The best crossbows for a shoulder injury

This page exists because the standard crossbow recommendation is wrong for the person reading it. A healthy shooter can be told to buy a fast bow and use the rope cocker that came with it. If your shoulder is the reason you are looking at a crossbow at all, the rope cocker is the problem, not the solution, and the bow is whatever your chosen cocking system fits.

Nothing here is medical advice. We are not clinicians and we will not pretend to be. What follows is the published-specification picture, which is what you need in order to have a useful conversation with someone who is.

In detail

Five bows you can cock with one good arm

01The one to buy if cocking is the problem

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TenPoint Titan X De-Cock

TenPoint

9.0/ 10

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

• The crank is built in, which adds weight you cannot remove
• Cranking is slower than a rope pull if you need a second shot in a hurry

Our rubric

Cocking effort

9.6

Speed

8.4

Noise

8.5

Blind fit

9.0

Carry weight

7.8

Value

8.6

02Lowest-effort bow that stays under seven pounds

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TenPoint Titan 400

TenPoint

8.9/ 10

The same 5-pound cocking effort as the Titan X, the same 9.75-inch front end, 6 pounds on the sling, and no de-cocking. If you never planned to unload the bow without shooting it, this is the cheaper half of the Titan decision.

Published spec	Value
Speed	400 fps
Cocking effort	5 lb
Cocked width	9.75 in
Weight	6 lb
Cocking aid	ACUdraw Silent, integrated
De-cocks	No
Scope	Pro-View 400, illuminated, aim points to 70 yd

What it does well

• 5 lb cocking effort at the lowest price TenPoint publishes it at
• 6 pounds is light for a full-size bow with an integrated crank
• A built-in crank cannot be left at home
• Arrives assembled and pre-sighted

Where it falls short

• No de-cocking, so unloading means a discharge bolt and a target
• Scope aim points stop at 70 yards

Our rubric

Cocking effort

9.5

Speed

8.4

Noise

8.4

Blind fit

9.0

Carry weight

9.0

Value

8.8

03Built-in crank at the lowest price here

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Wicked Ridge Rampage XS

Wicked Ridge

8.8/ 10

An ACUdraw crank built into a 31.5-inch bow that shoots 390 fps, from TenPoint's value brand and made in America. This is the cheapest bow on the site with an integrated 5-pound crank, which makes it the default recommendation when your shoulder, not your budget, is the limiting factor.

Published spec	Value
Speed	390 fps
Cocking effort	5 lb
Overall length	31.5 in
Cocking aid	ACUdraw crank, integrated
Trigger pull	3.5 lb
Scope	Lighted 3x Pro-View, 20/30/40/50 yd
Included	Three Match 400 carbon Alpha-Nock arrows, quiver

What it does well

• 5 lb cocking effort from a built-in crank at an entry-level price
• 31.5 inches overall is short enough to swing inside a blind
• Made in the United States at a price point where that is unusual
• Safety wings and an enclosed trigger guard keep fingers below the flight deck

Where it falls short

• 390 fps is the slowest of the crank-equipped bows here
• Scope aim points stop at 50 yards
• No de-cocking

Our rubric

Cocking effort

9.4

Speed

7.8

Noise

8.0

Blind fit

8.8

Carry weight

8.6

Value

9.4

04Narrowest full-power bow under a thousand

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CenterPoint Wrath 430

CenterPoint

8.9/ 10

A 9-inch cocked bullpup that shoots 430 fps off a 200-pound draw, with a silent crank in the box. That combination — tight blind geometry, real speed, and a crank you do not have to buy — is why this bow keeps turning up in the answer to the ground-blind question.

