You either love or you hate crossbows, not many people fall in the middle of that spectrum. Typically the ones that hate them are just too macho to admit that while they might not present some of the same challenges that a compound brings, they're still pretty damn cool. I fell into that category.
The truth is, I have just always loved shooting compound bows. Ever since I saw John Rambo explode a Vietnamese soldier with his arrow in First Blood II, I knew that would be my weapon of choice for most game.
That was until I realized how stupid that mindset was. Compound bows will always have my heart, but what isn't badass about a tactical crossbow that can shoot about 30% faster than a compound, has an easier drawback system allowing for better concealment, and is undeniably more accurate? Was I missing out on having another cool hunting tool just because I wanted everyone to know that I was a more "real" and "traditional" hunter? Probably.
I got a chance to test out the new Ravin 29X this past season, and was pretty blown away by how much thought and engineering was put into this deadly weapon. The first feature I noticed was its integrated silent cocking system, which allows for a completely silent draw, and can even be stopped at any time during the cocking process. All of this while being dead silent. Every whitetail hunter knows how important that is.
It's also worth noting that almost every other crossbow model outside of Ravin has a standard bolt slot where the arrow slides into, and gets pushed through said slot as the bolt is fired towards its target. Ravin has integrated a Frictionless Flight System with the 29X, where the bolt is actually secured onto the trigger sled, as well as positioned into place with a small rest towards the front of the bow, that allows the bolt to be fired with essentially no friction whatsoever. What this means for the whitetail hunter is improved velocity, better contact with game, and thus, more lethal results.
Even after all of the badass technology, improved performance, and tactical features put into this bow, my favorite part is still much simpler. And might speak to my laziness and lack of intelligence. But there is nothing I hate more than getting something out of the box and spending over an hour on assembly. Again, speaking to my laziness and lack of intelligence. The 29X comes fully assembled fresh out of the box. Just attach the illuminated scope, screw on the crank handle, and attach your quiver, and you're ready to hit the woods. Feels like they made this for me.
Overall, this is the most accurate bow I have ever shot. As a shooter, I'm not entering any competitions or impressing the locals at the range. But with this bow, I feel confident in my groups all the way out to seventy or even eighty yards, which is way more than I can say for any other bow I've shot. While Ravin advertises 450 FPS for this model, the chrono had my averages at roughly 460. 10 FPS isn't substantial, but I appreciate the humility from Ravin's specs.
Visit your local archery shop, go to Bass Pro, or just man up and buy one from their website. Either way, your wife won't be that pissed that you spent $2,349 on this thing once she sees how happy it makes you. Probably.
Pros: Deadly accurate. Fast as hell. Compact. Easy to use. Lightweight.
Cons: Expensive. Not cheap. Costs a lot of money.