Best Upgrade

[L. E. Carroll]

From my very limited experience, having had 3 Varizone's, 2 Dead Zone's , a Nikon Bolt and a Leupold 2x7 Crossbones........As well as presently having a Boo trigger, a 2 stage 2 1/2# TT, and a Micro trigger I have polished up pretty nicely to the degree I'll never need to replace it.

Keeping costs in mind as well as quality, I would send your trigger to Boo for some of his "Magic" as was suggestd above.

I'd initially go with a Nikon Bolt for the awesome quality it provides as well as it's compactness..... Yes, it is not speed adjustable, but if you access their "Spot On" Ballistics table it's very easy come up with some very accurate yardages to match it's referance points with your particular bows speed and various arrow weights. ( I actually let a guy talk me into leaving mine on a bow I sold this past fall as it was all dialed in and he wanted to take off very soon after buying it for his Elk camp ).


If Money is a huge factor? I actually feel the Dead Zone is a very decent scope. IMO, I would definatey never choose a "Tac-zone" over a "Dead Zone" as I feel the D-Z seems clearest of the two by far and allows a wider range of usable eye relief.. I have found it very hard to throw a scope up and find a good full sight picture without moving my head back and forth to do so with a Tac-zone.

I'm using Dead Zones on two on my bows at present, and am totally happy, with the 3rd wearing a Crossbones, while I save up for a couple new Nikon's. However, if I hit the lottery it "would be" 2 more Leupolds.
Another option may be the Redfield Revenge 2x7 crossbow scope? I have never used one but many here like them a lot.

Best of luck with your decisions..... I'm sure you'll make a good one with the advice your getting thru this post.

Gene

[Predator55]

Optics are everything. When you buy a rifle, spend more on the scope than on the gun.

[wildcatter]

Yep the scope, and stick with the XB-30 Pro, far to many judge a scope by the one they have, if you have any of the other Hawke scopes, I wouldn't rate them much better than the factory scope,,, the XB-30 Pro in my iponion is the finest Crossbow exclusive scope made, I would never hunt a scope that wasn't already set fer any range I wnated when I looked through it,,, and untill the Zeiss has a lighted reticle, it will stay 2nd to me behind the XB-30 Pro, and I have two Viper XBR's on the safe, better brighter optics than Leupold, and it is lighted, but you see whats on mine,,

Just out of curiosity why can't luepolds such as my mark ar be set for any range, unless i misunderstood what you said. Mine is set perfect for where i hunt. Have four ranged marks and that was with half hour of setting it up. Im sure i could get more with the turret use like Derrick does.
Best crossbow exclusive scope? Well our opinions differ greatly.
I agree hawke is much better then the factory scopes, but i have looked through that new xb30 pro and i wasn't impressed at all, actually prefer the tact zone over it.
Yes many judge a scope by what they have isnt that personal preferance? Every one has their own needs wants expectations, hence why they have that scope. Many have tried lots ans settled on what they have

I set mine for a 30 yard Zero, then go to 50 yards and use the speed dial(power setting) to zero the 3rd aiming point, making anything out to 30 dead, but giving me 30, 39, 50, 61, and 72 yards dead on aiming points by simply looking thru the scope, I don't have to change a thing when the moment of truth comes. These scope don't ever change unless I change arrows. I could use the 20 30 40 50 but most my shots are inside 40m yards, if I hold dead on center of the boiler room everything is dead out to 35 yards using a 30 yard zero, if I want to take a shot on anything out to 70 yards I don't have to change a thing, simply look thru nthe scope and pick one of the aiming points fer whatever is dead on at 10 yard increments, and I can do this with less than 3X, I want field of view, not power, I'm hunting big game not ground squirrels or prairie dogs. This is just what works best fer a hunting bow setup fer me.

[xcaliber]

I would recommend upgrading the glass. I like the Redfield Revenge if you like to dial in your chevrons for precise yardage, but the glass on the Nikon Bolt is very good at the magical moments, and through most hunting distances the chevrons are where they need to be. Some good range time after you get the distances from there site are critical, but not unlike any other scope that you plan to hunt with. A good Flemish String in my opinion is priceless as well, and many members here that twist will get you a good custom colored string that will perform great!
Arrows are what you like, and what you can get quickly. Some like .001", and spine indexed, etc. I shoot often, and find that well fletched, squared shafts of good quality will get you the results you want, and provide the accuracy most folks could not out best with better arrows of higher cost. My opinion, and proven on the range to me!

[gerald strine]

Go with the glass the factory triggers are fine on Excalibur bows these are short range hunting tools properly used under 40 yards 30 is better for that range their is no need for a trigger upgrade we are not bench rest shooting hundreds of yards,
However we are often shooting in poor light conditions where good glass can make a difference upgrade your scope.

[Ontario Savage]

I picked up a 350 LE and thought I'd upgrade glass right away...till I mounted the dead zone and was immediately impressed. Now how much better a crossbones is at last light that I haven't compared yet....

How ever if I had to choose between trigger and glass I'm upgrading glass instead.