New Toy!

[IronNoggin]

Finally! :mrgreen:

Although I had my Excalibur Exomax dressed pretty much exactly the way I wanted her, and was downright impressed with it's performance last year, I couldn't help but drool when they released the new Matrix series last December. So impressed by the initial reviews, it took me but moments to make up my mid... I HAVE to have one!! LOL!

So, I carefully went through the safe and selected out a couple "Queens" I hadn't had out in a considerable while, and to my surprise, they sold literally within moments of posting them. Then one of my good Hunting Partners decided he had been thinking and chatting about joining us in the pointy stick pursuit long enough and that he wanted the Max. Gave him a hell of a deal for several reasons, one he's a Good Friend, and two, if I ended up not liking the new bow (did I actually ever consider that?) the Exomax would be nearby and I might possibly wheedle a little more use of it...

With the jingle in hand, I merrily placed my order through The Missuz' shop. I was prepared for a delay, the response to the new series was overwhelming, and the initial 500 were sold out in mere days. Likely a month was what the sales rep informed...

Over that month I read every single review I could find, watched every single video on the new Matrix, and became downright immersed in all things crossbow I could dredge up on the net. The vast majority of the reviews were positive, and I jealously poured over the shooting reports! Lazar Accurate, Blistering Speeds, how various arrows performed, various weights, and various heads...
But there were also a few not-so-great reports, and I anguished over these - apprehensive at my decision, and hoping that I had made (for me) the right one...

There were many distractions through the waiting period, sausage makin', cold smokin' tuna, pigs to be butchered and even a lamb. But near every "free" second found me once again pouring over the reviews once again as I pined away for it to arrive...

Got The Call yesterday... And am Damn Surprised I didn't collect several tickets on the way to the shop!

Upon arrival, we were presented with a rather tiny box to be holding a bow... but the label read Excalibur, and my already Pounding Heart kicked up a notch or two. Want to show it off to the Boss she asked with a coy smile? NOPE! There will be plenty of time for that down the road!

Even Faster Tracks on the way back home, had the Big Dawg's jowls just a flappin' in the wind!

Before any assembly I went over the entire rig extremely carefully. Some of the naysayers actually had me a little concerned (Oh Foolish Me!). Not a single blemish to be found ANYWHERE! Limbs are as perfect as they could possibly be, same with the rail, stock, every single accessory, and even as far as every single bolt! Excellent!!

Assembly was easy, like the various pieces WANTED to join, and within but a short time she stood in all her Beauty! Awesome to me!

Now at Last Light, I wandered outside (my neighbors are used to this kind of thing) and to my delight, the scope was Blistering clear, had Good Eye relief, and was damn near begging for me to use it for it's intended purpose right then and there!!

Back inside, I immediately switched out the factory string for one of Boo's Marvelous Custom Creations! aYup! THAT well suits the bow!

A few First Impressions:

- Incredibly small for such Awesome Power! I stood her back to back with the Exomax, and wondered at the comparison! SO much Narrower, SO much Shorter, and SO much Lighter it wasn't to me even fair to compare!

- She comes to the shoulder as light as a feather - Oh what a FIT!

- The scope's picture is immediately clear. Even intentionally out of alignment, I had NO problem centering it's crosshairs! The two types of illumination are both good, and the crosshairs without them are very easy to read!

- When cocking and changing strings I was more than Pleasantly Surprised! Yes, I can do extended periods at the range with this one methinks!

- Love the grips fore and aft! The balance is Perfect, and these fairly help. VERY very stable bow for offhand shooting methinks!

Overall I'd rate it as a 10 out of 10. Couldn't be Happier at this present moment! Well worth the month and change wait! http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/phpBB2/images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif

Although impressed with the scope I'll be swapping that out sometime this spring. Gonna go to an HHA Optimizer and a rifle scope for the summer's Fun. For huntin' this fall - Jury's still out on just which one...

Only a tad better than half way on the sausage makin', and now have a Lamb hanging that I've got to deal with in the next day or two. New target makings have long been ignored, guess I know what this afternoon has in store for me...
And thinking those last runs of sausage can sit a bit more! http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/phpBB2/images/smilies/icon_lol.gif

Simply can not wait to get the new Baby out for a stroll!! http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/phpBB2/images/smilies/icon_twisted.gif

I'll toss up a picture or two in the next couple of days, and let ya'll know just what she shoots like soon. Expect to be getting to that shortly now methinks. And with that, I'm off to put together a new target bag!!

http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/images/products/MATRIX%20380%20XTRA3.jpg

Cheers!
Nog

[NovemberBravo]

Looks awesome!! Not even a crossbow guy and it makes me want one :wink::-D

[aggiehunter]

the pointy stick pursuit...haven't seen too many guys shooting Port Orfords out of a xbow....sweet looking maching however...

