Excalibur Assassin 420 TD- Realtree Edge w/Tact 100 Scope | Recurve Crosbow | Hunting Equipment

Ok, so just received the 420 this week and shot it several times. Here is some balanced feedback. I have been deer hunting with crossbows for quite some time. Had a wicked ridge for my last crossbow. Loved it, but was looking for a couple of improvements that the Assassin 420 was able to deliver one.- I like the blance, this crossbow is not too heavy nor is it super light.- The scope is easy to put on- The cheek and shoulder adjustments are a great plus and super important.- The carry bag is a plus and will get a lot of use out of it when hunting season kicks in. You can store everything you need in that bag.- I love the fact that the distances are etched in the scope. No more guessing on which dot is for which distance- The crank for the cocking mechanism is easy to operate and super quiet- Make sure to wear the wristband when using the cocking level. I did not when de-cocking this bow, it slipped out of my hand and it almost broke my thumb due do the level spinning so fast with so much force.- Restringing this is super easy since it is a basic recurve. No need to take it into the shop.- Make sure to get a bolt puller. At 420 FPS is it going to bury those bolts into your shooting block and you are going to need to strength of king kong to pull them out.- Taking this apart is very easy and makes it convient for transporting. However, one of the reasons I purchased this was to keep from having to shoot my bolt at the end of a hunting trip into a target bag. You can de-cock the bow, but the string remains locked in the cocking mechansim. The only way to release the cocking mechanism completly is to watch a video using a allen wrench etc etc. You can leave the cocking mechanism engaged with the string but you will not be able to take the bow apart for transporting. When when shoot the bow the cocking mechanism competely disengages.- Accuracy seems good. Got most shots within 1 to 1.5 inches of the bullseye at 30 and 40 yards. Good enough for me.- Also, be careful on this one. When you slide the cocking mechansim down onto the string make sure you hear TWO clicks NOT just one. I made this mistake and the string was not hitched correctly. It was only seated on the anti-dry fire latch and not on the trigger latch.- Also, the anti-dry fire latch is a great idea. Made that mistake several time in the past with other crossbows.- The directions are OK regarding use of the bow, but the pictures suck. They are black and white and very hard to see the associated details. I ended up watching the videos on the Excalibur website. The videos are great.- Make sure to have plenty of backstop. My first shot at 20 yards was way high and went over the bag and landed who knows where. Lost my first arrow!- And lastly, this bow has an effective kill range for deer of at least 50 or probably 60 yards. However, before you attempt that range on a kill shot make sure you have the shooting accuracy confidence and have tested that on the range before taking that long of a shot.- The only negative I have is how the safety works. When you cock this bow the safety does not automatically engage like other crossbows. You have to make sure the put the safety on manually before cocking. They really need to change that. Don't be in a hurry in the field when cocking this.- The safety itself is great. Big blue button that slides without making a bunch of noise.Overall, very happy with the purchase and looking forward to getting this into the field this fall.