Looking at the two on-line it looks like two excellent choices. The Excalibur being a recurve style @ 380 fps and the Barnett with a little more hi-tech look @ a whopping 410 fps. My thinking is I believe the recurve style is somewhat quieter than the cam style. I may be wrong on that so if there is a chance you can shoot both then do it!! That's the first thing we always say to someone looking for a new bow, shoot them all and then make your decision. Something to also consider in a crossbow is weight, the E weighs 5.9 lbs while the B weighs in at 7.2 lbs. Toting one around for the kids over the last couple of years has opened my eyes to the fact that those things are heavy!! Something to consider when hunting as well. Let us know what you decide!!

As far as a scope goes, we have a red dot style on our crossbow and I don't believe it has any magnification. It can change from red to green, variable brightness settings and has either three vertical dots or three vertical hash marks to choose from. Way too many options for me but it works well enough that the kids can use it easily.