One bow, two seasons
The best crossbow for turkey and deer
Turkey wants narrow, light and able to unload itself. Deer wants energy. Five bows do both, and three things change between seasons - none of them is the bow.
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Ranked
Quick picks
| # | Product | Cocked width | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank 1 | Wicked Ridge Invader M1 De-Cock | 9.5 in | 8.8 | $799.99Amazon |
| Rank 2 |  TenPoint Titan X De-Cock | 9.75 in | 9.0 | $799.99Amazon |
| Rank 3 |  Wicked Ridge RDX 410 | 9 in | 8.7 | $899.99Amazon |
| Rank 4 |  TenPoint Venom X | 9.75 in | 8.8 | $999.99Amazon |
| Rank 5 |  CenterPoint Hellion 400 | 8 in | 8.3 | $339.95Amazon |
The best crossbow for turkey and deer is the Wicked Ridge Invader M1 De-Cock: 9.5 inches cocked and 5.8 pounds for a spring blind, 131 ft-lb of published energy at 390 fps for a fall whitetail, and a backwinding crank for the turkey mornings that end without a shot. One bow covers both seasons; what changes is the broadhead, the arrow weight and the zero.
This is one of the most sensible questions a new crossbow buyer asks, and it almost never gets a straight answer, because the two seasons pull in opposite directions. Spring turkey is a pop-up blind, a long sit, a mobile walk-in and a shot inside 25 yards at a five-kilo bird that needs a wide wound rather than deep penetration. Fall deer is a stand or a blind, a shot out to 40 yards, and an animal with real shoulder bone that needs energy and penetration. Narrow and light serves the first; energy serves the second.
The good news is that the conflict is smaller than it looks. Any modern crossbow has far more than enough speed and energy for a turkey, so there is no bow here that is too much for spring. The binding constraint is the other direction: a bow narrow and light enough to be pleasant in a turkey blind that still publishes enough arrow for a whitetail. Five bows on this site do that, and all five publish the cocked-width figure that lets you check it.
In detail
Five bows that cover both seasons
Wicked Ridge Invader M1 De-Cock
5.8 pounds, 9.5 inches cocked, and an ACUdraw De-Cock that backwinds the string so a sit can end without firing a bolt into the dirt. Those three facts in one bow are rare, and the 390 fps top speed is what pays for them. For a hunter who walks a long way in and hunts out of a tight blind, this is the most sensible bow in the Wicked Ridge range.
| Published spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Speed | 390 fps |
| Kinetic energy | 131 ft-lb (410 gr arrow) |
| Cocked width | 9.5 in |
| Uncocked width | 14 in |
| Weight | 5.8 lb |
| Draw weight | 190 lb |
| Power stroke | 13.8 in |
| Overall length | 32 in |
| Cocking aid | ACUdraw De-Cock crank, or ACUdraw 50 sled |
| De-cocks | Yes, backwind the crank handle |
| Included | Pro-View 400 lighted scope, three Match 400 carbon arrows, quiver |
| Built | Mogadore, Ohio |
What it does well
- 5.8 lb is the lightest de-cocking bow on this site
- 9.5 in cocked clears a narrow blind window
- Safe de-cocking without a discharge shot or a discharge target
- Published figures are complete: speed, energy, both widths, weight and power stroke
Where it falls short
Our rubric
- 9.4
- 7.8
- 8.2
- 9.2
- 9.4
- 8.4
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 RDX 410
A reverse-draw frame 29 inches long and 9 inches wide cocked, with the ACUdraw Silent crank rated at 5 pounds of effort against a 200-pound draw weight. The reverse-draw geometry is what buys the width, and the silent crank is what makes it usable from a seated position. It is a genuinely compact 410 fps bow that does not ask you to pull anything.
| 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 |
| Draw style | Reverse draw |
| Cocking aid | ACUdraw Silent crank, built in |
| De-cocks | |
| Included | Pro-View 400 lighted scope, three Match 400 carbon arrows, string stop system, quiver |
| Built | Mogadore, Ohio |
What it does well
- 9 in cocked and 29 in long: one of the smallest footprints on the site
- ACUdraw Silent cocks quietly and at 5 lb of effort
- 410 fps and 138 ft-lb published with the lighter 370-grain arrow
- Reverse draw moves the mass rearward, which steadies a long hold
Where it falls short
Our rubric
- 9.4
- 8.8
- 8.6
- 9.2
- 7.2
- 8.2
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 Hellion 400
8 inches cocked, 12 uncocked, 400 fps off a 185-pound draw, for the price of a mid-range scope. It is the narrowest bow on this site under five hundred dollars, which makes it the budget answer to the blind-window problem. Note that it requires CP400 lighted nocks.
| Published spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Speed | 400 fps |
| Draw weight | 185 lb |
| Cocked width | 8 in |
| Uncocked width | 12 in |
| Limbs | Compression fiberglass quad |
| Arrows | Three 20 in .003 straightness arrows |
| Nocks | Requires CP400 lighted nocks |
What it does well
- An 8-inch cocked width is the narrowest here outside the Ravin line
- A 185-pound draw is lower than its rivals at the same speed
- Roller retention spring and CNC aluminum rails at a budget price
Where it falls short
Our rubric
- 6.6
- 8.4
- 7.8
- 9.6
- 8.0
- 9.0
How we picked
A published cocked width of 10 in or less, so the bow swings in a pop-up blind, plus 390 fps or more so it is unambiguously a deer bow, plus a published carry weight where the listing prints one. De-cocking is the tiebreaker, because most turkey mornings end with a loaded bow and nothing to shoot. Bows that do not publish a cocked width are not on this page - you cannot check a blind window against a number that does not exist. Our scoring axes are on the methodology page.
