Something else to consider is that I felt like the Jackal was too noisy for my liking, and I noticed more than average vibration when I pulled the trigger. I bought a rope cocking device separately to make my life easier, and I highly encourage you to do the same. A rope cocker can take the weight off your back, reducing the draw weight by half in most cases. Now, the problem I have with the Jackal is that you don’t get a rope cocker with it. However, if you are taking it out for hunting, I suggest you switch it out for a scope that gives you a longer sight range.Īs for safety, the Jackal is pretty standard it has an anti-dry fire mechanism, so you don’t damage your crossbow or yourself by dry firing, and has an auto-safety feature so you don’t lose fingers. It’s not a terrible sight and is good enough for target practice. I did this because the red dot was a bit too basic for me, but your mileage may vary. That said, it’s worth noting that I didn’t use the red dot sight that came with the bow and instead switched it for my Vortex scope. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting a beginner crossbow bow to hit with such precision (especially from a distance of 60 yards from the target), but it was definitely a welcome surprise.

I took it to the range and grouped all my shots close to the bullseye. Something that really surprised me about this crossbow was its accuracy.

The Jackal also does well in the speed and kinetic energy department-with a speed of 315 FPS backed by 150 lbs draw weight, it’s not the fastest or the most powerful crossbow out there, but it has enough power to take down most small- to medium-sized game. That’s surprising since it’s a compound crossbow which has a lot of different moving parts, so that says a lot about how easy it is to set up. It took me roughly ten minutes to set up. They did a great job with its design while the Jackal is not as compact as some like the Excalibur 308 Short Banshee, it’s still very easy to handle because of the ergonomic grip and adjustable buttstock. That’s why the Barnett Jackal is my top pick, because it has pretty much everything that a beginner would need in a crossbow.īarnett makes my lists consistently because they make great and affordable crossbows for hunters at every level of skill, and the Jackal is no different. As a beginner, the crossbow you should be looking for should be the one that’s easy to handle, is forgiving of mistakes, and still gives you a fair amount of power.

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