Carbon Express Intercept Axon Review – Compound Crossbow

Model	Draw Weight	Stroke	Velocity	Suggested Arrow Length	Crossbow Length / Weight
Carbon Express Intercept Axon Check price on Amazon.com	175 lbs.	13.5"	360 FPS Crossbow Academy: ballistics, sighting, tuning	20"	30.25" to 35" / 8.3 lbs.

What Comes With This Crossbow?

Welcome to our review of the Carbon Express Intercept Axon. Each package delivered by Carbon Express includes the following items:

• The Carbon Express Intercept Axon crossbow
• 4×32 glass-etched reticle lighted scope
• Assembly hardware and tools
• 3-bolt quiver
• 3 Maxima Blue Streak arrows
• Rope cocking device
• Rail lube
• Owner’s manual
• Warranty card

After you’ve taken all of the goodies out of the box, it’s time for assembly!

Assembly of the Crossbow

Putting the CX Intercept Axon together is quick and easy, and I had my x-bow up and ready to shoot within 15 minutes. You just attach the cable slide to the cables, then mount the limbs onto the stock. After you attach the foot stirrup, you mount the scope and quiver and you’re ready to rock and roll!

How Accurate and Powerful Is It?

For starters, let me say that the included scope is a dream to sight in. I had this crossbow sighted in and hitting dead-center from 15 yards within 2 shots, probably the fastest I’ve ever seen a scope sight in.

Once sighted in, I put the Intercept Axon through its paces, testing the crossbow at 25, 40, 50, and even 70 yards. From 25 yards, I was able to hit such tight groupings that I actually split one of my arrows. From 40 yards, I maintained ¾-inch groupings, and held 1” groupings from 50 yards. Moving out to 70 yards, I kept my pattern in at just under 2”, making for a supremely accurate crossbow.

The crossbow packs some serious punch, too. The arrows are whizzed into the target at a blistering 360 fps, and hit with close 115 ft. lbs. of kinetic energy at point blank range (subtract few percent ft.lbs. for every 10 yards of distance traveled by the arrow). This is so much power that I had to make sure my target block was firmly against my backstop, and then had to pull the arrows out of my backstop.

Use our arrow ballistics calculator for more valuable information.

Ballistic Data For The Carbon Express Intercept Axon

Your actual results will vary slightly depending on weather, and significantly with arrow weight change. See our Crossbow Ballistics Guides section for a complete understanding of how we conducted our tests and why this data matters.

What to Expect When Hunting With the Intercept Axon

At 8.3 pounds, this is not the heaviest crossbow I’ve ever carried, but neither is it the lightest. Unless you’ve got some real strength and stamina, you might be a bit tired after carrying this crossbow all day. Nevertheless, this is one of my favorite x-bows to hunt with, because of its speed, power, and insane accuracy.

While heavy, this is still a compact design, with an overall width of only 13.5” when cocked. That makes this crossbow ideal for hunting from tree stand or ground blind, and the blackout design ensures your crossbow won’t be seen from the shadows of your pop-up blind.

I’ve taken this crossbow on several hunts, including a hunt out West for Cape buffalo. I managed to down a buffalo with the Intercept Axon, nailing the bull from 35 yards with a shot that passed clean through the animal and left a huge exit wound. He stumbled off for about 30 yards, and then dropped for his dirt nap.

Cocking The Intercept Axon

This crossbow requires 175 pounds to draw, so I definitely recommend using a rope cocking device. The included rope cocking device lowers the effort required to cock the crossbow down to about 90 pounds, and ensures you have an even, consistent pull on the string. The cams work flawlessly, and the automatic safety and anti-dry fire mechanisms engage perfectly for every shot.

The Crossbow Scope

The scope that comes with the Intercept Axon is a 4×32 scope with glass-etched reticles and illumination. As mentioned previously, it sights in perfectly within just a few shots, and it holds zero through months of use and transport. I’ve found the optics to be a perfect balance of contrast and brightness, regardless of the lighting conditions, proving that CX has done an excellent job developing a scope with good light gathering capabilities. The coating on the optics allows for excellent fog-resistance, rounding out the already fantastic qualities of the scope to make it one of the best included scopes I’ve ever seen.

See our detailed guide on how to sight-in your crossbow

Arrows

When you unbox your Intercept Axon, you’ll find that CX has included 3 Maxima Bluestreak 20” arrows. These are some of the finest arrows that Carbon Express makes, and they shoot straight and even with every shot. I usually switch out arrows for my Firebolt arrows, but I stuck with the Maxima Bluestreak when I was using this x-bow. If you prefer different arrows, just stick with 400-grain or heavier arrows at 20”, and you’ll be in good shape.

You can also learn more about crossbow arrows and take a look at our broadhead recommendations

Safety and Design

Everything about this crossbow oozes quality, from the build of the crossbow to the safety features. This crossbow is designed to accept AR-15 accessories, so you can swap out the stock (not that there is anything wrong with the included stock). You also get a healthy 29” worth of Picatinny rail for adding additional accessories, making this crossbow easy to trick out with your favorite tools and toys.

The carbon-infused limbs are durable, and the CNC-machined risers and premium alloy cam sets are smooth and silky. The stock is collapsible, allowing you to extend or retract the buttstock to match your own build and the bulk of your clothing.

The trigger pull is light and steady, and the automatic safety mechanism works flawlessly for every shot. The same is true of the anti-dry fire mechanism, helping keep you and your crossbow perfectly safe at all times.

Warranty

Carbon Express provides a 5-year warranty for the Intercept Axon, the same warranty that covers all of their other crossbows. Carbon Express stands by their products with a top-notch, friendly, and knowledgeable customer service staff. I’ve found the customer service folks at CX to be super fast to rectify any problems I’ve had with other Carbon Express products, and I’m sure they provide the same level of support for the Intercept Axon.

What Crossbow Case Fits the Carbon Express Intercept Axon?

The Intercept Axon adjusts to be rather long. A good fit for it is the hard Plano 1133-00 Manta Crossbow Case for about $120. It is designed with an adjustable tall stock. For a little better that half of that is the soft Tarantula Deluxe Crossbow Case .

Crossbow Review – Summary

Thank you for taking the time to read our review of the Carbon Express Intercept Axon crossbow. CX has developed an excellent product in the Intercept Axon, and it should fit the bill nicely for any sort of hunting. Take a look at today's amazon.com price on this crossbow and check out our top 10 crossbows rankings for more.