CenterPoint Crossbows

What CenterPoint makes for crossbow hunters

On this site, CenterPoint is mostly a crossbow brand, plus the parts that go with one. The grid above sorts it by type:

• Compound crossbows: the Wrath, Dagger, Hellion and Tradition
• Crossbow bolts: carbon bolts with lighted nocks and aluminum bolts
• Broadheads: a mechanical crossbow broadhead
• Cocking devices: a rope cocking sled and a crank
• Cases: a crossbow case
• Bowfishing: a compound bowfishing kit

CenterPoint's own site lists crossbows, bowfishing kits, youth bows, arrows, accessories, and service and parts. The grid changes as listings come and go, so I'll write about the models and what separates them, not how many are up this week. Most specs in the grid come from Amazon listings and are marked that way. Lengths and weights come from CenterPoint's own manuals and pages.

Lineup notes: the CenterPoint crossbow

All four crossbows in the grid are compound crossbows: limbs with cams, like a compound bow turned sideways. Here's what separates them, by the numbers in the data.

Wrath 430: the narrowest and shortest

The Wrath 430 lists 430 fps (arrow speed in feet per second), 200 lb draw weight and 9 inches wide when cocked. CenterPoint's manual gives a length of 28.26 inches and a weight of 8.3 lb. The package listing names a 4x32 illuminated scope, three 20-inch, 400-grain carbon arrows with field points, a detachable quiver and a rope cocker.

It's the compact one in the lineup. In a ground blind, short and narrow means fewer things to bump. (Our blind has a support pole that has met every crossbow at camp. It's undefeated.)

Dagger 405: wider, heavier draw

The Dagger 405 lists 405 fps, 220 lb draw weight, and 15 inches wide cocked. CenterPoint's manual gives 33.5 inches of length and 8.1 lb. The package listing names a 4x32 illuminated scope, a parallel quiver, a rope cocker, rail lube and three 20-inch arrows.

On paper, the Dagger trades width for the highest draw weight in the grid. Wider limbs need more room on the sides. That's the whole trade.

Hellion 400: narrow, with a folding stirrup

The Hellion 400 lists 400 fps, 185 lb draw weight and 8 inches wide cocked. CenterPoint's page gives 33 inches of length and 8.13 lb, and describes a folding stirrup that doubles as a bipod, a roller retention spring, and CNC-machined aluminum rails and cams. The maker says the CP400 Select arrow with a lighted nock is the only approved lighted nock for this model, and that it's for adult use only.

Tradition 405: a scoped package with a sled

The Tradition 405 lists 405 fps and 15 inches wide cocked. Its package listing names a 4x32 illuminated scope, a cocking sled, rail lube, an attached quiver and three 20-inch arrows. The listing doesn't give its draw weight, so I won't guess one.

Compact models across brands are on the compact crossbow page. The compound crossbow page explains the type.

CenterPoint crossbow bolts

This is the part that matters most and gets read least. Both manuals I read, for the Wrath 430 and the Dagger 405, say to load only 20-inch arrows with a half-moon nock and a finished weight of 400 grains or more. Grain is a small unit of weight for arrows (437.5 per ounce). A half-moon nock has a slot for the string, so it loads one way: the Wrath manual says to set the odd-colored fletching face down in the flight groove.

The bolts in the grid, per their listings:

• AXCCA203PK carbon bolts: carbon, 400 grain, half-moon nocks, lighted nocks, ±.003 inch straightness
• Hornet Stinger bolts: aluminum, 12 per pack, 146.6 grain

Quick math on the first pack: 400 grains meets the 400-grain minimum the Wrath and Dagger manuals set, with zero to spare. Add a broadhead and the finished weight changes, so weigh the finished arrow, not the bare shaft. The Hornet Stinger bolts are far lighter than that minimum, so they're not for the Wrath or Dagger. Check your model's manual for which bolt it takes.

CenterPoint's warranty page says using arrows, bolts or broadheads not sold by CenterPoint voids the warranty. Bolt types are on the crossbow bolts page, lit options on the lighted nocks page, and ranked picks in best crossbow bolts.

CenterPoint crossbow crank and cocking devices

The CenterPoint crossbow crank cocking device people search for is the Power Draw crank. The grid also has the CP400 rope cocking sled. Rope or crank, here's the difference in practice:

• Rope cocker: a cord with handles and a sled that hooks the string; you pull up while your foot holds the stirrup
• Crank: a device with a handle you turn to draw the string back to the latch

The Wrath 430 manual explains rope cocking step by step: the safety has to be set to fire before the crossbow will cock, then you hook the sled onto the string, pull both handles up together and listen for the safety to click back on. It also says cocking the Wrath takes effort, and that if you have to stop partway, you ease the tension off slowly. The same manual refers to a Wrath silent cranking device with its own instructions.

