CenterPoint Patriot 425

425 feet per second is genuinely fast, and the honest way to describe what that buys is a flatter trajectory rather than dramatically more killing power. At the 20 to 40 yard distances where the overwhelming majority of crossbow shots are taken, a 370 FPS bow and a 425 FPS bow both do the job comfortably. What the extra speed changes is how much a range estimation error costs you: the flatter the arc, the less a ten-yard misjudgement moves your point of impact.

The price of that speed is the draw weight. At 200 pounds the Patriot sits at the top of what most people can hand-cock with a rope, which is exactly why CenterPoint offered it in a Power Draw package - more on that below. At 7.7 pounds and 31 inches overall it is compact and reasonably light for the class, and the 12 inch cocked width lets it move through tight cover without catching.

The practical summary: this is a fast, compact hunting crossbow whose only real demand on the owner is the cocking effort. Nothing about its specification makes it obsolete for whitetail inside 40 yards, which fits the wider picture of how CenterPoint stacks up as a brand.

The Patriot 425 takes a 35.11 inch replacement string. That same length serves the Amped 425 and the Pulse 425 - the three are close relatives on string geometry, which is useful to know because a listing that is out of stock under one model name is often available under another. Length is the specification that has to match; the family name is only a shortcut to it.

Replacements come both as a plain 35.11 inch string and as a string and cable set. On a Patriot - a bow that by definition is now several seasons old - the set is the sensible purchase. Cables stretch alongside the string at a 200 pound draw, and replacing only the string leaves the cam timing slightly off while committing you to a second trip to the shop within a year. These are aftermarket strings from specialist makers rather than factory items, because CenterPoint no longer supplies them, and that is normal in archery rather than a compromise. Full lengths for the rest of the range are on the strings page.

200 pounds of draw is where cocking method stops being a preference and starts being a decision. A rope cocker halves the effort and is cheap, light and fast, but it still asks for real pull at this weight and it is easy to load slightly off-centre, which walks your point of impact. A crank removes the effort entirely and cocks identically every time, and on a bow this heavy the consistency argument is the stronger one.

CenterPoint sold the Patriot in a Power Draw package built around exactly this problem, and the same crank is available separately if yours has gone missing. The trade-off is speed - a crank is slower to operate than a rope - so the choice comes down to whether you value effort and repeatability over a quick recock. The full comparison is on the cranks and cocking devices page.

The Patriot 425 is built around a 20 inch carbon bolt at roughly 400 grains, which is what the bolts in the original package were. Any 20 inch carbon bolt in that weight range with the correct nock type will work - see bolts and what fits for the three specifications that actually have to match.

On sighting in, remember that the multi-line reticle in the bundled scope is calibrated around a speed. At 425 feet per second the labelled distance marks will not line up with a chart drawn for a slower bow, so verify each line at the range and write down the distance it actually corresponds to rather than trusting the number printed on the glass. A heavier bolt drops the speed and shifts every line, so pick a bolt weight and stay with it.

After this many seasons, the things to look at before you rely on it:

• The string. If it is original it is overdue. Look for fuzzing, serving separation and any loss of speed or shift in point of impact.
• The rail. Run a finger along the string path. A groove or rough patch means the rail is eating strings and needs a shop to look at it.
• The cables. At 200 pounds they work hard and stretch alongside the string, which is why the string and cable set is the better buy on a bow this age.
• String stops and dampeners. Rubber perishes in storage, and perished stops make the bow louder and harsher than it should be.
• Scope mounting screws. Crossbow recoil works screws loose, and a bow that will not hold zero is usually a scope that is moving rather than a barrel that is bent.

None of these are expensive, and together they are the difference between a discontinued crossbow that shoots like new and one that gets blamed for missing. The full wear-item rundown is on the parts that wear first page.