Fastest Crossbow (Updated Oct 2021)

One of the most common questions from readers is, what’s the best speed for a crossbow? The answer to that is pretty standard, “it actually depends.” There are a lot of variables to consider when it comes to choosing a fast crossbow, but to allow you to get the fastest with the best features to match it, we have the top 4 fastest crossbows below. 

Picture Name My Verdict
Excalibur Matrix 380 Best Overall Performance Check Price
Ravin R9 The younger brother of the Ravin R20 Check Price
Barnett Ghost 420 The most accurate on the list. Check Price
Ravin R20 The fastest most powerful on the list Check Price

Excalibur Matrix 380

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Pros

  • It’s a compact recurve bow
  • It comes with 4 high quality arrow and field tips
  • It has a rope cocking device
  • It comes with a high quality scope

Cons

  • Illumination is dark

This one is a very powerful crossbow that would take any type of target down effortlessly. It has a 380 ft per second velocity, and it delivers a strong 112 ft per Lb push of kinetic energy. This one also comes with a rope cocking device that would also reduce the sound so you could use it for hunting. It also comes with a tact-zone scope. Excalibur Matrix 380 comes with about 260 Lbs draw weight so you need a strong cocking device. Since this is a recurve crossbow, one of its features is being lightweight weighing only 5.9 Lbs. 

Ravin R9

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Pros

  • Very powerful and accurate
  • Very lightweight
  • Comes with an illuminated scope

Cons

  • A bit front heavy
  • Expensive

This comes from a new brand in the market but it has been growing popularity very fast. Ravin means “violent seizure of prey” and it’s exactly what this Ravin R9 is. It’s a lightweight design, it only weighs 6.9 Lbs. It uses HeliCoil Technology which means the system coils the cable into a helical shape from the top and bottom of the cams. This results into greater cam rotation and allows a higher speed. The R9 has a very narrow shape, this makes him a good companion when hunting. The velocity of this crossbow is 390 ft/sec. It also has an impressive 135 ft per Lb. It has high speed, high power, and a very unique design which is a very good combination. 

Barnett Ghost 420

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Pros

  • It’s perfectly balanced and it’s lightweight
  • It’s powerful and fast
  • It comes with a great design for winter hunting
  • Lightweight and perfectly balanced

Cons

  • Scope mount is snot so good

This package comes with an illuminated scope, a removable cocking handle, a side mounted quiver, and 6 Ravin arrows. In this list, this one has the second best FPS, it’s 420 FPS. Can you imagine how good that is? It even comes with a frictionless release technology which means on the sear and trigger there’s a free floating roller sitting to give the crossbowman a very smooth pull when it’s released. The compound crossbow has a velocity of 420 ft per second. It has a kinetic energy of about 153 ft per Lb and it will be enough to bring even the largest game down in just a single shot. But surprisingly, this only weighs 7.8 Lbs because of its carbon material. But that’s not all, it only comes with an Anti-dry fire trigger system for safety. This has all the important features plus an amazing velocity, I don’t know what else to ask for. 

Ravin R20

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Pros

  • Very accurate
  • It has reduced vibration
  • It has hard hitting power
  • It has a very compact design

Cons

  • It comes with an expensive price tag

The R20 is the big brother of the Ravin R9 we talked about above. It has the same rail free HeliCoil Technology, and it even shares a lot of features like the compact form factor, lightweight at 7.1 Lbs, and being very accurate. Aside from that it comes with a draw handle which cocks and de-cocks a crossbow easily than ever. The speed of this one is 430 FPS which is the fastest on our list. This one is best for big games and not target shooting because it could destroy your target.

Conclusion

Like we mentioned earlier, aside from speed there are a lot of other variables that matter. While you might think faster means better, that doesn’t fit every situation. For a beginner, we suggest you gain more experience before going over 410 FPS because mastery is something important with crossbows. That’s our fastest crossbows for 2018 with Ravin R20 as the fastest, the Barnett Ghost 420 second, the Ravin R9 third, and Excalibur Matrix 380 last. Find the perfect Reverse Limb Crossbow money can buy. While there are others faster than this out in the market but from our personal experience with them these are the ones who can actually produce that much speed because of their features , build, and other variables. Hope this helps you! Learn more about Barnett RC-150.

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