Regular visitors to this website might remember a similar article I wrote a year ago regarding my five favorite bowhunting products from the 2022 ATA Show. Click here to check it out.

FYI: The 2021 Archery Trade Association (ATA) Show was held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so those like me who work in the archery industry were excited to get back to normal — sort of — during the in-person 2022 ATA Show in Louisville, Kentucky. Show attendance in 2022 was lower than the pre-pandemic Show in 2020, but it was better than I expected.

Thankfully, the annual event is trending in the right direction, and the 2023 ATA Trade Show was noticeably bigger and busier than the 2022 Show. For those interested in the numbers, the 2023 ATA Show featured 466 exhibitors, spread across a floor space of 153,000 square feet at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.

For any bowhunter or target shooter who wants to see, touch — and even test — the latest and greatest archery gear, the ATA Show is a must-attend event. (Yes, the ATA Show provides dozens of shooting lanes for attendees to test compounds, crossbows and traditional bows.)

During the 2023 ATA Show, many gear items caught my attention. That said, here I’m highlighting my top five. Check them out below (alphabetical order).

Barnett Crossbows Hyper Raptor

I’ve used Barnett Crossbows for years. In fact, I killed my largest whitetail ever a few years ago in Kansas with a Barnett, and tagged my most recent whitetail with one during the 2022 Thanksgiving holiday in Wisconsin.

You might not realize it, but Barnett has been building crossbows for 60 years. During the 2023 ATA Show I had the pleasure of meeting David Barnett, whose father founded the company. David is one of the company’s co-owners, and for decades has been a driving force behind many of the brand’s best-performing crossbow designs.

I enjoyed picking the brain of David Barnett about crossbow evolution and design, and thoroughly enjoyed having him show me his company’s latest offering, the Hyper Raptor. I had a chance to shoot it many times at the indoor range and was tremendously impressed. In fact, if I had to pick out my single favorite new product from the 2023 ATA Show, it would be the Hyper Raptor.

So what makes it so impressive?

The Hyper Raptor has a lightweight composite riser and measures just over 7 inches axle-to-axle when cocked. It weighs just a touch over 7 pounds and balances beautifully from front to back.

Like all Barnett crossbows in the Hyper series, the Hyper Raptor is paired with the company’s exclusive and patent-pending 20-inch-long, .204-inch diameter HyperFlite arrows. According to company engineers, the arrow's increased FOC (front of center) reduces wind drift and increases accuracy and penetration. The Hyper Raptor sends HyperFlite arrows downrange at speeds up to 410 fps.

Contributing to the crossbow’s top performance is its new Halo System, which eliminates cable crossing and cam lean to create tremendously balanced string travel. I was also happy to see that the Hyper Raptor features the company’s proven TriggerTech trigger; it has a reliable and crisp, 3-pound pull. In a word — outstanding.

The crossbow comes with a 4x illuminated scope, quiver, three 20-inch HyperFlite arrows with field points, and sled-style rope cocking device.

I’ve saved the best for last — MSRP for the Barnett Hyper Raptor crossbow package is only $599.

 

Bohning Top Mount Quiver Bracket

This top 5 pick by me is proof that a product doesn’t have to be new to be great. As I understand it, the Bohning Top Mount Quiver Bracket ($31.50) has been around for several years, but it’s only recently that consumers have discovered how handy it is for crossbow hunting. 

Let’s face it — carrying a crossbow is a hassle, especially through the woods. I usually remove a crossbow’s quiver and put it in daypack. Most companies mount their quiver on the underside of the bow, and regardless of which side it’s on, the crossbow is uncomfortable to carry because the arrows are colliding with your arms. The Bohning Top Mount Quiver Bracket eliminates this problem.

This mount can be attached to the Picatinny sight rail of a crossbow without removing the scope, and it works for either left- or right-handed shooters. It allows for parallel mounting of your quiver, which makes transporting easier and reduces forward weight on your crossbow.

Note: Top Mount Quiver Bracket works well with many quivers. The one I checked out during the 2023 ATA Show was matched with a four-arrow Bohning Bruin Quiver, which has two retainers and accommodates any arrow or bolt. The Bruin’s Lever-Lock mounting system attaches solidly to the Top Mount Quiver Bracket.

FYI: Bohning recently celebrated 75 years of serving the archery community in 2021. Bohning has been headquartered in the same location east of Lake City, Michigan, since 1946.

 

Elevate Hang-On Treestands and Climbing Sticks

Elevate Stand Co. attended the ATA Show for the first time in 2022; the company was founded in 2021. Elevate hang-on premium treestands are 100 percent American made (Hutchinson, Kansas), and their target consumer is the serious mobile hunter.

