CenterPoint Hellion 400

400 feet per second from a 15.5 inch power stroke and a 185 pound draw works out to roughly 142 foot-pounds of kinetic energy at the site's standard 400 grain bolt weight - a mid-pack number for the current CenterPoint range. The Sinister 430D pulls harder and hits 164 foot-pounds at 225 lb; the compact Sniper G4D matches the 400 FPS headline number at 220 lb in a much smaller 6.75 inch cocked footprint. The Hellion sits between them: a full-size compound at a draw weight most adult hunters can manage with a rope rather than needing a crank from day one.

At 8.13 lb and up to 33 inches overall, it is a conventional-size compound rather than one of the ultra-compact bullpup designs CenterPoint has been introducing across the rest of the current lineup.

The Hellion 400 takes a 35 inch replacement string with 13 5/8 inch cables. Unlike most of the models covered on this site, this is not a length pieced together from three different string listings after the manufacturer stopped publishing it - CenterPoint's own site and multiple string makers agree on the number because the bow is still current. Stone Mountain Bowstrings sells a set built specifically for this model on Amazon, which is the fastest route to the correct length without measuring your own string first.

Full lengths for the rest of the CenterPoint range, including the older models this string length does not share with anything else in the lineup, are on the strings page.

The Hellion 400 package includes:

• 4x32mm illuminated scope
• Detachable parallel quiver
• Three .003 carbon arrows
• Cocking sled (rope, not a crank)
• Rail lube

Construction includes CNC-machined aluminum rails and cams, and a string stop system intended to quiet the shot. The notable thing here is what is absent: the Hellion ships with a rope cocking sled rather than an integrated crank. The Sinister 430D, at a heavier 225 lb draw, ships with the crank built in. At 185 lb the rope that comes in the box is manageable for most people, which is presumably why CenterPoint did not spec a crank on this model.

The Hellion 400 uses the same 20 inch bolt length as the rest of the CenterPoint compound line - see bolts and what fits for the length, weight and nock specifics that actually matter when buying a compatible bolt.

On the cocking side, 185 lb is toward the lower end of what CenterPoint's compound bows draw, and the included rope sled is a reasonable long-term option rather than a stopgap. Where a crank cocking device earns its price on this specific bow is consistency and cold-weather comfort rather than necessity - the same argument that applies at every draw weight, just with less urgency than on something pulling 220 lb or more.

Within CenterPoint's current six-model range, the Hellion 400 is the straightforward, mid-priced option: full-size, 400 FPS, no de-cocking feature, no bullpup footprint. The Sinister 430D above it trades a heavier draw and an integrated crank for 430 FPS and de-cocking. The compact G4D and Amped G2D trade overall size for a higher price at the same or lower speed. None of that makes the Hellion the wrong choice - it is simply the model without a specialization, which is exactly the role a mid-range option is supposed to fill. The full current-and-discontinued rundown is on the models page.