How to choose your crossbow arrows?

Lengths, materials, weights, compatibilities: everything you need to know before buying

Crossbow bolts are one of the most important elements of your equipment.

A wrong choice can harm your accuracy, damage your equipment and even cause a dangerous shot.
Conversely, a suitable bolt improves your range, your target grouping, your consistency, the longevity of your crossbow and of course, safety.

In this comprehensive guide, we will explain exactly how to choose your crossbow bolts: lengths, weights, materials, nocks, uses… everything is covered!

Let's start with the basics: what is a crossbow bolt?

Bolts (or crossbow arrows) are shorter, heavier and more rigid than bow arrows. They are designed to handle both the speed and raw power of the crossbow, which can easily exceed 200 lbs.

A bolt consists of:

• Shaft: this is the body of the bolt which can be made of plastic (for low-power mini-crossbows), aluminum or carbon

• Nock: to allow the string to push and properly transmit energy to the bolt

• Vanes: these are the feathers - generally 3 in number - which allow the bolt to stabilize

• Insert + point: at the tip of the bolt, it balances the bolt and allows it to penetrate.

Each element will directly influence the accuracy and speed of the bolt. 

What is the correct length for a crossbow bolt?

The length will depend on the crossbow you are using and only on that.

The standard length varies between 16", 18" and 20", but some compact crossbows use specific lengths.

Pistol crossbows 

In this category, we find mini-crossbows which generally have a power between 50 and 100 lbs.

They require:

• short bolts of 6", 7.5" or 13"

• often made of plastic, aluminum or carbon

While their use is often recreational, at short distances, some of these crossbows such as repeating crossbows (like the Cobra R9, RX Adder) can allow for longer-range and very accurate shots, but also with bolts specially adapted to this type of crossbow.

Crossbows with intermediate power (between 120 and 175 lbs)

These are crossbows that can be traditional or compound, quite versatile, for recreational shooting or precision discovery. They are often intended for beginners, leisure practitioners.

They generally use:

- bolts of 16" or 18" long

- in aluminum (often for entry-level models) or in carbon.

Powerful crossbows (> 185lbs)

These are crossbows that often require more resistant bolts overall because the pressure they undergo is higher. Bolt rigidity ++ is essential.
These large crossbows are most often used by experienced shooters or in the context of hunting - in places where this practice is obviously authorized.

The recommended length is generally 20".

The bolt is more stable, heavier too. The penetration is all the better which is perfect in hunting situations (in countries where this activity is obviously authorized).

Hattila's advice on bolt length: NEVER use a bolt shorter than what is recommended by the crossbow manufacturer. This would result in something like a dry-fire, which could damage your crossbow and even be dangerous for you.
Respecting the length recommended by the manufacturer means being sure to use bolts of the optimal length for the best possible result.

Weight: guarantor of the balance between speed, penetration, accuracy and of course, safety.

In the field of archery - and therefore crossbows - the total weight of a bolt is expressed in grains (gr).

It influences the speed, penetration, accuracy and above all the mechanical safety.

Here is a summary table of bolts/weights/uses to help clarify this concept which relates more to physics and mechanics!

Hattila's advice on bolt weight: NEVER use a bolt lighter than what is recommended by the crossbow manufacturer. The result could simply be the breakage of your crossbow: the bolt would not be able to withstand the opposing forces between air resistance at the front and the thrust of the string.

The shaft material: plastic, aluminum or carbon?

Plastic bolts

For mini-crossbows (50lbs), small plastic bolts will work very well, but you can also use aluminum (which will be a bit heavier) or carbon. Respect the original diameter, so that the bolt is correctly adapted to your crossbow's rail.

Carbon or aluminum?

Aluminum is often used as standard bolts for entry-level crossbows. These are inexpensive bolts, which are therefore very good for beginners.

However, they can bend and their weight makes them less accurate, especially when shooting at longer distances.

Carbon undeniably remains the best choice.
Carbon bolts are more torsionally rigid, more resistant than aluminum tubes which allows for greater shooting accuracy.

They are perfectly suited to the most powerful crossbows on the market.

Their drawback? They are more expensive than all other types of bolts.

The nock: a component that changes everything!

The nock must absolutely be adapted to your crossbow's system, this is THE essential prerequisite because a non-adapted nock = risk of dry-firing.

There are 3 types of nocks for crossbow bolts:

The half-moon nock

- The most common
- Good string / rail contact
- Stability at bolt release

The flat nock (full-moon)

- Used on some American crossbows such as those from the Excalibur brand
- Allows simple positioning and very consistent inline thrust

The capture nock

- Retains the string → maximum safety
- Ideal for hunting + dynamic shooting
- Prevents derailment

The vanes: the guarantors of stability and accuracy

Again, their rigidity, but especially their length will impact the accuracy of your shot. The vanes must therefore be adapted to your bolt and your use.

Crossbow bolts typically use vanes of 2" to 4".

• Small vanes (2–2.5"): speed + range

• Wide vanes (3–4"): better stability

• Helical vanes: this is the way the vanes are mounted, it can be done straight or with an "off-set", meaning a slight angle, in a helical way.
  The advantage of this type of mounting is an increase in the bolt's rotation speed for even more accurate shooting.

For powerful crossbows, prefer rigid vanes which will provide much better stability.

Points: field or hunting?

In France, we remind you that hunting with a crossbow is strictly prohibited. However, there are other countries where it is completely authorized.

2 types of points possible at the tip of your bolt: the field point and the hunting blade. In both cases, they simply screw onto the insert of your bolt - the threading being universal, you can also easily switch from one type to another.

The field points

• often supplied as standard with bolts

• essential for target shooting to avoid destroying your target in just a few shots!

Hunting blades (or broadheads in English)

• Fixed or mechanical blades

• Massive penetration

• Require a heavy bolt (400 gr and + recommended)
  
  

Warning: the weight of the point modifies the total weight of the bolt > respect the manufacturer's recommendations!

To conclude

While it is quite possible to upgrade the use of your crossbow by switching for example from aluminum bolts to carbon bolts, by modifying the vanes...know that you will simply always need to respect the manufacturer's recommendations regarding the bolt length, its weight or even its nock type.

For everything else: it's your turn to play!