July 08, 2015
By Game & Fish Staff
If you want to fastest bow on the black, the Ventilator Extreme is your crossbow. Like we reported in our Crossbow Review, this amazing bow shoots 440 feet per second. One of our shots hit 442 fps!
The Extreme has an extremely long powerstoke (the length between the string at rest and the string cocked) at 18 1/2 inches, and a long overall length, at 35 1/2 inches, but the Reverse Draw Technology mitigates them and allows the crossbow be a compact hunting tool.
When cocked, the bow has a 12 7/8-inch width. The limbs are made by Barnsdale , a company know to make some of the best limbs in the business. The vented stock and barrel keep the weight in the 8-pound area. Comes with your choice of illuminated or non-illuminated Hawke scope . Bowjax silencers, quiver and six arrows.
TEST RESULTS
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Speed: 438 fps
Sound: 96.70 dB
Trigger-Pull Weight: 1.95 pounds
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Hunting Weight:
9 pounds, 6 ounces (no quiver)
What We Like:
Light trigger, excellent balance overall, and, of course, blown away by the speed and energy.
What We'd Change: Now all Kempf has to do is come up with a new, revolutionary way to make it a breeze to cock these things before he unveils a 450-fps crossbow! And the hinged stock has to go as well.
MSRP: $1,799
About our 2015 Crossbow Tests
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).