I purchased this crossbow a few weeks ago and am very happy. I started bowhunting with a compound bow about 8 years ago. I typically bowhunt 8-10 times per season. In my 8 years of bowhunting I have missed several deer, wounded one that I never found and scared away at least 5; either by standing up to take a shot or attempting to draw my compound bow. I know you should be in the standing position when bowhunting but I just couldn’t make myself stand for hours on end…… I have never harvested a deer with my compound bow. A crossbow eliminates the need to stand and the need to draw your bow at a crucial moment.
Our state archery regulations changed recently and crossbows are now legal during archery season. I decided to start shopping for a crossbow. After a few days of reading reviews and analyzing features and price, I chose the Barnett Ghost 350. I liked the specs on the Ghost 400 but couldn’t justify the extra price for another 50 feet per second.
My Ghost 350 arrived in two days via Amazon Prime and took me about 20 minutes to assemble. The package contained the crossbow, 4 field tips, 4 20-inch Barnett arrows, a rope cocking device, an illuminated scope, scope mounting brackets, all of the necessary wrenches and a tube of wax. It really has everything you need to get started other than broadheads and a bow case.
I mounted the scope and headed outdoors to my hunting property. It took me about 5 shots to get the scope zeroed in. I am not a particularly big guy but the rope cocking device makes it fairly easy to get the bow cocked.
The speed on this crossbow is astonishing. My first shots with the Ghost 350 at my regular archery target were blowing through the backside of my foam target. I had to put another target behind the first to keep from losing my bolts. I used Montec 125 grain broadheads and the supplied 20 inch Barnett bolts. I was able to make accurate shots at 50 yards…something I have never even attempted with my compound bow. I love the safety. When the bow is cocked the safety is set automatically. On top of that, the safety will not disengage unless you have an arrow in place.
The only con I can think of is that there are 2 small decals that don’t seem to stick to well to the carbon riser. This has no effect on performance but they should really use better glue for the decals.
One other thing to consider about crossbows is that they are loud. The Ghost 350 is not immune to the noise. It’s nowhere near the decibel level emitted by a small .22 rifle but it is a little surprising if you are accustomed to the noise generated by a compound bow.
The best part of my experience is that I received this bow on September 30, 2011 and as of October 15th, 2011 I have harvested a doe at 45 yards and a spike at 30 yards. Both deer ran less than 75 yards. I bowhunted for 8 years with a compound bow and had no success. I really love this crossbow and actually feel confident that when I leave the house to go hunting that I will come home with venison.
The Ghost 350 is an excellent value and if I had it to do all over again I would make the same purchase.
