I've hunted with my TAC-15 for the last 4 years, so I can honestly give you the ups and downs of this crossbow. I think it is a bit expensive for what it is, considering the fact that the scope is a mid price point optic. PSE would be better off leaving the scope out of the package and reducing the price in my opinion. I replaced mine with a Leupold VXR 1.25-4 and I'm more than happy with the change.
The bow is fast, no doubt about that, and it has enough energy and speed to kill anything out there, but it is one of the longest and heaviest crossbows you will ever encounter. I'm 6'3" tall and weigh almost 220, and even though I hunt from a tree stand, I dread dragging my TAC any distance through the woods. PSE made the TAC long to get the power stroke that delivers all that speed, but when you look at the TAC, you see the long stock, long flight track, and long riser and realize there must be a way to shorten this whole enterprise. Hunting inside of all but the biggest ground blind would be all but impossible with a bow as long as the TAC, believe me I've tried, and I'd advise against it.
The TAC arrows produced by PSE are nothing to write home about, and nocks not properly glued, vanes not properly glued etc., are common complaints. If I had it to do all over again I'd buy the Aerobolt II from Firenock.
The trigger can be as good or better than any other crossbow depending on what you install in it, since it takes AR-15 trigger parts. For this reason, the TAC with a Timney or Giselle trigger will beat any other crossbow on the planet, bar none, but it's not cheap to buy those triggers, that said even standard parts from PSE are better than most crossbows.
The crank cocking and D-loop are a plus, but after a few hundred shots the gears and ratchet assembly starts to wear, so much so that eventually the ratchet will not release the sled assembly that is used to pull back on the D-loop/string assembly. Mine is ready for a rebuild, and there are few dealers that will work on a TAC, as I've found out the hard way.
The Whiskerbiscut arrow rest that comes as factory should be taken off the bow before you shoot it even once, and replaced with a drop away rest. The Whiskerbiscut tears the fletching on your arrows within a few shots and robs the TAC of its accuracy potential. I installed a rest from Len Bauckus at LongRangeHunting.com, and I'm more than happy with it.
The PSE TAC can be a fantastic crossbow, but it's loooooong and heavy, the arrow rest and scope should be replaced right off the bat, and the PSE arrows for it are a problem. In all I'd advise your friend to take the same amount of money and get a Scorpyd like I did. They are shorter, lighter, wonderfully accurate and they are available with built in cocking mechanisms.