Crossbow questions

R

Return of the J.D.

Joined
Nov 29, 2005
Messages
887
I don't own one, but am curious, having read about the ancient variety over the years.

1. How does one "span" (draw) a modern crossbow? I know that at least one Barnett version had a stock that hinged downward and drew the string back, but what about the others? In ancient times people used winch-like cranks, levers built for the purpose, or hooks attached to the user's belt, among other things. It seems to me that a 150-lb draw weight might be impractical for average-strength people, but I gather that it's pretty standard. How's that work?

2. Anyone out there made bolts successfully for a modern crossbow? From the commentary, I gather that it's iffy to make them out of wood, but obviously it can be done. Comments?

3. What are the bowstrings like? Are they standard from brand to brand? Easily found? Cheap? How long to they last?

4. What's the best place to get bolts/quarrels?
 
If you are talking about a commercially made crossbow then......

1. yes it is a bit hard for youth but most men can do it. If it is compound the 150 lb. is only for the first few inches and then it "breaks" to much less weight. There is a stirrup you put a foot in, bend over at the knees, grab string, and straighten knees. Power comes from legs. there are also some mechanical and pulley gadgets that work for those that need them.

2. Horton markets there own bolts made from Easton shafts. i would think it would be pretty hard to make bolts from wood for a modern crossbow.

3. Some crossbows have a cable with a string in the middle. Some have one long string that is wound back and around the cams. They are different from brand to barand and even sometimes from model to model. There are charts to tell you what you need though.

4. Gun shop or mail order like from Cabela's.

If you are talking about homemade crossbows I don't know a thing about them but would also like to know.
 
Hey JD...

First off,, before you go out and buy a Crossbow,, do your Research...

#2 Stay Well away from Any Wheeled Crossbow

#3 Buy an Excalibur Crossbow.. They are Absolutely the Best crossbow money can buy...

#4 Stay away from any cocking contraptions or Scope adjustment devices on a crossbow.

When you look at bows all that fancy bullshit is worthless in the field. You want Simple foolproof gear that you can repair in the fiels Easily and quickly...

With a Wheeled bow, if something goes wrong, you are done,, drop it off at the bow shop and wait til it's fixed.. Tick Tick Tick....

With a Recurve Excalibur, whatever goes wrong with it,, you don't need a bow press to fix it...

My hunting partner and I did a Complete limb changeover on my Exocet on the tailgate of his pickup. tore down, put back together in less than 30 minutes and six shots to ZERO in a 30 yards...

It's still on Zero and haven't touched it...

With a Recurve crossbow, you give up a little in width,, but what you lose in width of the bow you gain in sheer performance and user friendly design...

Have a look here:

www.excaliburcrossbow.com

Trust me,, you can't buy a better Crossbow, no matter what Anyone tells you..

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
I yield to Normark's experience with recurve crossbows as I have never owned one. I have owned 3 Hortons which are compound with "wheels" and had 0 problems with any of the three. One I still have and the other two belong to family members now. I bought them all used at pawn shops after hunting season was over and people needed money. I just about stole my Dad's Horton Hunter, it was like new for $125 with bolts and quiver.

My dad and I have both killed deer with ours (me one, him two) and I have stringed them without a bow press. Not saying they are better but they work for me.
 
Hey Guys...

Messer..

I'm not saying that Wheeled bows are no good.. Horton makes a fine crossbow..

I just go by the old standard, the more moving parts there are, the more complicated it is. Most people won't have the skill to restring a wheeled bow and that means downtime in the field if anything goes wrong with it...Changing a string usually requires a bow press to do..

Last year I was hanging out at our local gunsmith who also sells Barnett Crossbows...

A fellow came in with a problem, a simple part actually that needed replacement...
This was a week or so before the opening of deer season...

Well the part needed to get sent away, and the bloke was out of his bow for more than a month..
That to me is incredible and just reconfirms that I made a good choice with Excalibur.

With an Excalibur recurve bow, you simply remove the string is somewhat of the same manner you would a standard recurve bow, and put a new one on..
Check Brace height and adjust by winding the string up a few turns or backing it off a few turns..
That's just about it...

Theres really only three main parts to an Excalibur Crossbow...

Limbs, Riser and Stock. A few other small parts such as dampeners,sirrup and scope mount are easily taken off and put back on..

