Barnett Whitetail Hunter Review

Before you spend a dollar on a Barnett Whitetail Hunter, you need to know which bow you are actually looking at, because four different Barnett bows share this name and search results mix them up constantly. The bow at this slug is the original Whitetail Hunter STR, part number BAR78263, a 2019 model in Mossy Oak Bottomland, advertised at 375 fps. It is not the cheaper and slower Whitetail Hunter II at 350 fps, and it is not the faster 400XTR at 400 fps. I will state that identity plainly here and again in the comparison below, because buying the wrong one is the easiest mistake in this whole family. The second fact to know up front is availability. This bow is sold out at the manufacturer and out of stock or discontinued at the retailers I checked, so treat this review as a remaining stock and pre-owned buying guide, not a live buy new pick. What makes the original STR worth that effort is simple. One published test put it on a chronograph and it shot 370 fps with heavier than spec arrows, which is rare honesty at this price, and the TriggerTech trigger is genuinely good. The honest cons are a basic scope, only two arrows in the box, and short safety wings. This review gives you the tested speed next to the advertised speed, corrects every wrong figure in our old article, and tells you exactly what to check before you buy one used.

The Short Answer

The Barnett Whitetail Hunter STR is a proven budget whitetail bow that is now hard to buy new. It is the original model, part BAR78263, from 2019, in Mossy Oak Bottomland. Its advertised speed is 375 fps with a 380 grain arrow, and one published test measured 370 fps average with the supplied 400 grain arrows, which is very close to the advertised figure and very consistent shot to shot. That matters, because most budget bows lose far more speed once you move to hunting weight arrows. At 6.6 pounds bare, 34.875 inches long, and 18.125 inches wide when cocked, it is light and handy enough for a treestand or a ground blind, and the step-through riser keeps the front end compact.

The trigger is the best part of the package. Barnett lists the TriggerTech release at 3 pounds with zero creep, and the published test measured 4.5 pounds on a trigger scale. I give you both figures, labelled, because they disagree and you deserve to know that. Either way, the tester called the trigger crisp and straight, and good with gloves in late season. The scope is the weakest part. It is a fixed power 4x32mm multi-reticle scope, and its reticle lines are not marked for set yardages, so you must sight in at 20 yards and then work out what each line means for your setup at 30, 40, and 50 yards. The box holds only two 22 inch HeadHunter arrows, and the tester broke the nock and cracked the shaft of one while sighting in at 20 yards, which left a single arrow for the rest of the test. Buy spare arrows before your first range session.

Here is the buying rule for the whole review. Do not pay a new bow price for a used STR. The current model alternative, the Whitetail Hunter II, sells new at about $370, so a used STR priced anywhere near $500 makes no sense. A used STR only makes sense well below that figure, with a fresh string, straight limbs, and a working scope. If you are new to crossbows, read our starter-bow guide first, and if you want the wider Barnett lineup before you decide, start with our Barnett lineup hub.

Best Budget Used Whitetail Bow: Barnett Whitetail Hunter STR

Speed: 375 fps advertised, 370 fps tested | Price: About $500 list, sold out new, street was about $450 | Weight: 6.6 lb bare

I have hunted with enough budget crossbows to know what separates a good cheap bow from a cheap bow that wastes your season. A good cheap bow shoots close to its advertised speed with real hunting arrows, it has a trigger you can trust, and it is light enough to carry all day without thinking about it. The Whitetail Hunter STR does all three. It is not a flagship bow, and it does not pretend to be one. It is a working whitetail bow with a good trigger, a light frame, and an honest speed figure, and that combination is why it earned a strong reputation before it sold out.

The STR in the name stands for Step-Through Riser technology. The foot stirrup is integrated into the riser, which shortens the bow and keeps the front end tidy in a stand or a blind. The bow is a 2019 model, part BAR78263, and it still appears on the manufacturer site and was still promoted in a manufacturer press release dated October 1, 2026. That is a strange combination, a bow that is still listed and still promoted but sold out where you would buy it, and it is exactly why this review leads with availability instead of hiding it in a footnote.

