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Best Crossbow under $400

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#21 ·
The answer is the best Excalibur you can find in your budget. It probably won't be anything exciting by xbow performance standards and they do lack some of the state of the art features but they are simple, durable, accurate and have good customer service.

If the choice was mine and the $400 limit was it, I'd have an Amped 425 from CenterPoint for $350 off eBay. Reasonably fast, loaded with practical features, the tactical style is very adjustable, it's size is nice and they have proven to be a durable compound xbow.

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#23 ·
Flat out can't beat Barnett flagship XP series xbows. Shoots 360fps, have reliable limbs, trigger tech™ triggers are elite performers, accurate and they all have trusted ADF safety's and these xbows are uber light. The sum of these attributes make Barnett a top tier performer. Been owning them for 5 plus years and owned and hunted $1,800 dollar xbows. Just did not find notable advantages and went back to Barnett. With a few minor tweaks and you'll have an accurate and reliable performer for many years.
 
#24 ·
Id look for Mid Poundage Excalibur. They will shoot just as good... last as long or longer than most. No need for a press or anyone with one. Nowhere near as arrow picky. There just a good reliable hunting bow that's easy to use. They carry a lifetime warranty with them. Excalibur has first class CS.

Good Luck!
 
#25 ·
Seeyabubba said:
A brand new micro mag 340 is $595 on Wyvern creations. I would stick with any micro myself. Excaliburs pop up on here in the marketplace regularly. Usually, folks selling one Excalibur to upgrade on another Excalibur.
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Fact, for instance once my Suppressor 400TD shows up I may be selling my MAG340. Going to be hard to part with though as its ridiculously accurate for me shooting holdover out to 35 yards, past that I need to dial in the distance. Its my favorite crossbow to shoot currently.
 
#26 ·
My 1st choice would be an Excalibur Micro 340 for simplicity but they're priced higher than the $400, My 2nd choice would be the Barnett XP 380 or the Barnett XP 400 they're both less than $400 and both shoot great and are easy to cock and a pleasure to shoot. Good luck luck your choices.
 
#28 ·
If yer stuck at $400, thers a lot of bows can be bought for that, but haveya thought of cost of ownership?
You say no one to work on crossbows, so that leaves you or the factory ifya buy a compound. Ifya already have a bow press, yer in, but if not, you'll likely hafta send it in for repair. I just saw a post on another forum yesterday. OP claims Fedex wanted $300 to send his bow in for repairs, so he decided to part it out. Sometimes a cheap crossbow ain't cheap.....

Excalibur, an fix it yerself. I bought spare limbs for mine 5-7 years ago. Never needed em, but if I did, I can change em out myself an be back out huntin same day if I want. Email to Excalibur with pix of broken limbs an they send new ones while yer out huntin!
 
#29 ·
Jack Pine said:
If yer stuck at $400, thers a lot of bows can be bought for that, but haveya thought of cost of ownership?
You say no one to work on crossbows, so that leaves you or the factory ifya buy a compound. Ifya already have a bow press, yer in, but if not, you'll likely hafta send it in for repair. I just saw a post on another forum yesterday. OP claims Fedex wanted $300 to send his bow in for repairs, so he decided to part it out. Sometimes a cheap crossbow ain't cheap.....

Excalibur, an fix it yerself. I bought spare limbs for mine 5-7 years ago. Never needed em, but if I did, I can change em out myself an be back out huntin same day if I want. Email to Excalibur with pix of broken limbs an they send new ones while yer out huntin!
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I had a Excalibur high pounder Matrix 405. Splinter a limb i noticed after a morning hunt. I used my back up limbs swapped them out. Shot it one time it was dead on i went out and killed a buck that evening. Next day i put the splintered limbs in the mail and received new limbs back in about a week. This was before the Email deal. Thats even better :).

No time lost hunting. Didn't even have to resight the bow in.
 
#31 ·
Jimmy33 said:
Thank you for the response…im feeling the excaliber love


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Also remember, there are some awesome knowledgeable people on this forum(crossbow experts imo). Quite a few things can be fixed by you just by hoppin on here and asking.
 
#32 ·
Jimmy33 said:
Thank you for the response…im feeling the excaliber love


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I think you will love an Excalibur.
It's simple, precise and easy to maintain.

And regarding its cost, you can always get a used one for a lower price.

