While compound crossbows are more widespread, sometimes you might prefer the simplicity of a recurve crossbow. Generally, recurve crossbows are lighter, require less maintenance and can be more accurate and simpler to shoot. They are less complicated which makes them perfect for those that consider compound crossbows a hassle.
Finding the best recurve crossbow is not the simplest task. The market is flooded with compound models, and it seems like recurve bows are almost forgotten. However, we are here to help you find some of the most interesting models currently available.
Reviews Of The Best Recurve Crossbows
1. SA Sports Empire Fever Pro Recurve Crossbow
Best overall
Easy to use
Great for beginners as well as veterans
Extremely light
Low-quality arrows
Accuracy could be a bit better
SA Sports Fever is an excellent crossbow for a wide variety of archers. Complete beginners will find it easy to use, and seasoned veterans will be able to use its full potential. It is an inexpensive crossbow, and you will have trouble finding a better product for the money.
It can shoot at a speed of 240 fps, meaning you can freely use it to hunt deer and similar game. It is also a light crossbow, weighing only 4.85lbs. Included in the package you will find most of the accessories you need to start shooting.
You will get a padded sling, a scope, quiver and a rope cocking device. Sadly, the bolts included in the package are aluminum ones, and you might look into replacing them with better ones. Still, it is only a small flaw in an otherwise excellent product.
Assembling this crossbow shouldn’t be a problem for even the most inexperienced archers. You should be done with the assembly relatively quickly, and can start shooting immediately. All of this points to the fact that this is a bow that is well suited for beginners, but we believe it is overall an excellent product that will make anyone happy.
The accuracy might not be as consistent as in some more expensive recurve bows, but still, for this price you will receive a product that will serve you for a long time. Hunters that have plenty of experience and don’t care about the price might look into some flagship products we will also mention, but for everyone else, this is our clear winner.
The draw weight of the Fever is 175lbs, which should be enough power for everyone. It is also a durable crossbow with a high-quality build. Overall, it is hard not to be impressed with it.
2. Excalibur Matrix Micro 335
Runner-up
Compact and easy to use
Comes with great accessories
Extremely accurate
Might be too expensive for some
A bit heavy to cock
The Excalibur Matrix Micro 335 is a recurve crossbow that offers a great design, comfort and accuracy. It is also safe to use, so you won’t need to worry if you’re a beginner. It is a part of the Micro series, known for being reliable. The product is made by Excalibur, one of the best recurve crossbow brands on the market.
The Micro series of recurve crossbows is known for having increased stealth. This makes this product excellent for hunting. You will get some nice accessories with it, so even if it is more expensive than some other models, it is worth it.
Everything you get with this crossbow is perfectly tuned for it. You will get a scope, a vibration suppressor, a cocking device, some bolts and a quiver. Assembling this crossbow is relatively simple, which is usually the case with recurve crossbows.
Some might find this product a bit difficult to cock, which is why it is better to try it out first if you are a beginner. The draw weight of this crossbow is 270lbs, and it weighs 5lbs, which is a bit more than some other models.
Still, it is generally considered a lightweight model, and is incredibly compact. You won’t have problems carrying this crossbow anywhere. Naturally, it will seem larger than a compound crossbow, but in the world of recurve crossbows, this model is considered small.
The Micro 335 is capable of shooting arrows at a speed of 335fps, which should be more than enough for even the most advanced shooters. It is quite a powerful recurve crossbow. This is why you will need to pay a higher price for it. This might be its biggest flaw, however, if you can afford it is a premium product.
3. Excalibur Matrix GRZ 2
Best for beginners
Affordable, high quality product
Easy to maneuver
Quite accurate
A bit louder than some other products
Not that fast
The Matrix GRZ2 is another recurve crossbow made by Excalibur, and it is yet another excellent product. However, this one is designed for shooters that might find some other models in the Matrix line too expensive. Still, this being an affordable product does not mean that its quality is not high. Quite the contrary.
This product offers high performance and excellent durability. Even if the price is lower than others, it is still not a cheap recurve crossbow. The price is still higher than some other products you will find on the market, but you can expect really high quality with this model.
You will be able to shoot at speeds up to 305 fps, so there is no need to worry if this is a good recurve bow for deer hunting. It weighs 5.5lbs, which is a bit heavier than other recurve crossbows, but still noticeably lighter than most compound models.
The GRZ2 uses a Deadzone scope, and comes with a plethora of other accessories. This is a crossbow that will satisfy experienced archers, but will also be a great choice for beginners.
It has a draw weight of 200lbs. It is designed to perform well, but also to be as comfortable to use as possible. It has a rubber grip on the forearm which will give you a nice feel when shooting. The trigger guard is quite large, which is good when shooting during cold weather. Many will appreciate this.
Don’t expect to have any accuracy related problems with this crossbow, as it is quite accurate. However, it can be a bit louder than some other models, which could be a big problem when hunting, so keep that in mind. Apart from the noise, its biggest flaw is the fact that other products are faster.
4. Barnett Blackcat Recurve Crossbow
Best for those on a budget
Cheap price
Has plenty of power
Highly customizable
No crossbow case included
No shoulder sling
The Barnett Blackcat is a budget option made by a respectable manufacturer. This makes it a great option for those that can’t afford the premium products, because they will receive great quality for a small price. It truly is one of the better recurve crossbows for sale.
