Best for black bear
The best crossbows for bear hunting
A bear sit ends at last light, a long way from the truck, with a cocked bow in your hands. The first specification that matters is whether the bow can unload itself.
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Ranked
Quick picks
| # | Product | De-cocks | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank 1 | Wicked Ridge Fury 410 De-Cock | Yes, backwind the crank handle | 8.8 | $1,099.99Amazon |
| Rank 2 |  TenPoint Titan X De-Cock | Yes, backwind the handle | 9.0 | $799.99Amazon |
| Rank 3 |  Wicked Ridge Commander 400 | 8.7 | $599.99Amazon | |
| Rank 4 |  TenPoint Venom X | Yes, backwind and stop at any point | 8.8 | $999.99Amazon |
| Rank 5 |  CenterPoint Tradition 405 | 7.9 | $283.82Amazon |
The best crossbow for bear hunting is the Wicked Ridge Fury 410 De-Cock: it publishes 138 ft-lb at 410 fps, cocks with 5 pounds of effort, measures 9 inches cocked, and backwinds its own string so you can unload it at the end of a sit instead of firing a bolt into the dark. For a baited sit that ends after legal light, de-cocking is the feature that matters most.
Most bear hunting in North America is a sit: a baited barrel or a natural food source, a stand or a ground blind, and several hours of waiting that very often ends without a shot. That shapes the purchase in a way the speed figure on the box does not capture. You will hold the bow cocked for a long time, you will walk out in low light or no light, and you will need to make the bow safe before you climb down. Firing a discharge bolt into the ground in bear country at dusk, with a bait site nearby, is a worse idea than it sounds.
The second thing bear hunting asks for is penetration. A black bear carries dense hair, a thick hide and a layer of fat that plugs a wound channel, and the shoulder structure is heavier than a whitetail's. So energy with a heavy arrow is the floor, and a fixed head is the right head. This page is ranked on de-cocking first and published energy second, which is deliberately a different order from our elk roundup - elk hunting is a stalk, bear hunting is a sit.
In detail
Five bows that can be made safe at the end of a sit
Wicked Ridge Fury 410 De-Cock
The RDX's 29-inch reverse-draw frame with the de-cocking version of the crank and a variable-speed RangeMaster Pro scope on top. 410 fps, 9 inches cocked, 5 pounds of cocking effort and a published 3.5-pound trigger, the only Wicked Ridge figure of its kind in the range. It costs about twice the Warrior 400, and what you are buying is the ability to end a sit without a discharge shot.
| Published spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Speed | 410 fps (370 gr arrow) |
| Kinetic energy | 138 ft-lb (370 gr arrow) |
| Cocking effort | 5 lb |
| Cocked width | 9 in |
| Uncocked width | 15 in |
| Weight | 7.5 lb |
| Draw weight | 200 lb |
| Power stroke | 15.5 in |
| Overall length | 29 in |
| Trigger pull | 3.5 lb |
| Draw style | Reverse draw |
| Cocking aid | ACUdraw De-Cock crank, built in |
| De-cocks | Yes, backwind the crank handle |
| Scope | RangeMaster Pro variable speed, lighted to 60 yd |
| Built | Mogadore, Ohio |
What it does well
- 410 fps, 9 in cocked, 5 lb cocking effort and safe de-cocking in one bow
- A published 3.5 lb two-stage trigger, which the rest of the range does not publish
- The RangeMaster Pro scope is speed-adjustable rather than fixed to one aim-point set
- Complete published spec sheet, including both widths and the trigger
Where it falls short
Our rubric
- 9.6
- 8.8
- 8.6
- 9.2
- 7.2
- 7.8
TenPoint Titan X De-Cock
The de-cocking version of TenPoint's best-selling bow, and the most complete answer on this site to the question that brings most people here. The integrated ACUdraw De-Cock drops cocking effort to 5 pounds, and it backwinds, so you can unload the bow at the end of a sit without firing a bolt into the dirt. 400 fps and a 9.75-inch front end are the supporting cast.
| Published spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Speed | 400 fps |
| Cocking effort | 5 lb |
| Cocked width | 9.75 in |
| Cocking aid | ACUdraw De-Cock, integrated |
| De-cocks | Yes, backwind the handle |
| Trigger pull | 3.5 lb |
| Included | Pro-View 400 lighted scope, three Pro Elite 400 arrows, quiver, bow hanger |
What it does well
- 5 lb of cocking effort is the lowest figure any bow on this site publishes
- Safe de-cocking: the Auto-Brake gear system holds the handle wherever you let go
- A 9.75-inch front end clears blind windows and stand rails
- Ships assembled and pre-sighted, so first setup is a scope zero and nothing else
Where it falls short
Our rubric
- 9.6
- 8.4
- 8.5
- 9.0
- 7.8
- 8.6
Wicked Ridge Commander 400
An American-built 400 fps bow with the ACUdraw crank built into the stock, which TenPoint rates at 5 pounds of effort against a 190-pound draw weight. Both widths are published, which is more than most bows at this price manage, and 11 inches cocked clears most blind windows. The 7.3-pound carry weight is the price you pay for the crank being part of the bow.
