I was hunting opening mourning when I heard a very faint click and then a few minutes later a louder pop from my PSE Fang HD crossbow. It even spooked the deer. I finished hunting and shot it when I got home to uncock it. After inspecting the limbs closely, I was able to see a small crack in one of the limbs. Took to the bow shop where I bought it, and they said PSE had sold and they wouldn`t honor it under warranty. He was going to make some calls and see what he could do but from what I`ve researched online I`m $hit out of luck for finding another limb to replace the broken one. From what I`ve read on other forums all brands of crossbows have issues with limbs breaking. I was actually in the bow shop the day before it broke bragging about how accurate it was. Probably get a Killer Instinct of some kind since they have a pretty good warranty. So, it looks like I`ll have to wait for the gun opener to be able to use a tag.


Bought new in 8-2021 and less than 100 shots fired and never dry fired.

I really like my Mission.

That blows. I was there once on one.

How long were you leaving the bow cocked?? Thats the worst enemy of a cross bow is being in the cocked position for an extended period of time. I discharge my crossbow after every single morning and afternoon hunt. It never stays cocked for more than 3-4 hours at a time.

Despite doing all of that I still had a Wicked Ridge limb start to splinter on me. I called them and told them the issue and they told me the issue was with the eliptical shaped cams on that model. They sent me and my dad a brand new complete front end for both of our bows and we had them in 3 days. They have earned my buisness for life.

I was in the archery industry for several years, so this isn't the opinion of some guy on Reddit who read a few articles and is now an expert about the subject. Crossbows are less efficient at transferring energy than compound bows. This is because of their short draw length. This is the same reason they are typically louder than compound bows. Energy not transferred to the bolt/arrow, is absorbed by the limbs and the stock/riser. A more efficient compound bow set on 65 pounds with a 29 inch draw length is much less prone to damage from what little excess energy goes back into the limbs. A crossbow set at 200 pounds with a 15 inch power stroke is going to have a lot more energy transferred back into the limbs. This excess energy is what typically causes limb damage.

To minimize the possibility of damage to a FRP limb, shoot heaver bolts. Everyone is hell bent on speed with hunting archery equipment and has been for 40 years so most people will shoot the lightest bolt/arrow they can to squeeze out every FPS. A heavier bolt will also help with inherit loudness of a crossbow but it will slow your speeds. I would always choose the heavier bolt setup with less possibility of damage and less noise over speed. A twitchy whitetail deer at 20 yards can duck (completely or a bad hit) any crossbow if it sounds like you broke a 1X4 board when you shoot it. Limbsaver dampeners on the limbs are a good idea too.

I also worked several years in archery shops and what ntxtrapper said is true.

Compound bows are not as fast generally speaking as crossbows and have pretty much reached their max speeds.

The brand that impressed me most with speed and quietness for a crossbow is Darton. No real surprise there if you know them We had compounds on the shelves that were louder than the Darton Crossbows on the rack, while I was there never had a warranty issue with them so not sure how that would have worked out but the best one is the one you never need.

Highest reliability go Excalibur and with their sound dampening packages they are not bad. Tough, built like a tank and with an extra string and tool setup you can easily change the string in the field.

Tenpoint/Wicked Ridge solid company with solid bows have a couple Wicked Ridges here at the house. When working in the industry they were good to work with for parts if needed for warranty on most things once they got to know me.

Mission are very good and backed by Mathews.

I was surprised when Center Point came out for the price point solid bows and they last I heard own Raven Crossbows. We sold over 300 of the old Sniper 370s before we had one come back with an issue and Center Point sent out the part next day during the first couple weeks of Texas deer season. The customer was without his bow les than 3 days.

A few brands I tried to steer people away from if I could PSE, Barnett, Killer Instinct, mostly because of track record of bows brough back with issues. Some you would never see again but too many would be back with issues so we looked at them as more shop work for us for each one sold. Barnett at one time about a lot would be back in with broken strings, had one break while it was cocked for it's first time. During that year I could call Barnett and they would ask which bows I needed new stings for this time. yup it was that crazy.

If I bought one right now it would be the TenPoint Flatline 460.

I found out that my PSE dealer / Bow shop was able to locate what he called the last new limbs for my xbow known to man. Be in next week. Hopefully they will be the right ones and fit perfectly. I’ll update later. I am going to look into to shooting a heavier arrow. Not real sure my total weight but I know that my grim reapers are 100 grains.

TPAK, I have 3 Barnetts, all 350-390 fps and they recommend the weighting around 450g, which is basically the carbon 20" bolt and a 125gr broadhead, for me either a Montec CS G5 or 125gr Grim Reapors. They spin fast and accurately, no cracked limbs for me.

PSE = Pull, Shoot, Explode. They have a reputation. But I love my PSE compound to death. I did get a set of limbs JIC.

UPDATE: Finally got the call that my PSE Xbow was ready. I was afraid they would be the wrong limbs, but I was wrong. My bow shop got PSE to ship them at no charge to me and he put them on for free. They told him they were the last set of limbs they would ever have for that xbow. I must be living right. That`s how you take care of customers. Not registered for warranty, would have been out if they were and still replaced and no charge. New limbs and it still dead on at 30 yards also. Shout out to Alan and Pigeon Road shooting range for great customer service.

Great news and customer service