My crossbow collection just got a little bigger. I managed to score a Center Point Tormentor Whisper 380 for a song and a dance. My buddy at Crosman told me he can no longer get me great deals on crossbows. I guess this means I have to start paying at least their cost, way better that retail. But I did agree to do a review on this bow so here it is.
Tormentor Whisper 380, yep its a upgraded Tormentor. The upgrades consist of a better trigger group, better for grip (lighter, feels better in the hand), string stops with silencers on them and some real nice soft limb silencers. I like the new trigger the most. It is just a tad lighter, less travel and breaks very clean.
I must say as much as I love the Sniper crossbow and any variant of it the Tormentor is more at home in the woods, its just a great tree stand or blind bow. Very compact is an easy way to describe the Tormentor. At just 14" cocked this thing is as narrow as they get. The length is an easy to maneuver 35" stirrup to butt pad. With a solid non adjustable stock (minus the for grip, adjustable but silent) there are no moving parts to make any noise or vibrate during the shot cycle. The Tormentor feels very natural to shoot off hand sitting or standing, it just feels like an extension of the shooter.
Speed is an advertised 380 fps using the supplied arrows (400 grain) or a blazing near 400 fps using 350 grain arrows. I did all of my accuracy testing using Spynal Tapp 22" arrows at 456 grains for a real world 361 fps. Out of 10 shots put through the chronograph there was a modest 2 fps spread, darn good in my eyes. The bow was designed to sling 400 plus grain arrows, I don't recommend shooting under 400 grain arrows out of the Tormentor Whisper nor the first gen Tormentor.
I do not own a decibel meter but this bow is quieter than the first generation model. The string stops play a huge role in suppressing vibration after the shot. I'm sure the limb silencers do something other than looking very cool but shooting with and without I hear no real difference. Shoot the bow without the string stops and you will notice a large difference. Nothing like making a quiet bow quieter.
Accurate, well there are a lot of factors at play here,aren't there? The shooters ability to repeat, the bows ability to repeat, arrow consistency and that darn wind. Well I can say during my testing the only things that proved consistent was the bow and the arrows. Now that I threw my disclaimer out there to cover up for my ability I am at liberty to say the bow is very repeatable from shot to shot. I believe this is in part due to the acute angle of the string when cocked. I believe this forces the string to center every time, I find the Tormentor very difficult to cock off center, I have tried. Typical Center Point bows and Spynal Tapp arrows dictate one should not shoot at the same spot twice as it gets rather pricey. I will let the pictures speak for themselves regarding accuracy.
The scope is clear and functional. It was easy to sight in and has an accurate click value. It is not my favorite scope as the aim points have no yardage value that I can track reliably anyways. It is in my eyes what I like to label "tacticool". Wish they would have upgraded the scope to one of the illuminated ones, just saying.
Fit and finish is top notch. The camo dip is clear and attractive without being gaudy. It was a breeze to assemble as all parts fall into place requiring no fiddling or flexing to get parts into position. Like the first generation Tormentor I like the three bolt riser anchoring design. I have never been a fan of the one big bolt holding the riser to the bow. The attachment of the riser on the Tormentor is a big plus for me. The three bolt design to me ensures there will be zero flex or lean under tension before and during the shot cycle. In my eyes this lends itself to repeatability.
Accessories are the norm for a ready to shoot package. Three carbon arrows, quiver that functions very well, run of the mill rope cocker that should never wear out and a functional padded sling. I have no complaints about any of the accessories as they all prove to perform as designed.
The price point is attractive when compared to other compact bows with similar performance levels. For me its paramount to have a purpose built bow when going into the woods. The Tormentor is purpose built in that it was designed for hunting. Yes it is just as accurate at the bench as other bows but it excels in a tree stand or a blind. Its all about compact and little to no moving parts to fail, creek or rattle at the moment of truth. To me the Tormentor is like an Excalibur but in compound form. If you are a hunter the Tormentor is optimum but at a small premium.
All in all the Tormentor Whisper is another quality offering from the folks at Crosman. There is a lot to be said for buying goods backed by a American owned company that has been in business for over 100 years and has exceptional customer service.
