xbows are still pretty new to me so, i'm still experimenting to see what it's capable of. that's part of the fun of it. anyone that has experimented with shorter arrows or do you all stick with the recommended shaft length? ty in advance, have learned a great deal by reading the many posts on this forum. good bunch of folks with a super body of knowledge and everyone has been helpful and willing to share their knowledge.

Personally I stick to at least staying with the min weight reccomendations of the manufacturer, if you get your arrows too light you could damage your crossbow kinda like a dryfire.. on my one crossbow I use what the manufacturer reccomends on the other I use a havier arrow.

I would suggest staying in the box and stick with the mfgr's commendation. Once you realize the limitations of crossbows in general then experiment with in the confines of common sense as well as what you gleen from every where like the manufacturer and us here.

STay with the rule of factory minimum arrow weight. I shoot from 20" to 24" in length.[]

On a sharply quartering away shot the more spine the arrow has the less chance that it is gonna pole vault on impact. I think if that is fact, the shorter arrows have a stiffer spine and will eliminate " pole vaulting" I have taken asharply quartering away shot with no problem using long200 carbonsarrows and mechanicals out of my vert with no problem so who knows..I sure don't worry about an overdraw on my vert anymore as I seem to get better stability with long arrows and I could give a rats ass about a few extra fps...>>>>>>>>>>Whac k!!!!!

Shewe: Good advice so far! While I'm no authority on xbows, I do read all I can find on them. Usually, the shorter arrow guys are shooting Vixens which they can boost the fps on some by going to an 18" at about 330 gr. This would be the kiss of death for most compounds. I think you may find as many of us have that the answer lies in the other direction, a tad heavier. This will quiet your bow some, eliminate some vibration, and in general is easier on your bow. You also will gain some on k.e. Most of the bows available today regardless of the name on the side are capable of far more fps than is actually needed. Xbows are like anything else in life, there are always trade offs. Recurves are wider but lighter, compounds narrower but heavier. Heavier arrows means slower, slower means more trajectory, which means range becomes even more important to know. The idea is to find a happy medium that suits you personally. Alot of the advertised fps results are a tad inflated, or obtained by using the lightest arrow the bow will tolerate. This is called "The Speed Wars" because some buy strictly on fps. Hope this helps and have fun!!

You will find no better place to get good info and have a great time all in the same thread. I suck at saying welcome so If I did not in some of your first post then sorry. But I have a horton and just stick with the recomendations. But as awshucks or smoke said I am limited by my wheels. If I go shorter the I risk the dry fire effect and am up the creek. But like they say its all a bartering game. If you get an excal then you can play with that stuff, but now you went wider, but lighter on bow weight. If I remember you got an excal I think, if not then give me the wack and sorry. But if you did there is a great bunch of excal guys here that will set you on the straight. They know there brand so keep your ears up!

Also, Your sig line has to be the best and most fitting I have ever read in a long time! It currently fits the stage we are in!

ty for the advice gang....for sure i will stay within the minimum weight....don't want to blow my new bow up......hehe. i will prob settle in on 2219's 20 inches with a 115 gr muzzy 4 blade.....they are real bone breakers. but i noticed my bow is hollowed out so one could shorten up an inch or two.....next season i may try 2216's 18 or 19 inches to see what happens. should be plenty of spine and wicked quick. target shooting does'nt matter....but i like heavy arrows for hunting.

You're learning real quick shewe!