Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
Maybe for some xbows but every arrow I've ever bought for mine use the same 2" Blazers that all my regular arrows use.
Crossbow vs. Birdfeeder Rat
- Thread starter bird_dog
- Start date
Maybe for some xbows but every arrow I've ever bought for mine use the same 2" Blazers that all my regular arrows use.
To the posters, first it was a cheap bolt -- 4 bucks.
As for the rats, we had a family move into the space below our chicken coop. 4 were killed in plain old rat traps. This one managed to evade the traps and one night wandered out to the bird feeder, which happens to be exactly 14 yards from my shooting bench, and I happened to have the crossbow handy.
Since that rat-fateful day, no more rats. Again, to me, it was well worth the 4 bucks.
As for the rats, we had a family move into the space below our chicken coop. 4 were killed in plain old rat traps. This one managed to evade the traps and one night wandered out to the bird feeder, which happens to be exactly 14 yards from my shooting bench, and I happened to have the crossbow handy.
Since that rat-fateful day, no more rats. Again, to me, it was well worth the 4 bucks.
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
And more satisfaction than from a four-dollar highball at the local cabaret. 
buck460XVR
New member
While I know they use similar feathers/vanes, I was under the impression the the position on the shaft was different so the feathers did not drag on the rail. Further inquiry to the manufacturer of my jig tells me all I need is a crossbow bolt adapter.
This is the fletching jig I have used for 30 years......
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
Ah. Nope, they're all at 120dg for 3 or 90dg for 4.
That's a sweet jig. I thought about buying one but I just don't need it enough. Plus, now I've tried shrink wraps and they're so much easier. Plus plus, as soon as xbows are legal for all of archery I won't have a regular bow.
That's a sweet jig. I thought about buying one but I just don't need it enough. Plus, now I've tried shrink wraps and they're so much easier. Plus plus, as soon as xbows are legal for all of archery I won't have a regular bow.
Unlicensed Dremel
Moderator
Very nice - an arrow running lengthwise is gonna leave a mark - I don't care what species you are.
Yeah, I've been shooting with guys at 3D shoots who stick bullfrogs along the way, but I'm with the "arrows are too expensive" crowd. I nearly had a fit when a PSE Tac-10 arrow fell out of my quiver and I lost it one day in thick grass when deer hunting - those things are $17 each - just for the arrow, not to mention the broadhead. The total cost of that one loss was almost $30!
I usually won't shoot at raccoons even when waiting on deer, though I'd like to since they eat turkey and quail eggs. I use mostly FMJ arrows which will bend despite a carbon inner. Several dillas walking by my stand have lived to see another day over the years, though I don't shoot them anyway now, even with a gun, since they do no harm which I'm aware of.
Yeah, I've been shooting with guys at 3D shoots who stick bullfrogs along the way, but I'm with the "arrows are too expensive" crowd. I nearly had a fit when a PSE Tac-10 arrow fell out of my quiver and I lost it one day in thick grass when deer hunting - those things are $17 each - just for the arrow, not to mention the broadhead. The total cost of that one loss was almost $30!
I usually won't shoot at raccoons even when waiting on deer, though I'd like to since they eat turkey and quail eggs. I use mostly FMJ arrows which will bend despite a carbon inner. Several dillas walking by my stand have lived to see another day over the years, though I don't shoot them anyway now, even with a gun, since they do no harm which I'm aware of.
Being new to the whole crossbow thing, I loaded up on $4 bolts at WalMart, and they're just as accurate as the handful of more expensive ones I own.
My next quarry (yes, I've decided to move up from rats) is going to be some of the extra large gray squirrels in the wood lot across the street from my house. Hopefully, I'll catch one or two on the ground so my bolts don't have a similar fate to my rat-bolt...
Either way, just as when I took up handgun hunting for deer, I'm accepting the $4 a shot price tag, just because shooting a squirrel with the xbow seems like a great challenge.
Nov 1 (crossbow season for deer here in WNY) is still a long way off.
My next quarry (yes, I've decided to move up from rats) is going to be some of the extra large gray squirrels in the wood lot across the street from my house. Hopefully, I'll catch one or two on the ground so my bolts don't have a similar fate to my rat-bolt...
Either way, just as when I took up handgun hunting for deer, I'm accepting the $4 a shot price tag, just because shooting a squirrel with the xbow seems like a great challenge.
Nov 1 (crossbow season for deer here in WNY) is still a long way off.
I'm on my HOA board and managed to get board approval to dispose of some of the rabbits in our area, as we are literally being overrun since our coyote pack seems to have migrated. For a while I was using a bow with small game heads (the nasty trident/corkscrew looking things) but I was still bending every other arrow, costing me about $4 a rabbit. The pellet gun is far more economical, however I can totally understand shwacking a rat with an arrow given the opportunity.
I'd leave the rabbit carcasses in the areas where the coyotes used to frequent to try to lure them back, I had limited success as the hawks would typically get to them first.
I'd leave the rabbit carcasses in the areas where the coyotes used to frequent to try to lure them back, I had limited success as the hawks would typically get to them first.
