Top 5 Best Youth Crossbows 2019

(Last Updated On: July 20, 2019)

Professional crossbows cost a lot and are not recommended for beginners and youngsters as these are not easy to handle. Youth crossbow, on the other hand, is recommended as it cost much lesser and is perfect for youngsters to handle. Here are our top picks for the best youth crossbows.

Youth Crossbow	Speed	Draw Weight	Weight	Price
Barnett Recruit Youth 100 crossbow	256 FPS	100 pounds	6.5 pounds	$126
CenterPoint Sniper 370	370 FPS	185 pounds	7.9 pounds	$238
Barnett Recruit Terrain Crossbow	330 FPS	140 pounds	6.4 pounds	$274
TenPoint Wicked Ridge Crossbow	300 FPS	150 pounds	5.9 pounds	$499
SA Sports Fever	240 FPS	175 pounds	4.87 pounds	$135

1. Barnett Recruit Youth Crossbow (100)

$126 – Click here to buy

A perfect balanced crossbow for beginners in term of draw weight, efficiency and cost, the Barnet recruiter youth 100 crossbow tops our list of the best youth crossbows.

Specially designed for the youth and beginners, the Barnet Recruit youth crossbow weighs only 6.5 pounds and can shoot a 400 grain bolt at the speed of 256 fps with58 ft-lbs FKPE. The draw weight is 100 pounds and it comes with a rope cocking device to facilitate cocking.

Barnett Recruit Youth Crossbow 100 Specifications

• Speed: 256 FPS
• Draw Weight: 100 pounds
• FPKE: 58 ft-lbs
• Size: 34.2 x 18.2 x 8 inches
• Weight: 6.5 pounds
• Power Stroke: 12.50 inches
• Type: Compound Crossbow
• Safety: Automatic Safety
• Cocking: rope cocking

Pros

• Quality crossbow with affordable price
• Lightweight and compact
• Easy to use

Cons 

• Bit old model

Reviews

Quality was very good, its performance is incredible. Its a very stable and comfortable Crossbow and my grandsons (11 & 8) have already taken 2 deer with it. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a first crossbow for boys or girls. – Customer

Great youth crossbow – Customer

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2. CenterPoint Snipper 370 – Youth Crossbow

$238 – Click here to buy

The Centerpoint Sniper 370 is the most powerful and accurate crossbow on our list of the best youth crossbows. With a speed of 370 FPS, you can hit the target even from 40 yards away. Though it’s bit heavier than the other crossbows on the list still it is compact and can be easily carried.

The Sniper 370 has an anti-dry and automatic safety mechanism which helps prevent any unintentional shots.

Specifications

• Speed: 370 FPS
• Draw Weight: 185 pounds
• FPKE: 110 ft-lbs
• Size: 36 x 21 inches
• Weight: 7.9 pounds
• Power Stroke: 13.5 inches
• Type: Compound Crossbow
• Safety: Automatic Safety
• Cocking: Rope Cocking

Pros

• Fast velocity – 370 FPS
• Compact and lightweight
• Easy to setup

Cons

• setup instruction seems a bit vague but still understandable

Reviews

The first thing that impressed me is the amount of power of this machine, apparently a 185 draw weight and 370 feet per second is a ton of power when it came to crossbows, i quickly realize this a all my bolts where going straight through the target and landing somewhere else. I really underestimated how powerful it is – Customer

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3. Barnett Recruit Terrain Crossbow

$274 – Click here to buy

In terms of speed and power, the Barnett Recruit Terrain is second on our list. With a speed of 330 FPS and FPKE of 91.9 ft lbs, this crossbow is accurate even from 50 yards away. It is compact, weighs about 6.4 pounds and is easy to carry and handle. It includes a 4×32 scope, rope cocking device, lightweight quiver, two 20 inch Headhunter arrows, lube wax.

Specifications

• Speed: 330 FPS
• Draw Weight: 140 pounds
• FPKE: 91.9 ft-lbs
• Size: 34.2 x 18.25 inches
• Weight: 6.4 pounds
• Power Stroke: 12.5 inches
• Type: Compound Crossbow
• Safety: Anti-dry fire, Automatic Safety
• Cocking: Rope cocking

Pros

• Easy to assemble
• Affordable and lightweight
• Red dot sight

Cons 

• No sling included

Reviews

No need to spend upwards of $1000 for a hunting crossbow. This is the best bargain on the market and my favorite crossbow ever!! – Customer

4. TenPoint Wicked Ridge Crossbow

$499 – Click here to buy

Suitable for the small-framed shooter and youngster, the TenPoint Wicked Ridge crossbow comes with a self-retracting rope cocking system and doesn’t require much effort while cocking. It can shoot at a speed of 300 FPS with 70 FPKE and weighs only 5.9 pounds. With a 3x multi-line scope, automatic safety features and being lightweight, it is quite a good option as a youth crossbow.

