NEW: Barnett Jackal Crossbow

NOTE: I have 2 NEW Barnett Jackal Crossbows, each 9,500 Baht.

Package Contents & Assembly
• The Jackal compound crossbow (stock + bow)
• Three 20″ arrows with attachable field points
• red-dot sight
• Detachable quiver for your arrows
• Quiver attachment platform
• All the hex keys, bolts and screws required for assembly
• Instruction & Safety manual
• Warranty card (5 years, limited)
Note: Barnett Jackal was ranked as our top best crossbow on a budget for over 4 years. Unfortunately, the crossbow is difficult is very difficult to buy nowadays so we had to take it off our list. Still, it’s a very good crossbow for the money if you can get it.
Assembling the Barnett Jackal took me around 10 minutes, which is pretty fast considering it’s a compound crossbow. I followed the installation instructions and attached the quiver bracket to the bottom of the stock with the provided screws. Afterwards I inserted cable slide and then the string and cables into the cams/limbs as specified on one of the pictures in the manual, and then pushed the riser into the stock until it “clicked,” signifying a successful attachment, which I later reinforced with the hex bolt included in the package.

Now came the time to install the foot stirrup; I simply had to insert it into the opening at the front of the crossbow and then secure it with the included screws. All that was left now is attaching the red-dot sight; I placed it onto the mount and moved it around a bit until it was around 3-4″ inches away from my eye (when in shooting position), which is standard practice for red-dot sights. I then tightened the mounting side plates so the sight would not fall off, and was ready for some serious shooting.

Preparing To Shoot & Specs
First thing I did was lubricate the string and cables on the Jackal; it is advised to do so every 5 arrows fired at the most – it’s much easier to do than you could imagine. I personally prefer using flat nocks on my crossbow arrows, however Barnett recommends using half-moon nocks in their manual, which I can live with
I placed my foot in the stirrup and cocked it easily by hand, without using a rope. This crossbow has 150 lbs. of draw weight, however don’t let that fool you – it fires 20″ carbon arrows with a speed of 315 feet per second, more than enough to kill pretty much anything you’ll come across, and definitely more than enough for target practice. As soon as the Jackal is cocked, the anti-dry-firing mechanism is activated, which automatically places the crossbow into “safety-lock” mode. If dead-lifting 150 pounds each time you need to cock the crossbow sounds like a chore, then I recommend getting a rope cocking device to make the job much easier.

Accuracy & Power
I lined up for the shot, with my target being a home-made “penguin” (basically a nylon bag filled with lots of cardboard). I was roughly 60 yards away from the target. The trigger pull is roughly 3.5 lbs., which felt perfect to me – just enough to prevent accidental firing, and just enough that you can push the trigger without struggling.
The crossbow was pretty loud, but that is to be expected from such a powerful weapon. My arrow landed around 1″ away from the bulls-eye, and that’s despite me not having even sighted the red-dot sight that came with the Jackal. The arrow went so deep in that I literally had to use my whole body weight to get it out from the bag, and I’m now considering getting something new to use as a target as I don’t think my current “penguin” will survive long enough while being under fire from this weapon.

Where hunting is concerned, you can take out pretty much anything with the Barnett Jackal. On my first attempt from a 40-yard distance I took down an Elk with no trouble at all, and I expect it could be done from much, much further than that (maybe even 50+ yards), though I would not attempt it as I do not trust my aim to be as accurate as needed at such a distance. But if you can land the arrow properly, I’m sure it will kill it.