Excalibur’s New REVX Crossbow

Recurve-style crossbows are easy to love, and Excalibur has perfected simplicity. I hunt with an Excalibur Micro crossbow every year and have dubbed it “Old Reliable” because of its consistent performance.  All three of my grandsons have taken their first deer with it because it’s light, compact, and very accurate.  At the 2025 ATA Show, I shot the new REVX which was definitely recurve 2.0, loved it, and ordered one.  It arrived yesterday and I had the chance to unbox and sight it in.  Here are my impressions:

Crank Cocking

The REVX shoots a 350-grain arrow up to 400 fps so a crank cocking device is needed for most hunters.  The Excalibur system is very simple and the crank handle nests into the stock so it’s always at hand.  A trigger box release lever is easy to use and allows the trigger box to slide easily to the string where it attaches with a distinct click.  Engage the safety and then crank the bow to full cock.  You can pause the process with no backwind or handle twirling.  Full cock is indicated by a “click,” back wind the handle three times, and remove.

Easy Peasy

As you can see in the above picture, the trigger release tab is large and easy to operate, as is the safety button in front of it. Hunting in cold weather often requires gloves, and these large control elements make the bow easy and safe to operate.

Well Labeled

The REVX is a powerful bow, and Excalibur has gone the extra mile with its labeling and safety instructions.  In case you need a refresher on how to cock and uncock the crossbow, the directions are printed on the buttstock.  Like an airplane pilot, you have a checklist of procedures so that the arrow can be launched accurately and safely every time.

Easy Sigh-In

The labeling on the scope turrets was clear and precise. Note that directions are printed directly on the scope adjustments, making them much easier to fine-tune.

Lighted Nocks

I was delighted to see that the REVX came with four lighted nocks.  These Rhino nocks are a textured variation of a flat nock.  Unlike traditional arrow nocks, this design eliminates the possibility of cutting the string if the cock vane isn’t oriented correctly.  These 16.5-inch arrows can be loaded and launched with any vane in the shooting rail.

Morrell Made it Easy.

A quality crossbow requires a quality practice target and the Morrell Mod Pro is the perfect arrow stopper.  This was the first time I had used the Morrell grid target, and it transformed the usual “guess how many clicks” into science.  When a scope requires five clicks to move 1/2 inch at 20 yards, it’s easy to get confused.  This Morrell target with its 1 inch tuning grid eliminated the guesswork.

Overall, I was very impressed wth the Excalibur REVX.  It cocked easily, has a good balance and feel, and shot spot on during sight in.  This will be a great spring turkey bow and I plan to experiment with various braodheads in the coming weeks.  Recurve crossbows have many fewer moving parts than their compound cousins and a more straightforward design has many advantages.