flyinlowe

I picked up my first crossbow today, WR Invader. I used to bow hunt but it has been 15 years since.

I am sure a lot of it comes down to personnel preference but I am curious to hear what bolts and broad heads you guys are using? I will be using the Xbow for whitetails in Indiana. Do most of you shoot carbon bolts? What are the pros and cons of carbon vs. aluminum? Also curious if you shoot mechanical of fixed broad heads.

Lastly someone had told me that crossbow bolts lose accuracy after a certain number of shots. I am guessing this would be because of the amount of force the Xbow places on the bolt. Is there a certain number of shots one can expect to get out of a bolt assuming you don't bend it removing it or robin hood it.
Thanks

one eye joe

I shoot carbon because they are more durable generally than aluminum. Aluminum bends, carbon shatters, so you have to decide which will best fit your needs. Everyone seems to have their own personal favorites for arrows (politically correct term these days) and broadheads.

Carbon arrows are differentiated by straightness - .001, .003. and .006 are the usual choices. I have shot .003 and .001 and honestly can't tell any real difference out to 40 yards. I have shot Black Eagle Executioners, which are the general favorite of many, and currently shoot Deer Crossing arrows.

Many crossbows will shoot mechanicals very close to where field points hit. Fixed blades are sort of hit and miss. I shoot mechanicals because I don't like to have to re sight in to switch and I don't have a broadhead target readily available to check where I am hitting. Generally, either will do the job if you do yours.

I have not heard about arrows losing accuracy, although as stated earlier, aluminum will bend which will affect accuracy. Also, shooting carbon arrows very close, say 10 yards, really pust stress on them as they impact. A person needs to check arrows prior to each shot to assure that no stress fractures have occurred. There are reports of arrows exploding because they were cracked and shot. Extreme force of string pushing arrow caused it to come apart.

If you check Deer Crossing archery, code Joe53 is good for 10% off any order at check out.

Wayspr

Aluminums are good but will bend. I shoot carbon, currently using TenPoint pro elites but will swith to Black Eagle Executioners in the future. No, accuracy does not decline after a certain number of shots with quality arrows.

Mechanicals and fixed blade may or may not fly like a field point. Broadhead manufacturers have done a great job of marketing that their heads fly like field points. Also, do not assume that the practice head or blades will fly like the real broadhead. Every bow is different, you have to shoot them to know for sure. To assume your broadheads have the same POI as the field points is pure laziness. To go in the woods and aim that untested arrow and head at an animal is unethical.

VTBoneCollector

I bought a crossbow last season and shot the Toxic broad head out of it and couldn't get any really good accuracy out of them. Then I put on a 3 bladed Rage expandable and it hit like a field point. I also shot a buck with it, so expandables are my preference. As stated before, you owe it to the animal you hunt to make sure you know where that arrow hits with your broad head of choice on it. Oh, and the arrows I hunted with were aluminum but I will be getting carbon when I head on my next out of state hunt.

flyinlowe

I will definitely by testing my hunting setup prior to going to the woods. Thanks for the advice. Now I need to find a good target, opening day in Indiana is October 1st for archery.

flyinlowe

Do any of you Wicked Ridge/Ten Point owners use flat nocks or do you stick with the Omni Nock that is recommended by Ten Point. I have found some old forum posts saying that they use flat nocks, however many of these posts are dated before the or during the time Ten Point was releasing the Omni nock. Curious of the flat nocks are OK or not.

Wayspr

Some people claim better accuracy from flat nocks than omnis. Some say half moons shoot better. Your bow WILL shoot all fine. If you have an issue using something other than omnis your warranty is history. I personally shoot omnis in my Turbo XLT II. It shoots better than me so any perceived gain in accuracy from another nock wouldn't be noticed. Another thing, some of the people who claim better accuracy from other nocks are the target guys shooting 80-100+ yards.

flyinlowe

Curious if any of you have ever seen the Omni nock arrows (other then the three that come with the kits) in a store? I went to five different stores today that sell crossbows. Two were actual archery shops then two different Gander Mts. and 1 Dix. All of them sell Wicked Ridge and Ten Point and none of them had ever heard of Omni nock. I wasn't surprised at the retail stores but thought for sure the archery shop would know about them. One guy opened one and got an owners manual out because he did not believe me that they made the Omni and that any other would void the warranty. He is in Indianapolis and told me he has sold a ton of Wicked Ridge and also sold the flats or half moons to go with them. Makes me wander how many people have bought Ten Point products and never known about the Omni. I hate that I bought a new crossbow and now and waiting on arrows ordered from the internet. Many people told me just to shoot the flats but I figured better safe the sorry. I would be the one guy to have something go wrong and not get backed by the warranty. I ended up ordering six of the Ten Point pro lites. They are 370g and I will either use 100 or 125g broad heads. Free two day shipping with Amazon Prime.

Wayspr

My local Gander sells pro elite arrows with omnis. I'd avoid any shop that sells TenPoint bows and hasn't heard of omnis.

flyinlowe

The guy at Gander sent me to a local shop and told me the bow tech there was one of the top in the state of Indiana, he went on and on about him and of course that guy had not heard of them either, and he had a rack of ten points and WR's on the shelf. One of the WR's he had hanging up was the kit with the arrows and I showed him the Omni's and he kind of had the "huh" look on his face LOL.