Excalibur Micro 335 Crossbow Review

The recurve people, Excalibur, shortened up and narrowed down their Matrix bows, and the result is the Micro. It is compact and narrow, yet still packs a 325-fps punch, likely because of its intimidating 260-pound draw weight.

Recurves are great if you hunt in tough conditions, travel a lot or are just rough on your gear. You can change the strings easily without a press and there are no cams to bend or break. If you inadvertently roll your truck over one of your crossbows, hope that it's the Micro.

TEST RESULTS

Speed: 324 fps

Sound: 99.07 dB

Trigger-Pull Weight: 3.08 pounds

Hunting Weight: 8 pounds, 10 ounces

What We Like:  Nice trigger, relatively quiet for a recurve.

What We'd Change: That 260-pound draw weight — aaarrrgh! — makes it a struggle to cock.

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MSRP: $899

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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).