What size crossbow bolts do I need?

This is the question people ask after they buy the bow and before they buy the first dozen, and it has a clean answer: look at the manual, or look at the three bolts that came in the box. Everything below is what to do when you cannot find either, and what each of the four numbers actually controls.

1. Length — set by the bow

A crossbow bolt is short because the power stroke is short, and the length has to suit the rail, the latch and the arrow retention spring. Too short and the bolt can sit forward of the latch; too long is less dangerous but changes the balance and the clearance. The four lengths on the market:

If you have lost the manual and the bow is current, the maker's site lists it. If the bow is old, measure a factory bolt from the back of the nock to the end of the shaft, excluding the point.

2. Nock type — also set by the bow

This is the one people get wrong most often, because the length looks right and the bolt still does not fit properly. Three systems are in use:

• Half-moon. A curved groove that must be indexed to the string. Barnett, CenterPoint and much of the budget market.
• Flat. No groove; sits square against the string. Excalibur's Rhino nock is flat, and it is CeaseFire compatible.
• Proprietary. TenPoint and Wicked Ridge use Alpha-Nock, Killer Instinct uses V-Track, Ravin uses its own. Not interchangeable with anything.

A mismatched nock can let the string sit off-center on the latch, which is inaccurate and, with some combinations, unsafe. The terminology and the differences are laid out in crossbow bolt vs arrow.

3. Diameter — mostly set by the bow

Standard crossbow shafts are around 0.300 in inside diameter and 0.344-0.348 in outside. Two platforms depart from that: Barnett's HyperFlite bows shoot .204 in arrows, and Ravin specifies its own shafts for an off-rail system. If you own either, the arrow is a component of the bow and the diameter question is already answered. Otherwise diameter rarely needs a decision — the inserts and points are standardized around it.

4. Total weight — the only number that is yours

Total arrow weight is shaft plus insert plus nock plus point, usually 350-450 gr on a hunting setup. Your bow publishes a minimum, and going below it is a dry-fire risk rather than a performance preference. Above the minimum, the trade is simple: a lighter arrow flies faster and flatter, a heavier arrow carries more energy and penetrates better.

• Deer inside 40 yards: a standard 390-400 gr factory shaft is the right answer and needs no thought.
• Elk, bear or anything with heavy shoulder bone: the heavy end of your bow's range. See best crossbow for elk hunting.
• Target and long-range practice: lighter is flatter, which forgives a misjudged range on paper.
• Never below your bow's published minimum. This one is not a trade-off.

The full arithmetic, including how front-of-center and insert weight play into it, is on crossbow bolt weight.

In detail

Four shafts, four lengths

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

02Excalibur 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

03The 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

04A long shaft from the biggest name in arrows

$68.12/Amazon

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Easton 9MM 22-inch

Easton

8.0/ 10

Half a dozen 22-inch Easton 9MM shafts with 3-inch BTV vanes and half-moon nocks. The listing publishes nothing but that, which is disappointing from Easton, so judge it on the brand's shaft-making record rather than on figures we can quote.

Published spec	Value
Length	22 in
Per pack	6
Vanes	3 in BTV
Nock	Half-moon
Weight	Not published
Straightness	Not published

What it does well

• Six per pack
• 22 inches suits long-power-stroke bows that want a longer shaft
• Easton is the largest arrow maker in archery

Where it falls short

• No weight or straightness published
• 22 inches does not fit every bow

Our rubric

Flight

8.0

Penetration

8.2

Consistency

7.6

Durability

8.4

Value

7.6

How to buy the first dozen

1. Read the length and the minimum arrow weight off the manual or the maker's model page.
2. Look at a factory bolt's nock and match it exactly.
3. Buy six matched shafts, not three. You will lose some to the target and some to the dirt.
4. Buy field points of the same grain weight as your broadheads, so your practice zero is your hunting zero.
5. Keep a straight one aside as a reference if you ever need to check a replacement.

The short answer

Twenty inches with a half-moon nock at 390-400 gr covers most of the market. Sixteen inches for a TenPoint reverse-draw, eighteen for an Excalibur Matrix, and a proprietary shaft for a Ravin or a HyperFlite Barnett. If you want the bolt matched to your bow's badge, crossbow bolts by brand lists which shaft names which bow.

Match your field points to your broadheads

One sizing detail gets missed and it costs people their zero. Practice with field points of the same grain weight as the broadheads you will hunt with — if your broadheads are 100 gr, practice with 100 gr points. A 125 gr head on a bow zeroed with 100 gr points shifts the arrow's balance and its impact, and you will discover it at the worst possible moment. The weight comparison is worked through on 100 vs 125 grain broadheads.