And yes I had to sneak a picture of my Jeep into the review. LOL
Tormentor Whisper 380, yep its a upgraded Tormentor. The upgrades consist of a better trigger group, better for grip (lighter, feels better in the hand), string stops with silencers on them and some real nice soft limb silencers. I like the new trigger the most. It is just a tad lighter, less travel and breaks very clean.
I must say as much as I love the Sniper crossbow and any variant of it the Tormentor is more at home in the woods, its just a great tree stand or blind bow. Very compact is an easy way to describe the Tormentor. At just 14" cocked this thing is as narrow as they get. The length is an easy to maneuver 35" stirrup to butt pad. With a solid non adjustable stock (minus the for grip, adjustable but silent) there are no moving parts to make any noise or vibrate during the shot cycle. The Tormentor feels very natural to shoot off hand sitting or standing, it just feels like an extension of the shooter.
Speed is an advertised 380 fps using the supplied arrows (400 grain) or a blazing near 400 fps using 350 grain arrows. I did all of my accuracy testing using Spynal Tapp 22" arrows at 456 grains for a real world 361 fps. Out of 10 shots put through the chronograph there was a modest 2 fps spread, darn good in my eyes. The bow was designed to sling 400 plus grain arrows, I don't recommend shooting under 400 grain arrows out of the Tormentor Whisper nor the first gen Tormentor.
I do not own a decibel meter but this bow is quieter than the first generation model. The string stops play a huge role in suppressing vibration after the shot. I'm sure the limb silencers do something other than looking very cool but shooting with and without I hear no real difference. Shoot the bow without the string stops and you will notice a large difference. Nothing like making a quiet bow quieter.
Accurate, well there are a lot of factors at play here,aren't there? The shooters ability to repeat, the bows ability to repeat, arrow consistency and that darn wind. Well I can say during my testing the only things that proved consistent was the bow and the arrows. Now that I threw my disclaimer out there to cover up for my ability I am at liberty to say the bow is very repeatable from shot to shot. I believe this is in part due to the acute angle of the string when cocked. I believe this forces the string to center every time, I find the Tormentor very difficult to cock off center, I have tried. Typical Center Point bows and Spynal Tapp arrows dictate one should not shoot at the same spot twice as it gets rather pricey. I will let the pictures speak for themselves regarding accuracy.
The scope is clear and functional. It was easy to sight in and has an accurate click value. It is not my favorite scope as the aim points have no yardage value that I can track reliably anyways. It is in my eyes what I like to label "tacticool". Wish they would have upgraded the scope to one of the illuminated ones, just saying.
Fit and finish is top notch. The camo dip is clear and attractive without being gaudy. It was a breeze to assemble as all parts fall into place requiring no fiddling or flexing to get parts into position. Like the first generation Tormentor I like the three bolt riser anchoring design. I have never been a fan of the one big bolt holding the riser to the bow. The attachment of the riser on the Tormentor is a big plus for me. The three bolt design to me ensures there will be zero flex or lean under tension before and during the shot cycle. In my eyes this lends itself to repeatability.
Accessories are the norm for a ready to shoot package. Three carbon arrows, quiver that functions very well, run of the mill rope cocker that should never wear out and a functional padded sling. I have no complaints about any of the accessories as they all prove to perform as designed.
The price point is attractive when compared to other compact bows with similar performance levels. For me its paramount to have a purpose built bow when going into the woods. The Tormentor is purpose built in that it was designed for hunting. Yes it is just as accurate at the bench as other bows but it excels in a tree stand or a blind. Its all about compact and little to no moving parts to fail, creek or rattle at the moment of truth. To me the Tormentor is like an Excalibur but in compound form. If you are a hunter the Tormentor is optimum but at a small premium.
All in all the Tormentor Whisper is another quality offering from the folks at Crosman. There is a lot to be said for buying goods backed by a American owned company that has been in business for over 100 years and has exceptional customer service.
And yes I had to sneak a picture of my Jeep into the review. LOL