Bear X: Bear Crossbow Models and TrueX Bolts

What Bear X makes for bowhunters

Bear Archery sells its compound and traditional bows under the Bear name and its crossbows under Bear X. On this site, Bear X covers two types:

• Crossbows: narrow hunting crossbows sold as kits, plus a pistol crossbow
• Crossbow bolts: the TrueX carbon bolts the hunting kits use

The grid above shows the Bear X listings available on Amazon right now. Bear X has only a handful of listings here, so the theme adds alternatives from other crossbow makers below them, under their own heading. Bear's compound and recurve bows are on the Bear Archery brand page, not here.

Bear also sells Bear X scopes, a crank, a cocking sled, replacement nocks and strings on its own site. They aren't in this page's grid. I'll mention them where they matter for setup.

The Bear crossbow lineup by model

Here's what actually changes from one Bear X model to the next. The hunting crossbows are all compound crossbows (limbs with cams, like a compound bow turned sideways) built to be narrow. The pistol crossbow is a different animal: small, light, made for paper targets.

A note on the numbers. Several specs in the grid come from Amazon listings, and the grid marks them. Where Bear's own page gives a different value, I'll say so.

Impact: the narrowest of the kits

The Impact is the one Bear builds around width. Bear's current page, for the Impact CDXV, lists 8-1/8 inches wide cocked and 12-1/16 inches uncocked, 420 fps (arrow speed in feet per second) and a 180 lb draw weight. The Amazon listing in the grid says 415 fps and 185 lb. Read the listing for the exact version you're buying.

Bear's page lists the package: three TrueX arrows, a Speed Comp scope, a four-arrow quiver, a sling, a manual cocking sled, and rail lube and string wax. The listing's package wording is close to that, with a "standard cocking aid."

Quick kitchen version of 8-1/8 inches: that's narrower than most cutting boards. In a ground blind, or swinging between two trunks from a tree stand, width cocked is the number that bumps into things.

Domain 410: the wider kit

The Domain 410 Crossbow Kit, per its listing, is 410 fps at a 185 lb draw weight and 10-1/8 inches wide cocked. The package lists an illuminated reticle scope, three TrueX Max arrows, a four-arrow quiver, a sling, a manual cocking sled, and arrow lube and string wax. The Domain isn't on Bear's current site, so its values here come from the listing.

So, on paper: the Domain gives up 2 inches of width and a little speed against the Impact, with the same draw weight and the same kind of cocking aid in the box.

Desire XL: the pistol crossbow

The Desire XL is a pistol crossbow, and Bear's page is honest about what it's for: "backyard target practice." The maker lists 175 fps, a 60 lb draw weight, a self-cocking design, a forearm grip and a stock that adjusts up to 2.5 inches. Bear's site says it comes with three bolts.

Bear also lists a Desire RD version with a red dot sight at 1.9 lb, and a 12-pack of aluminum Desire mini bolts that fit the Desire and Desire RD. A pistol crossbow is not a hunting crossbow. If you want one for deer, you want the crossbow page. If you want to knock over paper plates in the yard on a Sunday, the pistol crossbow page covers the type across brands.

Walt asked if the Desire was for squirrels. It's for paper plates. The plates have never filed a complaint.

Bear X TrueX bolts

TrueX is Bear's bolt for its hunting crossbows. Bear's Impact page names the replacement part: TrueX 20-inch, ACBK20. That's the six-pack in the grid.

What Bear states about TrueX:

• Length: 20 inches
• Weight: 370 grains, with the 100-grain field point
• Straightness: inspected and sorted within ±.005 inch
• Vanes: 4-inch
• Ships with: field points, inserts and TrueX nocks installed

Grain is a small weight unit for arrows and bolts, 437.5 to the ounce. Quick math: a 370-grain TrueX is about 0.85 ounce, and 100 of those grains are the field point up front. The listing marks the nock as proprietary, and Bear sells TrueX replacement nocks that it says were designed specifically to fit TrueX arrows. If you break a nock, buy the matching one, not the one that looks close.

Bolts across brands, with lengths and nock types, are on the crossbow bolts page, and there's a ranked list in best crossbow bolts.

How to choose within the Bear X lineup

Decide hunting crossbow or backyard crossbow

This is the first fork, and it's a clean one. The Impact and Domain are hunting kits with scopes, sleds and TrueX bolts. The Desire XL is a 60 lb target pistol. There's no in-between model here.