Published spec	Value
Speed	430 fps
Draw weight	200 lb
Cocked width	9 in
Cocking aid	Silent cranking device, included
Design	Bullpup, full-bearing cam compound
Scope	4x32 illuminated
Included	Three 20 in 400 gr carbon arrows, detachable quiver, rope cocker

What it does well

• A 9-inch cocked width with 430 fps behind it
• A silent crank and a rope cocker both included
• CNC-machined aluminum rails and cams
• 400-grain arrows included, which suits the speed

Where it falls short

• A 200-pound draw means the crank is not optional for most shooters
• Bullpup balance takes getting used to if you are coming off a rifle stock
• At 430 fps your target needs a high rating

Our rubric

Cocking effort

8.6

Speed

9.4

Noise

8.6

Blind fit

9.4

Carry weight

7.4

Value

8.8

05A crank in the box under six hundred dollars

$549.00/Amazon

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Barnett Alpha 410

Barnett

8.3/ 10

Barnett ships this one with the crank cocking device already installed, which is the thing most bows at this price make you buy separately. Add the illuminated multi-reticle scope, quiver, arrows and lube and it is a complete first setup with no cocking-aid decision left to make.

Published spec	Value
Cocking aid	Crank cocking device, installed
Scope	4x32 illuminated red/green multi-reticle
Arrows	Two 20 in Headhunter carbon, 100 gr points
Quiver	Lightweight side-mount, 3 arrow
Included	String and rail lube wax
Speed	Not published
Cocked width	Not published

What it does well

• The crank comes installed, not boxed separately or sold as an accessory
• Complete package: scope, quiver, arrows, wax
• Multi-reticle illuminated scope at a mid-range price

Where it falls short

• The listing does not publish speed or width, despite the model name
• Only two arrows included

Our rubric

Cocking effort

8.8

Speed

8.4

Noise

7.6

Blind fit

7.6

Carry weight

7.6

Value

8.8

How we picked

One criterion dominates: published cocking effort, with an integrated system preferred over an add-on because an integrated crank cannot be left at home. We also weighted de-cocking heavily, because unloading a bow without firing is the second physical problem a damaged shoulder runs into. See our methodology.

The effort table

Why a rope cocker is not the answer here

Every rope cocker on the market publishes the same 50 percent reduction, and the arithmetic is unforgiving:

• A 185 lb bow with a rope: about 93 lb, pulled upward from a crouch, with both arms.
• A 200 lb bow with a rope: about 100 lb.
• A 220 lb bow with a rope: about 110 lb — and the CenterPoint Dagger, a popular budget bow, is exactly that.

Those are bilateral lifts, which sounds better than it is: a rope pull loads the shoulder in exactly the arc a rotator-cuff repair does not want. A crank at 5 lb is a seated, one-handed winding motion. The difference is categorical.

If you already own a bow

You may not need a new one. Several bows accept an aftermarket crank, and the published reductions are substantial: Barnett's crank publishes 93 percent and 13 lb at the handle, the Excalibur Charger EXT publishes 12 lb, and CenterPoint's Power Draw publishes 70 percent. Check your exact model against the compatibility list before buying.

The full treatment is in cocking aids for a shoulder injury, and the fit question is in universal crank compatibility.

The two other physical problems, and what solves them

Unloading the bow at the end of a sit

Without a de-cocking system, unloading means firing a bolt into a target. That is a trip down from the stand, a target to carry, and a shot to set up — all with a bow you then have to re-cock if you were wrong about being finished. The Titan X backwinds. Killer Instinct's DSC decocker does the same for their bows. This is worth real money.

Carrying the bow in

Seven pounds on a strap over a healing shoulder is its own problem. A 5 in padded sling spreads the load; a backpack-strap case puts it on both shoulders and your back instead. Cases with backpack straps covers the options, and the cheapest one here has them.

Our pick

The Titan X De-Cock, without much hesitation. 5 lb to cock, backwinds to unload, 400 fps, 9.75 in cocked. It is the bow that removes both of the physical barriers rather than one. The Titan 400 is the same bow without de-cocking for less; the Rampage XS is the cheapest 5 lb crank on the site.