Best Types of Crossbow Bolts For Your Needs

Bolts can make or break your whole hunt. Even the best crossbow in the world is almost useless with the wrong bolts. Personally, I’ve found using the bolts that are just right for my crossbow means I’m way more likely to land a precise shot. But what are the best types of crossbow bolts for you needs?

After much trial and error, I’ve put together a list of what I consider the best crossbow bolts on the market. One thing you should look out for is safety above all else and use bolts that are the right size and fit for your crossbow. If not, there’s a chance you can hurt yourself, or even damage your equipment.

When you’re trying out the bolts I’ve shortlisted here, make sure to check if they fit the specs your crossbow manufacturer recommends, and then pick the right one. 

Best Crossbow Bolts by Category

The first part of choosing the right bolt comes down to knowing what you plan to use it for, because different crossbow bolts may perform very differently in the same situation. The bolt that might be good for a veteran hunter is not going to be the best choice for someone who is taking up shooting for the first time. So, instead of ranking the crossbow bolts, I’ve chosen the ones that are the best for each category. 

Best Crossbow Bolts

Best Overall TenPoint EVO-X CenterPunch		Alpha-Blaze Lighted Nock Modulus carbon fiber construction 5” Bohning X-Vanes	Buy on Amazon
Best For Hunting TenPoint Lighted Pro Elite 400		Carbon crossbow arrows 5” Bohning X-Vanes Increased string-to-nock engagement	Buy on Amazon
Best Heavyweight Carbon Express PileDriver		Advanced construction for maximum kinetic energy Durable Good penetration power	Buy on Amazon
Best Aluminum Easton FMJ Crossbow		FMJ flat or half moon nocks 40-grain RPI inserts 7 GPI	Buy on Amazon
Best Beginners REEGOX Bolts		Durable Beginner-friendly Easy repair	Buy on Amazon
Best Budget Black Eagle Executioner		Executioner brass inserts installed Speed kinetic energy Designed for accuracy	Buy on Amazon

Best Crossbow Bolts Specifications

Below is a table of the crossbow bolt specs. Click the name of the bolt to jump to that review.

Best Crossbow Scopes

Here is our list for the best crossbow bolts:

1. TenPoint EVO-X CenterPunch
2. TenPoint Lighted Pro Elite 400
3. Carbon Express PileDriver
4. Easton FMJ Crossbow
5. REEGOX Bolts 
6. Black Eagle Executioner 

Best Crossbow Bolts – Reviews

Let’s take a detailed look at each of these crossbow bolts alongside their specs to see why I believe they are the best in their category. 

Buyers Guide to Crossbow Bolts 

If you are new to crossbows and their accessories, buying a good bolt can be a confusing process. It’s normal to feel lost and have a lot of questions. Let’s narrow this down and get you the right answers.     

What to look for when buying crossbow bolts?

There’s just so much to keep track of when you want to buy a good crossbow bolt, so buckle up, because this is going to be a crash course on what you need to look for when bolt shopping. 

Purpose 

When buying bolts, you need to first decide what you are going to use them for. If you are target shooting, I recommend going with a lightweight bolt. But if you are hunting, you can choose between the standard and the heavyweight, depending on your game. Depending on what you’re hunting, you might need bolts with a lower or higher range. The range you’d need for target practice, on the other hand, depends on your personal preference. 

Length 

Bolts can range from anywhere between 16 to 22 inches; shorter ones hit harder and accelerate faster, while longer bolts travel further with less power. Having said that, I suggest always sticking to the bolt length recommended by your crossbow manufacturer. There’s a reason they recommend that length and experimenting with different lengths can seriously damage your crossbow or give you disappointing shots. 

Also, remember that your crossbow bolt should be shorter than your crossbow’s groove. You know you’ve got the perfect bolt length when it matches up with the groove exactly. 

Distance

If you’re planning to only shoot from a distance of 30 yards or less, then any old crossbow bolt should work just fine. But while cheap bolts can do the job from a shorter distance, higher quality, straighter bolts will make all the difference when it comes to distances of 40 yards or more. I tend to stick to the 40 yard limit when I’m out in the field, so I can vouch for how these bolts perform. 

