SA Sports Crusader Crossbow Review

ModelDraw WeightStrokeVelocitySuggested Arrow LengthCrossbow Length / Weight
SA Sports Crusader

SA Sports Crusader

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225 lbs.13.5"330 FPS

Crossbow Academy: ballistics, sighting, tuning
20"35" (w/o foot stirrup) / 6.5 lbs.
Pros:
- Everything you need to get started is included
- Powerful and accurate
- Lightweight

Cons:
- Scope lacks good light gathering capabilities
- Short 1-year warranty period
Small Game Hunting?yes2
Deer, Elk Hunting?yes2
Moose, Bear Hunting?yes2
Target Shooting?yes2
Also Recommended:Best SA Sports Crossbows

What’s in the box?

Welcome to our SA Sports Crusader Crossbow Review. Each package delivered by SA Sports includes the following items:

  • The SA Sports Crusader crossbow
  • Quick-detach quiver
  • 4×32 Multi Reticle Scope
  • Rope cocking device
  • Padded sling
  • 4 20” Carbon arrows
  • Assembly hardware and tools
  • Owner’s manual
  • Warranty card

Putting the Crossbow Together

Assembling the Crusader is pretty easy, and I was able to have my new Crusader up and running within half an hour. The bow comes prestrung, so you don’t even have to do that. All that you have to do is install the riser assembly to the body of the crossbow using a nose bolt and washer, then attach the quiver mount and foot stirrup. Next, you attach the quiver bracket and attach the quiver to the bracket. Finally, you install the scope and you’re ready to go.

Accuracy And Power

You’ll see (or not see, depending on how quick your eyes are) your arrow fly off the rail at a blistering 330 fps, and the arrow deals out 96 ft. lbs. of kinetic energy. This is powerful enough to rip the arrow through most target blocks, so make sure you’ve got your target block propped up against something sturdy.

The Crusader is easy to sight in; mine required just a few tweaks to the windage knob before I was hitting dead center on the target block. Then it was time for accuracy testing, so I started making my way back to 75 yards, testing the bow at various ranges.

All I can say is that this thing is a veritable tack driver. From 75 yards, I was keeping 2” groupings, something almost unheard of at that range. My groupings closer were even tighter, especially at 25 yards when my arrows all touched one another. This is a very accurate crossbow, and I felt very comfortable taking this baby out to hunt deer.

What to Expect as a Hunter

The SA Sports Crusader is a monster of a crossbow, both in its capability and its size. Fortunately, though, it’s small in weight, coming in at just 6.5 pounds. This is a recurve crossbow, though, so you’ll have quite a bit of width to contend with as you make your way through the woods.

I took the Crusader elk hunting, and it performed exactly as I thought it would. I was able to harvest an elk with a shot that passed through his body and burrowed into the mud on the other side. That elk barely made it a foot before he dropped to the ground!

Cocking The SA Sports Crusader

I love cocking recurve crossbows, because it’s such a natural feel to it. The string just pulls back and snicks into place. The included rope cocking device is necessary with this crossbow, because of its 225 pound draw weight, but it feels much lighter with the rope cocker.

The Crossbow Scope

The scope is the only weak spot on this crossbow, because of its limited capabilities in low light conditions. It sights in easily enough, though, and holds true throughout a full season of hunting or longer. It also has very good fogproofing, which is quite nice when the weather takes a turn for the colder out in the woods. When the light is good, target image is very crisp and clear, with plenty of contrast.

Bolts

The Crusader ships with 4 20” carbon bolts, but I quickly swapped those out for my Firebolt arrows. The included arrows are pretty decent, though, being nicely balanced and shooting very straight and accurately. If you are shopping for more arrows, just look for 20” carbon arrows with a total weight (including your practice point or broadhead) of 400 grain to get the most out of this crossbow. Sure, you could shoot heavier arrows, but there isn’t much point to it with as much power as this crossbow already puts out, unless you’re planning on hunting something really, really big.

Safety and Design

The skeletonized stock of this crossbow is very sleek-looking, and it does wonders for dropping the weight of the crossbow. The trigger pull is a nice, light 3.5 pound pull, with an almost perfect break point and smooth pull. The anti dry-fire mechanism works perfectly each and every shot, as does the safety.

The riser on the Crusader is machined aluminum, and the limbs are made of compression fiberglass. This crossbow is very sturdy and well-made, and should stand up to a fair bit of use and abuse out in the field.

Warranty

Here’s the other drawback to SA Sports—the warranty. You only get a 1-year limited warranty, which is probably the shortest warranty period of any crossbow I’ve ever reviewed (aside from some cheap pistol crossbows). The Crusader is well made, though, and should show any signs of manufacturer’s defect in the first year. Also, SA Sports has an excellent team of customer service representatives who are very responsive and knowledgeable.

What Crossbow Case Fits the SA Sports Crusader?

A soft case match under 70 bucks is the Carbon Express Deluxe Case. Of course, larger scopes do not work as well with it. For bigger scopes try opting for the Allen Company case for a soft case. The Plano 1133-00 Manta Crossbow Case is a nice hard case alternate.

Crossbow Review – Summary

Thanks for reading our SA Sports Crusader crossbow review. This is a fine crossbow that will provide you with years of service, working just as well for target shooting (with a strong enough backstop behind your target block) and hunting. Take a look at today's amazon.com price on this crossbow and check out our top 10 crossbows rankings for more.

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