Matrix 380

[donny.brooke]

Looking at picking one of these up, anybody have any good or bad feedback on these.

[IronNoggin]

Owned one since they first came out with them - had it special ordered into Port.
Tricked mine out about as much as a man can do, but really not required simply to hunt with.
I shoot mine a lot, so wanted extreme long range accuracy.

I've owned several of the Excalibur line, and shot a handful of others.
For me, the Matrix 380 is The Best I could ask for. It very much has become my Lifetime Bow.

It has taken literally dozens of animals in my hands, and fired well over 3,000 times.
Simple to work on, built Damn Tough, Powerful, Accurate as hell and The Best Warranty in the business (which due to it's rock solid design I have never had to investigate).

There are newer bows now out there, some a little faster, some just a little smaller.
For my intents & purposes, I doubt I will ever own anything else.

Cheers,
Nog

[Piperdown]

Owned one since they first came out with them - had it special ordered into Port.
Tricked mine out about as much as a man can do, but really not required simply to hunt with.
I shoot mine a lot, so wanted extreme long range accuracy.

I've owned several of the Excalibur line, and shot a handful of others.
For me, the Matrix 380 is The Best I could ask for. It very much has become my Lifetime Bow.

It has taken literally dozens of animals in my hands, and fired well over 3,000 times.
Simple to work on, built Damn Tough, Powerful, Accurate as hell and The Best Warranty in the business (which due to it's rock solid design I have never had to investigate).

There are newer bows now out there, some a little faster, some just a little smaller.
For my intents & purposes, I doubt I will ever own anything else.

Cheers,
Nog

What he said, and talk about reliable buddy built a rack in the back of his side by side, was towing a trailer felt a bump...wtf. Well he just ran over his with the trailer. Set up a target let er fly was out about an inch made the adjustment and bang on!

[gmachine19]

Check this out. I doubt you'll do anything like this to your crossbow but its good to know that they're built tough!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mDrh6cw7dA

[BigBanger]

I really want one myself, I'm hoping they go on sale soon, I'll buy one for my wife for Christmas :-P

[GOLDEN TOP SNIPER]

I want one too . we have a thread going on it right now .

[frankthedog]

Picked up a Matrix 350 LE...the 380 was my first choice but not the wallets...still super happy with what I got and have no regrets...you should be even happier with the 380 as it comes with more bells and whistles...good ones too

[BTF]

I have used some old X bows, none were compounds. picked up a matrix 380 when they came out and am still impressed every time i make a kill with it. I would include a range finder with the price of your X bow if you don't already have one, and use it every time. If you can't range your target properly then your probably rushing your shot. The farthest I have made a kill is 49 yrds and the bolt broke two ribs on the way through. I normally get closer to my target but I felt confident about that particular shot. At 30 yards I found the deer don't even have time to flinch at the sound as you can't even see the arrow hit at that range. I am also pretty hard on my equipment so I chose the matrix for their durability and it has proven well.

[BigBanger]

They are on sale at wholesale now. 20% off... I'm going to check them out Friday.

[skidderman]

I bought one today at WSS. It was 20% off and they gave me a free case of my choosing with it. I was hesitating until they dropped the bomb shell about the free case. For me it is difficult to load. I can do it but it's a stretch. I tried others and they were harder still so I decided to go for it. I have it together but have some adjustments to make. I only hope it is half as good as many claim it is. Sure is loud. Now need to get some arrows set up.

[BigBanger]

That's awesome. What one did you get, the camo or the black? Did you grab a target as well? I like the deer targets but the square ones are cheaper. Seem more practical.

[stixnstones]

If your finding it difficult to load. Adjust your cocking aid a tad shorter. Just enough to get it on it will give u more leverage. Goodluck

[Bonz]

carefull shortening that rope. i had a guy do that to teach the wife. much shorter person. it let go and broke his arm in 2 spots.

[IronNoggin]

carefull shortening that rope. i had a guy do that to teach the wife. much shorter person. it let go and broke his arm in 2 spots.

Must have been a pre-existing issue / problem with that set-up.
Shortening the cocking rope is pretty much standard procedure.

With mine, you have to pull up rather hard on the one side to reach the hook.
Certainly does make the job somewhat easier...

Cheers,
Nog - Loading the truck for the late season archery fun in the OK :wink:

[Wolfkrieg]

I just picked one of these beauties up yesterday at Cabelas, it was $200.00 off - Super excited to go shoot my first crossbow!! While I was at Cabela's I spoke to a gentleman there that mentioned there are various ways to make the bow quieter, one way was with electrical shrink wrap on the retention spring. Anybody tweak there bow with methods like this? Also what mod's/add-ons do you consider necessary after purchasing a stock bow? Thanks :-D

[IronNoggin]

Congrats on your new Toy!! http://bigshotsbc.ca/images/smilies/Pozitive.gif


... While I was at Cabela's I spoke to a gentleman there that mentioned there are various ways to make the bow quieter, one way was with electrical shrink wrap on the retention spring. Anybody tweak there bow with methods like this?

Many (if not most) do a few things to quiet their crossbow. IMO it's more for themselves than it is for the game. Only ever had one whitetail buck "duck the shot" and that one was on full alert at a pretty good range. All the rest (a decent handful) had no time to react at ranges from 20 through 60 yards before it was far too late...

That said, I too have done a fair amount to quiet the bow down:
- As the WSS fellow noted, shrink wrap on the retainer spring helps a lot,
- Shooting heavier arrows also help (I run exactly 400 grains 'dressed"),
- Custom strings with Cat Whiskers help's,
- Wrapping the stirrup with something such as Camo-Form dampens off the "tuning fork" effect there,
- Some go so far as to fill the hollow stock with aerosol foam (I have not bothered).


Also what mod's/add-ons do you consider necessary after purchasing a stock bow? Thanks

Necessary?? LOL! All depends on your definition of that word... ;)

In my case:
- Trigger Tech Custom 1.5 lb target trigger (single action)
- Hawke speed adjustable scope with crosshairs (chevrons) to 100 yards
- Custom Boo Strings (all with cat Whiskers)
- Custom Big John Zombie Slayer arrows with Luminoks & extreme helical / offset (for long range shooting)
- Dr. Stirrup Db Breakers & Bumpers
- Custom Sling

All of that is not "required" by any means, and the Excalibur bows are ready to hunt with right out of the box.
Keep an eye on your brace height at all times, and check your bolts / fasteners frequently.

I did all of that simply because I wanted to, and the end result is a fairly quiet bow that will shoot very consistently out to near 100 yards. Makes the hunting range shots a tad easier... ;-)

Don't really have any decent pictures of her in her current form, but will take one & post next time I'm shooting...
For now this is about all I have...

http://gallery.fishbc.com/albums/album120/Spike.jpg

There is of course the Excalibur Forum where you can find a LOT of good related information. Great bunch of folks, most are quite willing to help, and not nearly as much "drama" as you'll see on many other sites. :lol:

Address is here: http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/phpBB2/index.php

Cheers & Welcome to The Madness!!
Nog

[Bonz]

Must have been a pre-existing issue / problem with that set-up.
Shortening the cocking rope is pretty much standard procedure.

With mine, you have to pull up rather hard on the one side to reach the hook.
Certainly does make the job somewhat easier...

Cheers,
Nog - Loading the truck for the late season archery fun in the OK :wink:

im sure it was all his own doing...lol
after the dry fire, he then tries to sell it to me as a retailer...ya no thx. you just told me you dry fired. wont touch it now. lol