Well, I know I do love my vortex

ATB
cheers
 
#33 · (Edited)
#35 · (Edited)
Jimmy33 said:
I have heard, although not by really good crossbow hunters, that the barnetts arent very good and break often. Is this true? I have heard that the centerpoints are a pretty good bang for the buck…


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In August I bought a Barnett Hyper Whitetail 410 from CamoFire for $299. The rope cocker was too long for my wife to cock the bow with it so I bought her a CP400 with a crank, liked it so bought myself a CP400 also and passed the Barnett down to my youngest son to hunt with. After a single season both CP400's have minor issues and the Barnett is sitting in the case ready for next season. I really like the CP400's, however the triggers are terrible compared to the Hypertech in the "cheap" Barnett, which led me to send wife's CP400 to Rich on here for a trigger job. When it arrived he discovered a spring that was broken inside the trigger mechanism... that's problem #1. Both mine and wife's CP400's string serving is coming unraveled due to the extreme string angle so both are getting new strings, so that's problems #2. My CP400's arrow retainer got mangled probably on some brush hiking in and out, the cocking sled made contact with it and bent it in half. I carry a multitool in my pack and was able to bend it back to usable condition but it needs replaced and probably getting a brush mod from Rich when I send it to him for the trigger, so that's problem #3. All this maintenance while that $299 Barnett is ready to roll after being used for a season by a teenager who's a little more careless than the adults with our bows.

edit: So when I send my bow in for trigger upgrade ($125), brush mod ($100), and string ($80), string replacement ($15), shipping each way ($20) I will have spent more $ just in post-season maintenance than the Barnett cost me brand new from the beginning. Obviously only the string would be future maintenance once the rest is done, but it's still a whole new bow's worth of expense to keep the CP400 serviceable.
 
#37 ·
Jack Pine said:
If yer stuck at $400, thers a lot of bows can be bought for that, but haveya thought of cost of ownership?
You say no one to work on crossbows, so that leaves you or the factory ifya buy a compound. Ifya already have a bow press, yer in, but if not, you'll likely hafta send it in for repair. I just saw a post on another forum yesterday. OP claims Fedex wanted $300 to send his bow in for repairs, so he decided to part it out. Sometimes a cheap crossbow ain't cheap.....

Excalibur, an fix it yerself. I bought spare limbs for mine 5-7 years ago. Never needed em, but if I did, I can change em out myself an be back out huntin same day if I want. Email to Excalibur with pix of broken limbs an they send new ones while yer out huntin!
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Excellant advice.. (y) The rule of thumb to keep things simple really applies to crossbows. A $400.00 Excalibur will kill just as many deer as a $4,000.00 super sonic laser sighted heat seeking crossbow. It seems the more technology advancements and improvements are followed by problems.
 
#38 ·
Jimmy33 said:
I have heard, although not by really good crossbow hunters, that the barnetts arent very good and break often. Is this true? I have heard that the centerpoints are a pretty good bang for the buck…


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That is not true, especially if you use a bolt around 425 grains or more. Barnett's are very accurate, durable, and dependable. Get a Barnett 400xp and you will thank yourself the first time you shoot it as they are smooth and have an incredible trigger that is better than most from factory
 
#39 ·
Jimmy33 said:
Hello,

I am from the west and I am looking to add a crossbow season to my current muzzy and rifle seasons. We have very limited opportunities here with a crossbow but I am really wanting to get a mule deer or an elk with one. Any recommendations? I hunt with rifles, muzzleloaders, recurves, and compounds already so I am not looking at spending a fortune one one. Additionally, no one works on crossbows around here so I am hoping to find something fairly reliable for the price above. Thanks for the help.


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Check out Oklahoma non res 300.00 for 6 deer not sure about Elk
 
#40 ·
Jimmy33 said:
Hello,

I am from the west and I am looking to add a crossbow season to my current muzzy and rifle seasons. We have very limited opportunities here with a crossbow but I am really wanting to get a mule deer or an elk with one. Any recommendations? I hunt with rifles, muzzleloaders, recurves, and compounds already so I am not looking at spending a fortune one one. Additionally, no one works on crossbows around here so I am hoping to find something fairly reliable for the price above. Thanks for the help.


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I am out here in California I have a handicap permit to hunt with X-bow
 
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