| Published spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Speed | 400 fps |
| Kinetic energy | 146 ft-lb (410 gr arrow) |
| Cocking effort | 5 lb |
| Cocked width | 11 in |
| Uncocked width | 14.5 in |
| Weight | 7.3 lb |
| Draw weight | 190 lb |
| Power stroke | 12.5 in |
| Overall length | 35.75 in |
| Cocking aid | ACUdraw crank, built in |
| De-cocks | |
| Included | Pro-View 400 lighted scope, three Match 400 carbon arrows, quiver |
| Built | Mogadore, Ohio |
What it does well
- 5 lb of cocking effort from a crank that is already on the bow
- 11 in cocked is narrow enough for a pop-up blind window
- 146 ft-lb published with the included 410-grain arrow
- Assembled and pre-sighted in Ohio, with a limited lifetime operational warranty
Where it falls short
Our rubric
- 9.4
- 8.4
- 8.0
- 8.4
- 7.2
- 9.0
TenPoint Venom X
390 fps at 6.9 pounds with the full ACUslide system, which cocks silently and de-cocks safely from any point in the stroke. TenPoint calls it the lightest ACUslide bow it has built, and it is the cheapest one: the same cocking and de-cocking mechanism as the Turbo X, in a 9.75-inch, 33-inch package, for several hundred dollars less. You give up speed to get there.
| Published spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Speed | 390 fps |
| Weight | 6.9 lb |
| Cocked width | 9.75 in |
| Overall length | 33 in |
| Cocking aid | ACUslide, integrated |
| De-cocks | Yes, backwind and stop at any point |
| Trigger pull | 3.5 lb |
| Trigger | S1 two-stage, zero-creep, roller sear |
| Scope | Pro-View 400 illuminated reticle |
| Included | Pro-View 400 scope, three Pro Elite 400 carbon arrows, string dampening system, bow hook, quiver |
| Setup | Ships fully assembled and pre-sighted |
What it does well
- ACUslide silent cocking and safe de-cocking at the lowest price TenPoint offers it
- 6.9 lb with the gearbox already in it
- 9.75 in cocked and 33 in overall clears blind windows and stand rails
- Polymer Scope Struts and an S1 trigger are normally flagship parts
- Arrives assembled and pre-sighted, so day one is a scope zero
Where it falls short
Our rubric
- 9.4
- 7.6
- 9.0
- 8.8
- 8.6
- 8.6
CenterPoint Tradition 405
405 fps with the Whisper silencing system and a cocking sled in the box, in a conventional 15-inch-cocked frame. If noise sits higher on your list than blind width, this is the cheap bow to look at.
| Published spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Speed | 405 fps |
| Cocked width | 15 in |
| Uncocked width | 18 in |
| Cocking aid | Cocking sled, included |
| Noise control | Whisper multi-point vibration reduction |
| Scope | 4x32 illuminated |
| Included | Attached quiver, rail lube, three 20 in arrows |
What it does well
- Whisper silencing at the bottom of the price range
- A cocking sled is included, which aligns the string evenly
- Attached quiver and rail lube in the box
Where it falls short
Our rubric
- 6.2
- 8.6
- 8.8
- 6.6
- 7.6
- 9.0
How we picked
A published de-cocking capability first, then published kinetic energy, then our standard rubric. Bows that cannot be unloaded without firing a bolt are not excluded outright - the CenterPoint Tradition 405 is here as the budget answer - but they sit below bows that can. Our scoring axes are set out on the methodology page.
The de-cock and energy table
| Model | De-cocks | Published energy | Speed | Cocking effort |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wicked Ridge Fury 410 De-Cock | Yes, backwind the crank handle | 138 ft-lb (370 gr arrow) | 410 fps | 5 lb |
| TenPoint Titan X De-Cock | Yes, backwind the handle | 400 fps | 5 lb | |
| Wicked Ridge Commander 400 | 146 ft-lb (410 gr arrow) | 400 fps | 5 lb | |
| TenPoint Venom X | Yes, backwind and stop at any point | 390 fps | ||
| CenterPoint Tradition 405 | 405 fps |
Why de-cocking is the bear feature
Three things come together on a bear sit. The hunt runs to the last minute of legal light, because bears at bait are habitually late. The walk out is in the dark, often half a mile or more. And you are in country with an animal you have been feeding. A bow with a backwinding crank removes the whole problem: you turn the handle the other way, the string comes forward under control, and the bow is safe before you move. Both TenPoint's ACUdraw De-Cock and ACUslide and Wicked Ridge's version of it hold the string wherever you stop cranking, which is also what lets you cock in slow stages without the noise of a rope pull.