Specifications

• Speed: 300 FPS
• Draw Weight: 150 pounds
• FPKE: 70 ft-lbs
• Size: 33.9 x 22.6 inches
• Weight: 5.9 pounds
• Power Stroke: 10.8 inches
• Type: Compound Crossbow
• Safety: Automatic Safety
• Cocking: Self-Retracting Rope-Cocking

Pros

• Lightweight
• Equipped with a 3x multi-line scope
• Comes with a self-retracting rope cocking system
• easy to use

Cons

• bit costly 

Reviews

Great crossbow – Customer

Cocking easy and really light – Customer

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5. SA Sports Fever Crossbow

$135 – Click here to buy

Last but not the least on our youth crossbows list is SA Sports Fever cross. With a speed of 240 FPS and weight of only 4.8 pounds, this is good entry-level crossbow and it doesn’t cost much. It is a recurve design crossbow and comes with a scope, a quick-detach quiver with 4 arrows and padded shoulder sling.

Features

• Ambidextrous Auto Safety
• Large Boot Style Foot Stirrup
• Adjustable Weaver-style Scope Mount
• Lightweight Composite Track/Barrel
• Quick Detach Quiver
• Full Dipped Camo Patter

Specifications

• Speed: 240 FPS
• Draw Weight: 175 pounds
• FPKE: 50 ft-lbs
• Size: 31 x 27 inches
• Weight: 4.87 pounds
• Power Stroke: 10.25 inches
• Type: Recurve crossbow
• Safety: Anti Dry-Fire
• Cocking: Rope cocking

Pros

• Budget-friendly
• Lightweight
• Sling included

Cons

• Scope quality 

Reviews

Perfect Starter Crossbow – Amazing shooting capabilities – Customer

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Things to consider before buying youth crossbow

In order to buy the best youth crossbow, you need to consider the following

1. Safety

Youth crossbows are still crossbows, a weapon, which needs to be handled gently. You need to make sure the youth crossbow you are going to purchase is safe enough for your kid and provides safety features so that no one gets harm while using it. Most of the youth crossbows come with safety features like automatic safety and anti dry-fire safety.

2. Weight and Size

Since the youth crossbows are mainly built for the youngsters and kids, you must make sure that youth crossbow you are going to purchase weighs less. The size of the cross should also be small so that the youngsters can handle it. Small and light youth crossbows are easy to carry and handle.

3. Price

Cost is another important factor to consider as you would not expect to spend much on something which is meant to be used by kids and youngsters for merely training purposes. You would not want to throw a lot of money on something your kid would just have fun with for a week or two and then toss it away. The youth crossbows are available so that the kids/youngsters/beginners should practice on it and once they develop a passion for crossbows, they can further purchase a better professional crossbow available in the market.

4. Draw Weight /Cocking Mechanism

Draw weight is another important factor while purchasing a youth crossbow. It is the effort required to pull the crossbow string before making a shot (as it’s obvious you can’t make a shot without pulling the string of a crossbow). The original draw weight of the crossbow may tend to be more but there are mechanisms like rope cocking which makes the cocking process much easier and requires less effort to load a shot by pulling the string. It is better to check out if the youth crossbow you are purchasing comes with a rope cocking device as most of the youth crossbows packages available do include one.

5. Kinetic Energy in Foot-Pounds (FPKE)

FPKE or Kinetic Energy in Foot-Pounds is a measure of how powerful the arrow shot is. To hit the game animal, the arrow needs to have enough Kinetic energy to penetrate through the target. To hunt bigger game animals, you simply need high kinetic energy for your arrow. The kinetic energy is measured in foot-pounds. A greater FPKE value means more powerful shot and it depends on both the speed of the arrow as well as the weight of the arrow.

6. Compound Crossbows Vs Recurve Youth Crossbows

Compound crossbows and recurve crossbows differ from each other in their design and how they retain the tension necessary to fire an arrow. Recurve crossbows like the original ancient crossbows have a curved bow with a bowstring. The bowstring causes the flexible limbs to bend when the string is pulled. Compound crossbows, on the other hand, uses a modern mechanism to pull the limbs. What you need to notice is that compound crossbows are capable of firing the arrows with much higher speed than recurve crossbows so your arrows will fly further and have much more power to penetrate the target or game animal.

Final Checklist – Features of a good youth crossbow

• A good youth crossbow should be easy to assemble
• It should weigh less and should be small in size
• It should cost less
• The youth crossbow should have the necessary safety mechanisms
• The draw weight should be less and it should allow easy ways for clocking like rope clocking