[westcoastal]

I can't wait to read more about the new toy - that"s the one I have picked out too - just need to work a bit more overtime!

[Bowzone_Mikey]

they are a sweet rig for what hey are ... congrats and welcome to the obsession

[greybark]

Hey Nog , I really appreciate your enthusiasm with your new toy . Fun this Fall for sure .
Cheers

[Bc Deer Hunter]

Sounds awesome!! Tons of fun to be had with that bad boy :)

[IronNoggin]

Here's a few comparison shots of the new Matrix 380 and the Ex (ExoMax that is... LOL!)

http://gallery.fishbc.com/albums/Ironnoggin/Side_By_Side_1.jpg

http://gallery.fishbc.com/albums/Ironnoggin/Side_By_Side_2.jpg

http://gallery.fishbc.com/albums/Ironnoggin/Side_By_Side_4.jpg

http://gallery.fishbc.com/albums/Ironnoggin/Side_By_Side_7.jpg


Kinda tough for me to imagine the so much smaller version has so much more Power!

Target bag is nearly finished, but my other Hunting Partner just informed me he's dragging another 80 pounds of thawed sausage material over in the Early. Damn! Am I EVER going to get to shoot her?? http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/phpBB2/images/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif

Letcha know when I do...

Cheers,
Nog

[greybark]

Hey Nog , the smaller crossbow`s limbs have more recurve and the limbs main bending moment is closer to the centerin them thus the increase in the powerstroke . A Tradie noticed . LOL
When my next Toy arrives I`ll hire you to do the write up . Like I previously posted I like your enthusiasm .

[aggiehunter]

I notice that they both have the sound suppressors...has anyone noticed a differance in the sound or recorded the differance for that matter.

[BimmerBob]

I notice that they both have the sound suppressors...has anyone noticed a differance in the sound or recorded the differance for that matter.

That's kind of interesting in a way, you can have a sound suppressor on a bow but not on a firearm and really now... which one is noisier and harder on your hearing?

[IronNoggin]

I notice that they both have the sound suppressors...has anyone noticed a differance in the sound or recorded the differance for that matter.

Both those strings are new Custom Works. They are constructed of a different material than the factory strings (NO stretch - extremely little elasticity) and are specifically designed to increase power transfer and therefor speed. They are much less forgiving than the factory strings, and will blow things up in the case of a dry fire. And they are LOUD. So, I had the maker put the cat whiskers on both to address that latter issue. Will result in a little loss of speed, but likely not enough to reduce that down to the speeds of the factory strings.

They were both just installed this week, so performance all round has yet to be checked. Loading up right now and headed out for an afternoon of shooting. Will let you know what we find out...

Cheers,
Nog

[IronNoggin]

So... yesterday I stuck the new target bag into the truck, and wandered down Island to hook up with my Hunting Partner and our Rancher Buddy for an afternoon of Fun. And FUN it was!

My Partner had presented the Rancher with a new crossbow, had purchased my Exomax, and of course I drug along the new Matrix. So all three of us had toys to try out for the first time!

The day before I had taken an old (large) grain bag the Rancher had provided, stuffed around 100 pounds of various rags and old clothing (carefully cutting all buttons and zippers off) into it, compressed that well, cut down the bag to size, and sewed it shut. About 2.5 feet thick by 3.5 feet square, it was a bit of a chore to move, but I was hoping it might put the brakes on the arrows launched from these Magnum Bows.

First up was the Rancher, and the bag had no problems stopping the arrows from the 165 lb bow. Nice! In fact, penetration was only about 6 inches at the 20 yard range! Didn't take much tweaking, and that bow was soon shooting bullseyes! You could literally see the confidence and enthusiasm build within the Shooter as the groups grew ever tighter! By the time he had finished at the starting distance, his tail was waggin' so hard his eyeballs were wiggling! Another Serious Convert to The Addiction!

Next up was my Partner with the bow I had tuned and used successfully for hunting last year. Took much less in the way of tweaking, and he too was putting them dead center every time! And... once again the new bag managed to stop the arrows from this 225 lb bow! Reflective of it's increased power, they buried deeper - averaging about 8-9 inches of penetration.
The look of pleasure and satisfaction on my Buddy's mug at his results was worth the price of admission alone!

