Is shorter better?

[lyuv]

My CB is capable of shooting 16" bolts, but I have 20" ones. Is it worth the bother to shorten them?

And in general - is it preferable to use the shortest possible bolts? What is the best length?

[coyote170]

What ever the manufacture recommends for your model of crossbow.
To short or light will put undue strane on your limbs you need to stay
within the weight limits for your arrows for safety s sake!

[GrumpyTom]

As it was stated above, if you shorten your arrows make sure you do not lighten the arrows to below the manufacture's min arrow weight.

Other then the weight issure, shooting shorter or longer arrows will depend on your setup. If your shooting custom arrows, or light splined arrows, then longer is not always better as you could get alot of flex in the shaft. Shooting shorter arrows will lighten up the total weight to enable the arow to go faster, but the cost is usually the stability of the arrow. The arrow is stabilized by the fletching and depends on the distance to the tip on how quickly this stabilation can occure. The shorter the arows, the more radical a (lets say) 2" wobble (whcih the fletching straightens out) will be over the longer arrow. This is also why vertical shooters can out score crossbows at major compitions (longer arrows).

Best bet is to try, then see what your bow shoots best, but for me, longer was better and I shot 2117 & 2216 arrows with an Excalibur bow.

[909bowsniper]

ORIGINAL: coyote170

What ever the manufacture recommends for your model of crossbow.
To short or light will put undue strane on your limbs you need to stay
within the weight limits for your arrows for safety s sake!

X3

[909bowsniper]

For me, the heavier the bolt the better and quietier the shot, but that just me, mine shoot 20" and I have shot alot of 20", but sometimes I will shoot 22". The heavier the bolt at a high FPS will produce more KE (Kinetic Energy).

[smokepolehall]

16" isn't going to get you enough fps to fool with. i would just shoot the 20" as they will fly with better accuracy. i spect you have a 150 LB. CB so most any good carbon or alum. will have the spine for 20's.

[Mike Van Veghten]

First you need to mention what bow you have!
If the track is short...you ARE stuck with short arrows. But if about 80% ofa 20"arrow is supported..yes...it is better to shoot longer arrows.

Not to mention the extra weight, which is a good thing...the longer arrow will fly better, e.g - hold its trajectory better.

But if only half of a 20" arrow is supported...

The BESTthing to do...especially since you HAVE them......is to shoot them...see how the 20'ers shoot!

Mike