I'd been seeing and hearing the ads for Ravin Crossbows for a few years, but never gave it any serious thoughts. I'll admit that I was slightly skeptical about their accuracy claims, and it's consistency from shot to shot. But as a bow hunter, I didn't much care. Didn't have anything to do with me.
Unfortunately, old age, and a couple of decades of hard living left me beat up, and falling apart. Had to have my right shoulder rebuilt again this past spring, which didn't produce the end results I was hoping for. The Ortho told me in the recovery room that my days of lifting heavy stuff with my right arm were essentially over. He was unable to find my torn bicep tendon, and the rotator cuff was shredded, forcing him to crisscross sutures into more of a patch pattern than a line along the torn tissue. Homeboy said it was "It wsa like trying to sew together a shredded beef taco".
Despite my best efforts in rehab ahd working for 5 hours with my bow tuner, we were unable to accommodate my new disability & it's impact on how much I could draw, and maintain a velocity I was comfortable with.
So I figured may as well sell the bow and all of my archery tackle, and invest in a crossbow. I owned a crossbow before now, but that was simply to provide opportunities for guys who may not be able to draw a bow to get out during the early season. That one used a cocking cord, and after my experience trying to draw my PSE, I knew without even trying that I'd never be able to cock that beezatch while missing a bicep tendon.
So off to research and trial and error. It took me about 3 weeks to come to my decision, and while this came in slightly over my $2,ooo budget, I was confident it would be a worthwhile investment.
The R29X Crossbow from Ravin Crossbows did not disappoint. Not even a little bit. It has been everything Ravin claims in their commercials and advertisements.
It is stupid simple to zero and confirm at distance. Their claimed velocity was exactly what I had on my chronograph (unheard of in the firearms industry) so I was pleasantly surprised.
In order to avoid ruining my arrows/bolts by shooting them into each other, I only shot one group, and then elected to use different 3-inch target dots as I confirmed zero and holds out to 100 yards.
The scope matches the ranges perfectly. From 20 to 100 yards in 10-yard increments, I did not need to make any mechanical adjustments or holds to hit POA/POI. My confidence in its ability to deliver proper shot placement skyrocketed as arrow after arrow found the center of each dot. Yard line after yard line, the results became quite predictable.
The first deer I harvested with it came the final day of our archery-only season, and the Ravin dropped a doe at 72.4 yards. She didn't even move. I was very confident I had watched the arrow strike her, as she was exactly perpendicular/broadside to me. But no movement and my deteriorating eyesight had me second-guessing myself.
About 45 seconds after the shot, she buckled, and fell over. DRT.
I gave her a few minutes to empty the fluid Reservoir a bit more, and when I rolled up on her, my shot had been exactly where I had expected it to be. When I opened her up, it was as I expected/suspected: Lung/Heart/Lung.
I'd have never taken an archery shot past 50 yards. I just never got that good. The confidence I got during my zeroing/confirmation session with the 29X was enough to talk myself into taking this shot.
Wicked fast. Low profile. Super compact. Great for a blind or a stand. Easy to cock and decock. Only need 12lbs of pressure on the crank to get er done.
Well designed and thought out. I am very pleased with my decision.
If I had any complaints, it would be the proprietary nature of their gear. Many mechanicals aren't up for that kind of speed, which locks you into buying theirs at $30 over even the most expensive mechanicals on the market. Same with their arrows. And cases.
That said, if you can afford to drop $2k+ on a crossbow, you can afford the proprietary support & ancillary equipment associated with it.
I'd buy one again, and recommend a Ravin for anyone unable to bow hunt with a traditional compound or other bow.
Hard case fits perfectly, and gives a little more piece of mind as i transit over my 850 acre farm to get in and out of my hunt areas.
I wish I'd have thought this photo all the way through, and snapped from the other side (exit sound), as it was impressive to say the least!!! I don't typically take photos of does, so it kinda slipped my mind. Sorry 🤦♂️