Then pick by width cocked

For the hunting kits, width cocked is the spec that changes most: about 8 inches on the Impact against about 10 on the Domain. If you hunt from a ground blind with small windows, or from a tight tree stand, narrower is easier to swing. Measure the window you'll shoot through before you compare speeds. More on compact frames across brands is on the compact crossbow page.

Then look at how it cocks

Both hunting kits list a manual cocking sled or cocking aid, and the draw weight is listed at 180 to 185 lb. Bear sells an EZ Silent Crank separately, which it says cuts the draw weight needed by 85% and lets you decock without shooting. Quick math: 15% of 185 lb is about 28 lb at the handle. (As a physical therapist, I like that number a lot more than 185. So do shoulders.) Bear's aluminum sled page says its inserts fit the Impact, Constrictor, Intense and Saga models. Check fit for your exact crossbow before buying either.

Then speed and scope

Speeds on the hunting kits run from about 410 to 420 fps, which is a narrow spread. Bear's Speed Comp scope, which comes in the Impact kit per Bear, adjusts for crossbows from 300 to 450 fps and has an illuminated reticle with 20 to 100 yard aim points, per the maker. Ten fps between two kits is a small gap. Two inches of width decides whether you clear a blind window at all. Scopes across brands are on the crossbow scope page.

Cocking, carrying and safety

My one opinion on this page: cock the crossbow where you're going to shoot it, not at the truck. The checkable reason is Wisconsin DNR's safety advice: carry, transport and raise the crossbow into a stand only uncocked, using a haul line. The same advice says the safest way to uncock is to fire a bolt into a safe target. Cocking at the stand keeps the crossbow uncocked for every step and every climb before that.

The rest of the safety list, plain:

• Keep your finger outside the trigger guard until you're ready to shoot
• Check that the safety is on right after cocking
• Never dry-fire: never shoot without a bolt loaded
• Use only the bolts your crossbow maker recommends

Bear's warranty doesn't cover dry-fire damage. Crossbow seasons and rules vary by state, so check your state wildlife agency.

Setup and care basics

Bear lists rail lube and string wax in both hunting kits' packages, per Bear and the listing. Use them the way your manual says, at the intervals it says. The listings don't give a schedule, and I won't make one up.

Inspect bolts before you shoot them. A cracked bolt, a damaged nock or a loose insert goes in the trash, not the quiver. TrueX nocks are sold separately by Bear, so a broken nock doesn't mean a broken bolt.

Tape the bolt part number inside the case lid. ACBK20 is a lot easier to read than to remember.

Warranty and registration

Bear's warranty page, for Bear X crossbows:

• Length: one-year limited warranty
• Who: the original owner only, not transferable
• Registration: online, within 30 days of purchase, or the warranty doesn't take effect
• Not covered: dry-fire damage, and normal wear on cables, strings, bearings and finishes

Register it the evening it shows up. Thirty days goes fast in October.

Alternatives to Bear X on this site

Because Bear X has only a few listings here, the grid adds crossbows and bolts from other brands below the Bear X ones, matched by type. Those include compound and recurve crossbows and carbon bolts. Their makers have their own pages: Barnett, Excalibur, CenterPoint and Carbon Express. Compare width cocked, draw weight and the bolt each crossbow calls for, the same way as above.

Who might look past Bear X

The Bear X hunting kits on this site are compound crossbows with a sled or cocking aid in the box. Two kinds of shooters might want something else:

• You want a recurve crossbow (limbs with no cams, fewer moving parts): the Excalibur crossbows in the alternatives are listed as recurves. The recurve crossbow page covers the type.
• You want a crank built in: some alternatives, like Excalibur's RevX, list an integrated crank. Bear's crank is a separate accessory.

Neither is a knock on the Bear X kits. It's just a different set of trades, and the specs tell you which one you're making.

Who's behind Bear X

Bear X is Bear Archery's crossbow line. Archery Business's company profile says Escalade Sports bought the North American Archery Group in 2003 and that the company now operates as Bear Archery, and that Bear reintroduced its crossbows in 2018. Grand View Outdoors reported an earlier first Bear X lineup at the 2016 ATA Show, with reverse-cam models. Archery Business's 2019 report on the 2020 lineup lists the Constrictor and Intense models at 10 inches wide cocked. I couldn't verify where Bear X crossbows are made, so that's left out.

Width, cocking, bolt. Settle those three and the rest of the Bear crossbow choice is mostly camo pattern, which Walt will have an opinion about anyway.