General Bolt & ZS Questions

[TheBig1]

As a new Grizzly, and crossbow owner in general, I am shooting the Diablo's that came in my package. I am happy with the performance I'm getting out of them, it's not like I would know anything different. Of course while sighting it in I happened to lose a bolt in some tall grass. So with only 3 left and, we all know how things happen, I've just been looking around at the posts on here and am intrigued to try some ZS's or Executioners.

Now my questions are:
1. My Diablo's are 18", do I need to stay with that length or is there some room to move around there such as going up to 20"?

2. Do they make ZS's in 18"? I've only seen 20" and 22" listed for ordering.

3. If ZS's aren't made in 18", is that why the Executioners are made in 18"?

4. As I was messing around as if to order bolts, I noticed that I had to choose something along the lines of .001 or .003, or something like that. First of all what is that? Secondly, which one would I choose? I looked up the Diablo's but it doesn't say which one if any that they are to compare and order the same.

As always thank you in advance for all of the help to us FNG's.

[bubba]

You can have Zombies and executioners cut down to what ever you want. There are some good arrow makers here on the forum, Check in the trader section. Or you can order them online.I use South Shore Archery. Talk with Jerry his # 1-813-545-0754 the man makes the arrow to your spec, As for the length of the arrow i would stay with 18" but that's up to you . Welcome to the forum, and good luck..

[racking up points]

Good advice given, stay away from commercially assembled arrows and get some custom ones made, it's going to be close in price but the quality will not be matched. Get yourself a dozen, you'll go through them faster than you think, especially if you hunt.

[Deaf jeff]

.001 and .003 refers to the straightness of the arrow shaft. i am not expert by any means but I have shot booth and even intermixed them during practice and I have not seen any difference in the two. I only shoot out to 35 yards though. the difference in straightness might be noticeable oat longer ranges. I am sure that the experts will chime in about this

[TheBig1]

Thanks for the advice fellas. I'll definitely start staying away from the commercial bolts when I'm ready to order.

Bubba, I'll definitely check out the trader section and possibly give Jerry a call at some point when I'm ready to order.

Jeff, thanks for clarifying that, I was wondering what that was all about.

[paulaboutform]

Hi Big, and welcome to the forum. ZS arrows are a great choice because they're very stiff and durable. The. .003 and .001 refers to the straitness tolerance of the shafts. Either will work perfectly but it's up to you. For the small price difference I use the .001's, that's just me. You can have them cut to whatever length you like but I would personally just stick with the 18". I would recommend using 92gr brass inserts and plastic nocks. 2" Blazers with extreme helical. That setup will allow you to use either 100gr or 125gr points and broadheads. Executioners are also fine. As mentioned, contact Jerry at South Shore Archery or Danny Miller. Someone will chime in with Danny's number. It's more economical to buy these higher quality arrows custom made than generic arrows from a box store. As mentioned, it's a good idea to just order by the dozen.

Paul

[TheBig1]

Thanks Paul, I'll definitely do all of that.

If anyone can answer another question, what is the difference between the ZS's and the Executioners? Are the ZS's a better quality bolt?

[bubba]

The only difference between the two the Zombies are stiffer just more beef, Both are excellent, most here on the forum prefer the Zombies, but both will work fine...

[TheBig1]

Thanks Bubba! I was looking at South Shore's website and going through a buying process. Man is there a lot of variations to choose from. If and when I decide to buy I'll have to call personally and talk about what I do and want and have them tell me what's best. I had no clue what some of the options were.

[xcaliber]

Being that the power stroke is shorter than my 355, I would probably use 16" arrows with the Grizzly. I like the broadhead to not interfere with my bow hanger when in my stand.

[TheBig1]

Being that the power stroke is shorter than my 355, I would probably use 16" arrows with the Grizzly. I like the broadhead to not interfere with my bow hanger when in my stand.

Wow, really?!?! Again, I'm completely new and don't know any better. I'm not even sure, I haven't paid enough attention to even notice, whether or not my broadhead sticks out into the bow hanger area.

I wish there were somewhere to go for me locally to just try some out before spending that kind of money to find something that might not work.

[bubba]

TheBig1, Just give old Jerry a call, he's a right friendly guy, easy to talk with. He can get you set right up in two shacks...By the way Your member name? It wouldn't be in reference to the 1st army infantry Division? The big Red 1. some hard fighting s.o.b.s for sure...

[TheBig1]

Bubba, my name is in reference to a few things but yes I did serve in The Big Red 1 in 2/16 Inf as well as some other units.

I will most certainly be calling Jerry when I'm ready, thank you Brother.

[BrotherRon]

I use the executioners with my Matrix 310 and they work great....
I think the grizzly is the same as my 310. I user Zombies with my 330 as the stiffer arrows seem to work better with it

[paulaboutform]

A lot of great info there Big. As Dan was mentioning, the 16" are certainly an option. Something to consider though, the possibility of having an arrow loaded and because of whatever distraction from your routine, you unload an arrow through your foot. As impossible as it sounds, it does and has happened. I knew a fella who put a broadhead tipped arrow right through his foot. Last season Anthony (Amythntr) almost did it and I almost did it on a boar hunt but my arrow was stickinginto the sstirrup area and my boot wouldn't go in. That scared the booboo out of me and I was already fearful of that. Just wanted you to be aware. I hope it never happens but the possibility is real. Further, an arrow into your stirrup area will still drive tacks, being shorter doesn't mean more accurate.

Paul