EK Archery is a brand established in 2015 to expand the international market presence of the Taiwanese company Poelang, founded in 1985 and specialising in bows and crossbows. Thanks to its innovation and quality, EK Archery quickly became one of the best-selling archery brands in Europe. Today, EK Archery continues to lead the global market with innovative designs and high quality materials and is preparing to become a reference name. We had the opportunity to try out the "revolutionary" Revo7 crossbow.
Revo7: the self-repeating crossbow from EK Archery
The idea of making an "automatic" bow or crossbow is not new, and the first form of it actually working is attributed to the great Leonardo Da Vinci who, in folios 143, 153 and 155 of the Codex Atlanticus, drew a "rapid-fire crossbow" that could be loaded by opening and closing the tiller without ever touching the bowstring. In more recent times, we have seen Steambow's Stinger 6 crossbow, featuring both a cocking lever and a magazine, and now comes EK Archery's new Revo7, which offers an unprecedented level of power and shooting speed. The design is inspired by that of the previous Cobra RX Adder model but now features a new loading mechanism and a smaller footprint.
During loading, the upper assembly slides forward allowing the shooter to keep the target in sight at all times. The newly designed, removable magazine allows loading in seconds and holds seven proprietary bolts, 6.5 inches long, with carbon shaft and weighing 142 grains. (The magazine is equipped with an anti-dry fire system, safeguarding the crossbow from damage.) Draw weight is 90 lbs, more than enough for a powerful and accurate shot with an exit velocity of 235/250 fps (about 70/75 m/sec); additional limbsets in other poundages (30lbs, 60lbs, 120lbs) can be purchased separately. Cocking the bow and positioning the dart on the rail is done in a single movement, using the front pistol grip. The pistol grip provides a very solid purchase and swing, while the red dot sight with aluminium housing allows for instinctive aiming. The extended Picatinny rail allows other mechanical or electronic sights to be mounted without any difficulty.
The separate trigger design minimizes the risk of finger pinching during cocking and offers a smooth trigger pull weight of 3.5 lbs. The crossbow can shoot in "auto" or single mode: in single-shot mode, it requires the safety to be engaged after each draw.
The Revo7 crossbow is extremely compact: it is 58 centimetres long and weighs approximately 3 kilograms, and thanks to the adjustable AR stock can be easily adapted to the shooter's stature.
