Katana 360 review

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pinshooter
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Katana 360 review

Post by pinshooter »

Here is a review I've posted on other sites about the new Katana 360 and wanted to share it with you good people. I don't log on here a lot but some of you know me.

It’s well known at this point that Excalibur and Bowtech are part of the same family and have joined together to create the Katana series of crossbows marketed under the Stryker name. The Katana 360 is the newest member of the Katana series. The Katana 385 debuted last year; however I was not able to shoot that particular crossbow. I have recently been able to spend some time with the 360 and I wanted to pass along my thoughts. I wanted to get the bow in the woods but the last day of the season was a wash out. I can tell you the 360 is compact, light, easy to carry and one of the best features is the ability to de-cock it. I broke down every category the best I could so let’s begin.


First, here are the advertised specs of the 360:

Power Stroke: 13”

Draw Weight: 150lb

ATA: 20 3/16” uncocked, 17.5” cocked

Overall Length: 35”

Speed: 360fps

Weight: 6.5lb

Retail price is $899


Assembly: From the factory the 360 comes with Bowjax split limb dampeners, string silencers, arrow retention dampener and string stops already installed. The riser is easy to install. Two bolts on the bottom side and two small screws that secure the rail to the riser. I didn’t install the quiver as I do not use a quiver on my crossbow. Just personal preference, I strap mine to my backpack but the quiver would be easy to install. All the parts are well machined.

Stock Design: The stock of the Katana 360 is built on the bullpup design which allows the trigger to be moved forward creating a shorter bow. It’s is one of the best feeling stocks I have shouldered to date. The grip is narrow with rubber side plates and I find my hand locks in place quickly. The forend also has rubber grips and for a comfortable, non-slip grip . The rail sits high above the forend and with wide finger flanges you are going to feel very safe with this crossbow. The 360 has so many great features but none better than the stock and grip.

Weight/Balance: The bow is advertised at 6.5lb bare bow. I weighed this one how I would hunt with it which is everything except the quiver, quiver bracket, arrows and rope cocker and it came in at 8.64lb. Note that just like chronographs scales vary but the 360 feels light to me. It balances very well. If I hold it one hand by the forend it doesn’t tilt forward or backwards. There is nothing more important in a crossbow design than to simply feel good when you shoulder it and the Katana 360 delivers! With the weight/balance and stock design I think a lot of people are going to like this crossbow as soon as they pick it up.


Overall Quality: I couldn’t be more pleased. Butt stock to stirrup just a beautiful crossbow and well built! The camo on the stock and limbs are nicely finished and pleasing in appearance. Riser, rail, trigger box, scope rail are all smoothly finished. The string and cables are robust, servings are tight. The cable slide has smooth, rounded edges and the cables are served as they pass through the slide. This is big for me. I shoot year round and this is a high wear area on compound crossbows. The combination of served cables and the smooth cable slide will greatly increase the life of the cables. The cams have timing marks on the backside that align with the cables. This makes string/cable replacement and timing an easy task.

Trigger: The trigger assembly features the Guardian ADF system and uses the same trigger and manual safety you will find in all the Excalibur bows. The safety is located behind the trigger box which makes it a breeze to locate in a hunting situation. It offers a smooth and quiet transition from safe to fire. The trigger has some creep but it’s smooth and breaks at a light 3.45lb. I noticed the trigger felt better when I pulled through more quickly vs squeezing slowly as you would a no creep trigger.

Cocking/De-cocking: This is where the bow really shines! The term stupid easy comes to mind when cocking this crossbow. I think there will be few people that can’t cock it with ease and for that reason I would even recommend it to a youth or lady hunter. The de-cocking ability is a great option with this bow. You don’t see that option in many compounds. The Guardian ADF system makes the task both safe and easy. Your fingers never have to be placed in front of the string at any moment to de-cock the 360.

Shot Noise/Vibration: No noticeable vibration. I haven’t shot every crossbow on the market but I can say with confidence I doubt you find a quieter, smoother crossbow. I think a lot of people will be surprised when they shoot it for the first time.

Scope: It comes with the Deadzone variable speed adjustment scope. The speed dial adjust from 300-410fps. It’s a 1” tube that is not illuminated but the glass is clear with no “fisheye”. The reticle is a crosshair configuration with 4 chevrons for extra aiming points.

Quiver: The quiver is the new X-Hanger 3 arrow double gripper. It uses the standard Excalibur quiver bracket but it is a twist off system. The quiver runs parallel to the bow, is lightweight and holds the arrows in place firmly.

Arrows and Accuracy: Comes with AccuStrike arrows that are 20”, 350gr (finished weight), aluminum insert, 100gr field tips, 2” vanes and glued in moon nocks. These are made by Black Eagle and are a stiff spine. I tested the arrows as they came and found I had to use 125gr field tips to achieve the accuracy I was looking for. I only shoot mechanicals and it put 125gr Swackers in the same hole. The moon nocks being glued in will prohibit you from turning the nock to tune them. The short here is I can get the factory arrows to shoot well but feel I can do better with custom arrows. I shot the 360 both on the bench and freehand and it’s an easy shooting crossbow. I was really impressed with how well it shot freehand. It’s one of the steadiest holding crossbows I’ve shot and if you do much freehand shooting you know how important that is. Nothing distracts you more than a crossbow that misbalanced and fights against you and I am pleased with how the 360 performs.

