Need crossbow bolt advice

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  • no woryz

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    Have been working on my crossbow and it is frustrating so let me ask some of you if my results are typical….

    Its not a top end bow, it’s a Barnett Quad400 and I have about 12 bolts & all are the proper bolts for the bow…. Its shoots all bolts in a 1.5inch group at 20 yrds, when I move out to 40 yrds, only 7 bolts make a 3inch group, out to 50 its 4 bolts making a 4-5 inch group and 2 bolts @ 60 making a 4-5 inch group…. So, out of 12 bolts, only 2 perform like I believe they should… the bow appears consistent but the bolts do not… upon inspection, I see no reason for the problems….. My uncle says the same… he bought a ten point titan & 6 new bolts… 3 group tight & 3 were all over the place & unusable… I’ve googled it but there are many opinions…
     

    bigbulls

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    It's probably not the arrows at all. Most likely it's you not cocking the bow consistently from shot to shot. I see this all of the time.

    You have to cock the string in the EXACT same place every single time or the crossbow will shoot all over the place. If you are cocking it by hand place your index fingers against each side of the rail as you grab the string. As you pull the string your fingers MUST stay in contact with the side of the rails. This ensures that the trigger mechanism is catching the string in the exact same place every single time. The same thing applies to the little rope cockers. The hooks must ride the rail up as you cock the string.

    If you grab the string a few inches away from the barrel of the crossbow you change where the trigger mechanism catches the string each time its cocked. It is near impossible to cock a crossbow consistently this way. It would be like nocking an arrow in different places on the string of a vertical bow every time you shot. The crossbow sprays the arrows horizontally while a vertical bow will spray then vertically.

    Also look at the vane that sits inside the slot on the barrel. Make sure that it isn't rubbing on the rail as it is fired. If it is rubbing there will be drag marks on the vanes near the base.
     

    1956_4x4

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    I had a problem with my Barnett Buck Commander. I couldn't get it to group to save my life. It turned out that the upper portion wasn't assembled correctly from the factory. Barnett exchanged it without any problems.

    Smitty
     

    Z28931

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    That's why I asked if he had a cocking device. I ordered the factory cranking device for mine. One arm is stronger than the other leading to an uneven pull back.
     

    Emcm2

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    Also string roll if you roll the string when your drawing it back every shot will be different I had the quad 400 and using the cocking lever I was able to have 1.5 groups at 60 yards. I learned the hard way it's all about how you draw them back
     

    no woryz

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    Thanks for all of the input.... I do use the cocking device and believe that I am cocking the bow in the same manner every time.....I haven't gotten a grasp yet of the difference that it can make but will try anything.. I put the cocking device on the same way every time and pull it back til it clicks in place.... I dont see how to do much differently..... I'm going to restring & cable it and try again... Thanks to all, hopefully It will work itself out...
     
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