9 Best Crossbow Bolts of 2021

If you're looking to buy a crossbow bolt, then you should already own a crossbow. Crossbows are better than ordinary bows in many ways. They shoot harder, faster, and longer.

There are enough bolts for crossbows, and they range in length, material, weight and other features. Being able to pick the right bolts though, requires that you narrow down your search to a few important features.

This crossbow bolts review provides you with those important features and with the other necessary information that you need to understand, if you want to make the right choice.

As you might have noticed, bolts and arrows are often used interchangeably, with some folks getting a little confused over the two terms. The short answer is that they both mean the same thing, while the longer answer is as follows.

1. The Crossbow Bolt

A crossbow bolt is a traditional projectile that has been shot from crossbows for hundreds of years. It was usually shorter than 16 inches and had no vanes.

The oldest recorded use of crossbow bolts was by the Chinese who had developed them by the fifth century AD. Bolts were traditionally made from very hard materials which made them very rigid, accurate, and very deadly.

These days, bolts and arrows continue being used interchangeably for crossbow projectiles, although most modern projectiles have no vanes and are longer than 16 inches.

2. The Crossbow Arrow

While most other types of bows use arrows of varying lengths around 30 inches, crossbows have evolved to use arrows which are much shorter and average 20 inches in length.

These 20-inch long arrows have vanes and are usually heavier than conventional bow arrows. Although they are technically still arrows, they are often called bolts.

These crossbow arrows have shorter shafts and fletching that is less pronounced than those of conventional arrows because they don't need the vanes much for accuracy.

What all this means, therefore, is that you'll be correct if you call the 20-inch vaned arrows bolts and you'll also be correct if you called then arrows.

When deciding on which bolts to buy for your bow, you'll need to focus on a few important aspects, so you can make the right choice. These aspects are as follows.

1. Manufacturer Recommendations

As is also the case with conventional bows, crossbows have a draw length and a draw weight, both of which must be taken into account if you want to get the best gear for your crossbow.

To save the situation, most manufacturers offer recommendations on the right lengths and weights of arrows to use. These recommendations help you to shoot as accurately as possible, as well as to prevent possible mishaps that may result from using the wrong arrows.

The first thing to do is to read the manufacturer's recommendations and to follow them.

2. The Shaft

An arrow's shaft is the middle part between the arrow's head and the fletching. Bolts or crossbow arrows have shorter shafts than conventional arrows.

The most popular materials for making crossbow arrow shafts are aluminum and carbon fiber. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, with aluminum offering a better flight and carbon fiber offering better durability.

3. The Nock

Different manufacturers also have different recommendations for the arrow's nock. Most crossbow arrow nocks get produced from either aluminum or plastic, which gets fixed behind the shaft.

You have the half-moon nock, which has a groove to alight your string with. Then there's the flat nock, which is simply flat, as its name suggests.

4. Bolt Head

The bolt head is the front part of the arrow that pierces either your target board or the game during a hunt. There are two types of heads: The field point for practice, and broadheads for hunting.

Most bolts will come with field points for practice, leaving you to get broadheads when you want to go hunting. There are additionally 3 types of broadheads and they are the fixed blade, the removable blade, and the expandable blade broadheads.

Each of these three types of broadheads has its advantages and disadvantages, with expandable blades creating the widest wounds and the fixed blades being the strongest and most effective bone-crushing heads. Also, make sure to get a broadhead that matches your bolt's weight.

5. Bolt Weight

Bolts are usually classified according to their weights and these weights are given in grains or grains per inch (GPI). The material it's made from determines the shaft's weight to a great extent and with crossbows, a heavier bolt is better than a lighter one.

Your crossbow manufacturer will recommend an arrow weight that fits the crossbow. You should always buy bolts that either meet the manufacturer's minimum weight specification, or that are even heavier.

6. Draw Length

The manufacturer will also recommend a bolt length, which you should follow. It's best to buy crossbow arrows that are either exactly as long as recommended, or that are a little longer.

7. The Spine

This rating combines many factors and refers to how stiff or how flexible the bolt is. The factors include weight, length, and the type of material.

Spine determines how much the arrow wobbles in flight. A higher spine rating means more wobbling, while a lower spine rating means a stiffer arrow.