CenterPoint Wrath 430

430 feet per second is fast, and the honest way to describe what that buys is a flatter trajectory rather than more killing power. At normal hunting distances a 370 FPS bow and a 430 FPS bow both do the job comfortably. What 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 a 200 pound draw weight. That is at the top of the range for hand-cocking with a rope, and it is the main reason the Wrath is a bow people buy a crank for - see below.

The 430X is the variant name you will also see. For parts purposes the two are generally served together: the CenterPoint case is listed for the Wrath and Wrath 430X, and the 33.78 inch string covers the Wrath family.

The Wrath takes a 33.78 inch replacement string - noticeably shorter than the Sniper 370's 37.2 inches, which is a useful reminder that string length has nothing to do with how fast or powerful a bow is.

Two routes are available: a plain 33.78 inch string, or an October Mountain Velocity Plus string listed specifically for the Wrath 430. String and cable sets are also listed for the Wrath 430, and on a bow of this age and draw weight the set is the right call. A 200 pound bow works its cables hard.

Full lengths for the rest of the range are on the strings page.

CenterPoint made a cocking device specifically for the Wrath 430, and it is built around being quiet rather than merely mechanical. This matters more than it sounds. Cocking happens in the stand, often with animals already in the area, and a standard ratcheting crank is loud at precisely the wrong moment.

At a 200 pound draw, some form of mechanical assistance is close to mandatory for most people anyway. The choice is between a rope cocker, which is cheap, light and fast but still requires real effort at this weight, and a crank, which removes the effort entirely and cocks identically every time. On a bow this heavy to draw, the consistency argument is the stronger one - see cranks and cocking devices.

CenterPoint lists a padded semi-rigid case built for the Wrath and Wrath 430X. Model-specific cases are the one situation where the usual advice to measure everything does not apply, because the fit has already been worked out - and semi-rigid sits sensibly between a soft case you can carry and a hard case that actually protects.

If you would rather have a universal case, measure the bow uncocked limb tip to limb tip first. Width is where case purchases fail. More on that on the cases page.

The Wrath is no longer in the CenterPoint catalogue, but it is one of the better-supported discontinued models: strings, cables, the silent crank and the fitted case are all still listed under or for the CenterPoint brand, and bolts are a generic 20-inch, 400-grain proposition.

The checks that matter on a used or long-owned Wrath are the same as any high-draw-weight crossbow - the string first, then the rail, then the limbs. A 200 pound bow puts more into its components than a 185 pound one does, so if the string is original it is well overdue. See what wears first.