

I put my hands on one at the PA Sportsman's Show last month along with the Mega. The Micro was just calling my name. Comparing a Micro to any of the other models in the Matrix line side by side just doesn't do it justice if you are coming from an ExoMax. It was smaller than the others already. Its way smaller than an ExoMax.

Unboxing was uneventful. It goes together very quickly. The brace height was set perfectly right out of the box. First shot free handed at about 15 yards was about 8 inches left. A quick twist on the scope settings and the second shot could have put an eye out. Cocking was very easy at first or maybe I was expecting a far longer power stroke. After a dozen or so shots I did start to feel the draw weight. I also got quite tired of trying to retrieve the arrows with only five inches sticking out of my crossbow block. Bednar puller time.
Speed
With the out of the box Quills at 396gr, it passed the chrony at 318fps. With a 20" 364gr Firebolt it passed the chrony at 331fps. So I'm quite happy with the speed.
Feel
When you cock it and shoulder it, it feels like a toy. A small toy. When you pull the trigger, you realize it is anything but a toy. There is just a lot of power stored in a small polished package.
Sound
Its a crossbow. It does have a higher pitch than the ExoMax, but it seems way quieter overall. There is less mass moving less distance though with more power.
Optics
The DeadZone scope looks nice when mounted. Its clear enough for me. I'll reassess that at dusk. I was a bit surprised to find a coat of rust on the mounting nuts on the rings. I've dealt with this plenty of times on the ExoMax after a wet hunt, but this is new from the box. One of the scope caps had some minor paint chips missing. No big deal. Those with an aversion to the standard optics are doing their usual

Arrows
At 396gr on the Quills, that's 246gr on the arrow and adding a 150gr tip. I'm a bit surprised they would ship this way because you know plenty of folks are going to twist on a 100gr tip and let her rip. Thats just slightly below the 350gr minimum required. I'm guessing Excalibur is OK with it.
Overall, I can't wait to get more trigger time behind this thing and put some distance between myself an the target. This Micro is so light I may even carry it along during gun season.
DuckHunt