Excalibur Pre-Season Crossbow Maintenance Checklist

Summer is a slow time for most crossbow hunters. We’re counting the days until fall, waiting for cool mornings in the stand and adventures in the backwoods. Even though you’re not hunting during the summer, you don’t have to forget about your crossbow. Now is the perfect time to do a little crossbow maintenance to get ready for the upcoming season. This checklist will go through all the spots you need to hit when you’re looking over your crossbow, plus some info on our lifetime warranty and preventative maintenance tips. 

Why You Should Check Your Bow

Your crossbow is a mechanical device, and like any other device with moving parts, it needs a little TLC from time to time. If you’ve had your crossbow for several hunting seasons, or use it frequently shooting on the range, you’ll want to give it a good look for potential wear on key parts like the mainframe, limbs, and string. A little crossbow maintenance can go a long way to preserve the accuracy and durability of your bow.  

Key Points to Check

When you’re going through your crossbow maintenance checklist, it pays to be thorough and inspect all of the key areas of the bow. Here are some parts of your bow we recommend checking. 

• Brace height: Is your brace height within spec? If it’s not, your arrow speed, accuracy, and noise level can all be impacted. Check out our brace height page to verify that the brace on your bow is measuring within proper specs. 
• String and Serving: Your string and serving can be damaged or worn out over time, especially as you reach higher shot counts. Look for fraying, nicks, tears, or other damage that could cause eventual string failure. If damaged, replace your string before shooting again. 
• Ropes: If you shoot your crossbow often, then your crank is subject to more wear. Check the ropes on your external cranks like the Charger EXT and Charger Lite to ensure that they have not begun to wear or fray. If they have, replace them. Also, don’t forget to check your stringing aids! 
• Scope and scope battery: It’s always a good idea to verify that your scope rings and bases are tight. Loose rings or bases can cause your scope to shift and severely affect accuracy. If you have an illuminated scope, check to make sure the battery is still functioning and replace if not.  
• Fasteners: Make sure to check and tighten all fasteners on your bow.

Preventative Maintenance

Crossbow maintenance doesn’t just have to be done once per year. General preventative maintenance can help extend the life of your crossbow and help keep it in good working order. Here are a few things you can do each time after you hunt or shoot at the range. 

• Clean Regularly: Wipe down your bow after each use to remove dirt, sweat, and moisture. 
• Keep it Dry: Moisture is the enemy of metal and magnesium, so avoid storing your bow in humid environments or leaving it wet after use. 
• Proper Storage: Store your bow in a dry, climate-controlled environment, preferably in a bow case or stand. 
• Apply a Light Coat of Oil: After cleaning and drying, apply a light coat of Ex-Oil to exposed metal parts, like bolts, cam hardware and any surfaces where the decoration has been damaged, to help prevent rust. 
• Check for Deterioration: Regularly inspect your bow for any signs of corrosion or deterioration and address any issues promptly.

Don’t forget to use Ex-Wax and Ex-Lube to wax your crossbow string serving and lubricate your main frame as well. Doing so before the season will help ensure your arrows fly smoothly and accurately and protect both parts from damage in the field.  

Replacing Accessories

While you’re taking the time to do some crossbow maintenance, make sure you take some time to take stock of your accessories as well. Arrows, broadheads, strings, and more can get used up over the course of several seasons. Don’t wait until the week of your big hunt to realize you need to replace your dulled broadheads. Check those now and replace them with some Excalibur accessories! Here are a few important ones to check. 

• Arrows: What is the condition of your arrows? Have you lost a few? Are they nicked and scraped up, or are the vanes damaged? If you have damaged arrows, don’t forget to pick up some new ones. 
• Nocks: Nocks can get nicked while target shooting or hunting. Inspect your nocks for damage and replace them if necessary. 
• Broadheads: Few things ruin a hunt faster than dull broadheads. Check your heads to make sure they are sharp and penetrate well enough to be effective and ethical. If they’re dull or damage, replace them with either a fixed or mechanical broadhead from Excalibur. 
• Spare strings: You never know what will happen in the woods. Carrying a spare string and stringing aid is crucial, especially when you’re carrying an Excalibur crossbow that’s so easy and simple to service in the field! If you don’t have a spare string and stringing aid, now is the perfect time to pick them up. 
• Targets: After so long, eventually your target is going to give out. Luckily, the Excalibur block target is the perfect replacement for shooting with broadheads or field points. 

If you need to replace any parts or accessories on your crossbow, check out our accessory compatibility chart to ensure that you get the correct replacement parts and accessories that will work with your crossbow. You can also contact our customer service team to help you find the right parts for your bow. 

Excalibur Warranty

We pride ourselves on making durable, long-lasting crossbows with repeatable accuracy season after season. Unfortunately, the occasional defect can appear. That’s why we also take pride in our lifetime warranty and customer service team. Excalibur crossbows come with a lifetime warranty for the original, registered owner on manufacturing defects. If you haven’t registered your crossbow yet, there’s no better time than now! Check out our warranty page for a full list of warranty information and how to register your crossbow.  

Note – The Hybrid X comes with its own separate limited lifetime warranty. . 

In the event that you need to utilize our warranty service, please reach out to customer service as soon as possible. You can contact them by phone at 888-689-1289 or email at warranty@excliburcrossbow.com.  

Getting ready for hunting season can be exciting, but don’t forget your most important piece of gear. Crossbow maintenance is key to ensuring your bow stays effective and accurate in the field this season. Don’t wait until the week before to scramble for a solution to a potential problem. Check your crossbow out now, and get it cleaned up and ready to use this fall.