Summary
You won’t find many bad CenterPoint Sniper 370 reviews, and when you take a detailed look it isn’t hard to see why. This bow has won several awards in recent years for being simply a great buy. A perfect choice for a first bow or a budget bow that offers surprising levels of performance and comes with everything you need to be ready to shoot or hunt out of the box. Durable machined aluminium rail, 370 fps and 110 ft lbs for a price that won’t break the bank.
Table of Contents
Intro
CenterPoint are a company that make a wide range of shooting gear. The Sniper 370 is named after the 370 fps it claims to achieve when you’ve put it together out of the box. This is a compound crossbow with split limb design and a machined aluminium stock and riser. It comes ready to go with absolutely everything you need including ammunition and somewhere to carry it. Lets take a closer look….
Ratings, Pros and Cons
What we liked:
- Affordable
- Integrated string silencers
- Machined aluminium rail
- 4×32 scope
- Fast and powerful bolt speeds
- Easily adjustable AR style stock
- Long warranty
- Included shoulder sling
What we didn’t:
- Fore-grip is not pass-thru
- Scope quality could be better but you can easily upgrade
Features / Specifications
| Draw Weight: | 185 lbs |
| Power Stroke: | 13.5″ |
| Bow Weight: | 7.7 lbs |
| Speed: | 370 fps |
| Kinetic Energy: | 110 ft lbs (measured with a 370 grain arrow) |
| Bolt Size: | 20″ |
| Axel-To-Axel: | 18″ (when cocked) |
| Overall Size: | 36″ Long x 21.5″ Wide |
| Price Range: | Low |
| Colors: | Camo or black |
| Warranty: | 5 year limited manufacturer warranty (original owner only) |
Videos
Who’s it designed for?
This is a full size adult crossbow that has an easily adjustable stock designed for both hunters and recreational target shooters.
What can I hunt with it?
With 110 ft lbs of kinetic energy shooting a 370 grain bolt this bow is suitable for hunting all sizes of game right out of the box. You can easily increase that bolt weight to gain even more stopping power at closer ranges should you need it.
Crossbow Comparison Tables
All the bows we review (and some we haven’t yet) get added to our comparison tables alongside a guide that helps you understand what features and specifications actually mean. They’re a great place to get a quick overview of what’s on the market, and find something that fits with your requirements.
In-Depth Review
Assembly
The CenterPoint Sniper arrives in two major pieces, the stock section and the limb section. The limbs are already strung and all that you need to do to attach them to the stock is screw in two bolts. One major one (the limb bolt) to hold them on and another to hold that limb bolt in place so you’ve no fear of it coming loose. Once that’s done there are 2 screws to fix on the stirrup and 2 to mount the quiver. The process is well documented with images in the user manual and easy enough to perform. All the tools you need are supplied.
Accessories
Nearly everything you need to start shooting or go on a hunting trip is supplied out of the box with the exception of a case. One nice addition that some manufacturers leave out is the supplied crossbow sling. That’s an essential accessory when you’ve got some hiking to get to your destination.
The 370 package normally includes:
- 4×32 mm scope
- 3x 20″ carbon bolts
- 3 bolt quiver
- Shoulder sling
- Rope cocker
4×32 Scope
The supplied 4×32 mm optic is the perfect scope resolution for most crossbow users. For the first 2 years the scope on offer with this bow was illuminated, however purchase one today and, unless you’re buying old stock you’ll get a standard ‘non-illuminated’ 4×32 scope.
Yes you could find a better scope and attach it if you want the absolute best optics on this crossbow, but for the price point the one included does the job just fine in our opinion.
Cocking Device
You need to be aware that this crossbow isn’t an ideal choice if you’re going to need a crank cocking device to lower the weight you need to pull. This bow is marked as not compatible by the manufacturer and we didn’t try to find any way around that. You should be supplied with a rope cocker out of the box, these normally lowers the weight you need to pull down by 50% from the advertised draw weight.
