Re: 150-lb. Horton® Steel Force Crossbow- A good entry level bow?
Originally Posted by
EricTheRed
I have one of these and really like it. My main concern is that it seems to lack penetrating power @ around 20 yards with 100 gr broadheads. Specifically, the bolt does go deep, but remains in the deer rather than fully exiting the other side of the animal. I'd rather it flew completely through.
Has anyone else had similar results? Would 125 gr bring about an improvement?
Heavier arrow = more Kenetic Energy (KE), and thus more penetration assuming velocity doesn't fall off too far. My experience with the SteelForce is that an arrow between 400 and 450 grains yields the ideal velocity vs arrow weight trade-off.
I assume you are still using the lightweight arrows that came with the SteelForce. If that is true, then I would suggest you jump straight to a very heavy cut-on-contact head, something like the 150 grain Magnus Stinger or Magnus Snuffer (or really, any 150 to 175 grain cut-on-contact head). That would get you to around 400 grains of total arrow weight.
Another option is to move to the carbon arrows and stick with the 100 grain heads (that will get you around 450 grains total arrow weight).
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