Excalibur Matrix 330 Review – Compound Crossbow

Model	Draw Weight	Stroke	Velocity	Suggested Arrow Length	Crossbow Length / Weight
Excalibur Matrix 330 Check price on Amazon.com	220 lbs.	11.4"	330 FPS Crossbow Academy: ballistics, sighting, tuning	18"	33.9" / 5.1 lbs.

What Comes With It?

Welcome to our review of the Excalibur Matrix 330. Each package delivered by Excalibur includes the following items:

• The Excalibur Matrix 330 crossbow
• Vari-Zone 4×32 scope
• Assembly hardware and tools
• 4-arrow quiver
• 4 Diablo arrows
• Rope cocking device
• Owner’s manual and DVD
• Warranty card

Assembly of the Crossbow

Once you’ve unpacked your crossbow, it’s time to assemble. For the Matrix 330, the assembly process is both quick and easy. You mount the limb system using the included Allen cap screws and washers, then mount the stirrup to the front of the riser. With that done, you mount your scope and quiver, and you’re ready to go. I had my Matrix 330 tricked out and ready to shoot within 15 minutes.

How Does it Shoot?

Once I was done putting the x-bow together, I headed out to the range to sight in and do some practice shooting to test the accuracy. The Matrix 330 fires 350-grain arrows at 330 fps, with 84 ft. lbs. of kinetic energy. This isn’t the most powerful crossbow out there, especially considering the 220 lb. draw weight, but it’s still respectably powerful.

Sighting in went pretty easy, with just a few elevation and windage adjustments to get my shots dead center on the bull’s eye. Within 5 shots, I had the scope completely sighted in and ready to go. Once there, I tested the x-bow at 20, 30, 40, and 50 yards, to see how accurate the shots were. I was pretty pleased, maintaining a 1/2″ grouping from 20 and 30 yards, a 3/4″ grouping from 40 yards, and a 1” grouping from 50 yards. The Matrix 330 shoots straight and fast, and with reliable accuracy.

Use our arrow ballistics calculator for more valuable information.

Ballistic Data For The Excalibur Matrix 330

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.

Hunting With the Excalibur Matrix 330

This crossbow is new for 2014, so I haven’t been able to hunt much with it, but it’s powerful enough to take on most game legal in North America. I would definitely trust this crossbow to take on moose and elk, and a good shot on a bear or Cape buffalo would also be fatal for the quarry.

The Mossy Oak Break-Up Infinity camouflage finish allows the x-bow to blend in well with the surroundings, and it’s light enough at 5.1 pounds to carry around all day without feeling fatigued or sore. I took the Matrix 330 on a moose hunt, and was able to bring home a medium-sized bull moose with a shot that passed completely through both of the animal’s lungs, bringing him to his knees within a few yards.

Cocking The Crossbow

With a draw weight of 220 pounds, this recurve crossbow is not something you’ll be drawing by hand very often. Nor should you, since a rope cocking device is included with the crossbow and these devices help you ensure an even, consistent pull on the string. The safety engages automatically with every shot, helping to keep you safe on the range or in the field. The draw is smooth and consistent, and the rope cocking device makes it quite easy to pull the string back.

The Crossbow Scope

The Vari-Zone scope is a 4×32 scope with 5 reticles for shooting at 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 yards. This scope has decent light gathering capabilities, but is not too useful during low light conditions. The scope is waterproof and shock proof, and the optics are coated to prevent fogging.

I’ve used this model of scope before, and I’ve always found it to be a very reliable scope. It sights in easily, and holds zero through months of usage and storage. I typically sight in once a year, but I cannot recall a time when I’ve ever had to readjust the windage or elevation on a Vari-Zone scope that I’d previously sighted in on that crossbow. My only wish list item for this scope would be illuminated reticles, for low-light hunting.

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

Bolts

Excalibur ships the Matrix 330 with a set of 4 Diablo carbon arrows, 18” long and 350-grain heavy with the 150-gr field tips. These arrows are of excellent quality, second only to the Firebolt arrows I typically hunt with. I went ahead and used the Diablo arrows during my range and hunting time with the 330, and they performed very well.

If you do replace the arrows, be sure to get your arrows from Excalibur. Excalibur’s arrows don’t use nocks, having threaded inserts instead to use with Excalibur’s T-handle arrow puller. The crossbow takes 18” arrows with a weight of 350 grain or more.

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

Safety and Design

The Matrix 330 is well built, and has a lightweight, compact build to it. There is no anti-dry fire mechanism, unfortunately, but the safety does engage automatically with every draw. The crossbow is louder than some, but it’s still quiet enough to rival its main competitors. Excalibur has a reputation for developing and building high quality crossbows, and they continue that tradition with the Matrix 330.

Excalibur says that you do not have to destring your bow, unless you are storing it in high temperatures. Unfortunately, if you do want to destring the crossbow, you will have to purchase a destringing aid separately, as it does not come in the package.

Warranty

Excalibur crossbows are covered by a limited lifetime warranty, non-transferable. With that said, Excalibur is able to boast a less than 1% return rate on their crossbows, due to the extreme care and diligence that goes into their crossbow manufacturing process. When the time comes that you do have to call Excalibur’s customer service, you will encounter the friendliest, most knowledgeable customer service staff in the industry.

What Crossbow Case Fits the Excalibur Matrix 330?

The Excalibur Matrix is pretty compact lending many choices for travel-cases. A soft travel-case option is the Carbon Express Deluxe Case for right below $70. For $30 the Allen Company case is a great deal in a soft case choice.

Crossbow Review – Summary

Thanks for reading our crossbow review of the Excalibur Matrix 330. This is an outstanding crossbow, with some serious power and accuracy. I would not hesitate to recommend the Matrix 330 for target shooting or hunting. Take a look at today's amazon.com price on this crossbow and check out our top 10 crossbows rankings for more.