awshucks

You made a good move. It's hard to favor one bow w/o sounding like you are putting other folks choices down, most of us try real hard not to get read that way, but in this case, the Vixen is way more bow than the Steelforce.

neutron1082

I ordered the Vixen from ye old archery shop, along with some 100g 1inch Slicks, for a grand total of $379.98 shipped.

I am still unsure about bolt lenght and weight, any input would be super helpful.....

I plan on hitting the local mega-mart and getting some field tips and a target asap.

Next paycheck , I think I will get the 'just the right stuff' pack.

As far as sights go, what comes with the vixen? looks like a basic peep kinda thing. dose the CB come with any kind of mounting rail? I see there is a 'scope mount' accessory sold by Excalibur, will i need that ? Just thinking about what rings i will need to get my red dot on it.

Thanks guys! ian.

Hotburn76

I would tell you to just PM a certain person on here, but he may be getting tired of me sending questions his way, so here goes.

The best CB arrow for that CB are the Danny Miller Gold Tip Laser II's. They are made perfect for Excal's and are top notch for them. You can get the Excal arrows, but they have a front aluminum insert giving them a lower FOC balance. The Danny Miller arrows have a brass insert giving them a high FOC and are top notch. If you need to get your arrows from wal-mart you will need others to help you since I am not familiar with wal-mart arrows. But I have heard of some guys in here using eastons arrows and wal-mart has them. You will need one that has a flat nock and not a half moon nock, I know from what others have said that is important with Excal's release design. Smoke or awshucks will know, but I think you have to also keep your total arrow weight above 370 grains I think.

Stick with 100 grain, they come with it for a reason. I just bought a wal-mart 4*4 block target tonight for 28 bucks. I would say it is great for field tips but think it will wear out fast on B-Heads. a one year target for sure.
You will be happy if you do this! Did you get a stringing aid? If not, you will have to do better then I did with out it, or try not to get as mad as I did when I could not do it with out it! LOL!!

If you want a scope you will need Excal's scope mount. Then once you have that any plain jane wal-mart brand one inch rings will work. Congrats and good luck!

smokepolehall

A Vixen well its a fine CB from Excal. You should enjoy it greatly, i have one myself. It shines out to 30 yds. Love mine.

neutron1082

Sorry for the delay in posts, but I have had Miss Vixen (love the name smokepole, its official) for a few days now. Amazing....

I have 'loosed' close to 100 bolts so far, groups are decent but not impressive. I think its the shooter.

Of the six 'Excalibur' Easton Firebolt 's I ordered with the CB, I currently have two. Three of the green, light green and black fletched bastards are in my back yard, one with a slick trick broadhead waiting to be found by a bare foot.

I did manage to split one bolt down the middle....felt like a bad-ass for 30 seconds, then the 5 plus bucks hit home.

Its been a blast, and a bit of a battle; more bolts on the way and some....

....."Lessons Learned"

!. Front adjusted sights are adjusted the reverses of rear adjusted sights! (duh!)
2. Hay bales do not stop crossbow bolts.


All in all, Ive still spent less on bolts sighting in Miss Vixen then one good session sighting in any high powered rifle. I love my crossbow.

more to come.....

i

Hotburn76

Glad to hear it! Keep us updated!

awshucks

"I have 'loosed' close to 100 bolts so far, groups are decent but not impressive. I think its the shooter"

Gotta ask: Are you using a rope cocker?

neutron1082

no, im not using a rope cocker, pulling it by hand..... could that be the source of some of the inconsistancy? im starting to think that might be the case.

awshucks

To make a long story short, The Black Beauty Smoke has now was owned by a friend of mine that insisted he could cock it straight by hand. Caused me alot of head scratchin and sent what was probably a perfect V-zone back to D. Miller before I figured out what was up. At least mark the string at the rails, but I believe the rope cocker is the answer. You won't believe how much a teeny tiny bit off throws the arrow.

Hotburn76

Pulling the rope back perfectly straight is critical to consistent shots. Just being off a little makes alot of difference on the target. This is a big advantage with the rope cocker. If you do not have one you can mark the string with marker or white out on each side of the rail. Then as you pull back watch the marks and keep the string centered. A string not centered is like a long bow picking a different spot for his nock to go to every time he shoots, and that is bad news for accuracy. The others may also have some pointers on marking and centering string.