Ravin R500 Review: The 500-FPS Long-Range Flagship

The R500 is Ravin's speed flagship: a crossbow shooting 500 FPS with a 400-grain arrow and producing 222 ft-lbs of kinetic energy— the most of any bow in the Ravin range. It's built on the HexCoil cam system, whose cams rotate a full 360 degrees, paired with Ravin's Frictionless Flight System. Despite the horsepower it stays remarkably narrow at 3.6 inches wide cocked, though it opens to 7.6 inches un-cocked and weighs a substantial 8.4 pounds.

It ships with an illuminated 100-yard scope and three arrows, and uses Ravin's VersaDrive cocking with integrated Silent Cocking. In short, it's a full-power, long-range machine — the opposite end of Ravin's philosophy from the featherweight R18.

Here's the honest framing. Kinetic energy is what ethically kills game, and the practical minimum for deer-sized animals is generally 40–60 ft-lbs. The R500 delivers 222 — roughly four times the floor. So for killing power at normal ranges, the R500 is enormous overkill, and that's not the reason to buy it.

The reason to buy it is trajectory. A faster arrow drops less and reaches the target sooner, and both of those matter at distance. Flatter flight makes your holdover more forgiving of a slightly misjudged range, and the shorter flight time gives a deer less opportunity to "jump the string" and move before the bolt arrives. That is why speed pays off most on the long shots common in open, Western country — and why it does almost nothing for you inside 30 yards. If you want the physics without the jargon, our crossbow vs compound bow breakdown explains how speed and energy relate.

The R500's cocked width is genuinely impressive — 3.6 inches is narrower than most compact bows, the R18 included. But two numbers keep it from being a tight-quarters champion: it widens to 7.6 inches un-cocked, and at 8.4 pounds it is heavy for a Ravin. On a long pack-in or a full day still hunting, that weight is real.

The contrast with the R18is the whole story of Ravin's range. The R18 gives up speed to be tiny and light; the R500 gives up light weight and a low price to be fast. Neither is "better" — they answer different questions. For the full lineup in between, see our best crossbows guide.

The R500 cocks with about 17 pounds of effort through Ravin's VersaDrive system, which includes integrated Silent Cocking. That system lets you cock, de-cock, pause and resume without over-cocking — and the silent, safe de-cock is a genuine advantage at the end of a sit, since you're not left hunting for something safe to fire into.

If cocking effort is a concern, the R500E variant is worth a look. It adds a patented detachable 12V Electric Drive that cocks and de-cocks the bow silently at the push of a button, with a manual silent-cocking backup if the battery dies. The trade-offs are weight and price: the R500E runs 9.9 pounds and about $2,949.99 MSRP versus the standard R500's 8.4 pounds and $2,649.99. For limited-strength hunters or anyone who values effortless, quiet cocking from a treestand, that premium may be well spent.

Check the current Ravin R500 price

Buy the R500 ifyou hunt open, long-range country — Western big game, wide fields, spots where a 40-to-60-yard shot is realistic and you want the flattest, most forgiving trajectory available. Choose the R500E on top of that if push-button silent cocking and de-cocking matter to you. This is the bow when reach is the priority and budget is not the constraint.

Skip it ifyour hunting is close-cover whitetail work inside 40 yards — there, 500 FPS is overkill you're carrying extra weight and paying a premium to own. A lighter, more packable bow like the R18 handles those shots with energy to spare, and if the price is the sticking point, the value-focused CenterPoint Amped 425 gets you to 425 FPS for a fraction of the cost. Whatever you choose, get it dialed with our how to sight in a crossbow guide.

The Ravin R500 earns its reputation. It is the fastest crossbow you can buy, it hits harder than anything else in the range, and it packs that power into a surprisingly narrow cocked profile with a genuinely useful silent-cocking system. The honest caveats are all about fit: it's expensive, it's heavy for a Ravin, and its headline speed is wasted on the short shots most hunters actually take. Buy it because you hunt long and open and want every bit of trajectory help you can get — not just because 500 is a big number. For the rest of Ravin's lineup and where the R500 sits, see our Ravin brand guide.