The Empire Diablo belongs to SA Sports their Empire line. This ultra-narrow gun-like, hard-hitting crossbow has many interesting features and comes at a very generous price.
SA Sports was founded in 2010 by Mark Ambrose, they aimed to be an influential presence in the outdoor sports world. They make excellent hunting gear for very attractive prices without sacrificing the quality of their product. Their motto; “never doubt your gear!”
SA Sports also released two more crossbows this year. The Empire Beast(400 FPS), and their 2020 flagship model the Empire Punisher(420 FPS.)
In the package, you’ll find the Empire Diablo compound crossbow, quick detach quiver, 3 Carbon 20-inch bolts, adjustable position foregrip, 4×32 Multi-Range Scope, and a rope cocking device.
Table of Contents
SA Sports Empire Diablo Crossbow Specs
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Size and Weight
The Empire Diablo is a compound crossbow that combines traditional design features with the latest high-tech features. The Empire Diablo is 36 inches long and the crossbow has an axle to axle width of 19 inches uncocked and a narrow 5.5 inches once cocked.
The crossbow features an traditional looking rifle stock that it is made from synthetic material. The barrel is made of the same material and has cutouts to lighten the crossbow. The crossbow is lightweight, it tips the scales at a mere 6.50 pounds.
Design and Construction
The crossbow has a precision matched aluminum riser with a 65 percent let off. It employs inverted cam technology called the Revo Ergomax CNC machined cams. The cams together with a long power stroke design and four narrow limbs produce fast and hard-hitting shots.
The Empire Diablo has an integrated full barrel Picatinny rail, an adjustable Picatinny mount foregrip, and adjustable string stoppers. The crossbow also features a large boot style stirrup.
Speed and Arrows
This Empire Diablo boasts a hefty 185 pound draw weight and it has a long power stroke of 14 inches that gives the Diablo a lot of short-range knockdown power.
We tested the crossbow with the 20-inch carbon arrows that were included in the package. On our chronograph, we measured speeds in the range of 350-385 fps. We also tried out a couple of different broadheads. Always use suitable crossbow arrows with half-moon nocks!
Optics
The Empire Diablo comes with a 4×32 multi reticle scope that is designed to offer you multiple yardage options without having to make adjustments.
Assembly and Sighting-in
It does not come pre-assembled so you’ll have to install the crossbow yourself. Assembling the Empire Diablo is easy and takes about 10-20 minutes, depending on how experienced you are installing crossbows.
Start by sighting in your crossbow at the closest yardage you plan to hunt from, using the top cross-hair. Reasonable yardage to get started might be 20 yards, use the top line on the cross-hairs. Once you have zeroed in on the closest range, you will need to progressively move back in yardage in order to determine the remaining yardage points that your scope will be sighted.
Always make sure to properly read the instruction manual! You can find the instruction manual for the Empire Diablo here.
Cocking
Before you begin to cock the Empire Diablo, mark your string for the center while the bow is uncocked. It is important that you cock the crossbow centered each time. Mark the string on both sides of the flight rail so that you can verify it is cocked straight each shot.
The safety should always be in the “Fire” position before you cock the crossbow, the unit’s safety mechanism makes sure it will go to the safe position once the bow is cocked each time.
The use of the rope cocker reduces the effort required to cock the Empire Diablo by 50 percent. This device also ensures perfectly straight cocking, a key ingredient of top accuracy.
Trigger and Shooting
The trigger is really nice and with almost no creep. The trigger has an auto-fire safety tech that prevents dry firing and an ambidextrous auto-engaging safety switch.
The crossbow is well balanced and it feels comfortable holding it and shooting with it. It took a couple of shots to sight in the scope, when I finally did I was highly accurate over 50 yards.
Always be sure to check if your safety is on, which is the ”safe” position. Once you have confirmed your target. Push the safety forward to the ”Fire” position. The crossbow will now fire when the trigger is pulled. The safety must be disengaged in this manner prior to every shot.
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Recommended Accessories
Arrows & Broadheads
I recommend buying some cheap but decent quality hunting arrows for the Empire Diable crossbow. The REEGOX Carbon Crossbow Bolts are a fine pick.
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Combine them with some budget broadheads. The Sinbadteck Hunting Broadheads are good heads that come cheap.
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Storage and Transportation
Because this crossbow has a boot-sized foot stirrup, it’s possible to just store the crossbow by its foot stirrup. You can also hang the crossbow by its shoulder sling. However, we highly recommend storing the crossbow in a case.
SA Sports doesn’t manufacture crossbow cases right now, so there’s currently no official crossbow case for the Empire Diablo. However, you can buy a different case that fits this crossbow. The Archery AXCSBG Crossbow Case from Centerpoint is a cheap but decent quality case.
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If you want a sling to comfortably carry the Empire Diablo crossbow I recommend buying a Universal Black Padded Crossbow Sling from Southland Archery.
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Our Rating of the SA Sports Empire Diablo
Summary
The Empire Diablo is a solid 375fps compound crossbow that will not quickly be matched in value for your hard-earned money. The crossbow blends traditional design with the latest modern technology is very accurate and it has plenty of knockdown power. It is lightweight and the perfect crossbow for running and gunning situations.
What we like
- 375+ fps
- Lightweight
- Accurate
- Cheap
What we don’t like
- No official SA Sports crossbow case
Sir; Wonder if you still have the SA Sports Diablo and how it is working. I totally agree with you review and would have highly recommended this bow till it broke. I did change bolts which really improved accuracy over the ones that were supplied. I have used mine for three years and it was working fine until yesterday. While checking the zero, one of the limbs split (lenghtwise). I’ve never seen that on any bow before. I have contacted SA customer service but the web site shows no replacement limbs listed for the Diablo. Ever heard of this happening on other crossbows? Thanks
Hi there,
We haven’t had this issue with the Diablo crossbow. We’ll take it out for another test run soon, if it changes our opinion we will update the review.
I’ve checked and think that your best bet would be contacting SA sports’ customer service. We’re unable to find any replacement limbs. A few on the SA Sports website look similar to the Diablo limbs, but we’re not 100% sure they match.
Limbs cracking happens quite often, especially with budget crossbows, not in length though…
Hopefully SA Sports can offer you a replacement.