This is a different cocking mechanism entirely than the strap that’s been connected to the Ravin trigger assembly and wound back into the stock on previous models.

After shooting it extensively, my official evaluation is, that sounds about right. According to Ravin, it takes 17 pounds of effort to cock the bow (the limbs are 300 pounds). Those rods guide the trigger assembly (called the Trac Trigger Firing System) down the barrel and to the string. Each turn of the handle spins a pair of long, parallel threaded rods that run the length of the barrel. You crank the handle and load the crossbow with old-fashioned elbow grease. I tested the base model, which has a new (but fairly simple) draw-handle system in lieu of the electronic cocker. Several accessory-package versions of the crossbow are available, including the E series, which has an electronic cocking device.

Width: 3.6 inches (cocked) 8 inches (uncocked).Testing the Ravin R500 Crossbow We tested the base model R500 (shown), but an R500E with electronic cocking device is in the works. But it seems the wait is over because early last week, I finally got a new R500 in hand, and I’m told mine is the first one out for review. I was told that a crucial part took over 20 weeks to arrive, and so production of the Ravin R500 was stalled. I got an assignment to write a review on it back on January 11, and I kept checking in with contacts at Ravin all spring and summer about getting a test model. Trouble was, despite the hype and the listing of the crossbow for sale on their website (where it’s back-ordered), the R500 hasn’t been available since it was announced. They definitely got bowhunters…er, crossbow hunters…talking last winter when they teased the all new Ravin R500, billed to be the world’s first commercially available 500-feet-per-second crossbow. No other brand can make a buzz in the crossbow world quite like Ravin. We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs.

Ravin crossbow fletching up or down