Choosing an proper crossbow bolt requires understanding several different variable. These variable interact with your crossbow and your target, so choosing the wrong variables can cause damage to your crossbow or prevent it from achieve accurate shots at the target. The chart to the right display different crossbow bolt variables.
The length of a crossbow bolt can be measured in two different way: shorter crossbow bolts versus longer crossbow bolts. Shorter crossbow bolts is suitable for compact crossbows. However, longer crossbow bolts are suitable for high draw recurve crossbows.
How to Choose the Right Crossbow Bolt
When choosing the length of a crossbow bolt, you must ensure that the length of the crossbow bolt is appropriate for your crossbow rail system. Using a crossbow bolt that is too short or too long for your crossbow can damage the crossbows function and the accuracy of the shots that it fire. Crossbow bolt weight determine the amount of energy that the bolt can carry.
Using lighter crossbow bolts will allow it to leave the crossbow more fast than heavier crossbow bolts. However, lighter crossbow bolts will lose their energy faster as they interact with the resistance in the game that is being hunted. Using heavier crossbow bolts allow for more energy to be transferred to the target, which is ideal for hunting larger animal.
Crossbow bolt diameter determine how the bolt fit into the crossbow and its performance in flight. Using a five-sixteenth inch crossbow bolt allow most broadheads to work effective with the crossbow and allows the bolt to fit into most crossbows. Using a nine-thirty-second inch crossbow bolt reduce drag as the bolt moves through the air.
However, there are few broadhead options for nine-thirty-seconds inch crossbow bolts. The diameter of the crossbow bolt must match the specifications for your crossbow. The material of the crossbow bolt can be made out of carbon, aluminum, or even hybrid material.
Carbon crossbow bolts are popular among hunters due to the strength and resistance of the material to breaking after repeated shots. Aluminum crossbow bolts are popular among those who only use their crossbow for practice ranges due to the low cost of the material and how easily they are fixed if they breaks. Hybrid bolts are made of a carbon material with a heavy metal in the center.
Each material has its uses, but no material are the best for all types of hunting applications. There are three different nock style for crossbow bolts: flat nocks, half-moon nocks, and capture nocks. Flat nocks are used for recurve crossbows.
Half-moon nocks are used for compound crossbows. Capture nocks ensure that the crossbow bolt does not fall off the crossbows rail while shooting. The nock style of the bolt must match that of the crossbow.
The primary factor to consider when choosing a crossbow bolt for hunting game is the kinetic energy of the bolt. Crossbow bolt kinetic energy is dependent upon the weight and the speed of the crossbow bolt. Using a crossbow bolt with high speed and low weight may not have enough energy to properly penetrate the thick skin of a mature animal.
The infographic to the right display the kinetic energy of the crossbow bolts in foot-pounds. The crossbow and its manufacturer will have requirements for the weight of the crossbow bolt that it fires. The manufacturer sets the minimum bolt weight to ensure that the limbs of the crossbow are protected and that the manufacturer warranty are maintained.
Using a crossbow bolt that is too light can damage the limbs of a crossbow. You can read the requirements of the crossbow manufacturer from the chart to the right. The front of center balance of the crossbow bolt determine its accuracy and its penetration power.
Moving the weight of the crossbow bolt towards the front of the bolt will improve its stability and the penetration power of the crossbow bolt’s broadhead. However, having the weight of the bolt moved towards the front will make the bolt drop faster while in flight. Crossbow hunters prefer the center-of-bolt balance for crossbow bolts so that the crossbow bolt maintain its trajectory over distance.
