| Model | Draw Weight | Stroke | Velocity | Suggested Arrow Length | Crossbow Length / Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SA Sports Fever Check price on Amazon.com | 175 lbs. | 11.5" | 240 FPS Crossbow Academy: ballistics, sighting, tuning | 22" | 31" / 4.85 lbs. |
| Pros: - Includes everything you need to get started - Inexpensive starter package Cons: - Highly inaccurate - Included bolts break easily - Requires stringing during assembly | Small Game Hunting? |  |
| Deer, Elk Hunting? | |
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| Moose, Bear Hunting? |  |
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| Target Shooting? | |
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| Also Recommended: | Best SA Sports Crossbows |
What Comes with the Crossbow?
Welcome to our review of the SA Sports Fever Crossbow. Each package delivered by SA Sports includes the following items:
- The SA Sports Fever Crossbow
- 4×32 Multi-Range Scope
- Padded shoulder sling
- Quick-detach quiver
- Assembly hardware and tools
- Stringer cable
- Rope cocking device
- 4 16” Aluminum arrows
- Owner’s Manual
- Warranty Card
Putting it all Together
The SA Sports Fever crossbow is easy to assemble, taking less than a half hour from start to finish. You install the limb protectors and foot stirrup first, then install the limb into the stock. Once the limb assembly and stock are together, it’s time to string the bow—use the included stringer cable or you will have problem and an improperly strung crossbow!
After the string is on, you should continue putting all of the pieces together, installing your quiver and mounting your scope. Once that is done, you are ready to head out the range to sight in your crossbow and test for accuracy.
How Accurate and Powerful is the SA Sports Fever Crossbow
The SA Sports Fever is a light crossbow, weighing in under 5 pounds, and has a short power stroke. It also has a heavy draw, at 175 pounds, but only fires its arrows at 240 fps. That gives the arrow about 51 ft. lbs. of kinetic energy; enough to take down a deer, but just barely.
The worst part of the crossbow is the accuracy. The scope sights in easy enough, but it wobbles on the mount which dramatically decreases the possible accuracy. I’ve sighted in hundreds of crossbows, and this one has to be the worst I’ve ever tested out. My groupings from 50 yards were a miserable 3”, and my close-up 25 yard groupings were not much better at 1-1/2”.
How Suitable is the Crossbow for Hunting?
The SA Sports Fever is light enough to carry around in the bush without fatigue, and it’s powerful enough to take down a buck. Unfortunately, it lacks the accuracy to ethically hunt with the crossbow, so I have thus far refused to take it out to the field.
Cocking The SA Sports Fever Crossbow
Cocking this crossbow is pretty easy with the included rope-cocking device, and the crossbow pulls back nice and smooth like you’d expect of a recurve. The safety automatically engages, and the anti-dry fire mechanism latches into place reliably.
What Kind of Scope Comes with the Crossbow?
The Fever includes a 4×32 Multi-Range scope. The scope sights in perfectly on every crossbow except the fever, because the rail on the Fever is wobbly and will not allow for a proper sighting. This means you can’t sight in the crossbow or have it hold true, because the aiming reticles will always be shifting from one point to another.
The scope itself is decent enough, though, with nice crisp optics and good fog protection. It doesn’t have terrific low light capabilities, and there is no illumination, but it is good for daylight shooting even in cold conditions.
Bolts
The SA Sports Fever includes 4 16” aluminum arrows, but these arrows are not built to last. Within a few rounds of target shooting, half of them were broken and I was moving on to my 20” Firebolt arrows at 400 grain. With this setup, I was able to hold speeds of around 243 fps, with kinetic energy hovering at about 53 ft. lbs. With the right bolts and a good bit of luck (because of the accuracy problem noted earlier), this crossbow is strong enough to take down a whitetail buck from 25-30 yards.
Safety and Design
This crossbow has some pretty serious design flaws, including the trigger pull. The trigger has a very long draw, and it does not break cleanly. A bit of lubrication helped for a while, but it still lacks the clean break that you would get on a slightly more expensive crossbow.
The safety and anti-dry fire mechanisms both work flawlessly, each and every time. The bow is sturdy enough to last for several seasons, and the string should last you quite a while too if you care for it properly.
Warranty
SA Sports provides a 1-year limited warranty on all of their crossbows. This may seem like a short warranty, but bear in mind that these are pretty inexpensive crossbows.
What Crossbow Case Fits the SA Sports Fever?
A good pick for the SA Sports Fever is the Carbon Express Deluxe Case for less than $70. This soft case is about six inches longer than the crossbow so it will accommodate many types of scopes. If your scope is a larger size, try opting for the Allen Company case for nearly half the money.
Crossbow Review – Summary
Thanks for reading our crossbow review. The SA Sports Fever is an adequate starter crossbow, but it lacks the reliability to make it a serious hunter’s crossbow. You can get your shots on the target, but your groupings are going to be far too wide for reliable, ethical hunting with this model. Take a look at today's amazon.com price on this crossbow and check out our top 10 crossbows rankings for more.
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