Two warnings from the manual, in plain words. Use only the rope cocker or crank made for your crossbow. And never use your hands, the rope cocker or a crank to de-cock it.

Danny asked whether the crank comes with a torque spec. It doesn't. He wrote one in my spreadsheet anyway, in the notes column, where I can't delete it without feeling bad.

Broadheads and the bowfishing kit

The Deadpoint broadheads are a 3-pack of 100-grain mechanical heads with two blades and a 2-inch cutting diameter, crossbow rated, per their listing. A mechanical broadhead opens its blades on impact. Types and weights are on the crossbow broadheads page and the mechanical broadheads page.

Keep broadhead blades covered until the arrow goes on the rail. Broadhead rules vary by state, so check your state wildlife agency.

The Typhon X1 is a compound bowfishing kit, sold with arrows and adjustable without a bow press, per its listing. It's the one item in the grid for the warm months.

How to choose within the CenterPoint lineup

Start with width and length

Width cocked runs from 8 inches on the Hellion to 15 inches on the Dagger and Tradition, per the listings. Length runs from about 28 inches on the Wrath to 33.5 on the Dagger, per CenterPoint. If you hunt from a blind or a tight stand, narrow and short is easier to swing. If you hunt from the ground in the open, width matters less.

Then the carry weight

CenterPoint's manuals and pages put the Wrath, Dagger and Hellion between 8.1 and 8.3 lb. That's close enough that weight probably won't decide it. Add the scope, quiver and bolts on top for the real number you'll carry in.

Then the cocking method

My one opinion on this page: decide how you'll cock it before you look at speed. The reason is in the manuals: every package here depends on a rope cocker or crank, cocking takes real effort, and the only safe way to de-cock is to shoot an arrow into a safe target. If a rope cocker at the listed draw weights is hard for you, plan on the crank. The crossbow page covers cocking across brands.

Then the speed and draw weight

Speeds in the grid run from 400 to 430 fps, and draw weights from 185 to 220 lb. On paper, that's a narrow spread. In practice, the bolt you shoot and how well you know your yardage change more than 30 fps does. (Speed is fun on a spec sheet. It doesn't range the deer for you.)

Then what's in the box

Most CenterPoint packages list a 4x32 illuminated scope, a quiver, three arrows and a cocking device. The Hellion's listing names a folding stirrup and says it needs CP400 lighted nocks, so read each package line by line. Scopes are on the crossbow scope page.

Setup and care from CenterPoint's manuals

The Wrath and Dagger manuals agree on the routine:

• Lube the rail every 12 to 15 shots with the included rail lube, along both sides up to the string stops
• Wax the string, but not the serving (the wrapped center section), which can push wax into the trigger
• Never wax while the crossbow is cocked or loaded
• Inspect every arrow before firing; small flaws can make an arrow shatter
• Check for worn or loose parts before use, and call service if something has changed
• Store it unloaded, in a cool, dry place, away from children

The manual also says to set the scope three or four inches from your eye, and that a worn or frayed string needs a bow press and a shop.

Keep your fingers and thumb below the rail and out of the string's path whenever it's cocked. Never dry-fire it. The manual says a dry fire can damage the crossbow and injure you, and the safety is a backup, not a habit.

Warranty basics

CenterPoint's warranty page says crossbows are covered for two years from the original purchase, for the original purchaser only, and that you must register within 30 days. It lists strings, cables and bearings as excluded, and says dry fire, modifications, non-CenterPoint arrows or broadheads, and a removed serial number void it.

The Wrath 430 and Dagger 405 manuals state a different term: five years from purchase for the original owner, not covering strings, cables or accessories. Read the terms that came with your exact crossbow, register it, and keep the receipt.

CenterPoint facts

Here's what I could verify from CenterPoint's own site and manuals:

• Parent company: CenterPoint's site calls the brand "a Velocity Outdoor company"
• Trademarks: the 2020 Wrath 430 manual lists CenterPoint, Wrath and Power Draw as trademarks of Crosman Corporation
• Service address: Superior, Wisconsin, per the same manual

I couldn't verify a founding year or where the current crossbows are made, so those are left out.

Read the manual, then lube the rail. In that order, every season.