The Trigger Group inside the stock is about the only thing that can't be replaced by the user.

The entire crossbow can be field stripped with 2-3 common allen keys..

It is a Very accurate, user friendly and Extremely reliable bow with Very little to go wrong.

I honestly wouldn't shoot any other crossbow...

A few posts ago there were some questions about cocking them...

They can be tough to cock, especially while sitting in a stand, however there is a string cocker available that reduces the weight by 50%.

For people that still can't handle that weight or are handicapped there is the Crankeroo. A device that is slipped into the butt of the stock and that cocks the bow by way of a crank,, Very easy to do albeit noisy..

If you are Seriously investing in a new crossbow, I highly suggest that you consider an Excalibur crossbow..

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
One more thing to think about is the legallity of use. I don't know about everywhere, but here in the states, most states require you to have a permanent upper limb impairment to use a crossbow during bow season. This relegates unimpaired crossbow hunters to the general firearms season. Back home in Texas I wouldn't have too much problem with this as the deer season is long and tresspassing is highly frowned upon (I've heard that some large ranches have a "shoot first, don't ask questions" policy), so you don't have to worry too much about some yahoo trapsing across your land. But up here in New England (where tresspassing is the norm), and pushing deer during gun season is standard, I shoot my deer during bow season and watch football during gun season. Too many yahoos with a shoot the first thing that moves mentality, and my vest while orange is not bullet proof.
 
http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn-wDf0v4UE


I made that a couple of years ago, the video sucks because I made it without knowing what I was going to say, and had to hold the camera so it was hard to concentrate.
I shot a suction tip arrow cause it was inside, it shoots real bolts I made from dowels as well.

Oh yeah, fun to make but if you are going to buy one get an excalibur, Candaian made too!
 
Hey Sir...

Man,, you gotta see what they have new for 2007...

Thumbhole stocks!!!

Sexy !!

We've asked Excalibur for thumbhole stocks now for a couple of years,, finally they have listened...

You won't regret buy an Excalibur Sir!!

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
i`m kind of wanting to try a rifle stock this time , as my current crossbow is a thumbhole stock
 
Picked up an Excalibur off of Ebay a while back. After assembling it I was a little scared to draw the string. (185#'s is a lot when you have visions of the thing flying apart in your hands) But it held, and has run smoothly ever since. I was worried about needing a crank or some other drawing aid when I first started; but most modern crossbows are only 200# + or -. No big deal when you use your whole body to draw.

I have tested it's accuracy out to 50 yards and it is spot on.

I haven't tried to make any bolts for it, and honestly... I don't think it's a good idea. I'm sure it's doable with the right wood (see middle ages) but doubt they would last. There are some pretty intense forces involved here.

A last note... If you do get a crossbow, and it has a stirrup... make sure you have your foot properly seated. I heard about a guy who was drawing, and his foot slipped out. Well the bow came back at him with 150+ pounds of force.... Let's just say he was singing falsetto for a while...

Regards. Shoot safe.

D
 
Hey Dv...

Which Excalibur did you get and how much was it ??

Nice thing about Excaliburs,, they hold their value,, and you can Always sell it...

As far as letting your foot slip out..

Yaa Baby,, you Betcha!!!

Anoth tip..

Keep your thumbs Blow the string when you fire it!!!

I learned that the hard way!!!

With these modern Xbows,, you'd Better be using the right Bolt..Very dangerous to screw around with....

As far as being accurate....

They are one of the most accurate crossbows on the market...

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
Normark, tell me about this "right bolt" business. I've seen lots of 15-inch bolts on the market; a local retailer recently had a half-off sale on bolts with 16-inch shafts; I also see 20-inch and 22-inch bolts frequently for sale. How interchangeable are these? How does one mess up and use the "wrong bolt"?

Also, I note that some bolts (those intended for use with a crossbow with no groove in the rail) have indented, or "half moon", nocks, whereas most have flat (un-notched) nocks. I know that flat nocks probably wouldn't work well with un-grooved rails, but can one use half-moon-nocked bolts on grooved rails?

My chief interest is to establish as wide as possible a range of bolts that can be used with a single crossbow.

Also, you mention the problem of an inadvertent "thumbs up", presumably getting caught when the bowstring goes forward. What's the nature of the injury one gets from that?
 
Hey JD...