Our old article on this bow got the specs wrong in every row, and this review corrects all of it. The old table said 400 fps, 205 pounds of draw, a 14.625 inch power stroke, 10 inches cocked, and 13 pounds of weight. None of that belongs to this bow. The 400 fps and 205 pounds are 400XTR figures. The 13 pounds is shipping weight, not bow weight. The correct figures are in the table below, with the advertised and tested numbers kept separate and labelled, so you can judge the bow on true numbers.

Whitetail Hunter STR Specifications

Two figures in that table need a note, because the sources disagree and I will not smooth the disagreement away. First, draw weight. The manufacturer product page says 187 pounds, and that is the headline figure here, labelled per the manufacturer product page. A manufacturer press release dated October 1, 2026 says 165 pounds for the same bow, and a 2019 spec table also says 165 pounds. The 187 pound figure is also the Pro STR draw weight, which raises the possibility of a copy error on the product page, but the standing rule on this site is that the manufacturer site is the primary source, so 187 pounds leads and the 165 pound conflict is stated in the same row. Do not use 180, 185, or 210 pounds for this bow, because no reliable source supports those figures. Second, trigger pull. The listed figure is 3 pounds, and the tested figure is 4.5 pounds. Both are reported with labels, because collapsing them into one number would hide a real difference. If you want to understand what draw weight means in practice, read our draw weight guide.

The Whitetail Hunter Family: STR vs II vs Pro STR vs 400XTR

This is the section that saves readers from buying the wrong bow, because no page one result explains the naming mess clearly. Four bows share the Whitetail Hunter name, and they are different bows with different speeds, draw weights, weights, and prices.

The Whitetail Hunter II is the current budget model. It is slower at 350 fps, lighter on the draw at 150 pounds, a touch lighter at 6.4 pounds, and it sells new at about $370. It has its own review on this site, and it is the bow to buy if you want a new Whitetail Hunter with a current warranty and dealer support. The Pro STR is the step up from this bow, at 400 fps with the same 187 pound draw weight and a heavier 6.9 pound frame. Read our Barnett Whitetail Pro STR review if that is the bow you are weighing. The 400XTR is the successor, introduced in early 2022, at 400 fps and 205 pounds of draw, with a $599.99 MSRP. It is not this bow, and its figures do not belong in this review.

The mix ups are easy to understand once you see the table, and they are everywhere in search results. Roundups call the 400XTR the next generation Whitetail STR, which is fair as a description of the lineup, but it is not the same bow as the STR. Other pages credit the II with the wrong draw weight, or credit the STR with the Pro STR weight of 6.9 pounds. Our own money guide lists the STR at 6.9 pounds in its comparison table but 6.6 pounds in its body copy, and prices it around $350 from December 2024. The 6.9 pound table figure is the Pro STR weight, and the $350 price predates the sold out status, so neither figure is used in this review. If you land on a listing that calls a bow a Whitetail Hunter and shows 400 fps with a 205 pound draw, you are looking at a 400XTR, not the original STR. If it shows 350 fps and a 150 pound draw, you are looking at the II.

Speed: 375 fps Advertised, 370 fps Tested

Speed is where this bow earns its reputation, because the tested figure is honest. The advertised speed is 375 fps with a 380 grain arrow, per the manufacturer footnote. One published test measured 370 fps average with the supplied 22 inch HeadHunter arrows and 100 grain field points, which totals 400 grains. That is a heavier arrow than the spec arrow, and the bow lost only 5 fps. The tester also called the speed very consistent from shot to shot, which matters more than the headline number, because a bow that shoots the same speed every time is a bow you can sight in and trust.

Plan your hunt around 370 fps, not 375 fps. The gap is small, but the tested figure is the honest one, because it is measured with the arrows in the box. Kinetic energy is published at 118.6 ft-lb, and that figure is consistent across every source I checked, so I state it as published and do not derive it from an arrow weight here. That is far more energy than a whitetail needs at normal hunting ranges, and it is one reason the tester first guessed the bow cost $700 to $800 before learning it retailed under $500.

