Crossbow Brands Compared: Who Makes What, and Who It's For

Price brackets are approximate mid-2026 street or MSRP ranges and move constantly. Verify current pricing before buying.

Two of the pairings above matter when you are shopping, because they explain why certain bows feel related.

• Ravin and CenterPoint are both Velocity Outdoor brands. Velocity also owns Crosman and Benjamin Airguns. Ravin is the premium end and CenterPoint is the value line, which is why you will see similar accessory ecosystems and why both storefronts sit under one umbrella. Our Ravin and CenterPoint brand guides cover each lineup.
• Wicked Ridge is owned by TenPoint.That is the single most useful fact in this article for a budget buyer: Wicked Ridge bows inherit TenPoint engineering and, critically, TenPoint’s customer service and parts network, at a lower price.

Ravin’s entire identity is the HeliCoil reverse-draw cam system, which rotates the cams through a long arc so the bow gets a full power stroke without sweeping the limbs wide. The result is bows that are dramatically narrower cocked than anything conventional — the R500 measures 3.6 inches axle-to-axle while producing 500 FPS.

Buy Ravin if width or packability is your binding constraint: tight box blinds, cramped ladder stands, hiking to a spot. The R29X at 450 FPS and 6.75 pounds is the sweet spot of the range; the R10X Pro is the cheapest way in with silent cocking intact.

The honest cost: everything is expensive, and the arrow and nock system is proprietary, so you are committed to Ravin consumables for the life of the bow. Our most compact crossbows guide covers where that trade pays off.

TenPoint, based in Mogadore, Ohio, holds the production speed record — its flagship reaches 515 feet per second, the fastest production crossbow currently available. But the feature that earns the brand its reputation is the ACUslide crank, which cocks and de-cocks the bow under control and cannot be over-cocked. It is the best-regarded cocking system in the category and it is fitted across the range, not just at the top.

The Turbo Xis where most people should look: 415 FPS with a 100-yard RangeMaster scope and ACUslide, at around $1,300 — roughly a third of the flagship price for a bow that is more than fast enough for anything in North America.

The honest cost: TenPoint bows are heavier and wider than equivalent Ravins, and the flagship pricing is genuinely extreme. See the speed context in our fastest crossbows guide.

CenterPoint is Velocity Outdoor’s value crossbow line and it does one thing better than anyone: it puts flagship-adjacent velocity into a package normal people can afford. The Wrath 430 delivers 430 FPS for roughly a fifth of what a 450-FPS Ravin costs, and the Sinister 430D adds a de-cocking crank at around $735.

Buy CenterPoint if the budget is the constraint and you would rather have the money in tags, arrows, targets and a decent rangefinder. The bows kill deer perfectly well.

The honest cost: triggers are heavier, factory scopes are basic, strings and cams are less refined, and the cheapest models offer no de-cocking function at all. Detail in our CenterPoint brand guide and under-$500 roundup.

Barnett is where a very large share of first crossbows come from, and there is nothing wrong with that. The Whitetail Hunter II at around $339 is a complete, ready-to-hunt package with a scope, arrows and quiver, and it is a perfectly capable deer bow.

Barnett also fields some genuinely narrow models — the Wildcat CX publishes an ultra-narrow 7-inch axle-to-axle profile at 400 FPS for around $320, which is a real answer for blind hunters on a budget.

The honest cost: build quality and refinement scale with price here more steeply than at TenPoint or Ravin, and the cheapest bows are noisy with basic triggers. See our crossbows for beginners guide for what to expect at this tier.

Excalibur builds recurve crossbows exclusively, and that is a design choice with real consequences rather than a legacy quirk. A recurve has no cams, no cables and no timing to lose. You can change a string in the field with a stringing aid. There is far less to go wrong and far less to service.

Modern Excaliburs are not slow — the Mag MAX line reaches into the 400-FPS range at around $800, and the CeaseFire arrow-retention safety is a genuine safety advantage that prevents firing without an arrow properly seated.

The honest cost: width. Even Excalibur’s narrowest Micro-series bows measure around 21 inches drawn, roughly three times a Ravin R500. If you hunt from a tight blind, a recurve is the wrong tool no matter how much you like the simplicity.

Wicked Ridge is TenPoint’s value brand, and it is the most under-appreciated name on this page. Because it is owned by TenPoint, its bows carry TenPoint-derived engineering and are supported by the same customer-service and parts operation — which is exactly what budget crossbows usually lack.

For a first crossbow, or for a second bow to leave in a box blind, the calculation is simple: a Wicked Ridge buys you a real service network at a price that competes with brands that do not have one.

Work down this list and stop at your first real constraint.

1. Is width your problem? Tight box blind, cramped ladder stand, brushy shooting lanes. Buy Ravin, or a narrow Barnett if the budget is tight. Skip Excalibur entirely.
2. Is cocking effort or de-cocking your problem? Shoulder issues, or you refuse to fire a bolt into a target at the end of every sit. Buy TenPoint for the ACUslide, or Ravin for the integrated silent cocking system.
3. Is the budget your problem? CenterPoint for the most speed per dollar, Barnett for the cheapest complete package, Wicked Ridge if service matters to you.
4. Is reliability and self-service your priority? Excalibur. Fewer parts, field- replaceable strings, and a design that has been proven for decades.
5. None of the above? Then buy on weight, because a light bow is a bow you hold steady. Our best crossbows roundup ranks on that basis.

Check the TenPoint Turbo X price on Amazon, or read our best crossbow for the money guide for the value argument in full.