July 08, 2015
By Game & Fish Staff
The original Horton company closed its doors a few years ago, but TenPoint bought their name and technology. The anticipated manifestation of the deal is the Storm RDX. It has Horton's reverse-draw technology, TenPoint's cocking options and a fine T3 trigger.
Like the other reverse-draws, it's on the louder side and was the heaviest of the crossbows we tested. But it has a lot of things going for it, like speeds topping 370 fps and a trigger that broke (in a good way) between 1.9 and 2.1 pounds. It's a fine package that brings together tradition and technology beautifully.
Speed: 373 fps
Advertisement
Sound: 109.40 dB
Trigger-PullÂ
Weight: 2.00 pounds
Advertisement
Hunting Weight:
10 pounds, 9 ounces
What We Like: Seeing a fast, solid new Horton with TenPoint technologies is just plain exciting.
What We'd Change: We weren't fans of the way the ACUdraw cocking sled is wider than the extreme angle of the strings at full cock. You have to work the sled out, which is awkward.
MSRP: $1,199 with crank-handled ACUdraw
About our 2015 Crossbow TestsÂ
This is probably the best part of our job here at Crossbow Revolution. We assemble a pile of the latest crossbows from the best companies and shoot each one —  a lot —  recording the results all the while. There are always surprises —  some good, some bad.
Like how awesome it was to shoot a 440-fps crossbow! But who knew that it would be that hard to cock, and I'm no cocking sissy! And then there was the bow that had so much going for it, but the trigger felt gritty and hesitated, like someone had dragged it along a beach.
At the end of the day, it's tough to go wrong with any of these 2015 models. Really, it's all about what you want in your hunting tool — speed, low price, a small package, a quiet bow, smooth trigger?
We hope our play...I mean, work...helps you when you're in the market for a new crossbow.
How We Tested
Because of the large number of variables involved, some of which are extremely difficult to control, we will not be purporting this to be a scientific test, but, instead, a general hands-on report so you'll have information if you are looking at buying a new crossbow.
We test right out of the box, as any consumer would receive it. While crossbow companies send them to us to use free-of-charge, we also send them back to the crossbow companies after any hunting and testing.
Trigger
Three trigger releases, with the arrows and field points that came with the crossbow, measured by an RCBS Trigger Pull Meter, and averaged to give one number in pounds.
Sound
Three shots fired, measured in decibels by a Vernier sound level meter 6 feet from the crossbow, averaged for one final dB number.
Speed
With arrows and points that came with the crossbow, we released three arrows through a Caldwell Ballistic Precision Chronograph and averaged the three to get one number in feet per second (FPS).
