Excalibur Crossbows

[Sharpdogs]

I have the Excalibur Equinox.  I used it for 3 years with a lot of success.  My complaints are that it is a bit loud and bulky to carry.  This year I moved to a Parker Ambusher.  So far one successful harvest with it.  I really wanted to stay with the Excalibur crossbows but I could not afford the smaller more compact model.  I have no complaints about the Ambusher so far, but I really like the simplicity of the of the recurve.  A lot of the motivation for me getting the Ambusher was that I bring the draw weight down so my son can use the crossbow in the next two years when he is old enough to hunt.  Once I hand off the Ambusher to my son, I pretty sure I will be going to one of compact model Excaliburs.

[archer36]

13 hours ago, Lunatic said:

I am not sure what is your point. He said compound bows need to be tuned and I replied I have one for 4 years and there is nothing to tune. How does your comment tie into this? (I am slow today, its Monday, I must be missing something)

I don't see why you seem upset? I was basically agreeing with you that they don't need maintenance but most guys are constantly upgrading so long term reliability is hard to judge.  

Edited October 9, 2018 by archer36

[Lunatic]

12 minutes ago, archer36 said:

I don't see why you seem upset? I was basically agreeing with you that they don't need maintenance but most guys are constantly upgrading so long term reliability is hard to judge.  That's all. Feel better now?

Not upset in any way. Just was trying to understand.

[archer36]

1 minute ago, Lunatic said:

Not upset in any way. Just was trying to understand.

OK, all good.  I hope you understand now. 

Edited October 9, 2018 by archer36

[06roadking]

21 hours ago, John B said:

This is my 3rd season with the matrix 380, leupold crossbones scope, stock Diablo bolts, and 100 gr wasp drone 3 blade fixed heads. I would not trade this set up for anything. It's dead accurate,  simple,  and I can shoot length wise through a deer. You can't go wrong with excalibur,  because there is nothing to go wrong!  That should be their slogan. I have seen people selling complete set ups Here and the other site for 3 to 4 hundred,  a great deal.

Well, I wouldn’t say nothing to go wrong. I’ve had 2 buddy’s that have broken limbs on Excalibur’s and another that broke the string The 3rd time he cocked it. But that can happen to any crossbow. I’m on my second Stryker and haven’t had any problems but they had some bad limbs on the strykezone 380’s. They made good on thembut still...not sure what others are talking about with adjustments on compounds. I’ve had about a dozen different xbows and after the initial setup, I’ve had to do nothing but wax the string and the rail. And I can decock my Stryker without firing it using the cocking rope. Same as Excalibur’s. Though, Excalibur and Stryker are the same company and they share some parts so I would assume they would share technology as well

[BowhunterNJ]

5 hours ago, 06roadking said:

Well, I wouldn’t say nothing to go wrong. I’ve had 2 buddy’s that have broken limbs on Excalibur’s and another that broke the string The 3rd time he cocked it. But that can happen to any crossbow. I’m on my second Stryker and haven’t had any problems but they had some bad limbs on the strykezone 380’s. They made good on thembut still...not sure what others are talking about with adjustments on compounds. I’ve had about a dozen different xbows and after the initial setup, I’ve had to do nothing but wax the string and the rail. And I can decock my Stryker without firing it using the cocking rope. Same as Excalibur’s. Though, Excalibur and Stryker are the same company and they share some parts so I would assume they would share technology as well

I took went through limb issues with the Mega 405.  Several sets.  Same limbs the 380 used but a longer power stroke I think put too much stress on them.  Excalibur exchanged the 405 for the Bulldog and I've been good since (knock on fiberglass!)

[Nomad]

33 minutes ago, BowhunterNJ said:

  Excalibur exchanged the 405 for the Bulldog and I've been good since (knock on fiberglass!)

You have the Matrix Bulldog 400?

[BowhunterNJ]

Just now, Nomad said:

You have the Matrix Bulldog 400?

Yep, have had it since it came out.

[BenedictGomez]

I have an Excalibur Matrix 380 and shoot Diablo bolts, and 150 grain Boltcutters.  That is the lab tested recommendation of Excalibur, and it's amazingly accurate.    You are right to go the recurve route, I wouldn't even think to own a compound crossbow.  With a recurve you can do all the maintenance yourself, change your strings yourself, alter brace height yourself, dont have to "shoot" a bolt to unload your bow, the advantages go on-and-on.   

But the best part of Excalibur is they are reknowned for their customer service, which is not only best in the business, but best in ANY business.  A few years back I called them up to ask what size hex nuts are used to tighten the scope, as I had lost one.  I wanted to know the correct size so I'd know the right one to grab from Home Depot.  The rep WOULDNT hear of it and insisted on on mailing me the screw.  I told her it was no big deal as it's only a $1 part and I'd rather not wait 3 or 4 days for the mail.  She then INSISTED on next-day overnight FedEx'ing me the screw.  It arrived about 16 hours later to my house, with several extras as spares.  And that is how you earn a customer's loyalty for life.   

Also, just so you know, the strings that come "stock" on a Matrix are the best strings in the entire crossbow world, as they're all individually HAND MADE by an expert string maker.

[Nomad]

8 minutes ago, BowhunterNJ said:

Yep, have had it since it came out.

Did you try and silence it at all?   Mine is all stock and is pretty loud.  I don't think you could ever make it silent, so maybe not worth trying.

[Nomad]

5 minutes ago, BenedictGomez said:

I have an Excalibur Matrix 380 and shoot Diablo bolts, and 150 grain Boltcutters.

I have the 400 and shoot the Diablo bolts and have used the Bolt Cutters also.  I had 2 deer go quite a ways after being hit with the Bolt Cutters.  And while I realize that conclusions should not be reached based on only two experiences, I also read of a lot of similar stories.    

I switched to the Swhacker 150's this year and have shot two deer with them.  Pretty devastating.  

[BowhunterNJ]

8 minutes ago, Nomad said:

Did you try and silence it at all?   Mine is all stock and is pretty loud.  I don't think you could ever make it silent, so maybe not worth trying.

It's got a little noise but it's fine imo. You could add the suppressor accessories like this:

[Nomad]

Thanks , I have looked at some of the suppressor kits.  Probably just leave it.  

[Huntfree77]

Matrix 380 for 4 years. Zero issues. String change can be done by yourself in 1 minute. Strings $22 as opposed to bringing into a bow shop and paying 3-4x that. Deadly accurate.

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

[DBuck]

Thanks for all the replies. Does anyone have any experience with the Axiom? I see there's one for sale on here.