Accuracy is where the test gets specific, and it is good news. The tester hit vitals on a deer silhouette target at 20, 30, 40, and 50 yards. That is the tested accuracy range for this bow, and it is the figure to use instead of the unsourced 60 yard claim in our old article, which had no source behind it and is deleted in this rewrite. The nock busting incident in the test is itself evidence of tight grouping. While sighting in at 20 yards, the tester broke the nock and cracked the shaft of one arrow, which strongly suggests the arrows were landing close together. That left a single arrow for the rest of the test, which is a warning about the two arrow box as much as it is praise for the grouping.

What Comes in the Box

The STR ships as a ready to hunt package, and knowing the package list is how you check a used bow for missing parts. In the box: the Whitetail Hunter STR crossbow in Mossy Oak Bottomland, the 4x32mm multi-reticle scope, two 22 inch HeadHunter arrows, a lightweight side mount quiver with 3 arrow capacity, a rope cocking device, and lubrication wax. There is no sling in the box, and there is no crank in the base box. Assembly is a single bolt, just one bolt required, which is a genuine convenience on a budget bow.

Check every item when you buy used. The quiver and the rope cocker are the parts most often missing or swapped, and the arrows matter more than most buyers think. The package arrows are 22 inch HeadHunters, and a used bow sold with different arrows may not shoot to the same point of impact. If the seller cannot tell you which arrows are included, or hands you a mixed set, budget for a fresh set before you hunt. Read our bolt-selection guide and our arrow-selection if you need to replace them, and read our lighted-nock guide if you want an easier way to find your arrow after the shot. Before you hunt with those arrows, read our broadhead guide as well.

Cocking: Rope Included, Crank Version Exists

The base STR ships with a rope cocking device, and the published test found cocking with the supplied rope device easy, with no problems. The bow is crank compatible, and a factory crank version exists as the Whitetail Hunter STR W/CCD, with a pre-installed integrated crank cocking device. That distinction matters, because the draw weight is heavy. At 187 pounds per the manufacturer product page, this is not a bow to cock by hand, and it is heavy for smaller or younger shooters without the crank version.

Which version should you want? If you hunt alone, if you have limited upper body strength, or if you plan to cock the bow more than once in a sit, the crank version is worth finding, even though no current price was captured for it and no price is stated here. If you are comfortable with a rope cocker and you hunt with a partner nearby, the base rope version is fine, and it is the version the test used without complaint. Either way, do not pay a premium for a crank version unless the seller can show you the crank fitted and working, and do not accept a claimed cocking effort figure in pounds, because no source I found states one for the rope or the crank version. Read our rope-and-crank cocking guide before your first hunt with any used bow, and our cocking-device guide if you want the wider market on cocking systems.

Scope: Fixed 4x32mm, Basic but Usable

The included scope is a fixed power 4x32mm multi-reticle scope, and I will not call it premium, because it is not. Our old article called it a premium quality scope with adjustable magnification, and both claims were wrong. The magnification is fixed at 4x, and the scope is a basic package optic. That does not make it unusable. It makes it a scope you need to understand before you trust it.

The real issue is the reticle. The reticle lines are not marked for set yardages, so the scope does not tell you which line is 30 yards and which is 40 yards. The tester sighted in at 20 yards and then had to work out what yardage each line meant for their setup, and said they would prefer a speed calibrated scope. That is the honest fix if the included scope frustrates you, but before you replace it, test it properly. Zero at 20 yards, then shoot at 30, 40, and 50 yards and record where the bolts actually land against each aim point. If the error is small and consistent, you can learn the holdover and hunt with the included scope. If the error is large, a speed calibrated scope is the right upgrade. Some owners report accuracy trouble with the included scope, so treat the scope as the first suspect if a used STR will not group, and check the string and the arrows before you blame the scope. Read our scope guide for the options.

