Unpacked the boxes, laid out the parts, and started watching the CD. All parts and tools necessary to assemble the bow were included , except for a small screwdriver. It was nice that I didn’t have to scramble to find tools. Assembly went nice and easy, just like on the CD. Had one screw hole that I had a little trouble with. Seemed to be a little paint or something on the threads. Made sure the screw was not cross threaded and it went in.
Fit, finish, and feel were all excellent. I am happy with the quality of the bow. The length of pull seems a little short, but that is common for me. I’m 6' 2" with long arms so most stocks do not fit me. Not sure what I can do with this stock to fix this. On firearms I usually add a thick recoil pad or a few spacers to increase length of pull, but this is not possible here. I guess we will see if it is a problem with the crossbow.
I installed the scope mount and a Horton Lite Rite 3 dot sight. I was a little concerned that the front mounting screw on the sight did not match up with a slot on the mount rail when the rear screw was in a slot, but then I noticed the front screw was located higher on the sight then the rear one. I went ahead and mounted the sight with the rear screw in a slot and the front on top of the rail. The front sight clamp also had adjustment so it too fit properly. It looked like it lined up OK to my eye, but we will have to see if it shoots to point of aim.
Got out the stringing aid and a string and tried to string the bow. The stringing aid did not pull the limbs back far enough to place both ends of the string on the limbs so I had to shorten the string between the blue triangles. After making the string about 4" shorter, I could string the bow. Now I notice that the string crosses the rail about 3/4" behind the rear line, of two lines, engraved on the rail. I am sure the lines are there for brace height, and I assume it should be between the two lines. Watch the CD again and read the manual a little more carefully, but no information on brace height. I take the string off and make sure there are no twists in it. Still below the lower line. So I take that string off and put on the string from the accessory pack. Same placement, maybe even a little farther back. Oh well, I can’t shoot it until tomorrow so I will post on the forums and see what others think. When I get up in the morning I measure the string and it has moved closer to the rear line. Maybe the string has to stretch to fit. I read the forums and get several opinions ( I expected that) but most seem to think it will be OK. BTW thanks to everyone that responded.
While I am waiting for Excalibur to open so I can call them and get an opinion on the brace height, I start to examine the arrows. 6 Goldtip Laser 2 graphite arrows came with the accessory pack and I had ordered 6 more. As a long time archer I know that quality arrows have a lot to do with how accurate you are. So, out came the scale and I started weighing arrows. The first 6 went from 272.5 grains to 270.7 grains. Not to bad, but then I noticed that the heaviest arrow was bent. Now that is something I have not seen to often. Bent Aluminum yes, but Carbon? If you remove the bent arrow the range was 271.8 to 270.7 Only 1.1 grain spread. Not match grade, but not bad. The next 6 went from 263.3 to 268.6. This spread of 5.3 was not a surprise as the amount of glue on the feathers, nocks, and point inserts varied a lot. I would not be happy with this spread for my Traditional bow, but I have no idea how this will affect accuracy in a crossbow. I am a crossbow virgin after all. So matching lightest arrow with heaviest point (the spread here was 99.3 to 99.7) I get a spread of 367.9 to 363.0. I guess we will see how it goes. I rig up a pair of V blocks so I can see how square the nocks and point inserts are when spinning the arrows. Again, not to bad. A little off here and there. I am not going to take the time to square them up now, maybe later. I can see a custom arrow maker is going to get some business from me.
Excalibur should be open now so I call them. They say the Dacron strings will stretch and there is no danger to my crossbow by shooting it before they do. I talk to them about the arrow and they are going to have their Service man in Ohio send me another arrow and want the bent one sent back to them. I can do that, but I know the new arrow will not match the others so I will have an odd ball arrow to use to de-cock the crossbow. It will all work out.
Now for the fun ! ! ! I head out to the shed and dig out my Morrell quick stop target. It was new last fall so I think it should stop the arrows, but I don’t know for sure. I place the target on the side of the mountain and walk back about 10 steps. Now to cock this bow. I put my foot in the stirrup, reach down and grab the string on both sides like the CD says to do. Then pull. Man this thing is a BEAR to cock by hand!!!. I get it cocked, but my back and shoulder do not like this at all. I shoot into the bag and the arrow only goes in about ½ way. The impact point is not to far from the top dot of the sight also, so I am in business. I step back to 60 feet, set the bow down, then go into the house to find the rope cocking aid. Ahhh, much better. I can see this rope cocker is going to get a lot of use by me. I shoot about a dozen shots to fine tune the aim with the red dot sight. The accuracy of this thing is amazing. After I get it sighted in, I can pick the area of the spot I want to hit. I see why traditional bow shooters are so jealous. It took me a year of practice when I was young to be this accurate with a traditional recurve. They must feel they wasted all that time practicing. I see that a lot of my training with firearms is helping me. The hardest thing for me to do so far is to be sure and follow through long enough for the arrow to get clear. I pulled a few shots before I learned that. I step back to 90 feet and shoot a few more. Next dot down is almost exactly on. Still hitting what I want to. I am beginning to wish I had went with a scope. As accurate as this crossbow is, my eyesight is not up to the task. It is more accurate than I can see. I see another purchase in my future. I wanted to dig out the chronograph and see how fast it is shooting, but it is only 35 degrees out here and after 50 or so shots, I have had enough. Arrow speed figures will have to wait for another day. I pack everything up and head inside. I look at the string and it is almost on the lowest line. I guess they were right, it will stretch to fit.
Well, there are my first impressions of my first crossbow. I am pleased with it and wish I had overcome my reluctance to crossbows a lot earlier. I see I have been missing out on a new shooting area. Can’t wait to get a couple of my traditional bow buddies over for a little shooting.
