Center Point XR175 Recurve Crossbow and 16" Aluminum 2219 Bolts

Center Point XR175 Recurve Crossbow:

This is my first crossbow purchase, and only the 3rd time I've shot a crossbow, although I've spent years shooting and hunting with standard bows (both recurve and compound).  I chose this one especially due to its simplicity, price point (on sale for $99, retails at $199), weight, and the fact that pretty much everything needed to get started was included in the box (and it wasn't camo!).

Even though it was a Christmas present, I made sure to do the assembly work immediately on getting it home (Thanksgiving weekend), just to make sure nothing was missing and there were no issues with it right out of the box. It took me about a 1/2 hour to assemble it with the included instructions. The directions weren't awful, but they weren't really great either. If you're not somewhat mechanically inclined, you might want to get someone else to walk you through the assembly process. In particular, the directions for sighting in and adjustment of the included 3-dot sight are really lame, especially for someone who has never adjusted a scope before.

The XR175 includes a rope cocker and stringer cable, a quick release 6-bolt quiver, metal sights and a small 3-dot scope, and 4-16" aluminum bolts and target points. It also supposedly includes rail lube, although that appeared to be missing from my box (no real worries though, as it's cheap enough to buy).

I've only shot it twice so far but I'm pretty impressed with its shot consistency, and have found the weight easily handled even with my pansy arms.The ergonomics are exceptional for smaller shooters, especially for such an inexpensive product. The trigger pull only has a small bit of play before "hitting the wall", where it releases cleanly. It also seems to be fairly quiet for a crossbow. I'm finding that it might take me a while to get used to the fact that the trigger safety is automatically engaged when the bow is cocked - I keep getting "click" when I fire because I forget to disengage the safety first. Doh!

Center Point 2219 16" Aluminum Crossbow Bolts

Four unbranded bolts, marked only with 2219 are included with the XR175 crossbow, and Center Point sells additional (identical) branded 16" aluminum bolts in a 6-pack for $29.99. I thought it prudent to purchase the extra 6 since I'm not really experienced with a crossbow and I wasn't sure how many I would lose while I learned to shoot it.

I actually haven't lost any of them yet, but it turns out that purchasing extras was still a very good idea. I'm completely and totally disappointed in these bolts and certainly cannot recommend purchasing them, even though it's very difficult to find any other 16" bolts locally (carbons are easily found on E-bay for a reasonable purchase price). My first time shooting them, 1 lost fletching, 2 lost nocks, 1 lost the insert and target point, and 1 had the insert jammed up into the shaft itself. Then, another nock disappeared on my second practice session. Thinking that maybe the ones included with the bow were "seconds", I looked them all over and realized that the issues were evenly spread between the branded and non-branded versions. Yikes.

In contrast, the 15 20" aluminum ones I bought for $3.99 for a 3-pack, and the Allen Sweetness Muddy Girl carbons (also 20'" also a 3-pack, for around $20-25), have held up perfectly and seem to have much closer and more accurate groupings (Center Point aluminum and Allen carbons in the picture below- notice all 3 of the purple Allens are in a straight vertical line while the Center Points are spaced in a much larger group).

Center Point does actually sell 20" carbon bolts, but reviews for these on their website seem to show that their quality control likely isn't much better than the aluminum ones.

Specs:

SKU	AXR175B
Arrow Velocity	Up to 245 fps
FPE	45
Product Weight	5.75 lbs
Length	34.5 in
System	Recurve, Single Limb
Draw Weight	175 lbs
Limbs	Engineered, Compression Molded Fiberglass Composite
Riser	Black
Stock Style	Ambidextrous
Stock Material	Composite/Aluminum
Material	Composite
Included Optics	Illuminated 1x40 3-Dot Scope

Pros:
Price point
Weight
Simplicity
Ease of use
Comfort
Accuracy up to 40 yds
Ability to replace string in the field
Included accessories

Cons:
Manual for scope stinks
Quality of included bolts is awful
Difficulty in finding other 16" bolts
Cocking takes some muscle
Rated for deer hunting to 40 yrds, but likely not really enough velocity for hunting beyond 30 yrds or so

For a new crossbow shooter, or someone wanting close-up hunting with supreme simplicity, I highly recommend this low-cost package, although everyone, and hunters in particular, should upgrade the seriously crappy aluminum bolts immediately, with at least mid-level carbon ones. I have noticed that the 20" bolts tend to hit a little lower than the 16s, so this bow may not have the guts to put those 20"ers out to 40 yards with enough velocity for hunting. I will check this out once summer hits and update my review as that info becomes available.

Website:  Crossbow
16" Bolts
20" Carbon Bolts