Then, the new Matrix. Even with the REDDS system and cat whiskers on the custom string, it was a hint louder than the Exomax. Different type of sound though, I'd describe it as being more "Sharp" and of slightly less duration than the Max. I had worked a lot on the latter last year to dampen the sound down, and now will be looking for ways to do the same with the Matrix. It took a little more tinkering to bring the bow to dead center, which wasn't surprising as this was the first time it had been shot since assembly. But within 20 minutes or so, it too was exhibiting the Accuracy that Excalbur is famous for! And, almost to my surprise, the bag did indeed stop the arrows from this 260 pound bow well before the fletchings touched the target! They did dig deeper of course, averaging close to a foot of penetration.

We then moved successively back to 30, 40 and 50 yards. And at each station, with just a little tweaking, each of the bows soon were finding their marks! The lighter bow of course topped out at the 40 yard mark, and we didn't try to push it beyond that. Both the Exomax and the Matrix were shooting 2 inch or less groups at 30, and followed that right through to 50 with no further adjustments. The difference in speed between the two became obvious at the 50 yard mark. Even though Damn Fast, I could catch a glimpse of the arrow in flight from the Exomax. Not so for the Matrix, although arrow coloring and fading light may have contributed to that. The Matrix did though offer a noticeable decrease in flight time to target as we suspected it might.

Would have loved to move back to 60 and perhaps even beyond, but before we knew it, the evening sprung upon us, and as the light finally faded away, we collected up our equipment for the wander home.

Only managed a couple of pictures before the camera battery decided to pack it in (note to self - Check that damn battery BEFORE heading out!).

Here's what the Exomax did at 30 yards:

http://gallery.fishbc.com/albums/Ironnoggin/Exomax_30.jpg

And then at 50:

http://gallery.fishbc.com/albums/Ironnoggin/Exomax_50.jpg

There was a bit of a crosswind, so we'll have to check this one again before considering any adjustments. The Matrix shot good groups with the factory arrows, holding at around 2 inches at fifty yards, ever so slightly larger groupings than the Exomax. But the Max had the advantage of launching Custom Big John arrows specifically tuned for this bow, and as always they Really Shined in the Accuracy department. Methinks the Matrix will most likely do the same, once the exact arrow type & weight and dressing has been determined. Right looking forward to testing towards that goal over the next little while!

All in all a VERY Pleasant way to spend an entire afternoon! The Boys and Their Toys all wandered off with Huge Grins, each noting they were Damn Happy with the results, and each enthusiastically planning for our next get-together! Soon now methinks! The ball has started rolling...

Cheers,
Nog

[IronNoggin]

Just packing the target bag over to my Partner's for dry storage, and realized I actually could see the print from the Matrix on the bull I was shooting at. This is a combination group from 40, then 50 yards:

http://gallery.fishbc.com/albums/Ironnoggin/Matrix_50.jpg

Not at all a Bad Beginning for factory arrows methinks... http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/phpBB2/images/smilies/icon_twisted.gif

Cheers,
Nog

[westcoastal]

Wow Nog - that is damn impressive. Yup reading your posts has me convinced - Matrix 380 for me please. Best part is my better half already approves. Looking forward to further results, thanks.

[IronNoggin]

... Yup reading your posts has me convinced - Matrix 380 for me please.

Methinks you're going to LOVE It! And Congrats on getting The Blessing from She Who Rules!

Yesterday afternoon provided one of those rare moments when the sun actually burned through the clouds, and drove the rains away temporarily here on The Rock. So, my Partner and I seized the moment, grabbed the target bluff and our bows, and headed into the hills for some more shootin' FUN!

A quick check at 30 yards just to ensure they were both still on target (aYup!) then we hopped right back to where we had left off the last time out - fifty yards that is. Several quick bullseyes later, we then moved to sixty...

No adjustments required, and I was downright pleased with the results out of both!
The Matrix was Really Shining yesterday!!
Here's a picture of the Matrix' first round at 60 Yards:

http://gallery.fishbc.com/albums/Ironnoggin/Matrix_60_Yards.jpg

The bulls on that target are four inches in diameter. Methinks that's a Dead Deer Walking each and every one!
And the Exomax performed the same.

Back to 70 yards, let's just see how far they can go with the standard scopes!

Matrix at 70 Yards:

http://gallery.fishbc.com/albums/Ironnoggin/Matrix_70_Yards.jpg

And surprisingly, even Better at 80 Yards!

http://gallery.fishbc.com/albums/Ironnoggin/Matrix_80_Yards.jpg

The difference between 80 and 90 yards is substantial! The Matrix, with it's lighter and shorter arrows, was dropping a fair bit more than the Exomax. Still grouping decently, but the Exomax was the Winner at this range!

