, it can stay on the manufacturers shelves.

Now, I realize that many of you will not own a Barnett if it was given to you...that is fine, but I would like to know what they would have to do to even get your interest...

Thanks
Wyvern

All of the above items you listed plus: Develop some proven history of making a good product. Say 3-5yrs of producing products that stay together, have quality equal to the big four manufacturers. Along with that 3-5yrs of creditable performance; the crossbows must be able to consistently shoot 200+ arrows a week with no breakdowns, and no loss of accuracy .

They have a long, hard row to hoe. All the BS talk and promises they have been making doesn't mean didly squat when their bow keep self destructing!

Even if they do all these things; it would be a long, long time before I would spend money to buy a Barnett!

competion is tuff right now. all that you said they need to do. fps is great but not at the expense of breaking all the time. good solid products that perform well and not be afraid it will come apart everytime you shoot it. a 375 fps CB ain't worth a toot if its broke down, specially during hunting season! :s14:

X2:barmy::barmy::barmy::barmy::barmy::barmy:

Better said
 

Thats the best why of saying what I was told months ago that the new Barnett waqnts to change the way they are lookede at and trying to build a better product. They just want a oppurtunity to do so and and so have are doing a good job. Buckeyefootball

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?????:confused2: Buckeye Bozo, you need to brush up on your grammar, sentence structure , spelling and word usage!! Trying to understand your post is like trying to read something a 6yr old Special Ed. student wrote!

As far as Barnett, they may want to change; but from everything I read and every thing I see first hand, they haven't changed one bit and are still making crap. So far their "new and improved" is just as bad if not worse than the older stuff.

This says it all they are still not over the hill to recovery.

They have a pattent on the step thru riser that is IMO very vague and only a lawyer would see the similarities between the Preditor and a StrykeForce, but that is what happend, so Bowtech dealers are stuck paying Barnett $25.00 on every SF bought (it is called a "crossbow surcharge" and mind you, all that did was cut into a fairly tight profit margin on those bows to begin with) and Parker had to re-tool and re-design all their high end bows just to shut Barnett up. No clue what TenPoint had to do, but I am sure there were issues there too. So, rather than make a quality product they are relying on their income from the lawsuits so everyone who owns another bow has a stake in Barnett. I am trying to be as open minded as I can, but everytime I get an invoice from Bowtech it makes it very hard not to want to spit in to the Barnett booth at the ATA show as I walk past.

Wyvern

I just picked up a new Barnett revolution on Thursday 2 weeks ago. Shot it 20 or 30 times that Saturday before the riser exploded at 3/4 draw. The riser seperated into 3 main parts like a chicken's wishbone. One limb gouged the left side of the stock and the other limb gouged the right side and broke my right middle finger. Lucky that is all that happened. Sent it in to Barnett. One tech said to pull off all my acessories and they would send me a new setup. I called to check the status and another tech said they were going to replace just the riser. I said BS! I will cut my fingers or the string every time I **** it. He then said they would replace it all. Kinda blew me off. We will see next week. I was very impressed with the way it shot. Smokes my 10 point.
By the way, very nice site!



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v338/Quad82/1.jpg

doing away with the cast aluminum riser is one more thing I want to add to my list

Wyvern

Wyvern Crossbow, congrats on what your about to do but should go to another company,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Ive been a long time barnett fan untill 2 weeks ago and im not getting a response or a call back nothing. My Quad 300/400 will not shoot hit natta nothing zero zilch. Ive talked to others and same. Ive had my bow for 6 yrs and as of last season shot my last buck this yr i cant hit the broad side of a barn. Ive shimmed removed did everything to my scope turned in out all adjustments and nothing. My season starts in 3 weeks and i have nothing, but friends telling me to go to excalibur and its starting to look this way. What do you think? Barnett in the past has helped this yr doesnt look good for me. So i post this on here for you to see im one of the ones with the thumbs down as we speak. Feel free to write or pm me and ill give you my number and ill tell you what i think of them. As you can see theres alot of probs they need to fix.

I more than realize there are problems...hence the thread :)
Sorry you are having issues that are not getting resolved. Every manufacturer has issues now and then (dealing with one right now from what is considered a very high end bow from a very respected company that is ticking me off, but that is another story) I feel that Barnett has alot to overcome and I am being aproached by their rep with the "they have changed" attitude. We shall see....but I have my doubts

Wyvern

David,

I remember last year when I brought up the step through riser patent and I was told (paraphrased) that the patent couldn't be valid and that I didn't know what I was talking about.

Not trying to rub anyone noses in it but I did want to point out that there a lot of people that work in the industry that post credible accurate information and it gets attacked and discredited by forum commandos and those suffering from BFLP (effect).

Patents are a critical part of industry. Perhaps Bowtech wouldn't mind if everyone started stepping on their cutting edge Binary Cam patent. Patents force companies to innovate and not just copy the people doing the hard work. Patents are written by lawyers and are intentionally difficult to read by the non-initiated.

I think that it is wrong that Bowtech is making You pay for the patent license. That is truly cheesy and does NOT look like a honorable company towards its dealers.

One way or another, someone is going to pay for it. considering the vast diferance in design between the Predator and the SF's front ends I cant see enough of a connection to even make a lame case that there was an infringement, but obviously someone did. I have my own views of pattents and this is not the place to go into that. Let me just come back to that I feel Barnett would be better off making a quality bow than building cheep crap and waiting for the checks to come in from other manufacturers that do make quality products.

Wyvern

Got the Revolution back from Barnett today. They replaced the exploded riser and sent me back the gouged up stock. What a joke. You now (have) to use a rope to **** it. The gouges will take gouges out of your fingers when ****ing the string. Well I put the new replacement bow on the new stock from my second Revolution and put it on ebay tonight. When my new string comes in, I will put it on the other Revolution and sell it too. Have to pay for that new Excaliber somehow! Might not be the fastest CB out there. But I hear it's dependable. I am damn ready for that! I bet I was one of David's easiest sales in a long time!

Good choice, great guy to deal with,you wont be sorry!:wave:

Well, Both Barnetts are sold! I might have lost a little coin. But I gained a bit of knowlage! I would also like to tip my hat to David at Wyvern Creations for hooking me up with a new Ibex. I didn't think I needed someone telling me which CB I should get. So I was a little hesitent about calling him. But he didn't come off that way at all. I would/will deal with his company again!
As for the Barnetts, I hope the new owners have better luck with them than I did.

i have to barnett xbows a rhino classic that i didnt have any trouble with till the steel cable broke, limbs are ok and all else is fine it is that new type cable they are useing cant get it **** center all the time now i have had this bow for about 15-17 years with no problems now i do. went back to useing my rc-150 cause it still has the steel cable on it right on all the time. i will take a rhino with steel cable if they want to give me one. their are pros and cons with everything. but as long as they use these new cables i will not buy a nother barnett. want to try a ten point but have read where guys have said the limbs have broke or cracked not long after useing it.