The crossbow features a classic sleek design and can shoot at a speed of 260 fps. Of course, this is a lot slower than other models on the list, but it will still perform well when hunting small game. If you are just interested in target practice, this won’t be an issue at all.
The Blackcat has a low draw weight of just 165lbs, which makes it a superb choice for beginners. This makes its shooting speed quite impressive, since usually it would require a higher draw weight. This all goes to show that it is a well designed product.
It can be used as soon as you remove it from the package, which is something younger inexperienced shooters will appreciate. No complicated setup or assembly is required. It is a sturdy crossbow, and looks really nice, with a black strike finish.
It is a highly customizable crossbow, like most Barnett products. It has three Picatinny rails, which means you can attach all the extra accessories you want, such as an extra quiver, a flashlight or optics.
It also has an anti-vibration foot stirrup that prevents the crossbow from making too much noise. However, the manufacturer also added string dampeners to ensure that it is extra silent. Naturally, this is a feature that most hunters will appreciate.
When it comes to the downsides, naturally the overall quality is not as high as with more expensive models. Also, you do not get a crossbow case or a shoulder sling in the package.
5. Wildgame Innovations XR250
Best affordable package
Equipped with all you need
Great price
Good quality and power
The rail can become loose easily
Some parts feel cheap
The Wildgame Innovation XR250 is an excellent recurve crossbow package that doesn’t cost too much, so it can be a great option for complete beginners. Seeing as it comes in a complete package, it is actually one of the cheapest options available, for a serious crossbow that can be used for hunting.
Seeing as how it is inexpensive, it is a well-made product overall. You will get everything you need included in the kit. This means you get a quiver, two arrows,a red dot sight and a rope cocking device. These are not the highest quality accessories, but they are actually surprisingly decent.
The sight has adjustable brightness and is a single red dot 30mm model, which was a nice surprise for this price. It is definitely not comparable to the sights on premium models, but it does the job nicely.
It has a draw weight of 175lbs, which means that cocking it is relatively simple and easy. Generally this product is quite pleasant to use. This draw weight should not intimidate anyone, even the complete beginners, which makes this a great product for them.
Since it can shoot at a speed of 250 fps, you can use this crossbow for hunting, just try to make sure that you are not too far away from your target.
Naturally, when compared to other models on the list this product might seem low-quality, but for the price this is an excellent kit. The biggest flaw we noticed was that the rail can become loose easily, so watch out for that. Other than that this is a crossbow that should make most archers happy. Only the most dedicated will need to look elsewhere.
How To Choose The Best Recurve Crossbow
Picking the best product in this scenario is actually quite similar to how you would approach picking the best compound bow. However, there are multiple reasons why people decide to go for recurve models.
They are much easier to use and require less maintenance. A good modern recurve crossbow such as the Excalibur Micro 335 would be a great candidate for the best crossbow overall. Read on to find out everything you need to keep in mind when picking a recurve crossbow.
Pros and Cons of Recurve Crossbows
Recurve crossbows have less moving parts which makes them extremely reliable and dependable. This also means that they constantly keep their high level of accuracy, which is important when you are hunting. The Sa Sports Empire Fever is a highly accurate crossbow for example.
These crossbows generally use a fairly straightforward decocking mechanism. This means that you can easily reset the bow and do not need to end your hunting trips prematurely. They are also really easy to maintain.
Since they do not have a lot of moving parts, maintaining them is far cheaper than with compound crossbows. Most of the time you won’t even need the help of an expert if you need to replace the string. It is simple enough that anyone can do it themselves. Most of these bows come with a de-stringing aid.
Recurve crossbows are also lightweight. This makes them easy to carry around, which is always a plus during longer hunting trips. This is especially important if you are hunting on foot.
As far as the disadvantages of recurve crossbows go, they do have a bit less power than compound bows. Also, they are a bit on the larger side, so it is not easy to go through narrow spaces with them.
They generally have a big draw length as well. This could be a problem for some. This applies more strain to the bowstring, so you will replace them more often. Keep this in mind if you are interested in these crossbows.
Recurve Crossbows vs. Compound Crossbows
Generally, recurve crossbows are larger and have a longer draw length. This allows them to have a higher acceleration and power stroke, but they can’t achieve speeds as high as those when using compound models.
Recurve crossbows are also much louder. The reason for this is their length. However, the length also offers plenty of advantages. They can cover longer ranges, have higher acceleration and are highly accurate. If you are interested in recurve bows, you might want to check out this article.
Compound bows on the other hand are much shorter, but that also gives them some advantages. Their reload speed is much faster because of the shorter draw length. The newer models can achieve higher speeds, and they can be much more silent than recurve crossbows. This makes them the preferred pick for hunting situations.
Crossbows that have recurve limbs generally have longer limbs and a longer barrel. This gives them a longer power stroke, however, the reloading times are not as fast as with compound crossbows. They both have their advantages and disadvantages, and ultimately it is up to you to decide which one you prefer.
FAQs
Conclusion
There they are. Our picks for the best recurve crossbow. The overall winner was the SA Sports Empire Fever Pro Recurve Crossbow. This is a product that has a decent price but is made with the highest quality materials and technology. It is designed for all types of shooters. It is well-rounded, and most will be able to afford it.
The runner up is the Excalibur Micro 335. This crossbow is more expensive, but is overall a premium product for experienced hunters that know what they want. The other products on our list offer a combination of quality and affordability.