Safety, Build, and Handling

The STR carries a solid safety set for a budget bow. It has an Anti-Dry Fire trigger system, a Soft-Lok floating bristle arrow retainer, finger safety reminders, and a Metal Injection Molded trigger. The limbs are custom composite laminated limbs, the riser is a fiberglass composite Step-Through Riser, and the bow has a pass-through foregrip, three Picatinny rails, string dampeners, and a single bolt assembly. Those are real build details, and they are part of why the bow feels more solid than its price suggests.

Handling is a genuine strength. At 6.6 pounds bare and 34.875 inches long, with an 18.125 inch cocked width, the bow is light enough to carry all day and narrow enough to swing in a treestand. The step-through riser helps here, because the integrated foot stirrup keeps the front end short. If you hunt from a stand, a light bow that you can hold steady matters more than a few extra feet per second, and this bow gets that trade right. For the rest of your stand setup, read our hunting pack guide. On safety, read our safe-handling before your first hunt, and never dry fire any crossbow.

Noise needs a fair hearing, because sources disagree. One published test found noise and vibration unremarkable, with a string dampening system fitted. Other owner and reviewer feedback calls the bow slightly loud on firing. Both can be true, and I label this as mixed rather than picking one side. The bow has string dampeners, but I will not call it whisper quiet, because that claim in our old article had no source behind it and no published decibel figure exists for this bow. A deer inside 30 yards will hear the shot, as it will with almost any crossbow at this speed. If you hunt close cover, that is a fact to plan around, not a reason to reject the bow.

The small annoyances are real, and a used buyer should know them before paying. The safety wings are short and curve down at the ends, and the tester wanted them straighter and wider. The length of pull felt short. Some owner feedback reports the safety and fire switch can be hard to engage, though that was reported in roundups and not in the published test, so I note it as reported rather than tested. None of these is a reason to reject a good used STR. All of them are reasons to shoulder the bow and work the safety before you hand over money.

Price and Availability: Sold Out New, Remaining Stock or Pre-Owned Only

There is no current in stock new bow price for the Whitetail Hunter STR, and this review will not pretend otherwise. The manufacturer list price is about $500, and the manufacturer page shows Sold Out. The street price was about $450 when the bow was available. One retailer listing showed $499.00 and out of stock, and another marked the bow Discontinued after a clearance price of $274.99. A pre-owned listing with an upgraded scope was listed at $650 or best offer, which is a pre-owned plus accessory price, not a new bow street price.

That sets the price logic. The headline price in this review is about $500, which is the manufacturer list price for a sold out bow, with street was about $450 stated alongside it. Do not use the around $350 figure from our money guide, because it dates from December 2024 and predates the sold out status. Do not treat the $274.99 clearance figure as a current price, because that listing is discontinued. And do not pay $650 for a used STR unless the upgraded scope and the condition genuinely justify it, because the current model Whitetail Hunter II sells new at about $370. If you are shopping this price class, our sub-$500 guide and our value-picks guide will help you compare the wider market, and our tested bows guide covers the full range.

Buying a Used Whitetail Hunter STR: Checklist

No verified used price range exists for the STR, so no range is stated here. What I can give you is buying logic built on verified figures, and a checklist that protects you from the common mistakes. The logic starts with the Whitetail Hunter II at about $370 new. A used STR only makes sense well below $500, and it makes no sense at all near $500 when a new II costs about $370. A used bow has no new bow warranty, a string of unknown age, and no dealer support, and the price has to reflect that.

Use this checklist on every used STR you consider, in person, before you pay:

