I am a newbie to crossbows (CB) and bows as far as that goes. I logged on to this site, read some posts and went out and bought an Excalibur Vortex crossbow. Hereare myfindings and experiences so far:
First, the Excalibur instructions are clear and easy to follow. That is if you follow the DVD which was included. It did not take me long to have the bow assembled. Two things I found as a must for the beginner and in my opinion everyone else; Make sure you purchased a string aid and rope cocking aid. I tried string and cocking without them. Not worth the fingers getting smashed, the grunting and pain. These items are money well spent.
After assembling the CB, I put on the scope. I have to say my experience with the Excalibur scope rings was not good. The screws seemed to be cheaply made and I had a lot of trouble keeping the supplied wrench in the slots. They striped a little and had metal come off. I hate to think someday I may have to try and take them out.
Once the scope was mounted (a Luma-Zone), I waxed up the string as per the DVDand put a bolt over my Chrono shooting at ablock type CBtarget. I was using Gold Tip G1 Laser II type bolts. I think they are 7.3 grains and 20" but not sure. They flew straight and hit about 8" high of the bull’s-eye (10 yards). Speed was 315 fps (using a bolt with practice tip). I shot next at 20 yards with the bolt hitting real close to the bulls-eye and again hitting 315 fps. With a few adjustments I was hitting nice groups in the bull-eye at 20 yards. I did have a lot of trouble getting the bolts out of my target. I had to grab on to the area where the feathers were and wiggle and pull hard to get the arrows out. The reason for grabbing the feathers, that was all that was sticking out! I guess an arrow puller is next on the list.
That’s it for now. Next will be longer shots at the range on Saturday to further learn the bow and adjust the scope. Then switch to the 4 edge razor tips I bought. Once I dial those in, I’ll be walking down blood trails
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Special thanks to Pydpiper and Awshucks. They helped answer questions and gave solid advice.
Safety Off