Ravin vs 10 Point? What model

[H20fwler]

I just switched from a compound and bought a new xbow last month.

I too was comparing Raven and Tenpoint.
Asked around at work because I knew that coworkers mostly had those brands. Two different people told me stories of their Ravens blowing up while in storage uncocked, one guy had it happen twice with same bow. He had even sent it back in to be fixed.

So I went with Tenpoint, I chose the Turbo S1.
Easy to cock, shoots great, very light weight…the scope is amazing.

 

[birdog]

My feelings exactly. I know ravin has lobbied it hard too. I’m more likely to avoid buying a crossbow just because I’d hate to give those cocksuckers money because of how they lobby our politicians than for any reason against using a crossbow.

I have a bigger problem with the politicians than I do with the manufacturers who lobby. Everyone lobbies it's the crooked politicians who are on the take that should be the focus of our anger.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I have a bigger problem with the politicians than I do with the manufacturers who lobby. Everyone lobbies it's the crooked politicians who are on the take that should be the focus of our anger.

My frustration is directed in multiple directions. The politicians, MDHA that is supposed to lobby for deer hunters, and the xbow mfrs lobbying politicians who haven’t a clue about hunting to make hunting reg decisions for their bottom line.

Damn sure not going to further encourage them and support them with my money.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I just switched from a compound and bought a new xbow last month.

I too was comparing Raven and Tenpoint.
Asked around at work because I knew that coworkers mostly had those brands. Two different people told me stories of their Ravens blowing up while in storage uncocked, one guy had it happen twice with same bow. He had even sent it back in to be fixed.

So I went with Tenpoint, I chose the Turbo S1.
Easy to cock, shoots great, very light weight…the scope is amazing.

Question about the bows exploding, how old were the bows, strings? Was it during season? Or during the off season? Were the bows cased? I was told to store them in a case, so if the strings snap, the arms wont get damaged.

I have heard others say Ravin had bad customer service, but 2 places I shopped at so far had said they repair them in their stores, and no need to deal with Ravin at all.

 

[H20fwler]

Question about the bows exploding, how old were the bows, strings? Was it during season? Or during the off season? Were the bows cased? I was told to store them in a case, so if the strings snap, the arms wont get damaged.

I have heard others say Ravin had bad customer service, but 2 places I shopped at so far had said they repair them in their stores, and no need to deal with Ravin at all.

I don’t know time of year or how they were stored, or how old strings were, I can ask. I do know the guy that it happened to twice is a Raven hater now and he is one of the best deer hunters I’ve ever met.
That they say to replace strings every two years is a good thing, I’m not sure I can see shooting an xbow 400 to 1000 times in two years unless someone really just likes shooting xbow’s. They are not like regular archery equipment that one needs to practice with. They are really more like a rifle where you site it in good and it stays fine, then just check a few shots every now and then to make sure it is still on. Not really any need to shoot it a bunch unless that’s what someone enjoys doing. I don’t think I know anyone that would shoot any xbow 1000 times in two years.

Agree with you on the Raven dealers, have stopped in at a shop in MI a few times and there is always one or two customers there buying one and answering all kinds of stuff about them.

The top end Tenpoint is crazy high priced also, over 4K I think? Around 500 fps or something like that.
All the new models everyone has now have crazy torque and need to be inspected good often. I definitely do not like hearing about xbows or compounds blowing up.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I had done more research, I kinda like the Ravin R18s, pretty cool design. But new design, new issues.

I bought the R10x, then made a side order with bolts with lighted nocks on them, a bolt puller that shuts the nocks off, and a soft case. The bow also comes with 3 bolts.

I still need to buy a bag to shoot at, some broad points, and a sling.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

Next questions,

What broad points do you shoot out of your crossbows?

What shooting bag do you use?

 

[Bill]

Next questions,

What broad points do you shoot out of your crossbows?

What shooting bag do you use?

You're going to get different answers from everyone. I use slick trick standard fixed blades 1" cut. Tiny broadhead but it works well for me and flies consistently.

Rinehart broadhead target because I only sight in with broadheads and a small morell yellow jacket target with a field point to discharge the bow.

The only problem is it's hard to pull the arrows out of the rinehart target. I've found that if you smear a bit of WD40 on the arrow shaft they pull much easier.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

You're going to get different answers from everyone. I use slick trick standard fixed blades 1" cut. Tiny broadhead but it works well for me and flies consistently.

Rinehart broadhead target because I only sight in with broadheads and a small morell yellow jacket target with a field point to discharge the bow.

The only problem is it's hard to pull the arrows out of the rinehart target. I've found that if you smear a bit of WD40 on the arrow shaft they pull much easier.

Do you just unload in the bag after every hunt? Or decock with the tool?

That really sounds terrible!