Brothers Josh and Jarad Stubbs founded the company. They had always wanted to do something in the outdoor industry, and with a combined 32 years of aerospace experience, they had a lot of working knowledge of aluminum, in terms of manufacturing and quality.

The largest hang-on stand built by Elevate is the Element ($459.99), which weighs 10.4 pounds and has a platform of 18.75 x 29 inches. The smallest offering is the Element Ultra ($419.99), which weighs only 6.25 pounds and has a platform of 17 x 23.75 inches. Hunters who want a treestand in between the Element and Element Ultra should check out the yet-to-be-named mid-sized stand ($439.99), which was Introduced at the 2023 ATA Show. It’s so new that at the time of writing, it hasn’t been added yet to the company’s website. All Elevate treestands are built of 6061-T6 Aluminum.

Elevate also offers its Ascend Climbing Sticks, which are available in 17- or 20-inch versions. They’ve been engineered to complete Elevate’s mobile system. The patent pending magnetic design enables simple stacked transportation. A fixed dual foot rung ensures a safe climb and adds more foot space. You can buy them as a three pack for $299.97 or $329.97, or a four pack for $399.96 or $439.96, depending on length. The company also offers treestands and sticks combined in a Mobile Bundle to save money.

I’ve checked out just about every hang-on treestand offered during the past few decades, and these new models from Elevate Stand Co. are truly impressive.

Important note: The company currently offers its products only to consumers directly via its website. Elevate was at the ATA Show to gauge retailer interest. When I heard this, I was reminded of when the saddle/sticks company Tethrd did the same at the ATA Show a few years ago. Tethrd now sells to dealers, and I expect Elevate will, too, after they ramp up production.

 

Morrell Yellow Jacket Kinetic X Bag Target

Last fall I wrote an article titled, “All Archery Targets Are Not Created Equal,” and it detailed my frustrating experience with shooting arrows from high-speed crossbows into marginal backstops.

One bag target I praised in the article was the Morrell Yellow Jacket Kinetic 1.0. On the bottom of the target are words “No FPS Limit,” which means it’ll stop any arrow from any crossbow on the planet. Period. And arrow removal is super easy, too. I’m not exaggerating: You can remove any arrow by gripping it with only one finger and your thumb and then pulling with little force. The only downside to the Kinetic 1.0 is it’s just a bit big for some archers: 21x15x20 inches, and it weighs 65 pounds. As I stated in the article, the Kinetic 1.0 is super effective, but it’s a beast to transport and move.

During the 2023 ATA Show, while shooting the Barnett Hyper Raptor crossbow detailed above, I shot super-small-diameter arrows into the new Morrell Kinetic X bag target ($109.99). As you can see in the photos here, the info “500 FPS” are written on the target, which means it’s been tested to stop arrows flying at speeds up to 500 fps. You won’t be zipping arrows through this target. The Hyper Raptor is fast (410 fps), and the skinny HyperFlite arrows drive deeper than standard-diameter shafts, but the Kinetic X stopped them after only 5 inches of penetration. And as with the Kinetic 1.0, arrow removal with the Kinetic X is crazy easy.

At the time of this writing, the Morrell Targets website hasn’t been updated with info on the new Kinetic X. Even so, I was able to get my hands on a 2023 product catalog at the ATA Show, so I can tell you that it measures 16x16x16 inches and weighs 51 pounds. Is this a small, lightweight target? Certainly not. But it’s fairly compact (16-inch cube), has four shooting sides (the Kinetic 1.0 has only two), and weighs nearly 15 pounds less than the Kinetic 1.0. Because of the E-Z Tote carrying handle (designed for two hands), it felt lighter than 51 pounds to me.

The last feature I’ll mention about the Kinetic X is the number and variety of bull’s-eyes. Today’s compounds and crossbows are tremendously accurate, and to keep from breaking arrows, it’s smart to never shoot twice at the same bull’s-eye, especially at close range.

  

MTM Case-Gard The BULL Rest

When sighting in a crossbow, it’s best to do it from a bench with some type of shooting rest that fully supports the bow. Sand bags work okay, but they can be a hassle to transport to and from your archery range due to their weight. The best solution is a lightweight and fully adjustable shooting rest such as the MTM Case-Gard The BULL Rest.

This inexpensive rest ($42.99) was manufactured with firearms in mind, but it works just as well for crossbows. It has a wide, sturdy stance and slip-free rubber feet. It quickly and easily expands from 18.3 to 26 inches in length so it will support any size crossbow. Front and rear rubber shooting pads cradle the bow, and elevation adjustments are made with a few quick handwheel rotations.

The MTM Case-Gard The BULL Rest is made in the USA. The Dayton, Ohio, company has been family owned and operated since 1968.