Ravin LR Crossbow | Review

Whenever my friends ask me for recommendations on shit, nine out of ten times I hear quips that sound like: “Alright, now let's pretend I work for a living” or “Woah, I’ve got a family. Can't be spending money like that”

Then why did you ask? Go buy some junk that you’re going to have to replace every year, and end up spending more money on within a 5-year stretch. But I won’t be held responsible for the recommendation of a low quality product.

Now if you’re not poor, you can probably appreciate the fact that the man who buys quality only screams once, or however the hell that saying goes. This is especially true when buying crossbows. The quality-price segregation is loud in the crossbow market. Walk into any sporting goods stores and you’ll be overwhelmed by the selection of $300-$700 crossbows. Can you kill game with those? Absolutely. Will it last more than a season or two? Probably not.

The poors have probably already left, so now we can get into the details. I had the opportunity to test out the new Ravin LR, a crossbow I have been pumped about since Ravin announced the new design. After launching a few arrows at 60 yards, it immediately reminded me of the 29X (see our write up of that bow here), but perhaps even an improved design, which I didn’t think was possible.

One of the features that makes Ravin really stand out from the crowd is their HeliCoil technology, which allows the cams to rotate an insane 340 degrees, while still keeping them perfectly level and balanced. As a result, it creates an extremely compact crossbow, and gives you accuracy that you would only expect from a rifle.

My favorite feature on this bow, which is also featured on the R29X is the fully-integrated VersaDraw system. No more pulling your bow back by hand like a heathen, and you can ditch the sketchy hooked strings that you’ll see on most other crossbows. The built-in one way bearing also removes any noise, which is crucial to any whitetail hunter. I know a hunter that scared off his dream buck a few years back due to the sound of cocking his crossbow resembling an AC/DC concert. That hunter was me. The story was about me.

The VersaDraw system also allows you to stop anytime during the cocking cycle, and also allows you to decock your bow at the end of the hunt. When I was growing up, your only option for decocking your crossbow was to fire it. Lots of arrows were harmed in the making of my childhood.

New for this model, the LR comes with a full-length picatinny rail which supports several additional accessories, such as the included 1-8x24 adjustable-turret scope. This was a huge selling point for me, as I have grown accustomed to my slider sight on my compound bow. Similarly, the included adjustable turret scope comes with sight tapes that you can match to your bow, as well as a blank tape for the option to create your own dial. As a crossbow hunter in the whitetail woods, being able to adjust your magnification without affecting your zero is a massive advantage. What a time to be alive.

As for the results on my shooting, the accuracy that comes with shooting a Ravin never fails to amaze me. My brothers were able to accompany me at the range, and expressed their disbelief with just how fast and accurate this bow is. One even going as far as ordering himself one while still at the range. At 30 yards, 1-inch groups are expected, but to be honest, most crossbows can achieve that claim as long as they have a competent shooter behind the bow. Moving up to 70 or 80 yards is when you can truly see what a crossbow is made of, and the LR can outshine the best of them, as my groups only spaced out to about 3 inches.

To quote Alonzo from Training Day, “You know I’m surgical with this b*tch, Jake.” You can in fact get very surgical with the LR, and can do so immediately out of the box. No major assembly is required. Mount your scope, send a few arrows to check your zero, get into the woods and experience one of the most tactical crossbows on the market today.

Cost: $2,549.99

Pros: Silent, fast, accurate, durable, so simple a monkey could use it

Cons: At 8.10lbs & 34” overall length, it's not quite as light and compact as some of Ravins other models.