• Identity and part number: Confirm the bow is the original STR, part BAR78263, at 375 fps, not the II at 350 fps and not the 400XTR at 400 fps. Check the model marking and the 22 inch HeadHunter arrows against the spec table above. A seller who confuses the models may be pricing the wrong bow.
• String and cables: Ask when the string was last changed, and look for fraying, serving separation, and wear at the rail. A string of unknown age is a string you should budget to replace. Read our upkeep so you know what worn serving looks like, and check that the lubrication wax habit was kept up.
• Limbs and riser: Inspect the limbs for cracks or delamination, and the step-through riser for damage. Cock the bow slowly and listen for grinding or clicking that should not be there. Any limb damage is a walk away, not a negotiation.
• Cocking device: Confirm whether the bow is the base rope version or the factory crank W/CCD version, and test the device that is fitted. The rope cocker should be present and in good condition, and the crank, if fitted, should turn smoothly. If the seller cannot tell you which version it is, discount hard.
• Scope: Check the 4x32mm scope for a clear image, working adjustments, and a secure mount. Shoot it at 20, 30, and 40 yards and record where the bolts land against each reticle line, because the lines are not yardage marked. If the scope will not hold zero, budget for a replacement.
• Arrows: Check that the arrows are 22 inch HeadHunters, and that none are cracked, bent, or missing nocks. Remember the tester broke a nock and cracked a shaft while sighting in, so inspect every arrow closely and replace any suspect arrow rather than shooting it.
• Quiver and accessories: Check that the 3 arrow side mount quiver is present and holds firmly, and that the rope cocking device is included. Missing quivers and cockers are common on used bows and cost money to replace.
• Safety: Cock the bow, check that the safety engages, and confirm the Anti-Dry Fire system works. Never dry fire the bow to test it. Test with an arrow loaded and a safe target downrange.
• Warranty: Ask what warranty, if any, transfers to a second owner. No warranty length was verified for this bow, so do not pay a premium for a warranty claim the seller cannot prove.
• Price discipline: Set your maximum before you go, well below $500, and stick to it. A used STR near $500 is not a deal when the II sells new at about $370. Walk away and buy the new II instead.

Where should you look? Dealer and certified pre-owned listings are the safest starting point, because a dealer has inspected the bow and can answer questions about the string and the cocking device. Private sales can be cheaper, but they need the full checklist above, and they need you to test the bow in person. Never buy a used crossbow sight unseen from a seller who will not let you cock it, shoot it, and inspect the string.

Who the Whitetail Hunter STR Is Best For

The STR is best for a budget whitetail hunter buying remaining stock or used who wants a light, narrow, proven bow with a good trigger and is happy to buy spare arrows and check string age. It suits a treestand or ground blind hunter who values the step-through riser and the light 6.6 pound carry weight, and it suits a new hunter, because the published test calls it a good beginner and first bow candidate. The ready to hunt package, scope, arrows, quiver, rope cocker, and wax in one box, is part of that appeal. If you are weighing the wider benefits of the sport itself, read our archery benefits guide.

It is not for a buyer who wants a current model with a full new bow warranty and dealer support, a buyer who wants safe de-cocking, because no de-cocking system is stated for this bow, or a buyer whose used STR price is anywhere near $500 when the II sells new at about $370. At that point the new II is the better buy, and this review says so plainly because that is the honest answer. If you hunt big game beyond whitetail, read our treestand picks guide to check the energy and range you need before you choose.

Whitetail Hunter STR Pros and Cons

Bottom line: Should You Buy a Used Whitetail Hunter STR?

Bottom line: the Barnett Whitetail Hunter STR is a good bow that you should only buy at a used bow price. It is light, accurate to 50 yards in the published test, and honest about its speed in a way most budget bows are not, with 370 fps tested against 375 fps advertised. Its TriggerTech trigger is the best part of the package, and its 6.6 pound weight and step-through riser make it easy to carry and easy to shoot from a stand. Those are real strengths, and they are why the STR still shows up used years after it launched.

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But the bow is sold out new, its scope is basic and unmarked, it ships with only two arrows, and its draw weight is disputed inside the manufacturer own material. Every one of those weaknesses is a reason to inspect before you pay and to keep your price discipline. Find a clean used STR with a fresh string, straight limbs, a working scope, and a price well below $500, and buy it with confidence. Find one priced anywhere near $500, and buy the new Whitetail Hunter II at about $370 instead. That is the honest answer, and it is the answer this whole review is built around. If you go the new bow route, start with our tested bows guide and our Barnett lineup hub.

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