Quiver and Arrows
You’re supplied with a 3-bolt quiver that color matches with either camo or black depending on the variant you’ve chosen. This affixes easily to the underside of the bow and is optional. Some people don’t like bow quivers because they add weight to the front of the bow. Personally we don’t use them and prefer to carry bolts in a hip quiver to keep things as light and tangle free as we can. It also keeps the width of the bow down when cocked to the advertised 18″. Using the quiver with 20″ bolts gives you a minimum width at all times of 20″.
Trigger
The trigger pull on this is measured by the manufacturers at 5 lbs. If you’re an experienced shooter you’ll find a small amount of noticeable trigger creep and a reasonably long pull on this action. Most people however will not find this anything but a tight 5 lbs trigger with little slack. Unless you’ve spent a lot of time shooting, things like creep and pull won’t concern you.
Anti-Dry Fire and Auto Safety
Alongside auto-safety which resets the safety to the on position every time the bow is loaded this crossbow comes with Anti Dry-Fire technology. You shouldn’t be able to fire this bow without a bolt on the rail.
A surefire way to limit the life of any crossbow (or any other bow for that matter) is to fire it without an arrow. Dry firing causes all the energy from the string (energy that would normally go into the arrow) to be handled by the limbs of the bow. This can easily damage them.
Styling
Depending on your preferences this bow comes available in all black or a black and camo accented variant. The camo is applied on the limbs, quiver and sections of the stock, but not across the main rail, body, butt or the sight. The limbs are printed with the manufacturers name and there’s a CenterPoint badge on the side.
Stock and Limbs
Both the rail and cams on this bow are made from CNC machined aluminium. That makes them both strong and gives a nice finish. Machined aluminium can be made to tighter tolerances than cast aluminium and has less irregularities making it stronger. This one has limbs with a split design made from compression fiberglass.
The stock on this bow is assault rifle style and allows a good amount of easy extension by simply depressing a lever and pulling it back or forwards. Although the fore-grip isn’t a pass-thru you can adjust the position along the bottom rail to give your preferred forehand position. As this is an entry level crossbow we’d have like to see a pass-thru fore grip on this crossbow so there was less chance of you being able to grip it incorrectly. As it stands there is a warning in the manual about how you should hold it that all beginners and in-experienced crossbow users should heed!
You get both upper and lower Picatinny rail allowing you to attach whatever non supplied accessories you want to this bow.
Shooting Performance
We’ve measured 370 this shooting out of the box at 360 fps. That’s pretty close to the manufacturers advertised figures, and as we all know, manufacturer figures are normally measured in more than ideal conditions. We’re more than happy with that. The 4×32 scope makes for easy accuracy at ranges anywhere upto 50 yards and we couldn’t find any reason to fault the accuracy or shooting performance of the Sniper 370 during our try-out. We achieved good groupings and didn’t have any issues zeroing in the sight. Happy days!
“How does it compare?”
CenterPoint Sniper vs SAS Authority
This bow has 10 lbs less draw weight at 175 lbs and 30 fps less than the Sniper. The optical scopes are similar 4x32mm albeit that the one on the Sniper is illuminated and the feature set is also similar. The Sniper comes out on top due to the manufacturing process and inclusion of a shoulder sling and a longer warranty.
CenterPoint Sniper vs Barnett Recruit
The Barnett Recruit is a smaller and less powerful bow with only 130 lbs of draw and 330 fps vs the 370 fps on the Sniper. However this bow is targeted to the smaller frame hunter, women and larger children. It’s smaller by several inches in both directions and comes with a red dot sight for fast target acquisition. It has a pass-thru fore grip for safer handling also.
The Barnett is also compatible with a cranking device (sold separately) so again ideal for those without the strength to cock something as powerful as the Sniper. Read more.
CenterPoint Sniper vs SA Sports Fever
The SA Fever is a recurve crossbow. The benefits of a recurve are twofold. They’re normally cheaper to buy and when the string breaks you can replace it pretty easily yourself even when out in the field hunting. Recurves are bigger however this bow is about 6 inches wider than the sniper and only shoots at speeds of 240 fps in comparison to the 370 fps from the sniper. The 4×32 mm scope is also not illumnated. This recurve however does feature a full camo dip, nearly all of the body is covered with camo. Full review.
