Only Beef with Excalibur- Flemish String Availability

[Foonus]

you will find that the Equinox is hard on servings
also, you may want to do your own servings or get extra strings

Did the Barnett really do 400fps out of the box?

This was never intended as a thread to compare the Equinox to other manufacturers, or to belittle any competitors product no matter how deserving of said ridicule it may be but to answer your question...

No, the bolts were around 430gr and it was hitting at around 380FPS, but would put a field pointed bolt about 15-18 inches through the back of my 400 fps target cube, the Equinox with default string you may see just the field tip poking out of the back of the same target by half an inch with the same bolt at 40 yards. This is one way i know that there is no way i am getting 350FPS from my Equinox as 30FPS wouldn't make this difference. It can be noted though that the Equinox was WAY more accurate for me at 40, groupings with the provided bolts were 4 bolts all within an inch and half. That and its still in one piece and working the same as it was on day one. With the Ghost, the further you got out the worse the aim, you could compensate slightly by swapping to arrows over 500gr and that would help, but still it left you with the feeling it was a bit faster than it should be to make accurate shots at 60 yards with a lighter arrow. In short it had a lot more noticeable power until it failed, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing since it affected distance aiming, the shock of the shot also rattled the picatinny that held the scope, which is not fastened to the stock or trigger assembly but simply fashioned to the alloy housing on top of it! This threw off my aim for later shots and the already bargain bin scope didn't help.

According the the feedback from other users, If you contact Barnett about this picatinny moving they tell you that you can't use a scope heavier than what is provided, or the added weight REALLY effect it even more.

In layman's terms its equivalent to a 2002 Camaro , basically the motor is too powerful for the construction of the vehicle. It will bend your motor mounts and destroy your product. That's my opinion anyways.

[Dayelight]

You can buy the fast flight strings on amazon. Mine got to me in 3 days. I also live in the US. I dont know if that makes a dif.
I noticed it wasn't mentioned about the break in period for fast flight strings. The stock Dacron doesnt require as much maintenance. Which is another reason it comes stock on the bow.
The question you asked is actually answered in the excalibur q and a section.
Just saying.

[Foonus]

You can buy the fast flight strings on amazon. Mine got to me in 3 days. I also live in the US. I dont know if that makes a dif.
I noticed it wasn't mentioned about the break in period for fast flight strings. The stock Dacron doesnt require as much maintenance. Which is another reason it comes stock on the bow.
The question you asked is actually answered in the excalibur q and a section.
Just saying.

While i understand that the Dacron string is a "beginners" string I would suggest that the Excalibur isn't targeting the beginners market for the majority of their sales aside from their lower draw weight products for women or children.

That being said, their products which cater to enthusiasts should IMO be equipped that way, or at very least the options to immediately do so equally as available as the product itself. They offer 3 different combo packages at Cabela's for example, all based on the scope... why not one with the Flemish string??

As i mentioned before, Its more of a retailer issue than it is Excaliburs, this thread was simply an effort to make them aware of the fact that they are losing out on profits in this region since they have no other way of knowing short of someone telling them.
The core of the crossbows barely seems to break down at all so it would only be common sense to hit the accessories and maintenance market as hard as possible since its of the quality the customer won't need a replacement in a long time.

Barnett and Parker both sell in Canadian Tire (which also means neither hold exclusive distribution rights there), yet Excalibur is the Canadian company!! Would love to see them sell Canadian made quality crossbows and parts there, huge market and demand, that's a family store above all and their youth products would be an excellent fit.

Don't get me wrong, I love the product, the complaint is i want to see more of it!

[awshucks]

Unusual problem, but call Danny Miller Moday a.m., he makes the FFF's for Excal and they are a hell of a lot cheaper. Tell him the Arkie sent ya

[roly]

you will find that the Equinox is hard on servings
also, you may want to do your own servings or get extra strings

Did the Barnett really do 400fps out of the box?

This was never intended as a thread to compare the Equinox to other manufacturers, or to belittle any competitors product no matter how deserving of said ridicule it may be but to answer your question...

I am not implying we compare crossbows, what a person chooses to shoot is there business
I am making reference to your statments, that the bow should do as advertised
I bought a car because it gets 45mpg, but there's no way I can get the advertised mpg
You are right, companies need to re-word their marketing ploys to capable of.

I hope you get your new strings worked out and get to shoot your new bow

[nchunterkw]

[quote="Foonus]No, the bolts were around 430gr and it was hitting at around 380FPS, but would put a field pointed bolt about 15-18 inches through the back of my 400 fps target cube, the Equinox with default string you may see just the field tip poking out of the back of the same target by half an inch with the same bolt at 40 yards. This is one way i know that there is no way i am getting 350FPS from my Equinox as 30FPS wouldn't make this difference. [/quote]

Welcome to the forum....

It is my experience that you cannot put too much stock in how an arrow ends up in a target. If you want to compare, you need arrow weight, and speed. There are plenty of calculators online to help with this.

