Ballista BAT Reverse Review: This Crossbow is NOT a Toy

The Ballista Bat Reverse is a powerful, quick-shooting crossbow pistol that is something I’d be proud to have on my side when/if the ammo ever runs out.

The world in which we’re currently living is a strange one. More and more we need to be willing to accept a different way of life, one that may find us needing to survive off the land. This is one of the reasons why I’m trying to branch out beyond just firearms content for my humble little website, as well as beginning to transition our YT channel to something else entirely.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still a gun guy and will still do gun content, but if my worst fears for our country come true, we’re gonna need more than just guns. At some point, the ammo will certainly run out.

I hope we never get there.

But I can’t shake the feeling that at some point in the near future we’ll be living in an era where food is hard to come by, with an ever-dwindling number of supplies.

It’s important to think of ways we can survive, now, so that we can thrive later.

One of the ways we can do this is by thinking outside of that proverbial box in terms of self-defense and the ability to hunt for food.

Alternative methods of hunting and self-defense are paramount for my success in my ability to provide for my family. Enter the Ballista BAT Reverse Crossbow Review.

Ballista BAT Reverse Crossbow Review:

I’d like to start my review off by saying two things …

First up, this thing is no joke. Put the thought that this is a toy out of your mind right now — It is not a toy and the bolts WILL kill the things they hit. I have zero doubt of that.

Second, make sure you use a quality target. As you can see by my pictures, it will pass through and stick a few inches outside of plywood if you don’t use the right target setup.

As a disclaimer, I’m not really a bow hunter, and most of my archery experience is with recurve and compound bows.

My main goal for having a bow is to conserve firearms ammo as much as possible when the SHTF.

Having the ability to use a bow to conserve ammo should the stinky stuff ever hit the big fan is important to me, but I have reasons why I’ve never bought a traditional vertical bow:

1. I need something I can use with a damaged shoulder. I’m at the point in my life where shoulder injuries are commonplace, and old injuries endured during my stint in the US Marines are coming back to haunt me. Drawing the string on a recurve or compound bow is a no-go.
2. I also need a bow that I can shoot relatively quick. Think about that guy from the Walking Dead show and how fast he seemed to shoot his bow. In reality, that bow was nowhere near that quick but it seemed to load and shoot fast. The Ballista BAT Reverse is quick shooting, however, without the need for a crank or other slow cocking mechanism.
3. Finally, I need something that is small, lightweight, and can actually put dinner on the table if needed. This means accuracy and speed are also necessary.

I’m happy to report that the Ballista BAT Reverse checks all of those boxes, and then some.

It is fast, accurate, and, most importantly, I can actually shoot it, damaged shoulder and all.

Here is a chart with the important information like price, arrow speed, etc.

Shooting the Ballista BAT Reverse Crossbow:

The BAT Reverse is surprisingly easy to shoot and is intuitive to use. I’ve never used a crossbow before, though I have shot compound and recurve bows a bunch in my younger days.

I was able to start shooting it immediately after putting it together (more on assembly later on). After sighting the Ballista Red Dot in, I was on target and hitting my mark.

As a side note, I will say that having a third point of contact like you’d get with a buttstock would help push accuracy even further.

I saw on their website that there is an option to add such a device that seems to attach to the grip, but I have no idea how strong it is or how well it works. It is made by our good friends over at Fab Defense, which helps.

If I keep this bow I will say that I’ll get one to test out and will report back. Having the ability to put it in my shoulder would help my shaky hands out a lot.

Cocking the bow can be done with minimal effort, even with my shoulder injury (a huge plus, by the way). There is no need for a crank, and the crossbow is small and lightweight.

Limb draw weight is reportedly 150 lbs, but the way they’ve got it set up, it’s reduced to 50 lbs. I can hold the grip with my bad arm and cock the bow with my good one.

It’s a match made in heaven.

Axle-to-axle width is only 5″ when cocked and 9″ uncocked, with an overall length of 16″. And because it only weighs 3 lbs it’s easy to get into a treestand or stalk on the ground if you’d prefer a more active hunting strategy.

It’s small enough to fit inside your average backpack, which is great if you don’t have a ton of money to spend on accessories. (That said, I’d probably still use a dedicated backpack for it. The last thing you want is for some loose object from your backpack to have a string jump while in the field.)

It’s small, but small doesn’t mean weak. The reverse BAT is rated at 150 lbs and is capable of launching bolts to a blisteringly fast 420 FPS.

When I said at some point above that I had no doubt this thing can kill the animal it hits, this is what I’m talking about. I have not hunted with it, but have seen some vids on the Tube of a guy taking a deer with one.

This crossbow is a beast and I reiterate: It is not a toy.

What’s it made out of?

The BAT Reverse is made out of steel, aluminum, and a of couple plastic parts.

How loud is the BAT Reverse?

I wasn’t sure where to put this section, but as a gun guy first and foremost, feel as though this is important. I like the fact that I can do some target practice in my backyard without a suppressor or worrying about bothering my neighbors.

That said, it’s not silent. When the string hits the rubber stops it smacks pretty hard. That makes sense because the string is under 150 lbs of pressure.

To reword it, it’s quiet enough to shoot in my neighborhood, but it is not silent.

Putting the Ballista BAT Reverse Crossbow Together:

Putting the BAT Reverse together was relatively easy. It does come in a padded foam box with a few items to install. For example the foregrip and grip/trigger guard assembly.

It’s straightforward and includes the tools needed. It only took me 10-15 minutes before I was ready to start lobbing arrows at my target.

And, you’ll also need a sighting system. They have a red dot listed on their site, but if you already have a dot that’ll mount to a pic rail you can just use it. The one they sent out to me works so far, but I have astigmatism in both eyes so the dot is more like a fuzzball.

If I keep this thing I’ll likely just use an optic I have with an etched reticle.

Other uses for the BAT Reverse:

Bowfishing

This crossbow can also be used for bowfishing, which is pretty cool and is another survival tool in and of itself. I’m not currently setup to fish with this thing so I cannot comment on it further.

I will say that you’ll need some other stuff like a reel and some specialized arrows.

Defense

While a crossbow isn’t my first pick for self-defense, and I’d prefer a 9mm pistol, because bringing a bow to a gun fight is stupid, I’m confident that I could use it in a SHTF scenario and it’d do quite well.

Because I can re-load it so quickly even with my damaged shoulder, it’s a no-brainer.

Conclusion

As of right now I’m listing the Ballista BAT as a buy. I think having a tool like this to preserve ammunition as much as possible to do some hunting quietly is a good idea.

I’m not done shooting this thing yet, and stay tuned for a follow up video.

You can buy this crossbow on the company website. That is an affiliate link.