Bulldog 400 Chronograph Results

[Squirrel]

Excalibur should change the name from Bulldog 400 to Matrix 380 Bullpup

[ThunderXB]

'm sure I can get it to an acceptable shooter, but what I am starting to worry about is that if I ever want to sell it and move to another model, I'll be stuck with a Xbow regarded as a "turkey" and it will have little resale value.

I don't see how you can call the Bulldog 400 a "turkey"? To date we have had ZERO limb failures! We have also received rave reviews for this new crossbow from many users so although I do understand your frustration with the issues you've had I don't think its fair to rate the crossbow as having a poor resale value.

When you assemble the new items I would be interested to hear how it shoots.

Thanks,

Peter

[/i]


Peter,

Relax,

I'm not really calling the BD400 a "turkey" just concerned it may eventually considered one by others and give the marketplace the impression it is one to avoid and impact any potential resale value.

I have NO plans to sell my BD right now, have enjoyed shooting it so far and am anxious to reassemble and see how it goes with the new fixes in place. I understand everyone may not have the same stock/comb/trigger/screw issues I have, but I have seen enough posts that suggest some do.

I'm OK with whatever the speed is because I can hardly see the bolt come out of the bow right now. Whether it's 365 fps or 390 fps with a 400 gr+ bolt isn't my biggest concern, BUT as has been discussed above and elsewhere, many buyers focus first and foremost on speed and if the BD gets a reputation of being 20-40 fps slower than advertised, it could impact resale value and opinion on the bow.

That's all I'm saying, and I thought, fairly so.

Good to see your speed test shows at advertised speed and hope that dispels some of the concerns out there.

While I've had a few issues so far, I understand stuff happens and have been pretty impressed, and previously said so here, with the Excal service and turnaround time.

[one shot scott]

As promised here is a short video showing the speeds we achieved with a stock Bulldog shooting a Diablo arrow with a 100 grain tip. The video was done with my phone so not perfect but gives you the idea. The first shot shows the speed at 397.3 and the second shot was 399. One thing we did notice with the swept back riser is higher brace height gives you more speed since it tends to pre-load the limbs more. We got the above speeds with 1/4" off the bumpers. We tried the string almost touching and got about 8 fps slower.

https://youtu.be/D7sYrt23csM

Thanks for the video. Its good to witness that the speeds are close to advertised. Its also interesting that you lost 8fps with altering the string placement. Throw in crony inaccuracies, F.Tip weight and there are a lot of variables that can determine fps on a bow. I don't own a BullDog but if/when I do I appreciate the input you have given here and the off the cuff video you provided.

[paulaboutform]

As a Matrix 410 owner, I wondered how the BD400 would perform through a chronograph. Just looking at the slightly longer PS and the relaxed angle of the BD400 versus the M405, I didn't think the BD400 went long enough to exceed its advertised speed. From reading the experiences of others, it appears as though very few of them do.

I shot one and liked it a lot, but nowhere near enough to sell my Matrix 410 to finance its purchase. Now that limb overheating issues have been addressed, I have zero qualms about the "old" riser geometry.

100% what Derrick said! .....only mine's just a little faster.

Paul

[Carnivorous]

I'm wondering if the issues of speed is also due to where the chrony is setup when testing?

Bingo!!

Just shoot your now and have fun with it.

[Boomer81]

I'm wondering if the issues of speed is also due to where the chrony is setup when testing?

Bingo!!

Just shoot your now and have fun with it.

I actually don't shoot a bulldog. Mine is a 350le and i don't care if it shoots 250 or 450 lol as long as it hits where i aim then i know itll take down that deer

[steven in England]

The problem is speed does matter to some and people do get disappointed when a bow does not make the speed. It would be far better to call a bow a Bulldog 380 and all the bows do 390+ rather than the other way around. The vast majority of chronographs are very accurate and as long as the arrow weight is known and the person is a minimum of an arrow length off the chronograph then the results should be close. Taking these variables out there are quite a few people including myself are reporting that the M380 is faster than the Bulldog and my string is also set at a quarter inch off the stops. The other problem is, only one bow was tested by Excalibur, this is not a representative sample and only means one bow is up to speed. What I would like to see is Excalibur test 10 bows and let's see what the real difference and spread is. Like I said before, does it really matter if a bow is under by 20fps, probably not, but make sure the vast majority of bows are at the advertised speed and nobody gets upset.
Steven

[tomcat]

Speed is obviously everything to the prospective "Bulldog" customer or he would be looking at one of the other models, and hence the reason the market is driven by speed.
Some want it to help overcome range estimation issues, and some want it, simply because they want the most they can get.