Nock

The nock is the point where your bolt meets the crossbow string and there are quite a few types out there. Now I know what you’re thinking: how are you meant to figure out which nock is right for you? I’ve whipped up this quick breakdown that should make it easier for you to decide:

• Flat nock – As the name suggests, the flat nock has a flat surface for you to nock the string. If you are a beginner looking for a safer option, the flat nock is the best bet because it has a wider surface area for the string to rest on and is more manageable. 
• Half moon nock – The half moon nock is good for more experienced shooters who would like a nice groove for the string to fit into. However, always keep in mind that bad positioning with the half moon nock can cause nasty accidents. 
• Omni nock – The omni nock is basically the half moon nock but with more grooves. The grooves let you nock it more angularly and can give you a better grip than the flat nock. 
• Capture nock – The capture nock is the half moon nock but with deeper grooves. 
• Lighted nock – This nock is great for hunting in low light: it illuminates your shot and the flight path of your bolt, letting you track it down and retrieve it easily after shooting. 

I also need to mention the Alpha nock, which is a patented TenPoint nock. It has a deeper groove than any of the other nocks and features elongated points known as ‘ears.’

Shaft Material

There are three main types of crossbow bolts you’ll come across: 

• Aluminum bolts – They are definitely cheaper and heavier than carbon bolts, but the problem is that when you use them for a while, they start to bend. And a bent bolt is not going to fly straight, is it? If you get them, you are looking at a lot of repair shop runs or frequent replacements, but at least they’re easy to repair. Fresh out of the packet though, they can deliver a devastating blow because they are really powerful and accurate. 
• Carbon bolts – Now, these are my favorites mainly because they don’t bend with use and will stay precise for a long time. Since they’re very light and pretty flexible, they have a flatter flight path, and don’t tend to drift in the wind like heavier bolts do. Carbon bolts bring a faster shooting speed, but you would be sacrificing some power in that. Again, they don’t break easily, but if you somehow manage to do that, it’s going to be an expensive repair job. 
• Combination bolts – As the name suggests, they make these bolts from a combination of both aluminum and carbon-fiber. They are a bit pricier than carbon bolts, which is their only real drawback, but on the plus side, they are strong, lightweight, and can travel pretty far. Combination bolts bring the best of both worlds.

Tip Insert 

There are several types of tips you can use on your bolt, depending on what you’re shooting: 

• Field point tip – For target shooting, go with a field point tip. They flare outwards at the base and hit the target with superior accuracy without causing unnecessary damage. Another plus point about this tip is that it can be used for hunting small game as well, which is great if you don’t really want to buy separate bolts for practice and hunting. It’s really versatile, and you can save money by hunting with a field point tip now and then.
• Broadhead tip – A broadhead has blades attached at the tips and is designed to cause damage. The idea is that a broadhead tip would penetrate your quarry and expand to cause additional damage. 
• Bullet point tip – Shaped like a bullet, these bolt tips don’t cause any additional damage to your target like the other tip types intended for hunting. They aren’t as precise, nor do they penetrate as deep as field point tips, but they work just fine for hunting small game and some types of target practice.
• Blunt point tip – If you can aim well and get a really good shot, blunt point tips work great for hunting small game. These tips aren’t designed to penetrate your target but instead are meant to kill with blunt force on impact. 

Shaft Diameter

The most important thing to remember about your shaft is that it should be thinner than your ferrule, which is where you insert the shaft into your broadhead. Otherwise, you can lose quite a bit of penetration, and changing broadheads is going to be a pain too. Keep that in mind when buying your broadheads. 

Crossbow Speed

The rated speed (FPS) of your crossbow is a good measure of how powerful it is, and powerful bows are more capable of shooting heavier bolts with higher speed, accuracy, and penetrating power. They rate most crossbows between 260 FPS and 400 FPS, but choose wisely, especially when hunting, because faster bows might make more noise and alert your quarry. For this reason, I recommend hunters opt for crossbows of approximately 300 FPS that don’t give out as much vibrational noise. 