Exomax at 90 Yards:

http://gallery.fishbc.com/albums/Ironnoggin/Exomax_90_Yards.jpg

Only the second time out with that bow for my Partner! Methinks he's right getting the hang of it!
And I guess I'll have to go to a somewhat heavier arrow if I want to keep up at the extended ranges!

Also took a little time to shoot some mini-videos of the two bows being fired.
I'll post those up in just a moment...

[IronNoggin]

Exomax One: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o-DGIb3Wvg

Exomax Two: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMRd5YU4oZs

Matrix One: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDCeA796aZo

Matrix Two: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exMJBQ5VeYo

The Dreaded Dry Fire: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpkMjK4hsWw

Seems my Partner was just a tad excited on that particular shot! Forgot to load the bloody arrow! http://fishbcforum.com/public/style_emoticons/default/lmao.gif
Damn Lucky he was shooting an Excalibur! A serious scrutiny and we could not find any issues due to that dry fire whatsoever!
Re-strung with the Custom Boo String, and continued on with the shooting! http://fishbcforum.com/public/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

Stayed up on that hill until we could no longer see the arrows in the target in the diminishing light!
Hell of a FUN way to blow off an afternoon alright!
And already Looking Forward to the next! http://fishbcforum.com/public/style_emoticons/default/sly.gif

Cheers,
Nog

[ianwuzhere]

beauty- lovin the new look, smaller, lighter, power power- gonna be lotsa game wacked with it i predict!

[IronNoggin]

... gonna be lotsa game wacked with it I predict!

Kinda got that feeling to - if we can keep the "celebrations" down to a dull roar that is! LOL!

Many moons ago when I was involved a LOT with Competition Rifle & Pistol Shooting, one of our Crew's Favorite Tricks (Odds Enhancer) was to wander around and visit the various other competitors - dragging along two bottles of Very Good Rum. Well... one was Good Rum, the other was water with just the right amount of food coloring to look exactly like that. We were Very Generous with the former, while "keeping up" diligently with the water version. ALWAYS made a difference in the next day's shooting, as no-one I've ever met shoots very well with even a minor hangover...

Jump forward to yesterday. The eve before, my Partner and I imbibed just a little while discussing plans to shoot the bows once again. Forecast called for Sunny weather once again, so over the wine with dinner the best of plans were laid...

Although the next day started off right fogged in (Welcome to Port!) by about noon it had mostly burned off. So we loaded up the target bag, bows and equipment, and set off into the hills.

Upon arrival it became immediately clear that this high up there was quite a breeze. More like a 25 mph WIND! But, we were now on-site, and having never shot these in a good breeze, we decided to stick with the program...

Initial sight confirmation started at 40 yards. Dunno if it was the breeze or the night before's "entertainment", but it took several rounds at that range before we could be certain the bows were still locked in. They were, turned out it was US that was a tad wobbly... LOL!

After several "Never Agains" from each of us, we eventually settled in, and the groupings started to bear something of a resemblance of what they should.

Back out to 60 yards, we shot two more short comparative videos. You can see and hear what the wind was doing...

Exomax:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j-Ab0zrnlI

EDIT: Only One Vid at a time here, so I post the second below...

The wind plays a little more havoc with these arrows than I would have guessed. But by timing between the gusts we did manage to pull off the odd decent group. Not as proficient as the last time out, but all things considered, not all that terrible either...

Exomax at 60 Windy Yards:

http://gallery.fishbc.com/albums/Ironnoggin/ExoMax_Windy_60.jpg

Matrix at 60 Windy Yards:

http://gallery.fishbc.com/albums/Ironnoggin/Matrix_Windy_60.jpg

Out at 70, between the breeze and our little bit of fuzziness, it seemed almost impossible to get anything going for groups. I luckily ended up with one short spell when the wind died down just a little, and my focus seemed to improve a little with that.

Matrix at 70 Yards:

http://gallery.fishbc.com/albums/Ironnoggin/Matrix_Windy_70.jpg

Almost the same grouping as at 60. Still not in the "Awesome" category, but getting there...

Then the wind decided to pick up even more. After a few more rounds we concluded that our shooting wasn't all that likely to get much better, and the thought of an ice cold one to sooth the wounds of the day sounded right appealing. So, we loaded up the gear and wandered off to do just that.

Still damn impressed by the capabilities of these bows! Even more so under the less than ideal conditions were ran them in that day. Now looking forward to the next sunny but windless day to entice us back out once again. And you can just bet, it will be the colored water the night before!! http://fishbcforum.com/public/style_emoticons/default/sly.gif

Cheers,
Nog

[IronNoggin]

Shootin' The Matrix In The Breeze:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-6SopHDLOA

Cheers,
Nog