Horton Crossbows

[Booyah]

I have seen this cheap Chines bows that are a piece of junk. I would be better off throwing rocks, and I read in some of the forums that some of the Barnett bows aren't much better. How about the Horton crossbows?  Are they decent  crossbows. I mainly want one for hog hunting.  Also what is the advantage of the crossbow with compound limbs compared to recurve style limbs?

[jh45gun]

From what I have read the Horton Steel Force xbows (Recurves) are probably not much better than the cheap chinese xbows and the Barnett's.  You are correct there are Barnetts out there that have come apart on their owners and hurting them while shooting. I would not buy one to be on the safe side I have a Commando now that is a wall hanger as it is not safe to shoot it shoots at times when you take the safety off so to the wall it goes. Others have posted about their Barnetts coming apart while shooting them.   Excaliber is the only good xbow out there that is a recurve for a factory xbow. They are excellent and extremely accurate and easy to care for. The nice thing about an Excaliber is YOU can change the string your self in the field with out the use of a bow press. They make a 20 dollar accessory that you use to take the string on and off and it works like a charm. For a compound you need to have a bow press to take off the strings and cables. Now for your question nothing wrong with a Horton my Brother and a friend of mine both bought Hortons this year and easily killed deer with them. The second for my friend as he killed a buck with a borrowed xbow last year and killed a very nice buck with his Horton this year. My brother shot a nice doe with his. Both were Horton Compound models and even the 300 dollar package you see advertised is a decent xbow. For 360 bucks you can get a Excaliber Vixen 150 pound bow that will kill any thing a decent compound bow will do or compound xbow. Hortons 300 dollar package may be more attractive to some as it is a kit package that comes with the xbow and arrows, quive, red dot  sight ect all you need to start shooting, while the vixen is just the xbow for that money. IF you decide on the Horton just make sure it is the compound package and not the recurve steel force. Then I am not sure if Horton is even making that model anymore.  The Excaliber all you have to replace is the string with a compound you may have to replace cables as you do with a compound though I am not sure how often as I have never looked into it.  Good luck with your choice you will enjoy shooting a xbow.  YOu will not go wrong buying a decent xbow wether it be Excaliber, Horton, Ten Point or any of the other companies that make quality xbows.

[Digger]

Horton's new recurve, the Legacy in 175, 200 and 225 lb issupposed to be a great bow and will be available from May 25th. Packages start at about $600.

http://www.crossbow.com/legacy.aspx

[jh45gun]

Thanks for posting Digger I was not aware they were making this xbow. 

[ihuntbucks]

Jim,which Barnett's "come apart" while they were shoting them?Maybe the cheap end.I have never had any problems from my "Rhino Mag" .............Rick

[jh45gun]

Here is what he posted when he got it: I just got a 3 year old BARNETT RHINO MAGNUM SPORT from a guy who needed cash , It is a 150 pound bow ,very clean with a scope and quiver. The string and cabels and cams are fine , I shot it twice tonight and it shoots fine. I gave the guy $100 for it , does that sound fair ? or does any one have an idea what its' worth ??

Here is what he posted when he had problems: well I guess that wasent such a great deal after all !! I was shooting it a few times this morning out of my rifle rest, when it fired by it's self The bolt did hit the target but wow what a shock ! I looked it over real well and shot it 4 more time with out a problem. Well on the fith shot I cocked the bow put it in the rest , and as I started to slide the bolt down the rail ,(almost 3/4 down) the bitch went off , I almost riped my fingers off  the bolt blew up and a limb cracked sending the cam flying god knows ware. I went to the hospital and luckely it just dislocated my index and middle fingers , But boy does it hurt thou
I just got off the phone with BARNETT and they said how sorry they were and to send it back and they will look it over and fix it or replace it, I said you are just lucky some one didnt get hurt real bad or killed , I think I recall a trigger problem with them before does any one else ?? well time to get another ice pack .

Other replys: We have read so many threads similar to this and Barnett's blowing up. I wouldn't touch one with a ten foot pole.
Sorry to hear about your injury...it could have been worse.
Get some ice on those fingers.

My Barnett Quad 400 did the same 3 years ago. I had it repaired and sold it on E-bay.The tech that did the repair said it happens all the time with Barnett.The string and cables must be replaced every 90 shots

I had a Quad 400 blow up for no apparent reason, cables, string limbs, wheels all over the place. Not a fun experience. Glad you are going to be ok.

Sorry to hear that brother.
I have had 2 barnett's and both blew up.One on me and the other I sold and it blew up on the second shot on the new owner.

