I bought a Barnett Ghost 385 when Wisconsin first legalized crossbows for everyone, which I think makes this season 3 of using them. I bought one as I'm not very comfortable standing in a treestand to shoot a compound, and the crossbow allows me to shoot while sitting. I did some research online, but purchased the Ghost 385 without shooting it. It seemed to be the best I could afford at the time.
It's definitely accurate enough as I have no problems shooting 2" groups at 40 yards. But it is very loud when compared to my old vertical bow. I assumed the high speed would make the noise an insignificant factor, but that first year a doe jumped the string on me at 30 yards. It also has more recoil than expected, and has a very heavy trigger.
Anyway, I went to a nearby bow shop yesterday, looking to buy heavier grain arrows and broadheads, as I've been told those would help with noise. When I told the bow shop owner what xbow I had, he told me to sell it and buy a new one, that any noise changes brought on by new equipment would be negligible.
To highlight his recommendation, he grabbed a Mission Sub-1 off the rack and took me into the testing room. It's a room about half the size of my kitchen. I stood about 5 feet behind him while he shot an arrow, and my jaw dropped! It was quieter than my previous vertical bow!! If I had the cash I would have handed over my wallet right there. It is truly a world of difference.
Other pros of this bow he told me about were very little recoil, a 3.4 pound trigger pull, and 80% let off so you can uncock the xbow using the rope cocker. Accuracy is top notch as well, it is named for it's ability to shoot sub 1 inch groups at 100 yards. All of these things were confirmed by several youtube videos.
It's certainly not cheap, but they have it for $1300, which I think is about half of the price of those Ravin bows. It's made in Wisconsin too. Time for me to start saving as it would be a major upgrade.
It's definitely accurate enough as I have no problems shooting 2" groups at 40 yards. But it is very loud when compared to my old vertical bow. I assumed the high speed would make the noise an insignificant factor, but that first year a doe jumped the string on me at 30 yards. It also has more recoil than expected, and has a very heavy trigger.
Anyway, I went to a nearby bow shop yesterday, looking to buy heavier grain arrows and broadheads, as I've been told those would help with noise. When I told the bow shop owner what xbow I had, he told me to sell it and buy a new one, that any noise changes brought on by new equipment would be negligible.
To highlight his recommendation, he grabbed a Mission Sub-1 off the rack and took me into the testing room. It's a room about half the size of my kitchen. I stood about 5 feet behind him while he shot an arrow, and my jaw dropped! It was quieter than my previous vertical bow!! If I had the cash I would have handed over my wallet right there. It is truly a world of difference.
Other pros of this bow he told me about were very little recoil, a 3.4 pound trigger pull, and 80% let off so you can uncock the xbow using the rope cocker. Accuracy is top notch as well, it is named for it's ability to shoot sub 1 inch groups at 100 yards. All of these things were confirmed by several youtube videos.
It's certainly not cheap, but they have it for $1300, which I think is about half of the price of those Ravin bows. It's made in Wisconsin too. Time for me to start saving as it would be a major upgrade.