Crossbow bolts by brand: which bolts fit your bow

Three things about a crossbow bolt are fit requirements rather than preferences, and getting any of them wrong is at best inaccurate and at worst dangerous. Length has to match what the maker specifies. The nock has to match how your string sits — half-moon, flat or a proprietary design. And the weight has to sit inside the range the bow is rated for, because an arrow that is too light is a dry-fire risk.

The simplest way through all three is to buy the shaft whose listing names your bow. That is what this page is: the six bolts on this site with the clearest brand fit, ranked on published tolerances within that.

In detail

Six bolts matched to the bows that take them

01Short, heavy and lit, for a reverse-draw bow

$119.99/Amazon

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TenPoint EVO-X Lighted CenterPunch16

TenPoint

8.9/ 10

400 grains in a 16-inch shaft, inspected to .001 inch straightness, with a one-piece lighted nock that the bowstring activates on firing. Short bolts exist because reverse-draw and compact bows need them. The brass insert pushes weight forward, which is what gets a short arrow to behave.

Published spec	Value
Length	16 in
Weight	400 gr
Straightness	within .001 in
Weight matching	within 1 gr per arrow
Carbon	33 MSI modulus, LAZER-TECH weave
Nock	Alpha-Nock HP with Alpha-Blaze lighted unit, ~24 h battery
Vanes	2.1 in Q2i, slight offset

What it does well

• .001 inch straightness is the tightest claim on this page
• The lighted nock activates on the shot and pulls out to switch off
• A brass insert forward keeps a short shaft stable
• 400 grains carries energy well for the length

Where it falls short

• 16 inches fits reverse-draw and compact bows, not every bow
• Most expensive bolts here
• Lighted nocks are not legal for hunting in every state

Our rubric

Flight

9.4

Penetration

8.8

Consistency

9.4

Durability

8.8

Value

6.8

02Six matched 400-grain bolts at a sane price

$69.99/Amazon

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Wicked Ridge Match 400

Wicked Ridge

8.5/ 10

Six 20-inch shafts at 400 grains with a 46-grain aluminum insert that produces 14 percent front-of-center, which Wicked Ridge claims gives up to 20 percent tighter groups than its previous arrow. Six per pack is the practical detail: that is a full quiver and spares in one purchase.

Published spec	Value
Length	20 in
Weight	400 gr
Straightness	within .004 in
Insert	46 gr aluminum
Front of center	14%
Nock	Alpha-Nock HP with aluminum bushing
Vanes	3.5 in Bohning X Vanes, slight offset

What it does well

• Six per pack, which is a quiver's worth in one box
• 14 percent front-of-center published, which most makers do not state
• A 46-grain aluminum insert rather than a plastic one
• Alpha-Nock engages the string deeply, which reduces shoot-over

Where it falls short

• .004 inch straightness is looser than the Carbon Express and TenPoint shafts
• Alpha-Nock pattern suits TenPoint and Wicked Ridge bows best

Our rubric

Flight

8.4

Penetration

8.6

Consistency

8.0

Durability

8.6

Value

9.0

03Excalibur Matrix series bows

$61.94/Amazon

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Excalibur Diablo 18-inch

Excalibur

8.0/ 10

18 inches, 250 grains, .003 straightness, with a flatback insert for reliable string contact and a heavier front insert for front-of-center weight. 250 grains is light, and that is the Excalibur recurve design brief: these are built for the bows they are built for, and they fit the flat-nock CeaseFire pattern.

Published spec	Value
Length	18 in
Weight	250 gr
Straightness	0.003 in
Nock	Rhino, flat; CeaseFire compatible
Vanes	2 in Blazer, 3-degree offset
Insert	Flatback, with a heavier front insert for front-of-center
Fits	All Excalibur Matrix series

What it does well

• .003 straightness with a flatback insert for consistent string contact
• Blazer vanes with a 3-degree offset stabilize quickly
• Designed for CeaseFire bows and flat-nock patterns

Where it falls short

• 250 grains is light for anything bigger than deer
• 18 inches and flat nocks limit it to Excalibur-pattern bows
• Expensive per arrow

Our rubric

Flight

8.4

Penetration

7.2

Consistency

8.4

Durability

8.2

Value

7.4

04Lighted bolts for a Killer Instinct

$49.99/Amazon

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Killer Instinct Lighted HYPR-V 20-inch

Killer Instinct

8.4/ 10

390 grains, .300 inside diameter, .003 straightness, grain-matched to a pound, with an LED nock and the V-Track nock system Killer Instinct introduced to reduce center-serving wear. The serving-wear point is worth taking seriously: a worn serving is the most common reason a crossbow string needs replacing early.

Published spec	Value
Length	20 in
Weight	390 gr with 100 gr point
Straightness	0.003 in
Inside diameter	0.300 in
Weight tolerance	+/- 1.0 gr
Nock	V-Track system, LED lighted
Fits	All Killer Instinct bows except 1120 Swat XP and Furious Pro 9.5

What it does well

• The V-Track nock reduces center-serving wear
• Full specification published: weight, straightness, diameter, tolerance
• Lighted nocks make a low-light recovery far easier
• Backwards compatible with past Killer Instinct models

Where it falls short

• Three per pack
• Two Killer Instinct models are explicitly excluded
• Lighted nocks are not legal for hunting in every state

Our rubric

Flight

8.4

Penetration

8.4

Consistency

8.6

Durability

8.4

Value

8.2

05A light, fast bolt for a Barnett

$54.99/Amazon

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Barnett Headhunter 20-inch

Barnett

7.6/ 10

13.78 grains per inch matched to a 100-grain point, five per pack, with field points and half-moon nocks in the box. At 13.78 gpi this is a light shaft: it will be the fastest option on a given bow, and the one that carries the least energy at distance. For close-range deer out of a 350 fps bow that trade is reasonable.

