TPM wrote:The crossbow market that Bill and Kath built the business in is very different from the market now. Performance and reliability were hard to find in a crossbow in 1983. Bill T fixed that and built a business on it. There were very few players then so the business model worked. Today there are a whole lot more players out there making reliable, quality bows. Unfortunately these days speed and "star wars" styling sells. Excal has to adapt to the market or sink. Same thing is happening in the gun industry. "Tacticool" seems to rule these days.
Well said. At least Excaliburs stand out warranty and service hasn't changed. That's money in the bank for us. One change we don't want them changing. It's above all others.
....limb issues or not...I can rest comfortably knowing the Company stands behind their products 100%...also, a lot of what they do (positive things) never hits the forum...I can attest to that!
Anthony
In a tough situation and wonder where God is; ...the Teacher is always quiet during the test.
I agree that the brand must move it's performance forward to compete, but it must also keep a steadfast hold on what got them there in the first place regardless of who's behind the controls.
The Excal brand was built upon the essence of dependability. It's simplicity and quality control assured hunter's the ability to KNOW the weapon the chose would LAST the season without issue. This choice was purposely made at the expense of accepting it might not be as fast & compact as the competition.
I think the Mega and Micro issues are recognized by many and some accept that as OK on those models as they are all about trading durability for speed on the Mega and Compact on the Micro.
I believe Excal has acknowledged this and the fact the Bulldog and Micro 355 have come out with design/parts to address those issue shows that the company as it stands today DOES value the Excalibur reputation for dependability. This is a good thing and hopefully emphasis upon new designs and quality control will be moved upward in the priority pie to match the former company's priority .
The market has changed..more and more states approving crossbows. ALL crossbow companies are reflecting massive growth.. For Excalibur to keep or grow their share of that pie...they must emphasize the core that got them there as well as enhance performance.
Obviously if they didn't emphasize performance, we would all still be shooting our "long limb" models.
I personally hope the Bulldog and 355 are "bulletproof" to show the market they CAN deliver durability and performance hand in hand. I would love to have a 355 if they are solid, but other than a flatter trajectory, I have no need for the Buldog. IMHO there is something deadly accurate about 300-325fps with a 400-450grn arrow that just works like magic for me. Does a 350grn arrow@400fps do anything more even out to 100yds besides make more noise and stress limbs?
I think I'll wait until the bulldog comes out and buy a used Mega 405 and have a custom Dacron string made for it with my 416gr arrows. That'll quiet it down and probably make it last forever:)
Personally I do not understand how people could not be impressed with the new bow lineup. Year after year their were hardly any changes. Earth shadering news used to be a color change. Then carved tip limbs to molded limbs. Then the biggest change in 20 years was a thumbhole stock. But all the bows remained the same. In came the 200 then the 225 but bow remained the same. Never a Wow factor. Now days......You have to say WOW.
Tomcat, I'm with ya 100%. Quality and reliability must still be front and center. I think there has been some growing pains in effort to go smaller and faster. I remember sitting in on one of Bill T's talks a number of years ago and one thing he said is that every time you fire a crossbow it tries to destroy itself. The forces it imparts on itself are complex and intense. I think the higher poundage Matrix models are pushing the limits of what the Matrix design can handle and hopefully the Bulldog is successful in addressing these issues.
The other side of the coin is the business side. I work for a large multi national corporation and I'm well aware that in any business the only guys that matter are "Number One" and the guys trying to be "Number One". Maintaining market share is no longer enough, you have to grow market share if you want long term viability. Unfortunately a lot of that burden falls on the marketing guys. I say "unfortunately" because corporate marketing tends to only look forward often forgetting that the past got them where they are now. It becomes a game of out selling the competition and glitz and glamour are powerfull tools to bring numbers up.
I really hope Excalibur finds and maintains that balance between putting out a quality bow with a reputation for unsurpassed reliabilty and the innovation and marketing required to be a number one player in the business.
The most important blood trail leads to the Cross...
I think the Bulldog doesn't have a good design besides the riser but we'll see. The trigger is to far forward to decock without shooting and the frame looks kinda cheesy, I think I'll stick with my 405.
i am waiting to see from the excal people what is the plan to do for the 405 people. i like my bow but do not trust it to go on a hunt that involve 's travel out of country .or out of state they come out with a new 400 and then havnt fixed the old one yet thats a barn burner for me just not impressed anymore
I'm very impressed! Excalibur is spot on with what they are doing. Speed and size does matter. Let me give you the perspective from a newcomer to the scene. Many of us are just entering the market because it's only become legal in our states over the last few years. When I finally decided to try crossbow hunting I spent many hours reading and researching what was out there. Handled and shot the ones that interested me. Wasn't sure if it would be for me so I went cheap on my first crossbow. Knew I wanted an Excalibur but didn't want to drop a lot of $ on one yet. The older models were within my price range but 36" wide was a turnoff. The lower speeds of the cheaper matrix models also didn't thrill me either. Bought one with training wheels to start. Compact, 345fps, $300, and somewhat of a warranty. Hunted with it and took a great buck. I was hooked! Mid season I dropped the cash and got me a real crossbow, a Matrix 355. Loved it so much I spent most of gun season hunting with it and took 2 more deer.
Us newbie's compare the numbers. That's what we look at when deciding what we want. Speed is not so much about the power as it is the trajectory. It's pretty much a no brainer when looking at 2 crossbows that cost the same and one shoots 300fps and the other 350fps. Excalibur is running right up there with the wheeled boys and with a lifetime warranty. I am Excalibur for life!
And one last comment....a saying I learned from almost 30 years in the business world, "A satisfied customer will tell 2 people about it. An unsatisfied customer will tell 10 people about it". Anyone looking to get rid of your 405's cheap let me know
I am not quite sure what some people with the Mega 405 expect. (for the record I own a 405 and a Micro 335) Excalibur will always honour their warranty policy, but I can't see them doing a recall on perfectly fine crossbows. If the bows brake they will fix them as they have always done.
It is absolutely normal to bring new designs and improve on the older. Every good company does it, but I don't hear people complaining to Apple why their 6th Gen iPhone has a better screen/antenna/etc than the previous and asking Apple what they will do for the people with the older iPhones.
nasko wrote:I am not quite sure what some people with the Mega 405 expect. (for the record I own a 405 and a Micro 335) Excalibur will always honour their warranty policy, but I can't see them doing a recall on perfectly fine crossbows. If the bows brake they will fix them as they have always done.
It is absolutely normal to bring new designs and improve on the older. Every good company does it, but I don't hear people complaining to Apple why their 6th Gen iPhone has a better screen/antenna/etc than the previous and asking Apple what they will do for the people with the older iPhones.
not really a good comparison. limbs would be a safety concern. if the known design is flawed or causes a higher than normal failure rate to the limbs then come clean. also no one has explained what Powerload limbs are? so now are there new design limbs to go with a new style riser? wish someone from the brass would explain. it would make us 405 owners feel better.if they discontinue the 405 it will make it look like there is an issue with that model. if they wait a year or 2 to discontinue but dont make them available for purchase would be even shady er...
