I don’t know about you, but I’m not a read-the-instruction-manual type of guy. Never have been. For that, I can thank the countless poorly written instruction manuals I’ve been subjected to over the years and the ensuing frustrations. Albeit, I’d rather use my common sense than read to identify a problem or learn how to assemble something.
Today, some products are so advanced that common sense no longer cuts it. I like technological advancements, but I gravitate towards items that don’t give me an instruction-manual headache. Whether you’re like me or not, I’m sure we can agree that there is beauty in simplicity, especially in this age in which technologies practically become obsolete before we truly understand them. Manufacturers race to stay at the technology forefront; the problem is that it’s hard for consumers to keep up.
That is why Excalibur, a crossbow brand that celebrated 40 years in business in 2023, is praised in the hunting community. It finds ways to advance without compromising time-honored recurve craftsmanship, which puts the company in its own lane. The Suppressor Extreme, which I recently tested, is a fine example of the future and the past blended to perfection.
Let’s discuss the nuts and bolts of a crossbow that I’d gladly carry afield whether I was after a whitetail doe for the freezer or the trophy of a lifetime.
The Package
Before I address the Suppressor Extreme’s attributes and performance, here’s a quick rundown of the package contents. Included are the Tact-100 scope, 30mm scope rings, R.E.D.S. Suppressors, Sound Deadening System, Rebolt quiver, four 16.5-inch PROFLIGHT premium arrows, four 100-grain practice points, Charger EXT Crank with Fail-Safe Strap, Decocking Hook, and the owner’s manual. The kit retails for $1,299.99, which is relatively low considering that many crossbow packages now retail for well over $2,000, with some breaching $3,000. And the accessories included here are of excellent quality. Quality accessories and dependable, Canada-made performance for a little over a thousand bucks; sounds like a steal to me.
Common Sense Assembly
Although I suggest referencing the owner’s manual, I used common sense to assemble the Suppressor Extreme. If you decide to purchase the Suppressor Extreme, you can find the product at that link to Bass Pro Shops.
The four simple steps are connecting the limbs and riser to the stock, mounting the scope, mounting the quiver bracket, and mounting the Ex-act Fit Suppressors. After that, I threaded the practice points into the ends of the PROFLIGHT arrows and was set to test the package outdoors in my brutally cold Wisconsin yard. A 10-degree Fahrenheit temperature makes for less-than-enjoyable testing conditions, but it is realistic hunting weather, especially for northern folks like me.
Beautifully Balanced and Shockingly Lightweight
My first takeaway as I handled the Suppressor Extreme is that the Charger EXT crank isn’t quite as nice as the integrated system that Excalibur features on some of its models being that it is removable; it’s slightly cumbersome in comparison. But, in the world of removable cranks, it is the best, smoothest, and most streamlined. And, it reduces cocking effort to a fraction of what a rope cocking aid entails. Using merely 18 pounds of effort, women and youngsters can even handle it. The crossbow can be fired with the crank in place, but it is a little more difficult to attain a cheek weld on the stock. In most instances, I’ll detach it before shooting.
Next, as I aimed the crossbow and took a few close-range shots to get sighted in, its light weight and ease of shouldering floored me. It weighs merely 6.4 pounds, bare bow, and 8.45 pounds, accessorized. Shifting it to acquire a target is virtually effortless. Although a recurve crossbow cannot compete with the tight widths of today’s narrowest crossbows, the Suppressor Extreme is a tight setup in its own regard. The uncocked width is 25.5 inches and the cocked width is 20 3/4 inches — plenty of maneuverability for most hunting settings.
Since the Suppressor Extreme utilizes recurve limbs, it balances quite a bit differently than many crossbows I’ve recently tested. Most are front-heavy, where the front-to-back balance point on this one is much closer to the center. It feels incredible. The Suppressor Extreme is absolutely a pleasure to handle and shoot.
The Range Experience
After dialing in at 20 yards within four shots, I sent numerous PROFLIGHT arrows downrange during my test. Once I was at 60 yards, I had to slightly adjust the scope’s magnification in order for the pre-calibrated reticle to correspond with my actual yardage. Even though my Suppressor Extreme’s velocity measured by a Caldwell chronograph is 398 fps, I had to set the scope dial at what I estimated to be 385 fps in order for the reticle marks to be accurate at their respective yardages. That is hardly an issue. I was shooting slightly low, so I gradually reduced the scope magnification until I was on at 60 yards.
