The Barnett Ranger was a good fit for this young hunter, although an adult would have to cock it for him.
A video version of this announcement is at http://www.backyarddeerproducts.wordpress.com.
I just learned from David Barnett that this crossbow will be discontinued. This was not unexpected as the company (and the industry in general) is upgrading its crossbows. If you are disabled, or have poor arm strenth, get one of these now, before they disappear. I hate to see it go. It is a useful instrument and needed for young and disabled shooters, even though it is not as durable as its higher-cost replacements.
At about $236 Barnett’s RC-150 is the lowest-cost crossbow in the company’s line. I killed a deer with an earlier model called the Ranger, which uses the same frame, but had a simple stave bow. I was interested to see how a compound-limbed RC-150 would perform.
The RC-150 as part of a lightweight hunting outfit.
The Ranger took a doe with a 20-yard shot and the RC-150 killed a similar doe at 10-yards. Both crossbows gave double-lung penetration and rapid kills. These crossbows use relatively light-weight arrows, and I would recommend that their use be restricted to about 25-yards.
Because of these crossbows’ adjustable stocks and light weight, they are very useful for individuals with weak or missing limbs. They also had reasonable 3-4-pound trigger pulls with a bit of creep. These crossbows cannot be expected to be as durable as those costing hundreds (or thousands) of dollars more, but they can provide a low-cost introduction to crossbow hunting and will kill close-range deer. Despite their small size and light weight, these are serious instruments and are not toys.
For more on this and other crossbows, consult my books, Crossbow Hunting and also Backyard Deer Hunting: Converting deer to dinner for pennies per pound.
Products and/or payment was furnished by the manufacturer.
Hi Hovey,
Thanks for sharing this valuable information with us. Our hunting heritage can only be sustained through the continuing recruitment of young people. What better way to introduce a youth than to have them succeed with a crossbow; and one that they can handle too. While there is much discussion surrounding various makes, my son-in-law has an original Barnett with the solid fibreglass 150 lb prod which has been continously strung now since he was sixteen years old. Although of simple design when compared to some of the newer crossbows, this particular crossbow remains reliably functional in every respect and is accurate enough that we only shoot one arrow at our 20 yards practice target. To shoot more is to only experience a “Robin Hood” or at the least the loss of fletchings. Undoubtedly our laser sight makes a huge difference in this regard, but accurate target acquisition is yet another bonus of using a crossbow; especially for hunting, where we must always strive to do the best job we can.
Ralph
Your site was extremely interesting, especially since I was searching for more info on this just a few days ago.
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Thanks because of this! I’ve been searching all over the web for that facts.
Seems like a good bow,just had mine shipped today “)