 

[Jerry-B-WI]

I'm still a young buck when it comes to using a crossbow. I shoot a Tenpoint Titan SS. Older bow that's not even made anymore, but it's got the job done three times. I use a hybrid mechanical head it's a Muzzy Trocar HBX. Has two fixed blades and two mechanical blades. I bought it because you can replace all of the blades with a rebuild kit. If you hit bone with the head you'll want to replace the blades but you can't do that with most mechanicals, and that means you have to buy new heads at a higher price. Sevr heads get pretty high reviews and you can rebuild them also. Check Lusk archery on youtube for broadhead reviews.

As for a target, I use a block target called The Beast. Yeah it's heavy and the bolts can be hard to pull out but I don't have to worry about the rookie mistake I made with a bag target I used to use. You don't want to shoot a mechanical head into a bag target DAMHIKT. You can go over to the archery sites and get all the opinions you can stomach about fixed vs mechanical and bag vs block. Some of those threads are like asking about tubes, cages, and vaccines here.

I unload using a field point at the end of the day. My bow doesn't have any way to decock.

 

[Bill]

Do you just unload in the bag after every hunt? Or decock with the tool?

That really sounds terrible!

I decock the bow after a morning hunt. With my ravin I can keep the cocking mechanism hooked to the string but let the tension off. At the end of the day I do unload into the bag. Probably don't have to but I do.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I had a few spare minutes today, so I sighted in the crossbow. 2nd bolt I hit the first bolt and broke the nock. May have even wrecked the first bolt, it dented the piece the nock slides into, and scratched, or cracked the bolt. I learned, 1 bolt per bullseye.

Dead on from 20-50 yards. My yard isn’t big enough, or level enough to check out further. I assume it would be accurate out to 100, but I wouldn’t shoot a deer over 50 anyhow.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

My Ravin R10 is crazy accurate. You will break nocks unless you aim for different areas on the target.

I use G5 montec 100 grain broadheads and they work great. These broadheads fly the same as my field points in my R10. I shoot at a bag target with my field points and a big chunk of styrofoam with broadheads.

 

[drycreek]

I bow hunted with various compounds for years, killed a bunch of deer, turkey, hogs and pronghorns, but I finally got old enough that I couldn’t group as well as I wanted to so I bought a crossbow. I just never could get cozy with it. Hunted with it a couple times and never shot anything except a target. I wound up trading it for a six shooter and selling that because I had a duplicate. I miss bowhunting though.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I bow hunted with various compounds for years, killed a bunch of deer, turkey, hogs and pronghorns, but I finally got old enough that I couldn’t group as well as I wanted to so I bought a crossbow. I just never could get cozy with it. Hunted with it a couple times and never shot anything except a target. I wound up trading it for a six shooter and selling that because I had a duplicate. I miss bowhunting though.

I am not ready to give up on my bow yet. We will see. I had 5 shoulder surgeries, 3 on my right shoulder, and 2 on my left. I have had to turn my bow down to 55 pounds, and I cant pull it if I am sitting, or even at any angle to the right, I also struggle to hold for more then a minute as well. I wounded a big buck last year, and it hit me hard, mentally. I dont think I have healed yet from that one, my confidence is very low. Which is why I bought the crossbow. I am hoping I will enjoy it as much as bow hunting, if I do, I will probably either sell my bow, or just use it to target shoot. If I wind up like you, then I will proably go back to archery hunting.

 

[Native Hunter]

I can still shoot a compound just fine, but I also bought a Ravin R500 last year and love it. In KY I can hunt with either during the whole bow season since I'm a senior. Got both of them out today and shot for the first time this season. First pic is first shot at 50 yards from the Ravin and second is first two shots at 30 from the Matthews V3X. Wind at about 10 mph pushed me a little left with both.

 

[RGrizzzz]

I have a Ravin R10. Seems like a good crossbow. I managed to get it 30% off at Dunham's with their birthday coupon. :)

I just had restrung. Last year, it felt like it lost some velocity, which was the second year I had it. (Going to figure out how to get my Labradar to chrono it this year!) I'm not sure how long it sat as the display model at Dunhams. I just picked it up, so I have yet to shoot it again.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I wondered if during the off season, if you had a press, would it extend the life of the strings if you took the strings off, then put them back on during season?

 

[Bill]

I was told Ravin strings $146 installed, bring it in every year for a free inspect and adjust, and recommend replacement every 2 years. He also said alot of it depends on how long the bow stays cocked, lots of pressure on them strings, and arms cocked.

He said if I shoot a lot, or leave it cocked for more then 12 hours a day, they will stretch, and may need to be replaced in 1 year. He also said if not used much, and not stored in a humid environment, 3 years or more is easily done.

I'm not sure the ravin press has enough travel to let the pressure off all the way. When changing cables and strings the press goes the other direction and more or less compresses the limbs like it would be when cocked.

 

[john volkman]

if you need a broadhead target that stops hi energy xbows with broad heads , look at Big Shot, they make one to stop all of them and the arrow pulls out very easily. Rinehart will stop them but you need a team of horses to pull the bolt out and when its cold you will need to cut it out with a saw. Ive sold both so speaking from experience.