The two-season table
| Model | Cocked width | Weight | Speed | De-cocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wicked Ridge Invader M1 De-Cock | 9.5 in | 5.8 lb | 390 fps | Yes, backwind the crank handle |
| TenPoint Titan X De-Cock | 9.75 in | 400 fps | Yes, backwind the handle | |
| Wicked Ridge RDX 410 | 9 in | 7.5 lb | 410 fps | |
| TenPoint Venom X | 9.75 in | 6.9 lb | 390 fps | Yes, backwind and stop at any point |
| CenterPoint Hellion 400 | 8 in | 400 fps |
What actually changes between the two seasons
Three things, and none of them is the bow. This is the part of the question that matters, and it is where most of the money goes.
- The broadhead. A turkey is thin-skinned with small vitals, so you want a wide cut that stays in the bird rather than a head built to drive through bone. A deer wants the opposite. Swap heads, not bows: best broadheads for turkey and best broadheads for deer.
- The arrow weight. A standard 400 gr factory bolt is plenty for turkey. For deer, move to the heavier end of your bow's published range, because energy at the animal rises with mass. Crossbow bolt weight has the arithmetic.
- The zero. A turkey shot is a 20-yard shot. A deer shot might be 40. If you change arrow weight between seasons you have changed the trajectory and the old zero is fiction - re-confirm it. How to sight in a crossbow covers the procedure.
Width is the specification that can disqualify a bow
Turkey blinds are smaller than deer blinds, because they go up in the dark at the edge of a field and come down the same morning. Windows commonly run 12-16 in wide and you need room to swing, not just room to fit. Every bow above publishes 10 in or less cocked, which gives you that margin. The measuring method, and the reason an uncocked width figure is not the one you want, are on cocked width and ground blinds. If width is your single hardest constraint, best compact crossbows ranks on that figure alone and includes bows that are too specialized to recommend for both seasons.
Weight matters in spring, not in fall
Fall deer hunting is usually a walk to a known stand. Spring turkey hunting is mobile: you carry a blind, a chair, decoys and the bow, and you may move twice before nine o'clock. That is why the Invader M1 at 5.8 lb leads this page rather than the faster RDX 410 at 7.5 lb. If you hunt both seasons from fixed locations close to the truck, ignore this paragraph and buy on energy instead. If you walk, see best lightweight crossbows.
What the top three are each for
Wicked Ridge Invader M1 De-Cock
9.5 in cocked, 5.8 lb, 390 fps, 131 ft-lb with a 410 gr arrow, 32 in overall, and an ACUdraw De-Cock crank that backwinds. It is the lightest bow on this site that also de-cocks, which is exactly the combination a spring morning rewards, and the published energy is comfortably a whitetail figure. It is the compromise pick in the best sense: it is not the best at either season, and it is the least annoying at both.
TenPoint Titan X De-Cock
400 fps, 9.75 in cocked, 5 lb of cocking effort and the smoothest de-cock here. It ships assembled and pre-sighted with a lighted Pro-View 400 scope, three Pro Elite arrows and a quiver, which makes it the simplest first bow for someone buying into both seasons at once. TenPoint does not publish an energy figure for it.
Wicked Ridge RDX 410
The deer-forward choice. 410 fps, 138 ft-lb, 9 in cocked, 29 in overall and a reverse-draw geometry that puts the mass between your hands. It does not de-cock, and at 7.5 lb it is the heaviest bow here, so it is the pick if fall is your main season and spring is the bonus. The reverse-draw trade is explained on reverse draw vs forward draw.
Our pick
The Invader M1 De-Cock, because it is the only bow here that is genuinely easy to live with in both seasons: narrow, light, it unloads itself, and it still publishes real energy. The Titan X is the pick if you would rather have TenPoint's de-cock and a complete pre-sighted package. The Hellion 400 is the budget answer at 8 in cocked - the narrowest figure on the page - and you accept firing a bolt to unload it.
What you can skip
- A second crossbow. This is the whole point of the page. Two broadhead packs and a bolt order cost a fraction of a second bow.
- Speed above about 410 fps. It changes nothing at turkey distance and very little at 40 yards on a deer, and it costs money, noise and a target that can stop it. See crossbow speed and fps.
- A 100-yard scope. Neither season needs it. A lit 4x32 or a short variable covers both.
- Package broadheads. They are practice points in all but name, and they are the wrong shape for both animals.
