I have heard good and bad. I have heard of the prods failing I never owned one though so I cannot tell you. I can tell you after owning a cheap Barnett Ranger and thinking it was good until I got my Excaliber you get what you pay for and a entry level cheap crossbow is just not the way to go. By that I mean the Cheap overseas copies of the Barnetts and the Barnetts themselves when you buy the cheapest ones they make or the Steelforce. I do not think the PSI from what I have heard is that great either. I would either go with a midline Horton (compound) or a My choice an Excaliber Vixen (Recurve) If you buy the Vixen at around 360 bucks US you will have to buy the accessories in a add on kit or buy them piecemeal. After owning my Excaliber I would lean towards that but I have shot my friends Horton and one that he tried in the archery shop and they are not that bad. Those are the two I would stick with. The Horton you can get in a Kit from 300 bucks for their cheaper kit on up. So the Horton will be a bit cheaper than the Excaliber since you have to buy the accessories after your initial 360 some dollar purchase but it is one heck of a xbow plus you can get a stringer and string it and unstring it as needed or change strings and let it down your self in the off season. I know you leave the compounds set up but then you have to go to the shop all the time to change strings. Strings last about a season so it is nice to be able to do your own changing. While I did kill two deer with my Barnett Ranger which would about equall a Steelforce they cannot compare to my Excaliber which is a older Wolverine which would be about like the new Vixens. Nor can the Steel Force equal the Horton Compound xbows. So get either a Horton Compound or a Excaliber Vixen that are the two I would reccomend. Some of the more expensive Barnetts I know some like but I still would lean towards the Excalibers and Hortons. Some of the others are good brands but more expensive yet, like the 10 points.
