Ravin R500 Review: 500 FPS of Flat, Hammering Crossbow Power
The biggest buck of your life steps into the open at 80 yards and stops — broadside, but a long way off, and not coming closer. A slower bow makes that a prayer. The Ravin R500 makes it a shot you take with confidence. This is Ravin's fastest, most powerful compact crossbow, built for the exact moment the whole season comes down to a single arrow.
Check today's price on the Ravin R500 →
500 FPS flattens the long shot
The R500 launches a 400-grain arrow at a blistering 500 feet per second with 222 ft-lbs of kinetic energy. That speed isn't a brag — it's forgiveness. A flat-shooting arrow means a misjudged yardage that would sail over or under a deer's vitals with a slower bow still finds the mark, and that wall of energy drives a clean pass-through for a fast, ethical, easy-to-track kill at distances most hunters only dream about.
Compact, quiet, and built to outlast you
For all that power, the R500 stays remarkably short and packable thanks to Ravin's HeliCoil and Hexcoil cam technology — so you can actually maneuver it in a treestand or blind. It cocks with a built-in, silent system (no rope cocker, no clatter to bust a buck), weighs just 8.4 pounds, and measures 28.5 inches. Aluminum riser, CNC components — it's a precision instrument built to be handed down.
Ravin R500 — the specs that matter
| Spec | Number | What it does for you |
|---|---|---|
| Speed (400 gr.) | 500 FPS | Flattest trajectory in the lineup — forgives yardage |
| Kinetic energy | 222 ft-lbs | Pass-throughs at long range |
| Weight / length | 8.4 lbs · 28.5" | Maneuvers in a stand or blind |
| Cocking | Built-in silent system | No rope cocker, no noise |
The verdict: Buy Once, Cry Once
The R500 is the top of the mountain. It's not for the once-a-year plinker — it's for the hunter who's put in the scouting and the miles and refuses to let equipment be the reason the tag goes unfilled. Buy it once, and it'll be hammering bullseyes a decade from now.
FTC Disclosure: OSS America contains affiliate links. We earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you — we only point you at gear we'd stake our own trip on.
More field tests
Top PickHuntingRavin R29X Review: The Compact 450 FPS Crossbow Hunters Swear By
450 FPS in a crossbow short enough to swing inside a ground blind. The R29X is Ravin's best-selling compact for a reason — devastating speed in a package that actually handles where you hunt.
Buy Once, Cry OnceShootingFX Impact M4 .35 Review: The Benchmark Hunting PCP Air Rifle
The air rifle other air rifles get measured against. The FX Impact M4 in .35 is a tunable, sub-MOA precision platform with the power to ethically take real game — quietly, accurately, and without a single round of ammo cost.
Top PickShootingBenjamin Marauder Gen 3 Review: The Value King of PCP Air Rifles
You don't need to spend two grand to get into serious, quiet, accurate PCP shooting. The Marauder Gen 3 is the rifle that's introduced more Americans to backyard precision and pest control than anything else — for a fraction of the price.