Speed: I often hate to post speeds because I don’t feel it’s fair to judge a crossbow based on one speed reading but it’s impossible to do a review without it. Sort of a necessary evil. The 360 is rated at 360fps and I haven’t asked but think that is without all the dampening items. The chronograph used was a pro chrono, indoors with a lighting kit. With all the dampening devices the 350gr arrow shot 349fps, 375gr arrow shot 340fps. I took just the string leeches off and the 350gr arrow shot 355fps and the 375gr arrow shot 345fps. So the 360 will do its rating. Though it’s not a speed bow it has plenty of speed and I think people will be impressed with these speeds considering how quiet and smooth it is.

In closing, I think the Katana 360 has many great features. It’s light, easy to cock/de-cock, accurate, a pleasure to shoot and best of all at $899 it’s not going to break the bank. I believe it is going to be a popular crossbow for 2017. Some of what I have reviewed is facts and some is my opinion but I encourage you to try one for yourself and I think you will agree it’s a great little crossbow.
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pinshooter
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Re: Katana 360 review

Post by pinshooter »

Lets see if I can get a few pics loaded. Group was at 70yd
Attachments
360 3.jpg
360 2.jpg
360 1.jpg
John 3:16
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pinshooter
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Re: Katana 360 review

Post by pinshooter »

Sorry.....didn't add it in the group pic
Attachments
70yd.jpg
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Re: Katana 360 review

Post by Boo »

Todd, good review. It seems that not too many people have discovered this little gem!
As some of you know, I got this bow just days before Christmas. After sighting it in and shooting it a bit, I really got to like it. So much so that I used it to hunt with for the rest of the year.
A couple of observations. It's narrower than the Micro by an inch, but longer by a 2.5". It's tons easier to cock! It's one of the most quiet bows I own or have shot. It's one pound heavier than my 315.
It is a very nice bow! Danny has been abusing it's predecessor for a year now and no real issues, other than him blowing it up because of poorly indexing an arrow, have come up. Danny's blow up is another story, but his bow went back together with just cables and a string replaced! Maybe a witness to the blow up can tell the story in this thread :mrgreen:
I can see me shooting this bow a whole lot this year!
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Re: Katana 360 review

Post by Tom »

Boo wrote:................. Maybe a witness to the blow up can tell the story in this thread :mrgreen:
I can see me shooting this bow a whole lot this year!
Rumor has it he needed to replace a good pair of shorts. Some thought Danny had great shooting form by holding the form well after the bow blew up, ....... well others think it was his shorts which held him in great form.

Tom
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pinshooter
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Re: Katana 360 review

Post by pinshooter »

LOL oh yeah....if you index an arrow wrong some bad stuff is about to happen :D Glad you like it Boo!!! I think they have a great little bow here!
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Re: Katana 360 review

Post by Riflemanz »

What does the manual say about replacing string and cables? Every 3yrs? Do I need a press?
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pinshooter
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Re: Katana 360 review

Post by pinshooter »

I will have to look that up. Usually its 2-3yr but I shoot enough I will have to replace them every year. I think 800 shots is about the max you should shoot a set.
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Re: Katana 360 review

Post by Boo »

Riflemanz wrote:What does the manual say about replacing string and cables? Every 3yrs? Do I need a press?
Yep, a linear press or some portable presses would be needed.
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Re: Katana 360 review

Post by paulaboutform »

Thanks for a great and detailed review, awesome! I can't wait to get my frankenbow in my hands. As for Danny's form on that shot, I was also there. I suspect everyone's shorts were getting load tested....everyone else that is. :lol: I suspect Danny is a trained sniper because he held on target a full minute after the shot! :shock:

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Re: Katana 360 review

Post by hankenhunter »

Exellent review, Pin. I may try one when the old bones start to complain to much. Thanks for the laughs guys. They have been in short supply since my dad passed last week. Happy New Year to all my Excal friends.
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Re: Katana 360 review

Post by pinshooter »

Sorry to hear about your dad! If you guys can, get your hands on one of these and shoot it.....I guarantee you will like it :mrgreen:
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Re: Katana 360 review

Post by j.krug »

Great review on what looks to be a sweet little bow...sure is a nice tight group!

Sorry to hear about your pa passing hankenhunter.
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pinshooter
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Re: Katana 360 review

Post by pinshooter »

It's a sweet shooter! :mrgreen:
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Re: Katana 360 review

Post by jody5252 »

Excellent review! I am have been considering the Stryker Offspring, or the Katana 360... In the manual for the Offspring it shows that you can use an Omni/universal Nock. Is it the same for the 360? Also, Indexing the vanes. Does that mean you have to fletch your arrows a certain way, and that they can only be loaded into the bow a certain way?
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