Then, I moved all the way back to 80 yards where I shot from a Primos TriggerStick tripod and grouped three arrows in a deer-heart-sized group. Given the ice-cold weather and that I’d spent very little time with the crossbow prior to that group, I was very impressed. I bet the grouping would shrink even smaller if I was shooting from a bench rest. However, I prefer the tripod, as it is more realistic to hunting either while stalking game or sitting in a ground blind.
The Extreme is rigged with Excalibur’s Premium Trigger. It’s curvature is easy to engage with my index finger. It has minimal travel and pulls smoothly, breaking with crispness for precision shot execution. The trigger is a win and a huge benefit when taking challenging shots such as those that I sent from 80 yards.
The only negative I came up with while testing was that the Ex-act Fit Suppressors fell off the limbs within a couple of shots. I had carefully cleaned the limb surface with an alcohol wipe prior to sticking the adhesive-backed suppressors to the limbs, so I’m unsure why they didn’t stay on. Perhaps introducing the crossbow to the ice-cold temperatures immediately after applying the suppressors indoors was a factor. I’m not sure. They didn’t stay put for me, but the crossbow didn’t sound a lot different without them, and accuracy wasn’t affected.
The other silencing features that make the Suppressor Extreme a stealthy operator are the rubberized foot stirrup, String Stars, Ex-Shox, and R.E.D.S. Suppressors. These well-designed items aren’t generic archery silencers. They’re designed specifically to withstand a powerful crossbow. Arguably the most purposeful silencing details, R.E.D.S. Suppressors cushion the bowstring and stop it at the de-cocked position (Note: If you’ve ever watched slow-motion video of a bow or crossbow being fired, then you’ve likely seen that a bowstring without string cushions present travels past the at-rest position during the shot, and then it vibrates back and forth until coming to rest. Fundamentally, these suppressors thwart those vibrations by diminishing unnecessary bowstring movement, and they also help the arrow depart the crossbow more cleanly and consistently.
A Few More Things
The Suppressor Extreme prioritizes safety. CeaseFire Technology is designed to inhibit the crossbow from firing until an arrow is fully loaded onto the rail. Before you assume that you’ll have to fire the crossbow to de-cock it following an unsuccessful hunt, let me assure you that Excalibur didn’t leave that stone unturned. The included Decocking Hook disengages the CeaseFire Technology, almost like an arrow were loaded. With the de-cocking hook on one side of the crank rope, you simply wind the crank handle clockwise with the Fail-Safe Strap on your wrist to prevent the handle from slipping. Then, you depress the trigger and wind the crank handle counterclockwise until the crossbow is completely de-cocked. It’s safe and simple, and you must read the instruction manual before attempting it.
I’ve tested many crossbows over the last two decades, and not all live up to their manufacturer-listed velocities. The Suppressor Extreme was right within its up-to-400-fps rating, coming in at 398 fps, as mentioned earlier. While that falls short of many of today’s radical compound crossbows, it unleashes plenty of power for any big game animal on the planet. Expert African hunters suggest no less than 80 foot-pounds of kinetic energy to kill an African cape buffalo with an arrow. The 354-grain PROFLIGHT arrow (weighed on a Last Chance Archery Pro Grain Scale 2.0) traveling at 398 fps yields 124.54 foot-pounds of kinetic energy. In other words, you can almost count on pass-through hits when shooting a broadside elk or deer, and an African buffalo will not be a problem.
The Suppressor Extreme achieves these numbers in a recurve design thanks to the High-Output Limbs which push the efficiency and durability envelopes. Between testing crossbows as an outdoor writer and previously as an archery shop bow technician, I’ve seen things happen to crossbows that you don’t plan for when you slide a wad of hundreds across the counter for a new crossbow. I have never had an issue with an Excalibur crossbow blowing up or failing. They are dependable, and with fewer moving parts, there is less to break or malfunction. Maybe that is why Excalibur’s slogan is “Different For a Reason.”
In Summary
There are more crossbows to choose from than ever before. It makes the buying scene a little bit complex for a crossbow buyer. So, the question is, why would a crossbow hunter select Excalibur’s Suppressor Extreme over the market’s many other options? I’ll revert back to where I began the review: simplicity. The market teems with crossbows that blow way beyond the mid-400-fps range and even break the 500-fps threshold. And while I have nothing against any of those — I’ve tested some of them and have had great experiences — there is something about Excalibur’s simplicity and effectiveness that I can’t ignore. Even an old-timer who still uses a flip phone or drives an old stick-shift pickup could feel confident in picking up an Excalibur and using it.
If simplicity sounds like a nice change in pace in our world that is constantly feeding us new technology that we can hardly keep up with, why not embrace Excalibur’s “Different For a Reason” motto and go test out the Suppressor Extreme at an Excalibur dealer. It’s the future and the past blended to perfection.
