Hi All,
I see we're digressing as a forum.
When we started this forum activity a little more than two years ago, we were striving to make it a bit different than most forums. The key difference was that we always tried to keep opinions out of most of the responses and keep them as much as possible to hard facts.
It's not that I mind the answers given, it's that they are all stated in an opinion response that has little facts to back up the statements. Everybody has an opinion and the world id full of different types of recommendations with over 100 different choices in crossbows available today.
Let's try a couple of factual engineering Pro's and Con's to back up some recommendations.
The PSE TAC15/15i is an extremely accurate, high speed crossbow that shoots an average velocity of 407 fps. with a 26.25", 420 grain arrow when using an 85 grain field point or broadhead.
The TAC15 is a few inches longer than most crossbows and weighs about 8.0 lbs. before adding a scope or other accessories. It requires about 12 foot pounds of cranking force to operate the crank mechanism, so for many handy-capped people it is a viable crossbow.
That said, the length of the crossbow makes it somewhat difficult to easily position when in a treestand and the crossbows center of gravity is weight forward, so a "Steady Eddie" or Monopod is very helpful.
The TAC15 is extremely accurate at distances up to and beyond 100 yards and it will compete with any crossbow made by any manufacturer at these distances.
The ScorpyD 165 is rated as the fastest crossbow produced to date and can be tuned to reach speeds exceeding 425 fps. The ScorpyD utilizes what is known as Reverse Draw Technology. This technology is well documented to be 47% more efficient than conventional draw technology, so it is therefore possible to use a lighter draw weight on the limbs and yet achieve more velocity in arrow speed (as in the case of the ScorpyD products).
The ScorpyD Reverse Draw Design places the center its weight balance at the mid point of the crossbow and it only weights a little over 6.5 pounds, so it feels much lighter and it is much shorter than most other crossbows on the market.
It's fold-able stock makes it much easier to carry and much easier to hold steady from a treestand position.
Although it has many fine attributes, the down side is that it is a manual pull with cable pull ropes and foot stirrups in order to load it each time it will be shot. This is difficult, at best from within a treestand and near impossible for people with handicaps or strength limitations.
The TAC15 crossbow was designed and released about 5 years ago, while the ScorpyD is based upon much newer technology.
Please don't take this the wrong way, but my recommendation is that you should never buy any type of a crossbow based on other peoples recommendations. While I've provided a number of key differentiators, I've offered no suggestions. This is because buying a crossbow is similar to buying a car, in the respect that until you've tried it for yourself and made up your own mind based upon fit and feel, I wouldn't suggest you spend your hard earned money.
I review and write review articles on a number of different crossbows and accessories and since I personally know some of the developers and what has already been completed on the design boards but is awaiting production, there are many, many new offerings that will emerge in the next year or two. This includes new companies getting into the game as well as many new offerings from existing companies.
if you feel the need to buy for this year, then try those that interest you most before investing in one of them.
Regards,
Jon Henry
