The SA Sports Fever Crossbow is an affordable entry level crossbow. It features a lightweight body that is shorter than your standard x-bow models yet is rated with a respectable 175# draw weight and 240 ft/sec. initial arrow velocity.
In this article, we review the SA Sports Fever and see if its quality makes it a valuable purchase for the backyard and range shooter or the crossbow hunter.
Contents
Package Contents and Assembly
The Fever package, at $150 includes:
- SA Sports Fever Crossbow
- 4×32 Multi Reticle Scope
- Quiver
- Four 16” aluminum arrows with 125 grain field tips
- Bow Stringer
- Rope Cocking Tool
- Sling
- Tube of Rail Lube
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As with most crossbows, the package you’ll receive will have the prod disassembled from the stock. This makes it easier to fit in a smaller box which helps with the shipping. All the tools and hardware, including hex keys are included and they have the barrel and stock put together. You will have to install the foot stirrup, scope and limbs.
The instruction manuals isn’t as thorough as those you’d find with Barnett or Excalibur products, fortunately SA Sports has the foresight to put up a step by step video of how to put up the Fever making it fairly simple.
The video (at the end of this review) gives you a good idea of the different parts and things that are included in the box. Depending on whether you have prior experience in assembling crossbows, it can take anywhere from 10 minutes to half an hour.
SA Sports Fever Crossbow Features and Specifications
Put together this is a relatively short, at 31 inches long, limb tip to limb tip it measures 27 inches and weighs in at 4.85 pounds making it a compact choice that isn’t difficult to bring along when you need to transport it.
For those who are curious about its specifications, the SA Sports Fever is a 175 lb. recurve crossbow, that shoots 240 FPS. At its limb weight, we recommend using a rope cocking device that’s included in the package. This effectively reduces the cocking effort to half so you’ll have slightly over 85 lbs. of pulling to do before each shot making it manageable.
As mentioned it offers a recurve design which makes it simpler to maintain and allows you string and re-string it when you start seeing the fraying in the string. A bow stringer is included. For more information on the different types of crossbows, see our recurve vs. compound crossbow comparison.
The inclusion of the various accessories is one of the reasons we like this package for beginners. Often you’ll need to buy a few of the other components like bolts, stringer, cocking aid and other separately. This one has them all come together when shipped making your life simpler.
The SA Sports Fever has a camo exterior and uses a slim lightweight frame allowing it to weigh under 5 pounds. While most of use want almost all of your gadgets and tools today to be super light in weight, the same isn’t always the case with weapons. You want a bit of weight to it, so you can feel it in your hands so to speak and control it. Something that’s too light is often very difficult to control, guide and aim properly.
Surprisingly, this felt balanced and comfortable to shoot. The reason being, you always are a bit suspect when products are on the cheap end. The build is solid and seems to be able to withstand some beating in case it is dropped, without any problems.
Understand that while good overall, this isn’t a TenPoint or an Excalibur nor does it pretend to be. It serves a totally different market and gives you a really good serviceable crossbow shoots balanced.
Arrows
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The SA Sports Fever uses both 16” aluminum arrows, like those included in this kit, or 20” carbon bolts. Either one will work though you want to make sure that you use at least 350 grains. This is the minimum of for this crossbow.
What this means is that when choosing arrows you want the specified length and weight that is as heavy or heavier than the minimum arrow weight indicated by the manufacturer.
The reason for this is crossbows fire with a lot of force, which is why they shouldn’t be dry fired. The force, which is intended for the arrow, is absorbed by the x-bow’s parts if there is no arrow seated. This can damage or totally destroy the limbs, and other components.
An overly light arrow (one less than the minimum required), causes what they call a partial dry fire. This happens when you shoot with an arrow seated but too light. So part of the force is absorbed by the arrow, but the other part is still absorbed by the bow, which can still cause damage. This makes getting arrows or bolts that are as heavy or heavier than required important.
For more safety and care information, see our guide here.
Shooting the SA Sports Fever Crossbow
So we come down to the shot, which is what it’s all about.
The slim design fits well when held, and it has an ambidextrous stock as well as ambidextrous safety making it convenient for right or left handed shooters.
Cocking the 175 lbs. isn’t as heavy as one would imagine though you really want to learn to lift with your legs and back to make things easier. Also adjust the rope cocking device to the length that fits you so you’ll be pulling with the optimum leverage.
Once you get the string drawn, the safety automatically engages, which is another good nice feature for beginners, though you really want to develop the habit of setting the safety since many more higher end models will require you to do this manually.
We didn’t need too much adjustments to get the SA Sports Fever sighted in and 20 and 30 yards. And it was shooting well with respectable sized groups. Keep in mind that you want to have enough of a backstop with your targets. While this doesn’t come with the speed ratings of the 300 FPS Barnetts, this will still shoot straight right through targets at 20 yards. You can expect it to go somewhere around 5 inches deep in terms of target penetration, so get the proper types of targets for safety.
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Can You Use the SA Sports Fever for Hunting?
The answer is yes. But for specific types of game.
Most hunting laws will require crossbow hunters to have at least 75 or 125 lbs. of draw weight to be valid for hunting. This depends on which state you live in. At 175 lbs., the SA Sporst Fever easily fits that bill.
You will however want to limit your hunting to small and medium sized game like rabbit, turkey and deer, which are easily well within this x-bow’s limits. For deer and similar sized animals, 20 to 25 yards would be the ideal hunting distance and going to 30 yards should be okay. Try not to over stretch this because your shot loses power the further is goes.
It isn’t ideal for hunting larger game like elk, bears or caribou which would require 175 lbs. or more. While the SA Sports Fever is at that lower limit, you’ll need to be close enough and sure you hit the vital organs each time which is a bit too close for comfort. For larger types of prey, see our best hunting crossbows list.
Summary
The SA Sports Fever Crossbow is a nice entry level crossbow for those starting out. It also works well for those who are looking for a low cost recreational shooter or small to medium game hunter. It can work as a backup x-bow for enthusiasts who want a back up weapon that is light, compact, easy to carry compared to the 8 to 10 lb. powerhouses depending on the hunting trip. Priced at $150, this offers excellent value.
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