Well first off I'm no expert on bolts,, thats for sure..
I use what has been recommended by the manufacturer..

My bolts are all made by Canadian Knife maker Eric Elson.. They are the best bolts I've used and Eric makes them especially for the Excalibur crossbow...

The bolt I use is an Easton XX75 2217 20" length with a 100gr. SST Hammer broadhead

The 2217 refers to the spine weight and wall thickness of the bolt...

Using the wrong size bolt or wrong type of bolt can have serious effects on the flight of the bolt... The bolt has a certain ammount of flex to it on take off.. The lighter the spine weight, the more flex the bolt will have...

As far as Nocks go.. Yes there are different types.. Horton I believe use half moon nocks, Excalibur uses flat nocks..
You shouldn't use a half moon nock on a crossbow that doesn't need it,, and the other way around...

All of these things will have effects on the flight of the bolt.

As far as thumb slap..

Ohhh Ya.. Trust me,, you'll only do it once!!!

Once is plenty enough...

As far as injury is concerned..

Well luckily I only lost the nail on my thumb..I have also heard of people breaking the thumb...

Not nice!!

It it's a problem,, which it has been for me in the past,, you should put a kisser button on the stock where your thumb sits..
When you feel your thumb above the kisser button,, you will know it...

Hope that helps..

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
Hey Normark

I believe it is an older model Exocet. #185 Draw weight, and I suspect it hadn't seen a lot of use, either that or the previous owner took really good care of it. I came with a set of arrows, quiver, and extra limbs. The exact price escapes me now, but I seem to remember it being around the 550 mark.

I actually think I bought it off of a guy in Ontario... you wouldn't have sold any crossbows recently would you?

J.D., to add to Normarks comments, I think the best length for a crossbow bolt is one that is just long enough to seat against the string and still keep the arrowhead off of the bow.

I think you actually have less room for error with this than you do with a regular bow. Regular bows have a less powerful draw, but make up for it by being able to push on the arrow longer. Crossbows have such a short travel that in order to bring the bolt up to velocity you have to use a lot more force, in a way shorter amount of time. More force / less time = greater shock. Greater shock = less room for error.

For the record I shoot an Easton 2216 with a wasp broadhead. It's actually kind of funny... I took a friend out shooting with field tips once.. they look pretty normal. As we were putting the bow away he saw some of the hunting arrows... all he could say was 'Those things look MEAN!"

Talk to you later guys...

D
 
Hey Guys..

d_vman...

One sure way to tell that it wasn't me who sold it to you...

I wouldn't have sold it!! :)

Yaa the older Exocet #185 is a Fine crossbow...
I shoot the same ones...

Mine didn't have dampeners on it so I installed them.
As well as a new set of mag tip limbs.

Do you have mag tips on yours ??
Scope ??

That seems like a Very reasonable price, considering the new ones are $1000.00 +

I shoot a Wasp SST Hammer broadhead as well..
Nice and small and fly straight...

Another good broadhead is the NAP Spitfire.. It also shoots Very straight,, like a field point...

If you ever want to trade it,, let me know!!!

Thanks

Eric
O/ST
 
Hey Normark

I'm not actually familiar with the 'Mag Tip'. What is it's purpose?

So far I haven't put a scope on it... but there is a 'The Right Stuff' pack including a scope in my local wholesale sports.

I was also considering the dampeners... what do you think of them? Worth it?

Ragards
D
 
Question about crossbow: I have folding Barnett Ranger with folding limbs and stock. It does not have sights. What sights would you recommend? It is a recurved crossbow, 150 lb power.
At the moment I am cosidering installing red dot on one of my airsoft guns (Inokatsu AKS-74) and think as well what if I sometiems use the redo dot on the crossbow? I know red dot is for quick aquisition of the target what is not really necassary for the crossbow, but if I have a sight available...
Thanks,
 
i`ve got a tasco red dot scope on my 150 pound compound crossbow , its hell cool :) i`ve been shooting my 15" bolts in my backyard (8m max) the 20" bolts i have are actually cheaper ($5 an arrow for the 20" versus $7 an arrow for the 15'") but the thing is i can no longer get the 15" locally , and i have more 15" arrows then i do 20" arrows so i`m using the 15" arrows. shooting is only a side hobby to my knife collecting , so going out and buying another dozen arrows is an afterthought to the knife deals i have coming up.
 
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