430 dg, 380 fps
KE = 137ft-lbs, Momentum (P) = .72

430 dg, 350 fps
KE = 116ft-lbs, Momentum (P) = .67

What you probably see with the stock string:
5gr = ~loss of 1fps
FFF string adds ~10fps
Bow advertised at 350fps with 350gr arrow and FFF string (by the way most other crossbow manufacturers do not tell you how they measured their "rating"....Excal does)

430gr-350gr = 80gr/5 = 16fps loss - 10fps for stock string = 26fps loss

so your 430 gr arrow was probably moving around 350-26 = 324fps

430gr, 324fps
KE = 100 ft-lbs, Momentum (P) = 0.62

That arrow coming out of your Equinox at 324fps will pass thru anything in North America you choose to hunt.

IMHO chasing arrow speed vs a good hunting setup are 2 very different things.

Good Luck

[Cossack]

Arrow speed decreases 1i fps for every 4 grains of arrow weight above 350grs. Arrow speed decreases by 1 fps for every 6 grains of string weight. The Excel string weighs 100 grns more than the Flemish. Can't help you finding strings up north as I make my own but I' guessing you're not trying hard enough.

https://www.google.com/search?q=crossbo ... 22&bih=767

[montana4me]

Ebay has a ton of them. Boo strings make them too! I can find them online everywhere. LOOK!!!

[strum]

there are those who like the dacron string better .
it is almost bullet proof so you shouldnt think you have a cheapo string..you dont..ive used quiet a bit of them on my exomax..and found them to be dependable and consistant.
congrats on your new bow and i hope it works out for you..but,,,
i dont get you bashing excal right off the bat because you cant find a string.
your making a big deal out of a small thing man..
spend some time on here and do some reading theres a fast wealth of info available.
the other thing is ..as far as speed goes ..you have a hoss of a bow and to get that 350fps youll have to use a 350gr arrow with a high performance string..
then youll find your bow will be noisier and less forgiving..
I have attained that speed plus a few fps.just to see if i could ..
now i use a heavier arrow with cat whiskers so im not even close to 350fps ..probly more like 320ish and its super accurate ,quieter and consistant.
i guess im trying to say .dont get to caught up in the speed game ..its not all its cracked up to be..

[Masboy]

like shucks said just call Danny miller! I just got three from him 15 .00 apiece that,s half the price at a bow shop. Danny will get all my business for the way he treats me!

[Foonus]

i dont get you bashing excal right off the bat because you cant find a string.

....As i mentioned before, Its more of a retailer issue than it is Excaliburs, this thread was simply an effort to make them aware of the fact that they are losing out on profits in this region since they have no other way of knowing short of someone telling them. ...
...Don't get me wrong, I love the product, the complaint is i want to see more of it!

Was trying to make it clear that I am not bashing them, rather the retailer availability in an effort to help the company profit. As far as the FPS and arrow/weight selection, they do have an excellent table in their user manual that shows the data for all of the bolts that they sell with both 100 and 150 gr. tips. Been using this data to get a rough idea of the FPS.

I did try the online ordering sites but keep in mind guys that almost all of them returned an error code when they found out that they were shipping to Canada (amazon.com) and amazon.ca had only 1 string!
I am sure i could get something off ebay, after waiting the delay and paying shipping, but really i am one of those old schoolers that prefers to deal locally with cash only for something i can hold in my hands before i fork out money and walk away.

***
Not even a day after posting this thread a local user that follows this forum contacted me via PM, the result:


Merci beaucoup pour l'ensemble de votre inventaire Jacques
Wasn't kidding about buying a few, that's all he had!
Overkill maybe... but now at least my string supply is as reliable as the crossbow itself!

Also thanks to all the forum users here, and everyone that sent me messages offering to make a string for me. This thread hasn't had a single troll or idiot remark and is full of useful information. I can tell by how many people have congratulated me on replacing my old crossbow with an Excalibur, that they are proud of their own, and that speaks for itself. Thanks again for all of the direction and friendly advice, good season to all!

[onebigskittle]

Im glad you found your strings and it all worked out for you...This is one of the best places to find out what you need to know (might not get the same answer and may get some neg ones but ya gotta take the good along with the bad comments)
You can tell these guys will defend Excalibur to the end some even talk to their excaliburs and claim they talk back to them
Again Welcome to the forum

[strum]

you got 6?..now thats getting prepared
hey i forgot to say welcome to the forum and dont be shocked when your bow starts talking to you you have been warned

[srhall32]

My Equinox from dealer with the included string and firebolt arrows and 125 grain heads...332 fps.......with the flemish string......342 fps.....arrows weighed about 380 grains...... with 2219's, blazer vanes and 125 grain heads....320 fps ....arrows weigh 477 grains average.....all arrows 20"........this is information I garnered due to a broadhead failure before we locked on to slick tricks.....now the Ibex and Axiom are doing the job with ease.....

[newbie]

welcome and congrats on the purchase. Great bunch of proud excal owners here thats for sure willing to give their shirts to help. Just learn to reserve your own strings and looks like you will be set for life