BALLISTA BAT Compound Crossbow for Hunting, Bowfishing and Target, 300 FPS | 16 x 5 in, 2.46 lb frame fits a 30 L backpack, while built-in cocking assist reduces pull effort to about 40 lb.

The Balista Bat is an amazing crossbow. Although I’m not a hunter, I've been passionate about traditional archery since the '90s. I had never tried a crossbow until I purchased a small pistol crossbow, which I enjoyed because it required a lower skill level than a traditional bow. Once I adjusted the sights, it proved to be quite accurate and had good penetration through several sheets of cardboard. Now, the Balista Bat is a lethal and beautifully crafted piece of equipment with impressive penetration power; it made its way through 8 to 10 thick layers of cardboard and shipping paper, protruding about three inches from the back. Assembly was straightforward, requiring only a few screws for the foregrip and the magazine. Waxing the strings, lubricate the rail, and load the five bolts that come with it and you're ready. I rate its durability very highly; the Bat is solid. You can throw it in a bag, and even if it gets knocked around, it will still be ready to shoot since the bolts are held securely in the magazine by a detent arm that only releases when unlocked by a switch. The five-bolt magazine is incredibly fun to use and, along with the laser sight I added, it’s very accurate. This little beast is powerful; with the right bolts and in the right hands, it could definitely take down a deer.

Let me first say that I have close to zero previous archery experience, so I have nothing to compare this product against. Having said that, I believe this is a serious weapon (definitely not a toy). I have set up an "archery range" in my basement and am able to shoot about 30 feet from my target. Practice bolts that came with the crossbow sink 4-6 inches into the target. I am very sure that this crossbow would do major damage to any living target. My primary reason for buying this product was for home protection. I am convinced it would stop anyone on the receiving end. Of course, if you were to use this against another person, you had better make the first shot count, as even with practice, it will take 5-10 seconds to cock the crossbow and load the next bolt. The quality of this crossbow seems excellent. It is easy to cock (and de-cock if needed). Cocking is very easy, you simply pull back on the cocking handle until it locks in place. When you cock it, a "safety" button pops out at the near end. You can't fire a bolt until you press the safety button back in. This is a great safety feature to prevent a dry fire or accidental shot. Once it is cocked, your choices are to either fire a bolt or to "de-cock" it, which is also very easy to do. The instructions warn you in no uncertain terms to never "dry fire" (fire without a bolt), as this can do serious damage to the string or the crossbow itself and will void the warranty. Once I got the sight aligned, I found I can hit within an inch of the bullseye with about 90% of my shots from 10 yards (in my basement with no wind). I can hit within two inches 100% of the time. So the repeatability of shots seems to be very good. Having no previous archery experience, I didn't take into account the extra costs associated with this crossbow. I needed to also buy the sight, an extra string/cable, a "press" (to replace the string/cables), a target, and some hunting bolts (it comes with three practice bolts). So, it was very easy for the total cost to come up to $500 or more once I take into account those additional, but very necessary, accessories. Aside from its main purpose that I bought it for (home protection), it is a lot of fun to shoot. The power is incredible. I'm sure larger crossbows have more power, but this seems to have all the power I need for my purposes. As I mentioned above this is NOT a toy, so I would not allow a child to use it without close supervision. But it is a lot of fun to shoot.

We bought this crossbow for our son's birthday, and he absolutely loves it. It's compact and easy to take anywhere, but it shoots surprisingly far and has plenty of power. So far, we're very happy with it!

On the third draw that the string became dislodged. And since they don't provide a Stringer with it so you'll have to buy one probably just to be safe if you still choose to buy this piece of garbage. I'm going to try to restring with the Stringer I already have from another crossbow and though I'm not sure if it will even work with this design. Also it's immediately obvious that the handle that comes with this is poorly designed. Because unless I'm missing something it can either stand straight up or Tilt at a 75° angle to either side but there's no way to fix it in place so it doesn't really work well as a handle. Now I say three draws but I got one practice shot off. The first draw was as soon as I unboxed it inside my house so I wasn't going to fire it. Which was okay cuz they make a big Point not to dry fire right so I wanted to practice decocking it. Which I will say that at least was very easy. I do also feel like I should mention the grip and trigger mechanism of the crossbow itself feels like cheap plastic, to the point that it doesn't feel like it goes with the rest of the crossbow. Like I said if I can fix it and shoot it a little bit consistently maybe I'll keep it but honestly it's probably going back cuz I can't imagine I'm going to be able to restring it and I refuse to buy a Stringer from them because this thing failed on the first day which is really something they should include anyways. I'd still be disappointed but I could work with it Edit I caved and bought the the press to restring this. Restrung it took it out. Used it for a day. Got off a fair number of shots. But then look down and see that the string is already fraying. To the point that I'm debating whether or not to buy a back of spring for when this one breaks. So let's put it together between the Press for around $60 and the new string for around $40 you're probably going to want to add an extra hundred bucks to the price of this thing off the bat.

I love this crossbow. Easy to use and so funn to shoot. I have to remind myself that it is NOT a toy. But I have one major reservation. I have shot this weapon about a hundred times and have already seen significant fraying on the cables. Other crossbow manufacturers state that strings and cables should be changed every two years. I am wondering now whether it is safe shoot this again. A snapped cable could easily damage the pulleys and risers.

Love it, very well done

My first review was was made out of frustration and I only gave 1 star. I was finally able to get in contact with the warranty department and the problem was solved. It did take almost 2 weeks before a part was even shipped out to me. It turned out that for some reason my crossbow had extra bolts screwed into the firing mechanism. I think designed to keep it from firing. Instead it let it fire, but jammed the down so it couldn’t reload. In case anyone else has a similar issue. For the size of the bow it does produce some impressive power. Could be use on small game, I imagine. I’m setting my bow up for fishing. Should help make that a bit more entertaining. Made my friend laugh when they’re all setting their poles up and I busted a crossbow out. Of course, everyone had to try it out. So you’ll want plenty of arrows. I called it a desk prob in my first review because of a reliability issue and concerns. However, after getting that issue fixed. It’s a solid tool, that will mostly be used to get laughs and curiosity involvement. The compatibility in its size makes for a perfect backpack fishing bow. I wish there was a model set up explicitly for that usage. That way with the price point wouldn’t out weigh the bow. Since there wasn’t I had to drop over another $100 for the real, adapter, and 3 arrows. Could of purchased a good fly rig or very nice rods and reels. But that’s not for me, when doing some Louisiana fishing is an option.

This thing is super badass! It is lightweight, extremely compact, and very accurate. I recommend it!