In today’s review we’ll be taking a look at the Barnett Whitetail Hunter II crossbow. It’s a great crossbow for an even better price and one of the best-selling crossbows from Barnett.
Looking at the specifications and features or the Whitetail Hunter II, it seems to have everything you need to have on a crossbow. How well does it shoot, is it durable and how accurate is this crossbow? In this review I’ll be discussing everything you need to know of the Barnett Whitetail Hunter II crossbow.
If you’re looking for a better/faster crossbow from Barnett, we recommend you to take a look at the Barnett TS380, HyperGhost 425 or the Predator 430. As you can probably already tell by the names of the crossbows, these shoot a lot faster than the Whitetail Hunter II, but are also more expensive.
Table of Contents
Barnett Whitetail Hunter II Crossbow Features
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Package Contents
- Barnett Whitetail Hunter II Stock
- Barnett Whitetail Hunter Riser and Cams
- 4x32mm Multi-Reticle Scope (Already mounted to the stock)
- Rope Cocking Device
- Lightweight Quiver
- Two 20-inch Headhunter™ Arrows
- Lubrication Wax
- Instruction Manual
Size and Weight
The Whitetail Hunter II is a compound crossbow that comes in at a total length of 32.5 inches. It has a total width of 18.25 inches when uncocked and when cocked it has a width of 16.125 inches.
This crossbow isn’t compact, but it is pretty lightweight. It only weighs a total of 6.4 pounds including the accessories.
You can extend the shoulder pad by loosening two Allen screws. It also has 2 attachment points for a shoulder sling. Sadly, a shoulders sling isn’t included so you’ll have to buy one separately on Amazon.
Arrows and Speed
Barnett speed-tested the Whitetail Hunter II crossbow with 380-grains arrows and came in at 350 feet per second. Unfortunately, Barnett only offers 2 free Headhunter arrows with this package. For some reason they always include a weird number of arrows with their crossbows.
As mentioned in the Barnett TS380 review, the Headhunter arrows weigh a little more and come in at around 400-grains. The shafts are lightweight and made from carbon. The total length of these arrows are 20 inches. With the Headhunter arrows, you’ll probably be seeing speeds of around 340 feet per second.
You can buy a pack of 5 Headhunter arrows on Amazon.
The Whitetail Hunter II comes with a basic lightweight quiver from Barnett. This quiver is mounted to the picatinny rail on the bottom of the crossbow and holds a total of 3 arrows.
Scope
Barnett created the Whitetail Hunter II for hunters on a budget, so this crossbow isn’t equipped with a top of the range scope. With this crossbow you’ll get a standard 4x32mm Multi-Reticle Scope from Barnett. It’s already mounted to the stock of the crossbow and you have to sight it in yourself. (Check Assembly and sighting in)
This scope has no illumination, provides 4x magnification and has a clear view. It’s also waterproof and shock-resistant.
Cocking
To keep the Whitetail Hunter II as cheap as possible, it comes with a Rope Cocking Device. Even though the draw-weight of the Whitetail Hunter II is around 160 pounds, it’s still easy to cock the Barnett Whitetail Hunter II with the rope cocking device.
Barnett also made sure this crossbow is crank-cocking compatible. You’ll have to buy the crank from Barnett’s official website because Amazon is currently out of stock.
Trigger and Safety Features
The Whitetail Hunter II comes equipped with a free $200 TriggerTech trigger upgrade. It’s one of the best triggers on the market today. Just the TriggerTech metal injection molded trigger is worth the money for this crossbow.
It’s one of the few triggers that has zero creep and a smooth pull of around 3 pounds. Of course, it comes with all the safety features like anti-dry fire and even nock sensors to make sure you’ve properly loaded the arrow. If you didn’t load the arrows correct, the trigger will not engage.
Assembly and Sighting-In
Barnett does not ship the Whitetail Hunter II completely assembled. It is however a very easy crossbow to assemble. It’s a crossbow that has a single-bolt assembly. Slide the riser and cams on the stock of the crossbow, tighten the bolt down with a Hex key.
The foot-stirrup is already installed to the riser, so now you just have to install the quiver-bracket and mount the quiver to the stock.
Barnett installed a standard 4x32mm multi-reticle scope. First shot I took was off for about 7 inches to the left. It took me 3 shots to properly sight in the scope.
Note: we highly recommend to install the string dampeners on the Whitetail Hunter II. It’s not expensive and will make your crossbow last a lot longer.
Storage
To make sure your crossbow has a long life, you’ll need to properly take care of your crossbow. It’s best if you store it in a case specifically designed for that crossbow.
Barnett created a case for the Whitetail Hunter II; the Barnett Whitetail Hunter EVA Crossbow Case. It fits perfectly in this case and the case isn’t expensive.
Range Test
Of course, we took the Barnett Whitetail Hunter II to the range for some testing. For a crossbow that’s really cheap, it’s well balanced and feels nice to hold. I extended the butt plate a little to make it fit better.
Cocking the crossbow with the rope-cocking device is easy to do. The Whitetail Hunter II has a draw weight of around 150 pounds, using the rope-cocking device properly will reduce the draw weight by up to 50%! It has sturdy handles and has a wrist strap for better handling.
I do not have the crank-cocking device for the Whitetail Hunter II so I’m unable to review it myself. Please look at the reviews on Amazon for a better understanding of how well the crank-cocking device works. As far as I can tell, it doesn’t come with instructions on how to install the crank properly. But if you manage to install the crank like it’s supposed to be installed, it’s worth the money.
While sighting in the scope I noticed that it made quite a lot of noise. I decided to install some string dampeners on the bow. It’s a big change! Not only is shooting much quieter, the string dampeners should also extend the life of the strings.
After sighting in the scope at 50-yards and installing the string dampeners, I managed to get groups of about 2 inches. The TriggerTech trigger that Barnett installs on all of their crossbows is one of the best triggers out there. It has a smooth, zero-creep pull. It also has an anti-dry fire mechanism built in and a safety switch.
Speed-testing the Whitetail Hunter II with the provided 20-inch carbon headhunter arrows, I saw speeds of 335 to 340 feet per second. As mentioned before, Barnett speed-tested this crossbow with 380-grains arrows and the supplied headhunter arrows are 400-grains.
A nice feature on this crossbow is the “Soft-Lok Floating Arrow Bristle Retainer”. This bristle holds the arrow in place and the arrow will not slide out if you hold the crossbow upside-down.
If you’ve never sighted in a scope before, then it might take you some time to get it as accurate as you want. Make sure to read the instruction manual carefully.
Final Rating
Barnett Whitetail Hunter II Final Rating
Summary
Barnett did an amazing job at offering a crossbow at such a cheap price and still keeping it high-quality. The Whitetail Hunter II is a crossbow that costs less than $400 and should make any beginner or even seasoned hunters happy. At this price, you can’t find any crossbow that comes near the Whitetail Hunter II! It’s an even better crossbow after installing the string dampeners. This will extend the life of the strings and quiet down the crossbow a lot.
What we like
- TriggerTech Trigger (Valued at $200)
- Accurate
- Lightweight
- Unbeatable at this price
What we dont like
- No shoulder sling
- For a beginner, the scope can be difficult to sight-in
