bob d

question is if you use a crossbow for bow fishing ,do you use the crossbow bolts with fishing heads or do you use the regularbow fishing arrows???????

squirrelkilla23

being that i shoot 3 xbows for deer, i recomend using the bolts that are recomended for your xbow for safety reasons. usually 430 gr. is a safe bet. you can usually put any type of head on a bolt you'd just have to see where it'd shoot. dont know how much you shoot xbows but it's not good to try and shoot vert. bows arrows in an xbow.

chiefks

This sounds like a bad idea to me. I don't think a crossbow would work for bow fishing. I don't think the bolts would pack enough punch to get the job done. They are simply to light. I also don't know how you would, if you could, attach a line to the bolt???

bowman15

My first thought would be bowfishing arrows. The bolts are too light, and much more easily damaged when you miss fish, or even shoot them, but shoot thru. The solid-fiberglass arrows will fly much slower, and have alot more kinetic-energy at impact. They're many times more durable than an average aluminium shaft. You can cut them down to size and re install your safety-slides and heads/tips. And it won't hurt the bow at all.

bob d

i am just starting to get into bow fishing , and due to shoulder injury i cannot hold a compound bow drawn for very long , thus that is my reason for the crossbow questions .these are some interesting answers so far and the opinions are varied widely.

welcome more input from those who actually are already using a crossbow for bowfishing

awshucks

I've got several xbows, but don't bow fish. However, Bill Troubridge, owner and inventor of Excal xbows recently shot an elephant w/ a stock Emax [225# pull] at 20 yds w/ 900 gr arrow. He would have gotten a complete pass-thru, except the b-head hit the off-side leg bone. He was getting about 250 fps and the same in k.e.

Bulzeye

Never tried it myself, but Muzzy sells this bowfishing crossbow bolt...





Muzzy Muzzy Gator Getter Bolt (24”) w/Gator Getter Point

squirrelkilla23

that bolt is for a horton xbow. they use moon nocks

fishpoint

I had the pleasure to shoot carp on the Des Plaines River with a guy named Evan who was using a crossbow. Itlooked like he was using an AMS retriever made specifically for crossbows.He wasshooting very well with his setup; it looked like a lot of fun.

HNI_Christine

A couple of bowfishing supplies sell bolts made for bowfishing.

Here's one:
http://www.bowfishingextreme.com/ItemsForSale/CompleteArrows/bowfishing_complete_arrows.htm