Advice
 

My buddy JB wants to move from a compound to a Cross Bow. He and I are now both pushing 70, and he like me has difficulty drawing and holding a compound. He will be on a budget of about $600. I will have most of the accessories he will need/want .... cocking rope, bolts, soft case, lubes, etc. He has the broadheads. And I have an extra 3-dot scope if whatever he buys comes without a scope. So all he will be in for is the Cross Bow. I have read a great deal on the Barnett Jackal, which is in his price range ..... but the reviews are all over the place. Lots of complaints associated with early failure of the string. He's not going to have $700-$800-$900, --->>> $1500 to drop on a higher end Cross Bow.

I would appreciate anyone's field use related recommendations. He will be hunting white tail deer. Mostly from a tree stand.

TenPoint Titan Extreme for $599 and be happy.

Tell him to look at Wicked Ridge Crossbow made by Ten Point.

I have a Barnett Wildcat C5 that is the first crossbow I ever purchased. It works, does the job required of it but is a little heavy. If I was to go back and get a new one, I would probably look into the Tenpoints mentioned, they are slimmer, lighter and from shooting a buddies just feels better. Don't get me wrong I am still enjoying my crossbow and will till I decide to upgrade one year, but from just my experience I would have gone a different route if I had a do-over.

You can get a Excalibur Axiom combo for right under what his limit is.

Bow season opens here in 4 weeks, it will be my 2nd season with my "basement bargain Jackal" that I picked up last summer at a local Bargain Hunt for $150, brand new, in box, un-assembled. (Buddy that works there told me they get Amazon returns as Amazon doesn't resell returns but many times those returns were gifts that were returned for exchange/credit/refund whatever. Doesn't mean the item was returned for a defect. Just gotta look the item over to determine if it's been used) I have a 12yr old TenPoint Titan that Ive hunted with since new & honestly I bought the Jackal for a backup, guest use & my boys if they wanted to.

I put the Jackal together, lubed the ever loving crap out of the cables, string, flight rail, trigger assembly & a few drops of Royal Purple in the axles & then headed to the backyard to sight it in. After about 2-3 bolts I realized I had a BIG PROBLEM on my hands... This new "el cheapo" was considerably faster & flatter shooting than my old TenPoint, plus it was considerably lighter & handled better! :o Yeah I know it's got more plastic in it & sure it'll likely be in the junk pile in a decade & the TenPoint will probably still be flingn bolts but it works fine NOW so I'm hunting with it NOW!

And another funny, a couple weeks later I was back in the Bargain Hunt & again they had a Amazon return, new in box, never assembled BuckCommander BCX superdynawhopper whatever crossbow kit on the shelf for $189! I looked it over, it was flawless & complete so I called my huntn bud who was lookn for a decent crossbow for his first bow season. He told me to get it, I took it home, assembled it, lubed it & headed for the backyard... MAN did I screw up AGAIN! :eek2: That thing HONKS a bolt like lightening. Considerably faster than my TenPoint OR the Jackal. I should've sold him the Jackal & bought the BuckCommander for myself! It too has been flawless & will be going into its second season next month.

Now if I were going to shoot 500 bolts per day & had the absolute lightest bolts & heads possible in it & was running everything "on the ragged edge" then yeah I'd rather have a much more expensive, higher Perf xbow. I wouldn't expect $300-$500 xbows to live & perform like the $1000+ units out there. But for a couple of buds who just want to hunt & their practice rounds might be 10-20 bolts a week & they don't want to hear the old lady fuss about the $$$ outlay, then sure GET ONE is my answer! :party0005:

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING you can do is keep everything properly lubed. (I lube the string, cable & flight rail after each 10 or so bolts!) & just use common sense, don't store them in a hot truck or garage. Givem a thorough inspection before AND after each use.

Go over to Excalibur crossbow forums. There is a used Ibex there for $400. Great deal on a bow with lifetime transferable warranty. It will outlast him, and is all a person needs.

Over at Crossbow Nation, a guy just listed a Kodabow Scout with scope for $550. I can tell you that these bows are put together like a tank. Built by hunter's for hunter's. A bit heavier than some, but accurate, great trigger, NO recall of any kind. You will look long and hard to find any problems listed on the net concerning them.

Thanks folks. My buddy found a great buy on a 7 year old, hardly used top of the line Ten Point. The guy who had it passed away 3 years ago and his wife started seling off his hunting gear. It looks brand new and shoots like one would expect a high quality Cross Bow to shoot .... fast and accurate. He bought it for $200 ... took a chance on condition .... and then took to a bow shop for an inspection (all good), a cleaning, and string replacement. He bought a pack of bolts and Montec 3-blade broadheads. I bet he has under $400 in the whole deal!