Vixen Arrived!

marmot · Post by **marmot** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 12:14 pm

After owning a camo Vixen Deluxe, I thought I would not like the deerhide brown version. Well, deerhide brown is actually a pretty nice color. It is more chestnut brown than tan.

With the above said, the limbs on this crossbow are rough looking. Besides the usual air pocket divots, the profiling where the limbs transition from being broad out to the tips could have been done better. The limbs on my Vixen Deluxe, while not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, were much cleaner looking.

I do not care for the integrated dovetail on the riser. IMHO, the removable dovetail was nicer, and the mounting holes afforded the owner more options.

marmot · Post by **marmot** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 12:39 pm

She who must be obeyed (a.k.a. my wife) is fairly tolerant when it comes to gear expenditures, but she would have a cow if I traded a brand new crossbow for a different one. What I would like to find is a less nasty looking set of limbs. These are sloppily beveled on the profiling from the broad part out to the mag tips. I do not remember the edges being beveled on my Vixen Deluxe limbs. They were squarer. These limbs almost look like seconds--almost like the finisher was a little too aggressive with the grinder.

Grizzly Adam · Post by **Grizzly Adam** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 5:19 pm

Marmot, I noticed that the limbs on my new Exomax weren't perfectly finished either. In comparison to the Mathews Switchback I sold my brother in order to buy the crossbow, I'd have to say the limb finish is decidedly rough ... there is what looks like a molding line on the top edge of both, some air bubbles in the finish, and what appear to be sanding/grinding marks. I will say that the limbs are the only thing to gripe about. Everything else is perfectly acceptable.

As to finish, the Mathews bow clearly outclassed the Excalibur longbow. In fact, I've never seen any bow finished nicer than that Switchback. It was flawless.

All other attributes of the Excal I am pleased with ... trigger assembly, stock, barrel, riser, scope mount and scope are all fine ... but those limbs! They could do better on the limbs, honestly.

Grizz

marmot · Post by **marmot** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 9:14 pm

Grizzly Adam wrote: All other attributes of the Excal I am pleased with ... trigger assembly, stock, barrel, riser, scope mount and scope are all fine ... but those limbs! They could do better on the limbs, honestly.

The air pockets found on the Excalibur limbs are par for the course, as I believe that they are formed using an extruder. It is the rough machining that bothers me. Excalibur has CNC centers, so there has to be a reason why they are still performing this step by hand.

TPM · Post by **TPM** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 9:03 pm

I checked my wifes Vixen and my Phoenix. On hers one limb is pretty much flawless and the other has slight grinding marks on one spot. My Phoenix limbs both appear flawless.

pphoenix · Post by **pphoenix** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 9:19 pm

TPM wrote:I checked my wifes Vixen and my Phoenix. On hers one limb is pretty much flawless and the other has slight grinding marks on one spot. My Phoenix limbs both appear flawless.

mine used to be flawless, but after two dry fires

a chip appeared

GREY OWL · Post by **GREY OWL** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 12:23 am

Congrats on the Deerhide Brown Vixen. As long as the Xbow shoots straight, who cares what it looks like. Most people that look at the bow don't see the flaws anyway.

You should see my favorite hunting rifle, looks like it went through 5 world wars, gives it more character and history.

Grey Owl

XbowMisiu · Post by **XbowMisiu** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 6:52 am

Well, I paid for my xbow + accessories pretty much what I would pay for a brand new rifle, so I would expect A1 performance + quality workmanship.