Excalibur Shadow Zone 2-4x32mm Crossbow Scope Review

Excalibur Shadow Zone 2-4x32mm Crossbow Scope Review
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Pros
- Clear, crisp target image
- Unparalleled light transmission
- Very easy to sight in

Cons
- No rings included

Welcome to my review of the Excalibur Shadow Zone Crossbow Scope. Like the Excalibur Varizone, this scope is designed for crossbows shooting between 250 and 350 FPS, with an easy-to-use calibration ring to match the scope to your particular crossbow’s velocity. Does the scope live up to Excalibur’s name, though? Read on and find out!

What Are the Dimensions of the Crossbow Scope?

The Excalibur Shadow Zone scope weighs 7.2 ounces, and is a little less than 13 inches long. It fits perfectly inside my crossbow case, even when it’s mounted on my crossbow.

What’s the Magnification on the Excalibur Shadow Zone Crossbow Scope ?

The Shadow Zone has a 32mm objective lens, and zoom capabilities from 2X to 4X. This is not a high-powered scope, but it is perfect for hunting deer out as far as 60 yards. The scope is parallax-free at 30 yards, with very little parallax beyond 50 yards. The resolution and clarity is outstanding at all zoom levels.

How Good Are the Optics on the Excalibur Shadow Zone Crossbow Scope?

The optics on the Shadow Zone are fully multi-coated for resistance to glare, reflection, and water repellence. The scope has a multi-range crosshair reticle with aiming points for 20, 30, 40, and 50 yard shooting.

The image resolution through this scope is fantastic, with crisp and clear images and plenty of contrast at all magnifications. You’ll find spotting deer with this scope easy, even when the deer are laying low in the tall grass, and the scope performs flawlessly in almost all circumstances.

The reticles on the Shadow Zone scope are not only designed to help lead a walking deer, but they are also illuminated. The illumination is available in either red or green, with 5 illumination brightness settings for each color. The brightness settings are perfect for all lighting conditions, making this scope one of the nicest to use in low light conditions I’ve ever seen.

How Much Light Can the Scope Gather?

Light gathering capabilities through the 32mm objective lens are unparalleled for this class of crossbow scope. Like with the Varizone, the scope gathers as much as 92% of the available light, according to my ballpark estimate and comparison with other, more expensive scopes, and picks out details in the early dawn hours that those other, more expensive scopes fail to discern. I’ve used this scope on several successful hunts during the 30 minutes before dawn, and would trust this scope in all lighting conditions–even at night!

How Wide is the Field of View?

The Excalibur Shadow Zone has a field of view of approximately 46′ at 100 yards with 4X magnification, according to my ballpark estimates. I wish I could give you exact numbers, but Excalibur does not advertise the field of view on their scopes.

How Easy is the Scope to Mount?

You won’t get any rings in the package with the Shadow Zone scope, so you will need to make sure you have a set of 1″ rings on hand to mount the scope. Once you have those rings, you’ll find that you can have the scope mounted very quickly and easily. Then you just verify your field of view and eye relief before tightening the ring bolts, and head out to the range to sight in the scope.

How Easy is the Excalibur Shadow Zone Crossbow Scope to Sight In?

Excalibur makes scopes that are very easy to sight in. You should sight the scope in at 20 yards first, then confirm the velocity of your scope by shooting an arrow through a chronograph. Once you have your crossbow’s velocity, you can set the velocity ring to match your scope. The one drawback to this scope nowadays is that it is only compatible with scopes shooting between 250 and 350 FPS, so it won’t calibrate properly with newer, higher-speed crossbows.

How Durable is the Scope?

Excalibur produces the Shadow Zone chassis from aircraft-grade aluminum, seals the lenses with O-rings, nitrogen-charges the barrel, and fully multi-coats the optics. What this means is a scope that is shockproof, waterproof, and fogproof. It’s durable enough that I’ve dropped the scope several times without any harm done, even when my crossbow landed on top of the scope and one of my crossbow limbs snapped in half.

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Excalibur Shadow Zone 2-4x32mm Crossbow Scope Review Summary

Thanks for reading this review of the Excalibur Shadow Zone crossbow scope. The Shadow Zone is a rock solid scope that is a star performer, whether you're hunting in broad daylight, early pre-dawn minutes, or late post-sunset. The contrast and resolution of target images is breathtaking, and the light transmission on the scope is unlike any other in its class. Finally, the illumination brightness levels are perfectly configured. The only drawback to this scope is that it won't calibrate properly to my crossbows that shoot faster than 350 FPS.

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Jeff Byrnes

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Hi there! I’m Jeff, an avid outdoorsman and hunter who really likes exploring new technology. I’m especially into hunting optics, which is why I’m writing these reviews! I hope you find my articles helpful in your own shooting and hunting.


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