Barnett vs. Excalibur

[recoil]

Ok this may not be a "real' bow but some of you must be into crossbows. I am i the market and looking at a Barnett 400 or an Excalibur Phoenix.

The Barnett is about half the price of the Excalibur, but i am worried about quality. Who shoots either of these bows and what are your opinions.

Thanks in advance!

[brotherjack]

I own/shoot an Excalibur Phoenix - as a crossbow, it is second to none.

I've never owned a Barnett, so technically am probably not qualified to comment, but I've not heard much good said about their quality (and I've heard lots of bad about them).


I would buy an Excalibur (made in Canada!) and not look back.

[mooseless]

I bought the Excalibur Equinox, I bought it only because I had no experience and heard Excalibur was a good brand and a few people I new had them. I have only had it since Mid August and so far so good, it has taken one 3 point whitetail and next year will be just as good, as I want to use it even more. It is not as loud as my rifle nor the kick, I love it!!

Sorry i can not comment negatively or positively on the Barnett.

[Sitkaspruce]

I have not shot either, but a good friend of mine has shot both and he was telling me that the crossbows with wheels are very noisey, as compared to the Excalibur, especially when it is very cold out. He has owned 3 crossbows and settled on the Excalibur. Just something to think about.

SS

[OOBuck]

I own a Horton 175HD nice bow.. Over the weekend I got to
shoot my brother-inlaws Excalibur ExoMax nice bow dead flat at 35
plus yards. If you go on the Cabelas website you can read reviews.
The Barnett don't fare so well from what I read..

[Bow Walker]

Not being overly familiar with Crossbows I am surprised to read that they are noisy if they have "wheels".

Are not the recurves less powerful than the compound type? I'm talking KE here - which, to me, is what really counts for a hunting setup.

[rocksteady]

Excalibur are good products....

Horton are good products......

OLD Barnetts are crap......Not sure of what the new ones are though....

[Deerwhacker]

Not being overly familiar with Crossbows I am surprised to read that they are noisy if they have "wheels".

Are not the recurves less powerful than the compound type? I'm talking KE here - which, to me, is what really counts for a hunting setup.

As far as ke goes the Excalibur's are right at the top, shooting the same arrows as compound crossbows at top of the line speeds, of course for a recurve crossbow to achieve the same or greater speeds as a compound the poundage goes way up.

As for barnette vs Excalibur all i can say is this is not a fair comparison at all, Ive shot both and had both in the field and Excalibur crossbows are far superior in almost every way, I recommend getting the Canadian made Excalibur and to not cheap out on a barnett or anything else for that matter as i did because you'll just end up upgrading to Excalibur anyways after you get tired of that slow shooting heavy and relatively inaccurate compound crossbow.

[recoil]

Thanks guys for all the responses, confirms what i was thinking. I am going to pick up an excalibur from Stonechaser. I think the extra $ for the excalibur will be money well spent as this will be hunting bow.

Mike

[ratherbefishin]

if cost is an issue-keep your eyes open on the hunting websites-I've seen some virtually new excaliber crossbows going for very reasonable prices.I have an exomax-didn't get a chance to hunt with it this last year-but its hits with a heck of a thump and right where I point it

[OOBuck]

after you get tired of that slow shooting heavy and relatively inaccurate compound crossbow.

Thats funny a compound crossbow is still rated as the fastest shooter??

Compound crossbows are more forgiving than recurves for instance centering a string in not even an issue.

Both recurve & compounds have there downfalls I have shot the two highest rated bows going and they both have different PITA things
but its what ya get use to I guess..

Barnetts are not known for being the best, that said compair apples to apples not apple to horse $hit.. :cool:

[spatsizi]

Just got my Excalibur Vortex and scope package. I did alot of research on the net and it seems Excalibur is the way to go. A little more $ but worth it. Check out Archers Nook in Ontario or American Archery in the US both have great prices.

[mark4]

I have an Excalibur Pheonix and it is deadly accurate. VERY consistent !!!ANYONE can hit the bulls at fifty yards with a rest. I would most definitely shoot at game at that distance without any worries whatsoever- Haven't got a chance to yet but looking forward to elk and whitetail hunting with it. Get the pheonix you won't regret it.

[c.r.hunter]

Barnett has been bought out and the whole line was reworked. Apperently they have worked out any of the quality issues with the last models. The last owners didn't have the money to solve any Q.C. issues. They are confident enough in their product to offer over the counter warranty. They also have a new model that shoots 375fps! Thats 25fps faster than any excalibur! The predator I beleive. Also, the recurve crossbows are much more bulky to pack. They might not be quite as good as excalibur, but for the price difference, still worth buying. Defeinately a step up from "apples to horse manure".:-D

[Bowzone_Mikey]

If I were ever in the Market for a crossbow i wouldnt even look at the 2 mentioned ... I would be all over the Stryker from Bowtech

http://www.ca.nationalarcherysupply.com/contents/media/l_stryker%20xbow.jpg

Dont even get me going on the wicked coolness of it... let alone the 405 fps specs

or the Desert Stryker ...just as wicked cool ...almost as fast and still just as deadly accurate and quiet

http://strykerxbow.com/images/desertstryker.gif

and with a real Bitchen pixalated camo job ...Just says millspec all over it

But that would be a big "IF" I were in the market for a crossbow

Oh yea .. and I can sell these at a good price ...

Pm me if yer interested

[Sideofabarn]

Damn, that just looks like fun...

[Bow Walker]

I agree w/ BZM on this one. Those look, well in a word...deadly.... just about covers it all.

Not that I'm there yet. I stil prefer the "real" archery equipment. Just for anyone's info? Yes, I feel that crossbows ARE archery equipment.

[mark4]

That ten point crossbow ( Phantom CLS ) looks deadly too - and not very wide- I think it is 17 inches at the widest point. I have to admit that packing a crossbow through thick bush ain't much fun.