Published spec	Value
Length	20 in
Grains per inch	13.78
Point	100 gr; 24F field point included
Nock	Half-moon
Per pack	5
Fits	Ghost 350, Penetrator, Wildcat C-5, Jackal, Whitetail Hunter II, Raptor FX3 and other 20 in bows
Straightness	Not published

What it does well

• Light shaft, so it is the fastest option on any given bow
• Five per pack with field points already fitted
• A named compatibility list rather than a vague universal claim

Where it falls short

• No straightness tolerance published
• A light bolt carries less energy, which matters past 30 yards
• Half-moon nocks only

Our rubric

Flight

7.6

Penetration

7.0

Consistency

7.0

Durability

8.0

Value

8.6

06The tightest published straightness tolerance here

$29.97/Amazon

$39.99 25% off

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Carbon Express Maxima Contour Crossbolts

Carbon Express

9.0/ 10

Dual Spine Weight Forward is not marketing: the shaft has two spines, a stiffer section forward of a softer one, and Carbon Express claims it cuts oscillation in half. The figures are the reason to buy — .002 inch straightness checked to a ten-thousandth, spine sorted to .0025 inch, weight sorted to 1 grain. Nothing else on this page publishes that level of sorting.

Published spec	Value
Length	20 in
Weight	390 gr
Diameter	0.348 in
Straightness	+/- .002 in
Spine tolerance	+/- .0025 in
Weight tolerance	+/- 1.0 gr
Vanes and nocks	3 in Dragon Vanes; moon nocks installed, C-Nocks included

What it does well

• Straightness, spine and weight tolerances all published and all tight
• Dual-spine construction claims 50 percent less oscillation
• Both moon nocks and flat C-Nocks in the pack, so it fits more bows
• Laser-matched sets rather than randomly boxed shafts

Where it falls short

• Three per pack, so a full quiver costs more than it looks
• 390 grains is mid-weight; heavy-bolt shooters will want more

Our rubric

Flight

9.4

Penetration

8.2

Consistency

9.6

Durability

8.6

Value

8.0

How we picked

A named fit on the listing first, then published straightness and weight tolerance, then our standard rubric. Where a maker publishes no straightness figure we say so rather than assume it. See our methodology.

The brand-fit table

Brand by brand

TenPoint

TenPoint's reverse-draw bows use 16 in shafts, which is shorter than anything else here, and the EVO-X CenterPunch16 is the match: 400 gr, straightness within .001 in, weight matched within 1 gr per arrow, and an Alpha-Blaze lighted nock with roughly 24 hours of battery. Those are the tightest published tolerances of any bolt on this site. TenPoint's forward-draw bows take 20 in shafts — check your model, because the brand sells both.

Wicked Ridge

Match 400 shafts are 20 in and 400 gr with a 46 gr aluminum insert, a published 14% front-of-center and the same Alpha-Nock HP system TenPoint uses, which is unsurprising given Wicked Ridge is TenPoint's own line. Straightness is published at .004 in, which is the loosest figure in this table. For a 390-410 fps bow at hunting ranges that is not a problem; for a 60-yard range session it is the reason to look at the CenterPunch instead.

Excalibur

The one most likely to be bought wrong. Excalibur Matrix bows take 18 in Diablo shafts with a flat Rhino nock, not a half-moon, and the nock is CeaseFire compatible, which is Excalibur's anti-dry-fire system. A 20 in half-moon bolt is wrong on both counts. At 250 gr these are also the lightest shafts here, which is fine for deer and worth reading crossbow bolt weight about if you are hunting anything larger. More in Excalibur crossbow accessories.

Killer Instinct

HYPR-V shafts are 20 in and 390 gr with a 100 gr point, .003 in straightness, 0.300 in inside diameter and a +/- 1.0 gr weight tolerance, with Killer Instinct's V-Track nock and an LED. The listing publishes its exclusions as well, which we always credit: it fits all Killer Instinct bows except the 1120 Swat XP and the Furious Pro 9.5.

Barnett

Headhunter shafts are 20 in with a half-moon nock and 100 gr field points installed, five to a pack, and the listing names the bows: Ghost 350, Penetrator, Wildcat C-5, Jackal, Whitetail Hunter II, Raptor FX3 and other 20-inch models. The gap is that no straightness figure is published. The exception to watch is the Hyper Raptor, which shoots .204 in HyperFlite arrows and should shoot nothing else — see Barnett crossbow accessories.

Ravin, and other proprietary platforms

Ravin is deliberately absent from the table because Ravin specifies its own .003 shafts and nocks, and the Frictionless Flight System means a generic bolt is not a substitute. The same logic applies to Barnett's HyperFlite bows. If you own either, the arrow is part of the bow — see Ravin crossbow accessories.

The one that fits almost anything

Carbon Express Maxima Contour shafts are 20 in, 390 gr, 0.348 in in diameter, and publish the tightest straightness tolerance of any non-proprietary bolt here at +/- .002 in, with +/- .0025 in spine and +/- 1.0 gr weight. They do not name a fit list because they do not need one: if your bow takes a 20 in shaft at around 390-400 gr, they fit. That makes them the default answer and the winner of our best crossbow bolts roundup.

Our pick

Buy the brand-matched shaft if your bow is on one of the lists above, because it removes three ways to get it wrong at once. If your bow takes a standard 20 in half-moon bolt and you want the best tolerances available, the Carbon Express Maxima Contour at +/- .002 in is the better shaft than most of the factory-branded options, usually for less money.