I have two Quad 400s,had trigger jobs done on both by my gunsmith
have over 350 shots out of mine no problems so far,have been
shooting my Ten Point for the past month and have retired the quads
wife was worried about the barnetts reputation and got me the
Pro fusion,hope you heal soon,take care!

When I went into my local shop to purchase a bow last October . . .the owner had a room full of Barnett bows and he claimed they were all trigger issues. He had two in stock and refused to even show me one. He showed me the repair room instead(probably 12 bows in there), then showed me the Exomax. The rest is history.
they had the same problems with the bear xbows too !!!

they had a recall on them.

For what it is worth I gave my Ranger away it was ok at close range but nothing special at longer hunting distances. Not much for power either but then it was a the cheapest barnett makes. I have a Commando that was given to me that is a wall hanger it fired several times when taking the safety off. I had the xbow in the upright position the first time it happened and  some where there is a xbow bolt that could have killed some one. The next two times it was pointed down range. Since it is an older xbow I know Barnett will not do anything with it.  Now I am not saying Rick your xbow will never fail but I sure would keep an eye on it. This is just one thread I would imagine there are others out there at the xbow forums. Take care and I am not knocking any xbow but if there is safety issues it should be made known and addressed.  Jim


 

[jh45gun]

For what it is also worth Rick the local shop here will not sell them and the other shop that my friend bought a Horton from about 30 miles away in my home town where I fish and hunt said he would not sell them either as he has had several come in for repair.

[ihuntbucks]

Mine is the old Rhino Mag;not the Sport.Have had it for about 7 years.I have the string replaced every year.Like I said,have never had any issues with it.But,you've got me thinking now.Maybe it's time to pass it on down the road and get a new one.What would you suggest as a replacment?Price really doesn't matter as long as it isn't over 6 or 7 hundred......Rick

[jh45gun]

Well Rick if it was me I would buy a Excaliber Vixen 150 pound and it shoots great and easy to use. My Wolverine is like an older model but about the same specs. I upgraded mine to the new limbs that are on the Vixen. These have great triggers and the nice thing is you can change the string your self with the aid of a 20 dollar accessory stringer. If you want to go up a notch the other Excalibers I think most are under your 600 dollar mark. The Vixen cost right in the 360 dollar range. These are excellent crossbows and no harder to C-o-c-k than a compound xbow from what I have seen. These xbows are some of the most accurate too. That would be my choice. If you have to order by mail I would call Dan Miller he seems to be the guy to go to in the states. I would call and talk to him anyway and see what he says. (740) 483-2312  I just talked to him and he said most of the Excalibers would run under 600 bucks. The next one up would be the Phoenix ( SP?) tha would be a 175 pound bow for 425. That one would shoot at 305 fps. My Wolverine shoots with my arrows at 265 and that is using a heavy arrow and I think the Vixens are rated about 270 to 280 fps with a lighter arrow than what I am shooting.  The best thing about the Excalibers are the easy up keep and Great Factory Customer Service if you ever would need it.   Just remember sometimes less is better a lot of guys prefer shooting the lighter poundage xbows 150 and 175 over the heavier ones as they are easier to c-o-c-k and use. Still the heavier ones are still under your 600 dollar limit if you want to go that route. I feel my Wolverine is all I will ever need in a xbow. 150 pound pull and accurate and easy to use. A Vixen would be about the same. The Phoenix a faster yet and on up.  I have shot a several Hortons and a Ten point and all are good xbows over all of them I would choose Excaliber. I really do think they have a smoother let off if that is what you call it when you shoot and I like the idea I can change my own string even out in the woods if need be. Also less complicated less to go wrong as can happen with a compound. Finally accuracy and a trigger that is best in the market.

[awshucks]

I shoot Excals, had 4 of them here recently.  My bow of choice is the Phoenix, 285 fps w/ 431 gr arrow.  I recently dialed in a Horton package deal [RealTree HD 175] for a friend and was impressed w/ the bow.  The 3 dot red dot on it was worthless imho, but the bow was accurate and had a decent trigger.  When I tried to shoot Slick Tricks 100 gr b-heads at 30 they were consistantly 10" low/right from dead nuts field points.  No idea wqhy.  Called Horton and some one there said to shoot mechs, but the package included Hortons small profile b-heads.  The package was $499 and I've seen it cheaper since.

I'm not sure on the rules here, but I have an Exomax for sale real reasonable, pm me if interested and would one of you old timers post or pm me the rules on private sales??

[jh45gun]

I think as long as you post it in the classified section your ok to go.