20 Yard Grouping

[Bill Gass]

Good Day

I am new to crossbows, purchasing my first earlier this year. I am trying to line up my crossbow. I have the Ibex (Aluminum rail) and shadowzone scope. What kind of grouping should I be expecting when shooting supported. I've made a few small adjustments and I'm just wondering how precise a CB should be. Right now most bolts are within a 4 inch circle at 20 yards.

Thanks
Bill G.
NB

[ottawacats]

Hello Bill,
Im sure you find many different answer to that question. I know as of yesturday my Ibex can shot groups of about 2" @ 20 yards. I know its possible to group better then that as I have tagged afew arrows but have yet to robinhood any. That is on a few sandbags as a rest not free hand. If I shot freehand I'm at about the 3" groupings on my target. This is shooting Firebolts with 150grain xcal broadheads.

Oh and welcome to the fourm and the best crossbow around.

Matt

[LongCarbine]

HI BILL And Welcome

I just shot a 2" group at 55 yards That was My first group since last Dec. When I first got my bow I couldn't do that constantly , but after playing around with different things and shooting about 1000 arrows I can do it now. You will find out there are is lot of tweaking that most of the guys & gals do and that makes it fun . If you only hunt , 4" groups will kill a deer all day long. If you want more, your bow will give it to you. Use a cocking devise and follow your arrow though the scope until it hits the target. That sounds simple but a lot of people don't do that. Good luck and have fun!.

[Dereck]

first are you using the cocking aid?
Benching it should see better results than 4" but that could be a # of things breathing pulling the trigger instead of squeeze etc

Shoot one arrow over and over to see if it is consistent then go from there

[denisdendenis]

Welcome to the forum .... Practice shooting and have some fun doing it and be safe
P S
do not shoot at the same place twice look at my avatar
Denis

[sneak]

At 20 yards shooting with a rest I never shoot at the same spot twice!

[georgiaboy]

Welcome to the forum!!
Let us know what your set up is ( arrow/fletching/broadhead or field tip/weight ) might be able to help you a little more.

[Hoagy]

Hey Bill, Welcome to the forum. Congrats on the new Excal. I'm a newbie here too but in my short time shooting my Axiom I have found my grouping to get smaller with time. So, hang in there as it'll come to you.
Enjoy, Hoagy

[wabi]

Your Ibex should be capable of better than 2" groups at 20 yards, but there are a few things that can cause problems and open those groups up. Many of us get 1" or better groups at that range.

I suggest taking one arrow and shooting it several times for a "group". Shoot, mark where it hits, pull it & shoot it again. If that group is too big then look for other possible problems.

Some things to check are:
*The plastic "spacers" under the limbs where they mount to the riser. - sometimes the protrude far enough to hit the fletching. (fairly common problem)
-here's a pic (linked from another thread) of the spacers making contact with fletching - this can definitely hurt accuracy -


*Tiller - is the string "square" to the rail?

*Scope - the odds are low (1% according to Excal) but a few of them have been known to have problems. Sometimes switching scopes (even put on a plain good quality riflescope just for accuracy testing works fine) can quickly answer the question as to the scope's performance.

[Bullzeye]

It would be nice to have some sort of sticky that neubs like myself could read that would give a list of things to look out for and check when there is accuracy issues, so we can eliminate one possibility and move on to the next. Some sort of checklist giving us a process of elimination.

[Gewehrhund]

[Raymond]

Welcome to the forum Bill. I cannot add anything else to all the good advice.
Raymond

[j.krug]

Welcome to the forum. The other fellas have already said all there is to say so I'll just add happy hunting and safe shooting to you.

[Dash]

Hi Bill. Ive seen many people think that off a rest shooting is easy and you should be hole on hole all the time. Its not that simple, and I've seen many people shoot poorly using a rest. Anyone can shoot a bullseye once. But it takes practice and skill to replicate that many times in a row. Thats what you're looking for consistancy of all your shots.
Just like freehand shooting, every little thing you do will effect the shot. The grip on the rail, hand and arm position, pressure from stock to the shoulder, the way you pull/squeeze the trigger, anticipating the shot, your breathing etc. I've seen a few excellent shooters who all use different methods. Just take the time to experiment with all the variable factors and find out what method works best for you. Like anything lots of practice you will improve your shooting.

[badredbird]

im getting 2 inch groups with an exomax at 60 with a bipod , using heavy foc bolts or arrows whatever ya wanna call them