If your bow does not have it, there are workable alternatives and one bad one. How to decock a crossbow covers the discharge-bolt method, the rope-assisted method and the reason you should never try to ease a string down by hand. Can you leave a crossbow cocked covers the related question of how long a cocked bow should stay cocked, which on a four-hour sit is not academic.
Energy, and the arrow that carries it
Look again at the first and third rows. The Fury 410 is 10 fps faster than the Commander 400 and publishes 8 ft-lb less energy, because Wicked Ridge quotes the Fury with a 370 gr arrow and the Commander with a 410 gr one. Same maker, same honest arithmetic, opposite conclusion from the speed column. For bear that is the whole lesson: buy the heavy end of your bow's published arrow range and the energy follows. The full derivation is on crossbow kinetic energy, and the weight selection is on crossbow bolt weight.
The broadhead: fixed, thick, and strong
Bear hide and fat are the reason the mechanical-versus-fixed argument resolves cleanly here. A wide expandable cuts a bigger hole but spends energy opening it, and a plugged wound channel on an animal that does not leave much of a blood trail is the worst outcome of a bear hunt. A thick-bladed fixed head with a cut-on-contact tip is the choice. Best broadheads for hogs applies the same penetration logic to shield cartilage, best fixed blade broadheads ranks on published blade thickness, and mechanical vs fixed blade gives the honest version of the trade.
What the top three are each for
Wicked Ridge Fury 410 De-Cock
138 ft-lb at 410 fps, 9 in cocked, 7.5 lb, a 3.5 lb trigger, reverse draw, and an ACUdraw De-Cock crank that drops cocking effort to 5 lb and backwinds. It is the only bow here that publishes an energy figure and de-cocks, which is why it leads. The RangeMaster Pro scope is lit to 60 yards, which is more than enough for a bait distance. It is built in Mogadore, Ohio, if that matters to you.
TenPoint Titan X De-Cock
400 fps, 5 lb of cocking effort, 9.75 in cocked, and an Auto-Brake gear system that holds the handle wherever you let go. TenPoint does not publish a kinetic-energy figure for it, which is the only reason it is not first. Everything else about it suits a long sit: it ships assembled and pre-sighted, the front end clears a blind window, and the de-cock is the most refined on this site.
Wicked Ridge Commander 400
The highest published energy on this page at 146 ft-lb with a 410 gr arrow, 400 fps, 11 in cocked, 7.3 lb, with an ACUdraw crank built in and 5 lb of cocking effort. It does not de-cock. If you hunt bear from a stand you can safely shoot a discharge bolt from, or you hunt with a partner, this is the most energy per dollar here.
Our pick
The Fury 410 De-Cock. It is the only bow on the page that publishes real energy and unloads itself, and 9 in cocked makes it workable from a ground blind over a barrel. The Titan X is the pick if you want the smoothest de-cock and will accept an unpublished energy figure. The Commander 400 is the pick if you want the most published energy and are confident you can make the bow safe another way. The Tradition 405 is here for a first bear season on a budget - 405 fps with a cocking sled, a lit 4x32 and three arrows in the box.
What we would not take bear hunting
- A bow you cannot unload where you sit. Everything else on this list is a preference. This one is a safety decision.
- A light arrow. The bottom of your bow's weight range is the wrong end for a heavy hide and a fat layer.
- A wide mechanical head. It costs you the penetration you came for.
- A bow you have not shot from a seated position. A bait sit is a chair, a window and a short shot. Practice it that way.
- A target rated below your bow's speed. Every bow here will destroy a 350 fps bag. See best targets for high-fps crossbows.
Shot placement is the rest of the decision
A black bear's vitals sit lower and further forward than the deer silhouette most crossbow hunters have learned, and long hair makes the body look larger than the skeleton underneath it. That combination produces high shots, which on a bear means a long track with little blood. The equipment on this page cannot fix that; practice on an anatomical target can. Shooting at a three-dimensional target with marked vitals rather than a flat bullseye is the single most useful thing you can do between now and the season - see best crossbow targets for the ones with real vital zones, and crossbow effective range for what distance the arithmetic actually supports.