Weight in Grains

Another way to classify the bolts is by weight class. I categorized the bolts by weight class and added a table below to show the category for each weight.

Classification	Weight (grains)
Lightweight Bolts	350-399
Standard Bolts	400-459
Heavyweight Bolts	460+

The weight of your bolts will affect many aspects of your shot. I’ve personally found that lighter bolts pick up speed quickly but can’t go the distance, which is why I’d rather use them for target shooting than hunting. Meanwhile, heavier bolts can give you more accurate shots that penetrate your target deeper and ensure a quicker, more humane kill when hunting. But if you decide to use heavier bolts, you’d need to find a way to develop more control over your shot. My recommendation is to use one with a longer shaft and bigger fletching to improve flight accuracy.

Spine

The “spine” of a bolt is really referring to its stiffness and how flexible or bendy it is. The lower the spine rating, the stiffer the bolt is, while higher spine specs make for more flexible bolts that need a bow with a higher draw weight. Especially when it comes to high FPS bows, it’s very important that you pair them with the right bolts to avoid injuries and damage to your equipment. 

FOC: Weight Forward Of Center

Every bolt has a balancing point, and the FOC is how far past the exact middle of your bolt the balance point is located. We usually express it as a percentage. 

It can be confusing to understand, so take a look at the image below. Here, 12% means your balance point is 12% past the exact center of your bolt. 

Now why is this important? Your FOC really determines how much the fletching/vanes at the back can balance your arrow. The further your FOC, the better your arrow can be guided. 

The recommended FOC for hunting is 10-15%. This is mainly because the broadhead has a larger surface area and that can destabilize the arrow in flight. So a higher FOC improves stabilization. 

Fletching

There are three main types of fletching we see in bolts (straight, offset, and helical) and the type of fletching a bolt has will affect the way it flies. I’ve found that the straighter your bolt is, the more accurate it will be, since there’s less of a chance of it bending in flight. Most manufacturers say their bolts’ straightness range between .001″ and .006″ with .001” being the highest. Straighter bolts are usually more expensive as well. Offset and helical fletchings might cause more drag, but that’s because they’re meant to correct the path of your bolt as it’s flying.

Crossbow warranty and manufacturer recommendations

When you buy your crossbow, your manufacturer often sends a manual where they recommend a bolt of a particular length, weight and nock type. My recommendation is to follow this to the letter whenever possible, because if you don’t know what you are doing, you can severely damage your crossbow and also void your warranty. Before you make your purchase, look out for bolt packages and vendors that sell recommended bolts along with the bow. Some ready-to-shoot bolts may not be super high-tech, but at least they’ll fit right and shoot safely.  

What is the difference between arrows and bolts?

Most people, myself included, use “crossbow bolts” and “crossbow arrows” to mean the same thing because, nowadays, there’s not much difference between them. But for the most part, “bolts” refer exclusively to crossbow projectiles.

Historically though, there’s been a bit of difference between them since bolts were usually made by blacksmiths while fletchers made longbow arrows. 

Arrows and bolts are made up of the same parts; the shaft, fletching, broadhead, and nock. The main difference is that bolts are definitely shorter and heavier than arrows (bolts range from 16” to 22” while longbow arrows are between 27”- 32”).

But on the topic of crossbows, if you ever hear someone talking about using bolts and arrows with their bow, they’re referring to the same thing, so don’t scratch your head about it too much. 

The only thing I’d say you need to keep in mind is that not all crossbow arrows or bolts will be suitable for your crossbow. Always check the length and weight your crossbow manufacturer has recommended. As long as you stick to that, it doesn’t matter what you call them. And if you want to learn more about the difference between a crossbow and a compound bow, learn more here.

Conclusion

Picking the bolts for your crossbow is definitely a big decision. Whether you are hunting or target shooting, having the right bolts that you find comfortable to work with can be the deciding factor between success and failure.  

Finding the right bolts for you depends on many factors, a lot of them personal. So while the reviews will be of help, it really comes down to what you need from the bolts. I also recommend staying curious and trying out different ones. They might just surprise you. 

Crossbow Bolts FAQs