My kids and wife got me one for my birthday last year. It was too late for the deer hunt but I have been out shooting it and found it is extremely accurate and easy to use. The rope cocking system makes it much easier for just about anyone to load.

I know other people that have various models of Excalibur and they all have good things to say about them. The range is probably about the same as a recurve bow however I don't know how they compare in FPS. The Excalibur models just have the straight limb system which is a simpler action and I think less likely to cause problems in the field. The area we hunt has some pretty dense spots and I worry about a twig or something getting caught in the cams or wheels of the other models. The result would not be pretty.

My son also has an Axiom and we are planning a bow hunt this fall. Bow season for deer is almost 3 months long which is awesome.

I think it is the best around.

HTP

I got a crossbow last year for the same reason as Hilltop. The deer season is 3 months instead of a week for guns.
I rarely buy anything like this without a ton of research. Excalibur bows might seem expensive but they are a great value, they're simple and robust and should last many years. I bought a used Exocet (170lb draw weight) for $400. It's so accurate that when practicing I don't dare shoot at the same mark twice for fear of hitting the previously fired arrow.
Crossbows MUST be used with caution, there's a lot of energy stored up in those limbs. If the limb hits something during firing or a part of your body is in the way of the string it is going to be nasty. Dry firing will usually damage something as well.
Their customer service is second to none.
I also bought a used scope for it, turns out the scope was damaged. I called Excalibur about a replacement and they said they might be able to repair it. I sent it in and they replaced the scope - no charge.
I'm sold.
The Excalibur website has a forum. Many helpful folks there and you might just find a used bow in the Trading Post section. I've seen plenty of used ones in the $500 range.
http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=7
I would have no issues buying a used Excalibur.

I have a exomax and its taken quite a few deer. Its very accurate, and easy to change strings. I would avoid compound bows or crossbows for a survival bow because string changing is not easy in the field, unlike a excalibur bow. Mine goes 350fps but its not necessary to be that powerful. Even a bow or crossbow that shoots 280fps is plenty speed for hunting anything in north america, and much easier to draw.

I'd highly recommend any Excalibur. Good recurve is sturdy, can take abuse (if your so inclined) and they are Canadian company (Kitchener-based).

We have a excaibur, and i agree with everyone above, its excellent..

Just thought I would mention a few more things now that I think about. I have had 4 compound bows, 2 different hoyts, and 2 different bowtechs, and although I still own one bowtech, but since I bought a recurve excalibur exomax crossbow (350fps with the upgraded string also), I only use my crossbow for hunting because its much more accurate when hunting game that is 40-70 yards away, which sounds really far for archery hunting. A compound bow is much more quiet vs a crossbow, but in order to be accurate you have to practice a bit. A compound bow is more fun also, because practicing is fun and rewarding when you get good. Anyone can pick up a crossbow one day, sight it in & go hunting that same day & be confident shooting a deer within 40 yards with no practice. With practice & a rangefinder or good range estimating skills, you can shoot a deer at 70 yards...I took a nice doe at exactly 72 yards with my exomax with one well placed bolt. The only real negative about a crossbow, is its slower to cock (draw) the string back for a quick second shot if needed, unlike a compound bow....especially in a treestand, but one shot should be all thats needed if you know your range. A compound bow can be ready to fire a 2nd shot much faster. I would also stress the fact that a super fast shooting crossbow is not needed. I used to always think faster or powerful is the way to go, but now that I have a 350 fps crossbow with a 225lb draw weight, I dont think speed is important. I now know that a 175lb draw weight shooting 305fps would be more than adequate...but much money. scopeless package & buying a scope seperate is best. I have a illuminated excalibur scope on mine & its decent, but a better scope thats brighter in low light would be nice. 80% of the time you shoot or see deer is around dusk & dawn during low light conditions. I have left a treestand 15 mins early during legal shooting time because I had zero visibility through the scope when deer were in shooting range, and if I had a better scope, it would of made a difference. Also, drawing a compound bow is easy to see by game & is noticed by deer, and is hard to hold at draw for long, unlike a ctossbow, and a bow is difficult to draw and ame in a tight blind. You can switch to left hand with a crossbow to point the opposite way with practice, making it easy to shoot deer at awkward angles.

I have to agree about the crossbow scope. They just don't gather enough light near dark. I'm going to try an illuminated red dot next year. Dedicated crossbow ones are still pretty steep. I'm going to test a dot + circle reticule and see the ranges on top of circle to bottom of circle will work for me.
I don't know if you could say a crossbow is a better "tight quarters" choice. You better be sure a limb doesn't contact anything when you fire it on any kind of bow.

I myself use a simple 40lb recurve without any sites on it. i figure if i practice like that worst comes to worst and i made a field bow i will be used to aiming without sites. plus my bow is just right for taking homemade arrows which i make out of dowels for 1/4th of the cost of a store bought arrow "arrowhead,fletchings and shaft" some compounds are too strong to take homemade arrows and wooden arrows will be destroyed in bows like these more importantly injuries are most likely to incur, so if you do have a heavy draw compound make sure you stock up on store bought shafts instead of the homemade wooden variety.

not to knock anyone down... but I prefer a take down recuve bow more or less for portability and u can use wooden or modern carbon arrows. less stuff to break as well. compund bow breaks well your royally fuked.

If I had to make the choice of one over the other, I'd choose to learn and practice just plain old bow. I guess now a days they are recurves. But something along the lines of like an ol' English longbow or native bow. And like brainbox mentions, if something were to happen to your main gear, you could make your own replacements with some reasonable success.