TenPoint Tactical Crossbow Review

Model	Draw Weight	Stroke	Velocity	Suggested Arrow Length	Crossbow Length / Weight
TenPoint Tactical crossbow Get Best Price & Average Rating	185 lbs	12.6"	352 FPS How to sight a crossbow?	20"	38.1" / 7.3 lbs

Pros:

• Fast, powerful and deadly accurate
• Included rope-cocking device in base package
• Includes everything you need to get started, even arrows

Cons:

• None to mention

Package Contents

Hello, and thanks for checking out my review of the TenPoint Tactical XLT crossbow. This crossbow is designed with the ground blind hunter in mind, and features a matte black finish. Each package delivered by TenPoint includes the following items:

• The TenPoint Tactical XLT crossbow, including stock and bow assembly
• BowJax noise dampening kit
• TenPoint’s RangeMaster Pro scope
• Instant-detach 3-arrow ambidextrous quiver
• 6 TenPoint Pro Lite carbon arrows with field tips
• Instructional DVD
• Owner’s Manual
• Warranty card

Assembling the Crossbow

Putting the TenPoint Tactical XLT together is quick and painless. The riser does have a rather tight tolerance, but it still only took me 15 minutes to have the bow ready to shoot. The crossbow scope comes already mounted and bore-sighted, so all that’s required to put this crossbow together is to install the bow assembly onto the stock, attach the foot stirrup, and mount the quiver.

Accuracy and Power

The TenPoint Tactical XLT crossbow fires arrows off the rail at up to 335 fps with 105 ft. lbs. of kinetic energy using 420-gr arrows. This is fast enough and powerful enough to bag the largest game North America has to offer (legally, at least.)

Once sighted in, I was hitting dead-center on the target from 20 yards, 30 yards, and 50 yards. I could only shoot one arrow at a time, to prevent damaging my arrows. After initial testing, I began to aim and different points on the target to see if I could intentionally shoot 1”, 2”, and 3” groupings. From 20 yards, I could intentionally fire groupings of any width, and found the same to be true even at longer ranges. I am not sure what it is about this crossbow, but it is the most accurate crossbow I’ve ever fired.

Hunting: What to Expect

The TenPoint Tactical XLT is designed with a blacked-out finish, which makes it ideal for hunting from ground blinds, where light reflection can really threaten your chances of getting a shot at that elusive whitetail.

I went hunting with the included ProLite arrows, which are 370 grain including the broadhead. This combination on this crossbow yields speeds of 352 fps, and 102 ft. lbs. of kinetic energy.

Fully loaded, my Tactical XLT weighs almost 9 pounds, which is a bit on the heavy side. Since TenPoint doesn’t include a padded sling in the box, I took a sling off another crossbow and used it with this crossbow. I found the weight a bit more than I am used to, but it was manageable.

The noise dampening kit included with the TenPoint Tactical XLT makes this a very quiet crossbow, quieter than most other crossbows on the market. In fact, the noise difference between my Tactical XLT and a compound bow is only a matter of a few decibels.

The Tactical XLT is only 13.5” wide when cocked, and maneuvers very well inside my ground blind. On my first hunting trip with the Tactical XLT, I bagged a large bull moose from a ground blind. The moose must have weighed a thousand pounds, but the arrow passed clean through the moose, ripping through his lungs and heart before exiting out the other side. That moose only made it a dozen yards before he was on the ground for his dirt nap.

Cocking the TenPoint Tactical XLT

Cocking the TenPoint Tactical XLT requires 185 lbs. of draw weight. TenPoint includes your choice of either the AcuDraw or the AcuDraw 50 cocking systems. The AcuDraw is a hand-crank cocking device that tends to make a rather loud ratcheting sound when you crank it. The AcuDraw 50, on the other hand, is an innovative rope-cocking system that stows neatly into the rear of the stock when not in use.

I would personally recommend the AcuDraw 50, unless you have impairments that make it difficult to use even a rope-cocking device. At any rate, make sure you use some sort of cocking device, or you’ll end up with an uneven draw that will seriously impair your accuracy with the crossbow.

The Crossbow Scope

The TenPoint Tactical XLT includes the RangeMaster Pro scope, a 5X 30mm crossbow scope with aiming dots for 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 yards. The dots can be illuminated with either red or green light, and the brightness is adjustable using a rheostat for five brightness settings.

The optics on this scope are top-of-the-line, and the eye relief and field of view are excellent. Even in cold low-light conditions, there is no fogging on this scope and the target view is always crisp and clear.

As I was sighting in the scope, I only needed to fire three arrows and every shot was dead-on even out to 50 yards. After that, the scope held zero for the entire season, and is still holding zero today.

Bolts

TenPoint includes a 6-pack of ProLite carbon arrows with field tips. These are 370-gr arrows, and are high quality. I found that even with 425-gr arrows, I was getting speeds of 333 fps with 105 ft. lbs. of kinetic energy. I typically hunt with 400-gr arrows, but went with 425-gr arrows for my sight-in, accuracy, and hunting trips.

Safety and Design

TenPoint’s Tactical XLT is a very well-designed crossbow, with optimal weight balance. There is little to no frontal heaviness on this crossbow, and the trigger pull is light and smooth.

The foregrip works wonderfully to keep your fingers clear of the string, but TenPoint also includes its GripSafety shield to prevent your fingers from wandering up in the path of the string.

Warranty

TenPoint provides a lifetime warranty on all of its crossbows, and strives for maximum customer satisfaction. If you do have a problem with your crossbow, you can rest assured that TenPoint will take care of your problem with a fast, friendly attitude.

Crossbow Review – Summary

Thanks for reading my review of the TenPoint Tactical XLT crossbow. This is an excellent crossbow for ground blind hunting, and is going to give you years of pleasurable hunting. Check out Amazon.com’s best price for the TenPoint Tactical if you’d like to purchase it online.