AO Review: Wicked Ridge Raider 400 De-Cock Crossbow from Ten Point

The market for crossbows is growing every year and hunting season. In my home state of Minnesota, crossbows were made legal this year so that all archers can legally hunt whitetail deer with a crossbow (as opposed to only the elderly and those with medical exceptions). Through the first 10 days of our whitetail deer season over 40% of all deer harvested were achieved with a crossbow. That is astounding! The market for crossbows is growing rapidly, and archers are searching for lightweight, economical yet fast options to head into the field with. They don’t want to break the bank, but they want quality all the same. It was rather fortuitous that Ten Point reached out to us to check out one of their Wicked Ridge Raider 400 De-Cock crossbows because this model has a bevy of the features we mentioned: affordable, fast, and light. So, today we are going to review the Wicked Ridge Raider 400 De-Cock Crossbow from Ten Point to see how it performs for recreation and potentially hunting as well. Let’s dive in!

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Specifications: Wicked Ridge Raider 400 De-Cock Crossbow from Ten Point

The MSRP for the Wicked Ridge Raider 400 De-Cock Crossbow from Ten Point is set at $899.99 as it is currently outfitted from the factory. This includes an introductory optic, 3 Wicked Ridge Match 400 Carbon Arrows, and the ACUdraw De-Cock feature. The rest of the specifications for this package can be read below as presented by Ten Point:

Length (w/o Foot Stirrup): 31.5″
Width Axle-to-Axle (Uncocked/Cocked): 19″ | 15″
Power Stroke: 13.5″
Weight (w/o Accessories): 5.8 Lb (Tactical Stock) | 6.5 Lb (XS Stock)

Speed/Kinetic Energy: Pro Lite Carbon Arrow (370 Grain) – 400 FPS | 132 FP KE
Speed/Kinetic Energy: Wicked Ridge Match 400 Carbon Arrow (415 Grain) 390 FPS | 135 FP KE
Draw Style: Forward Draw
Draw Weight: 185
Safe De-Cocking: ACUdraw De-Cock

Assembly: Wicked Ridge Raider 400 De-Cock Crossbow from Ten Point

Whenever I review products – whether it is in an official capacity for writing like this Raider 400, or mentally to myself when I am assembling Ikea furniture in my garage at night – I attempt to do things without the instructions. I punish myself like this because a good product should be intuitive. If you’re mechanically-minded or missed your calling as a civil engineer like me, Point A should lead to Point B, then C, and so on.

So, I ran the gamut one afternoon of assembling this crossbow without the instructions at my local archery park. Here you get a 30 second timelapse of my endeavor, but in total, it took me around 20 minutes having never assembled one of these before from Wicked Ridge or Ten Point.

Field Use: Wicked Ridge Raider 400 De-Cock Crossbow from Ten Point

So, once we got our Wicked Ridge Raider 400 assembled, how did it fare on the archery range? One of my favorite elements about this crossbow is the ACUdraw De-Cock feature. It is nice that you can crank your crossbow to cock it, and can stop at any time. It has that “pausing” or hold feature, and it requires very little strength to do so. I find it very valuable that you don’t have to completely cock the crossbow once you start or completely de-cock the crossbow once you start or that it is not under colossal tension that requires you to be a bodybuilder to manipulate it.

The Wicked Ridge Raider 400 I also found to be surprisingly accurate for how affordable this package is. The crossbow essentially exhibited point-and-hit accuracy at all the distances tested under 100 yards. I can see why crossbow shooting as a recreation and crossbow hunting is becoming so wildly popular across the US.

Some other thoughts I had – and this is a rather simple one – is I appreciate how quick-detach the 3 bolt/arrow quiver is for this crossbow. Even on my compound bow I own, I like a detachable quiver so it is easier to travel with my archery equipment disassembled in a case or the back seat of my truck.

I also found the Wicked Ridge Raider 400 to be large enough to have a stable shooting platform (leverage with your arms) yet small enough to be desirable to go hunting with it. If the crossbow was too compact you would feel choked up on it and be very unstable in off-hand shooting positions. If it was too large then it’d flatly be too heavy and unbearable to carry around. It’s a balance of threading the needle for weight and stability while shooting.

The only slight negative I found with this factory package crossbow from Ten Point is that the factory scope is on the affordable side; a little too affordable. That can always be replaced though, and if I end up purchasing this crossbow, that is the only modification I can envision making with it.

Final Thoughts: Wicked Ridge Raider 400 De-Cock Crossbow from Ten Point

So, what are my final thoughts on the Wicked Ridge Raider 400 De-Cock Crossbow from Ten Point?… Overall, I believe this is a great value for entry-level crossbow hunters. I find myself being the perfect target consumer for this crossbow because I have shot archery my entire life, crossbows are becoming more widely0adopted every year, and I am curious to dip my toes in the water. At an MSRP of $899.99 and all of the positive attributes we experienced of accuracy, intuitiveness, being lightweight, and the ACUdraw De-Cock system, we definitely recommend this crossbow for anyone who is contemplating getting in on the fun.

In closing, I want to say thank you to Ten Point and Wicked Ridge for allowing AllOutdoor and myself the opportunity to try out their Wicked Ridge Raider 400 De-Cock Crossbow. That is greatly appreciated. Also, we would like to know what all of you guys and gals think? Do you believe that the Wicked Ridge Raider 400 De-Cock Crossbow is something worth spending your money on? Would you deploy one for hunting this fall? Shoot a league with it? As always, let us know all of your thoughts in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.

Adam Scepaniak