Frequently Asked Questions

 

We have found that depends on what you ultimately want to use the crossbow for.

If you are using it for target shooting only; the bolts that come with your crossbow are fine. Some crossbows can be made slightly more accurate with an upgrade to 20” carbon bolts.

If you are hunting with the crossbow; we recommend using 20” carbon bolts because the longer shaft will help hold a slightly better group at distances out to 30-35 yards.

 

We recommend using 20” carbon bolts with a weight of about 300 grain in combination with a 100 grain field point/broadhead, giving you a total weight of about 400 grains. You can use a lighter bolt (we don’t recommend using anything less than about 375 grain total weight with any of our crossbows) and you will gain some speed with a lighter bolt, but you will trade off some penetration power. Heavier bolts will offer better penetration, but will sacrifice speed; they also will have more drop in the bolt giving you less distance on the shots, depending on the speed of the crossbow.

We have found that you get a good combination of speed and penetration with bolts in the 400 grain range.

 

The answer here depends on the speed of the crossbow. We have found through our experience that crossbows that shoot under 300FPS do better with mechanical (open on impact) tips rather than a fixed blade tip. Crossbows that shoot over 300 FPS don’t have an issue shooting fixed blade tips out to ranges of 35 yards or so. Over that range though, the fixed blade seems to cause the grouping of the bolts to open up slightly giving you less accuracy. A mechanical tip tends to hold a better group at ranges out to about 50 yards.

 

This depends on the speed of the crossbow. For crossbows with speeds under 300FPS we recommend a maximum range of about 35 yards. For crossbows with speeds above 300FPS we recommend a maximum range of about 45-50 yards.

Please note that accuracy depends on the experience of the shooter and you should shoot within your limits. The more you shoot your crossbow the better you will be with it.

 

 Dry-Firing your crossbow doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t have a bolt on it; it can also mean the bolt is too light for the draw weight of the crossbow or the bolt wasn’t fully seated against the string.

If you Dry-Fire your crossbow there are several things that can happen from simply making a sound that you don’t normally hear from the bow, to the destruction of the limb or riser. It can also cause injury to the shooter or people near you should parts break and fly off. If you have accidentally Dry-Fired your bow take the time to inspect it carefully for damage. If you are not sure if something is damaged or the bow is safe to use we recommend taking it to a bow shop and let them know what happened and that you want them to make sure the bow is safe.

If you want to send it in for us to inspect; send us an email or call so we can let you know what the procedure is to get it to us and what the service time is.

 

 We have most of the common items for your crossbow listed on our online web store. Click here: https://www.sa-sports.com/collections/accessories. If the item you need is not listed there; send us an email to sales@sa-sports.com with as much detail about the part or parts you need, include your name and address, and we will quote you on them and the shipping, and we will include instructions on how to order those parts.

 

In most cases it is a simple correction.

First, make sure the elevation knob (the dial on the right side of the scope base) is rotated around until the scope base is flat. The dial should point up and not at any numbers. If this is in any position besides zero it will force the bow to shoot high.

Second, double check that the screws that hold the scope to the rail are sitting fully in the slots in the scope rail (side to side) so the scope is sitting flat. Sometimes those screws don’t line up with the slots and one will sit on the edge or on top of the scope rail causing the scope to sit in a position that is not flat. The front or rear of the scope will be elevated off the rail. This will make sighting impossible.

 

The first part is easy, but the second part of the question has some variables making a specific answer difficult.

The chart below will give you your starting range and 2 additional estimated ranges. The second and third ranges are estimates only because the actual range will change dependent on bolt weight and length, but will get you close.

Using the 1/8” hex tool provided with the crossbow; from the underside of the crossbow, loosen the set screws for the bumper posts on both sides. Then holding the bow upright let the bumpers rest against the string and re-tighten the set screws. You want the bumpers to be in contact with the string, but not be pressing against it when the string is in the de-cocked position.

 

We do not recommend de-cocking your crossbow using a hand crank. We recommend discharging the bow into an approved target.