I am a new crossbow hunter. i have been bow hunting with compound for 10 years though and i always fletch my own arrows and i still use aluminum. i know, i know but i like them. my question is in the aluminum line what size shaft would be used to cut down into bolts at say twenty inches. i currently have 2219 bolts but want to know how far down i can go in shaft size to lighten up a bit but still be safe. sorry for being so long winded. i am shooting a horton yukon at 150 pounds and will be using 20 inch bolts with 100 gr heads. Thanks for any replies.

i plan on trying 2216's next season. i know it's also possible to shoot 2213's though they're a more fragile arrow d/t wall thickness.

I use 2012's Thats about as small as you can go.

I am testing some now, 23 5/8" long 2213's. Have been shooting them out of my Phoenix at 294 fps at 0-40 yds. with 2" Blazer vanes 100 gr. pts. or B'Heads. So fer fer they have been real accurate and group well. They were some older arrows i used when i had an overdraw on one of my compounds. After i cut the tapered end off i got the length they r now. I can always heatinsert, remove it and cut shorter and stiffen up spine!

What do you put in the Rear end of the arrow if you make your own? or do you just take the Nock out and leave it be?

You can get aluminum nocks, or some guys just put inserts there, as long as you use one or the other.

Ok thanks.. I'll prolly just use an insert.. I plan on making 20-22 inch 2213 for my new Excal.

So its ok if the rear end of it is Flat?

You send you can get Aluminum Nocks, they would have a notch. But an insert would be flat..

Does it matter?

The back end of xbow arrows take nocks, same name as vert bow arrows, but not similar. They come in two flavors, flat or whats called both moon or half moon. Excals take flat nocks. They also require a minimum arrow weight of 357 gr. to prevent partial dry-fire affect if you end up lighter than that. The compound xbows need heavier weights than the recurves, seems that around 420 is the minimum there, but don't quote me, lol. Good luck!!

k thanks

I use carbon or plastic 2213 inserts and use them fer my noks.