About the Manufacturer
Crosman make a wide range of shooting gear from airguns to airbows, scopes and binoculars and not least archery gear for both youth and adults. Crosman Corporation was founded in 1923 in Rochester NY and the current manufacturing headquarters in Bloomfield NY employs more than 300 workers. Crosman gear is designed and built in the US and recognized the world over.
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This crossbow is fantastic…………..I still cant believe the price.
You need to update your review of the CenterPoint Sniper 370. THIS CROSSBOW NO LONGER COMES WITH AN ILLUMINATED SCOPE, which was one of the reasons I bought it in the first place. Crosman said that it was just a promotional item for the first 2 years.
Hi Jay, thanks for pointing that out, we’ve updated the article accordingly.
Does anyone know where to get replacement Crossbow strings for the Centerpoint 370 Illussionist?
I have the centerpoint 370. How long can you keep the bow loaded without stress on the limbs and cable
I just got my bow on the 7th tried to sight in set scope had to crank to left all the way still won’t keep on target tried 150 gd tip tried different bolts I think the scope rec are damaged maybe in shipping can y’all help please
Hi Larry, my advice would be to go back to your supplier or your warranty (https://support.crosman.com/hc/en-us). Their support channels will be the best route to get a resolution or a replacement.
love this crossbow. awesome bang for your buck. It’s a tac driver out to 50 yards. been shooting a mathews compound for years and I can hardly wait to put this crossbow to the test this October.Would highly recommend it to anybody getting into the sport.
What size bolt should I shoot it seems my 13.8 going 2219-20 curves every time
Worst bow company I’ve ever had to deal with and the rudest customer service reps out there I know 6 people who have bought this crossbow and the limbs snap and they only pay shipping for the first 30 day other companies pay for the life of warranty yesterday I had to pay $80 to send there faulty product back to them in the middle of hunting season
AR doesn’t stand for assault rifle. It stands for Armalite… the company that invented it. I think you need to remove that because the AR 15 is not an assault rifle. Its semi automatic. An assault rifle is fully auto.
Absolutely and done! Thanks for the heads-up Eric.
I love my Sniper 370. Took 2 shots to sight in (and another 90 minutes at the range watching people jump every time they heard the bolts hit the target with a resounding thump). Several people asked to shoot the bow, and a few said they were going to buy one (at least one did, as I saw her at the range a couple of weeks later with it). Went out in October to hunt deer, and one bolt later I was on my way home. Bolt went through the skull of a 10 pt buck, dropping him on the spot. Lost the broadhead and bolt, but got the deer.
I just bought one sniper 370 n it’s limbs started splintering
I’ve had my CenterPoint Sniper 370 for about 2 years and have had ZERO issues with limbs splintering so I can’t say why that would happen other then dry firing or shooting arrows too light for the bow. The bow can be accidentally dry fired if you play around with the anti dry fire lever on the left side . Other than a trigger with a long pull and some creepy let off, that I got use to, I just love this crossbow !!! Mine has had at least a thousand shots through it with never any issues. My bow limbs are rock solid and I just did the dry cotton ball test on the limbs with no limb issues.
I upgraded to a centerpoint patriot and I love it I think u all should look at that amazing it shoots 415 fps and 153 fps kinetic energy amazing wow fast power quite and shoot a nice group at yards up to 100 wow it’s amazing, but centerpoint has three of these crossbows which r the heat ,patriot, and the amp and I believe they r all the same crossbow just different name real word but they all look and have same everything but anyway I have the patriot and its amazing upgraded the scope and wow just dropped a bear on opening day at 63 yards and he ran maybe 3p 35 and played there and it was fast and hit hard shot one , one year ago with at 34 with the sniper yes good crossbow ,but nothing like the patriot that’s insane for real love it.love it .