If I got into crossbows, I’d go for a recurve model, and make and shoot the heaviest bolts it could handle, with fixed, 3-blade heads like the Bod -Kin, and the longest fletches practical. I’m very partial to Easton Aluminum shafts in the 2018 and 2020 sizes , and Trueflight fletches. Power from any bow is not just speed, but speed and momentum, and you get this from heavy arrows and bolts. In a crossbow, you’re shooting a projectile 1/3 the length of an arrow, with no shaft flexing to adjust for, so why handicap yourself with lightweight bolts?
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Wait…crossbows have recurves too? I thought all recurve bows were “normal” bows.
Also, I would have thought that lightweight bolts would give you higher velocity and further range? Not necessarily better penetration though.
Nope - longbows, recurves, compounds, and crossbows are all different - I want max power in everything I shoot - damn speed and range.
I have shot the Excaliber crossbows (a friend who is physically not able to use a bow anymore) and I did like them. I am still not a crossbow guy, but I agree with your assessment for the most part. Fixed blades for sure, why waste the energy expanding blades. The one place I would differ from you is in the shaft material. While your logic is sound, I was an aluminum shaft holdout for the longest time. But when I made the switch to heavy carbon, it made a believer out of me. One thing I also noticed is that carbon penetrated better and I can only attribute that to shaft diameter, but then I was shooting a shaft in my aluminum days that was quite a bit fatter than 20## and its been a while and I cant remember if a size 20 shaft is thicker than a standard head. The other thing I found, and one of my reasons for sticking with aluminum, was that the shafts were straighter. That is only true for the first firing. Carbons stay at the factory straightness while the aluminums are always changing.
Also, I would be interested to know how the Bod-kin broadheads shoot. I am assuming you are talking a 3-blade model? I would be interested to know how a short bolt stabilizes with such a short shaft and such an extreme FOC with such a long broadhead.
There are much better heads out now than the Bod-Kin - just used it for an example - Muzzy heads are interesting with their chiseled points. Woodsman heads are probably the best 3-blades for bowhunting - very solid, and fly like darts. There are so many choices out there.