modern recurve crossbow and wood bolts
Feb 25, 2012 14:29:51 GMT
Post by Talon on Feb 25, 2012 14:29:51 GMT
ok before i write anymore i have to STRESS BE AWARE THIS TESTING WAS FOR MY OWN BENEFIT,IT IS NOT MEANT TO BE A GUIDE FOR SOMEONE TO COPY
righto thats got that out of the way ever since i bought my new excalibur vixen i've been researching the use for wood bolts in modern crossbows
part of the reason i bought it was the apocalypse survival scenario (yes i know i watch daryl dixon)
every thread on the internet has stressed that modern crossbows with wooden bolts is a recipe for disaster,now part of me can understand this theory and a bigger part of me was slightly skeptical,crossbows are an old invention and the bolt was usually made from wood (though usually much thicker)
i've read that modern x bows even though the draw weight is a lot less, accelerate the bolt faster than they're medievil counterpart, fair enough i dont have a period piece to compare or a chronagraph so i cant say either way
my bow is fitted with a 150lb prod and does around 285 fps with a 325 grain arrow
i used boyton pine arrow shafts with a 55lb spine,cut down to 17 inches,i used a modern machined bodkin point and feather fletchings
for the nock i used a hole punch and cut 2 leather discs that i glued onto the knocking point (to cushion the initial push of the string)
i dont have accurate scales so im not sure of the bolt weight a guesstimate would be around 280 grains
so far i have shot this bolt 30 times into rolled up carpet,as of yet there is no evidence of damage,the knocking point has held up really well with the leather discs,the bolt groups extremely well at the 15 yard distance i have been testing it (i used an enclosed space for safety)
the crossbow shoots just as smooth shooting the wooden bolt as it does with aluminium
this was done for my own piece of mind,please be aware that using wood bolts in a modern crossbow is not recommended and is considered highly dangerous
this testing was done to see if in a pinch and i ran out of carbons or aluminium a wooden arrow would work in a modern recurve crossbow with a relatively low draw weight,so far im actually very impressed with the results im getting,the all shots were fired with the bow clamped and a string was used to fire it from a safe distance
now fellow forumites if the proverbial s$%^ hits the fan by all means experiment away with wooden bolts,i cant in good conscience advise they're use though,a number of things could have gone wrong with my testing,and still could,i plan on carrying out some more controlled tests over the next week just to satisfy my own curiosity
please do not try this at home,this is an information only post done under a controlled manner purely for research purposes only
righto thats got that out of the way ever since i bought my new excalibur vixen i've been researching the use for wood bolts in modern crossbows
part of the reason i bought it was the apocalypse survival scenario (yes i know i watch daryl dixon)
every thread on the internet has stressed that modern crossbows with wooden bolts is a recipe for disaster,now part of me can understand this theory and a bigger part of me was slightly skeptical,crossbows are an old invention and the bolt was usually made from wood (though usually much thicker)
i've read that modern x bows even though the draw weight is a lot less, accelerate the bolt faster than they're medievil counterpart, fair enough i dont have a period piece to compare or a chronagraph so i cant say either way
my bow is fitted with a 150lb prod and does around 285 fps with a 325 grain arrow
i used boyton pine arrow shafts with a 55lb spine,cut down to 17 inches,i used a modern machined bodkin point and feather fletchings
for the nock i used a hole punch and cut 2 leather discs that i glued onto the knocking point (to cushion the initial push of the string)
i dont have accurate scales so im not sure of the bolt weight a guesstimate would be around 280 grains
so far i have shot this bolt 30 times into rolled up carpet,as of yet there is no evidence of damage,the knocking point has held up really well with the leather discs,the bolt groups extremely well at the 15 yard distance i have been testing it (i used an enclosed space for safety)
the crossbow shoots just as smooth shooting the wooden bolt as it does with aluminium
this was done for my own piece of mind,please be aware that using wood bolts in a modern crossbow is not recommended and is considered highly dangerous
this testing was done to see if in a pinch and i ran out of carbons or aluminium a wooden arrow would work in a modern recurve crossbow with a relatively low draw weight,so far im actually very impressed with the results im getting,the all shots were fired with the bow clamped and a string was used to fire it from a safe distance
now fellow forumites if the proverbial s$%^ hits the fan by all means experiment away with wooden bolts,i cant in good conscience advise they're use though,a number of things could have gone wrong with my testing,and still could,i plan on carrying out some more controlled tests over the next week just to satisfy my own curiosity
please do not try this at home,this is an information only post done under a controlled manner purely for research purposes only