IME, I've put arrows cleanly through large bucks shoulders at up to 63yds using a 45# youth compound and 375gr total weight arrows at 230fps with Mech Rocket Steelheads. I do ok with range estimation and don't see the value of pushing an arrow any faster speed than whatever speed it provides the most repeatable accuracy at...For me that sweet spot is a 425gr arrow at 300-340fps out of Excals.

[mchurch]

Has anyone tested mechanicals so far? I have shot the grim reaper crossbow head, excalibur x act, and the grave digger broadhead. They all did very well to 60 yards

[foofoo]

that video shows nothing. the YOU TUBE world is all about the unboxing videos. to be legit the video needs to be someone pulling one off a shelf or opening a sealed unit and assembling it in front of the camera and then shooting.

[amythntr]

....Hey Peter....why not do a test at Boofest?.....bring a couple of boxed BD400's (yes the people would have to trust your honesty)...assuming they were just pulled out of inventory....bring them to BF and have two average shooters shoot them with what comes with them...you place the Chrony where it should be and have the test recorded....that i believe would provide all the attendees with direct proof of it's actual speed....

....too bad i will not be there this year!

Anthony

[Moon]

Personally. I'd like to see Excal rate ALL their bows with a 400 grain arrow and be done with it while continuing with 350 grain minimum arrow weight. IMHO, it has been a mistake to chase speed above all else with recurve crossbows. These bows in the 350 fps range, often referred to as the sweet spot for a very good reason, are bullet proof and will efficiently kill anything with 4 legs using an appropriate arrow weight. The speed chasers shooting wheel and cable crossbows regularly belittle recurves trying to compete with them. I'd much rather see Excal focus on building shorter and lighter weight premium recurves with state of the art trigger systems, more choices in camo's and colors, sound deadening technologies instead of having to add on rubber parts resulting in bows that look like porcupines, plus adjustable cheek piece height and LOP. The Tact-Zone scope is close to being an ideal package scope. I'd prefer to see crosshairs instead of the pyramids. Nope, a recurve hunting crossbow can not compete with the whizbang compound bows' speed but they can't compete with recurves' simplicity, light weight, ease of maintenance and durability. I call that huntability:-) That's what sells recurves for most folks I think.

[ROGER THAT]

Sighted In My Bulldog Today After Turkey Hunting
This Thing Is NO TURKEY Dead Accurate Out To 40 Yards
Shot Side By Side With MY 405
While I Will Say The Trigger Will Take Some Time To Get Used To

[Boomer81]

Personally. I'd like to see Excal rate ALL their bows with a 400 grain arrow and be done with it while continuing with 350 grain minimum arrow weight. IMHO, it has been a mistake to chase speed above all else with recurve crossbows. These bows in the 350 fps range, often referred to as the sweet spot for a very good reason, are bullet proof and will efficiently kill anything with 4 legs using an appropriate arrow weight. The speed chasers shooting wheel and cable crossbows regularly belittle recurves trying to compete with them. I'd much rather see Excal focus on building shorter and lighter weight premium recurves with state of the art trigger systems, more choices in camo's and colors, sound deadening technologies instead of having to add on rubber parts resulting in bows that look like porcupines, plus adjustable cheek piece height and LOP. The Tact-Zone scope is close to being an ideal package scope. I'd prefer to see crosshairs instead of the pyramids. Nope, a recurve hunting crossbow can not compete with the whizbang compound bows' speed but they can't compete with recurves' simplicity, light weight, ease of maintenance and durability. I call that huntability:-) That's what sells recurves for most folks I think.

This.

[nchunterkw]

Personally. I'd like to see Excal rate ALL their bows with a 400 grain arrow and be done with it while continuing with 350 grain minimum arrow weight. IMHO, it has been a mistake to chase speed above all else with recurve crossbows. These bows in the 350 fps range, often referred to as the sweet spot for a very good reason, are bullet proof and will efficiently kill anything with 4 legs using an appropriate arrow weight. The speed chasers shooting wheel and cable crossbows regularly belittle recurves trying to compete with them. I'd much rather see Excal focus on building shorter and lighter weight premium recurves with state of the art trigger systems, more choices in camo's and colors, sound deadening technologies instead of having to add on rubber parts resulting in bows that look like porcupines, plus adjustable cheek piece height and LOP. The Tact-Zone scope is close to being an ideal package scope. I'd prefer to see crosshairs instead of the pyramids. Nope, a recurve hunting crossbow can not compete with the whizbang compound bows' speed but they can't compete with recurves' simplicity, light weight, ease of maintenance and durability. I call that huntability:-) That's what sells recurves for most folks I think.

This.

Yup yup