Barnett Jackal Crossbow Package (Quiver, 3 - 20-Inch Arrows and Premium Red Dot Sight)

This is a great beginners crossbow that will familiarize you with crossbow fundamentals.Yet at the same time, it is a stout performer that is capable of taking down small, medium & large game.The overall design is well thought out and embodies excellent ergonomics as it is pleasing to hold & shoot.It comes with a nice crossbow scope that has both red & green reticles ... with 3 vertical points to target 3 different distances...short, medium & long ranges.This crossbow has a powerful punch, as it buries the bolts deeply into my target.And once you get it dialed in, it has reliably consistent accuracy.Though I have much experience with bows, this is my 1st experience with a crossbow....& let me tell you they are two very different beasts.The traditional bow is simply more user friendly.... much easier to use & maintain.....while the crossbow is more of a serious "business only" hunting tool.As it takes much more preparation time & attention to details to use effectively....as just the act of reloading takes much longer that a traditional recurve or compound bow.that being said....the crossbow has the advantage of "one shot one kill" as once it is tuned & dialed properly in & you have become familiar with the flight characteristics of the bolt....you will rarely miss your target....so hunting with a crossbow is more of a "sure thing" than with a regular bow. And of course with the crossbow you are cocked & locked....so there is less of a chance of spooking game by drawing back the string as with a recurve/compound.The Jackal has a nice safety system in that it works well....as it is automatically set every time you cock it.on the downside it does make an audible "click" every time you disengage it....so you must practice a lot with it to be able to move it slowly enough to make as little noise as possible.The string cocking assist device is a "must have" as it works great, making cocking less of a hassle.I ended up putting a Meprolight sight on the bow instead of using the supplied scope [put that one on a shotgun] because the Mepro is "always on" & works well in dusk/dawn lighting conditions. So for me it was a no brainer...as I don't have to remember to turn it on or off or need risk another unnecessary movement that would spook wary game.Make sure you take the time to put the bow together properly & ensure all fixtures are securely tightened....as the slightest error in this could result in inconsistent accuracy.AND - this is important ... make sure you load your bolt properly with the odd colored fletching down in the receiver slot as the safety WILL NOT disengage if loaded improperly!All in all this is a fine crossbow that is perfectly suited for target shooting & hunting as well...highly recommended.

I am new to crossbows, before this one i had never shot one, i got friends that have them and they love it. i read the reviews and compared specs to other crossbows, and settled with this one, i didnt want to spend a whole lot incase i didnt like it. As it turns out, i love this weapon, its very accurate right out of the box, comes with everything u need to get started except broadheads for hunting. you do get practice tips and one tube of wax. you need to wax string every 5-10 shots, sounds like a chore but its not, wax tube is like chapstick and easy to apply. Buy a redhot roller cocker with it and its almost effortless to cock the 150lb bow. useing fingers is possible but fingers were sore after 5 times and didnt want to do it again. i designated 1 of the 3 arrows for practice by marking the fletching with a sharpie, used the same arrow and tip for practice over and over, even shot thru my target and into an aluminum table, and didnt dull the tip, or ruin the fletching. it is very powerful and you need to have an good target and backstop. was easy to sight in, took only 3 shots. since i bought this ive also shot a horton CB it had alittle more quality but end results were the same, i think this one was slighly more powerful even. my string is well waxed and i havent had a problem with it holding up, shot about 50 times so far with the same arrow, its still sharp as new oddly enough. this CB and string will be good for many years if properly waxed. if your debating on getting this one over something more expensive, stop, this CB is more then enough to take a deer, and quality enough to shoot consistantly all day for cheap fun. and almost cost nothing to shoot unlike guns. its very easy to master so you can be a good shot in just a few shots. then you get bored shooting your target and will want to hunt with it.

First Crossbow I've had (and Shot) and I really like it! Have shot Bows before but Crossbows are just plain fun. More of a target/competition shooter than a hunter. Ordered the cocking cable but received the bow first, with my mild arthritis this can be a bear to cock, so looking forward to getting that cable Monday.Crossbow is built with quality, has a real nice solid feel to it, nice design and trigger pull is perfect. Even the scope is descent, 3 vertical red or green LED's with varying brightness. Vertical/horizontal set screw adjustments for 3 dot sighting-in alignment!Good price, good deal!!!added June 24th. 2012. On the 6th shot I could not get the safety off, I had to gently push it back and forth till it slid into fire position.It was ON safety when I cocked and railed the bolt and I never caught it. That's a no no, it locks up the safety's on/off lever I guess. Kind of weird, seems to me you'd want the safety ON while cocking and loading, then clicking it off when your ready to fire. But I guess the string has to catch the release mechanism when it's in the fire position I suppose. Then slide it to safe till ready to fire.Tried loading two more bolts with the safety OFF (as the manual directs) and the bow fired fine. Safety was easy to slide off and on when loaded proper and the arrows nock is seated fully up against the firing mechanism. The odd colored fin of the arrow is the one that slides in the rail, that keeps the nock in proper alignment.Got a hold of Barnett, they said don't ever oil or grease the safety mechanism, the little rough sound of the Jackal's safety is just the nature of it.Also the 3 dot scope, it keeps going from 3 dots to 3 slash marks ///(only in a vertical pattern). Battery seems fine as the LED's are bright. Barnett's said it is because the scope needs more light and it was designed for outside use, I was goofing with it inside.I like the Crossbow allot.mmEmailed Barnett Crossbows, they called me back within a few minutes, good CS! Tech told me that is normal for the safety to make a little noise when sliding it from off to on. Also when the safety will not move when you are loaded for fire, check to make sure the bolt nock is seated all the way into the firing mechanism with the odd colored fin loaded in the rail.The 3 dot slash problem I was having with the scope is because of using it indoors(which I was messing with it inside). When outside I have three distinct dots, scope just needs more light was the problem.Thanks Barnett, that took care of those questions!