Crossbow Assembly, Setup, and Sighting-In Procedure. What to expect.....

CROSSBOW ASSEMBLY & SETUP

WHAT TO EXPECT: Your new crossbow and accessories will surely require some light assembly and basic setup. Most manufacturers include complete instructions, and in most cases, only simple hand tools are needed. A typical crossbow package will arrive as you see in the photo at right. The bow-section always comes preassembled, but it often must be fitted to the stock using the supplied fasteners. Scopes, Red-Dot Sights, Laser Sights, and Fiber-Optic sights are sometimes pre-installed, but not always. Some manufacturers package these items separately, so you may need to mount your rings and/or your sighting device as well. Finally, you will need to mount your quiver bracket and any optional accessories (slings, cocking devices, monopods, etc.) onto the stock. Then you're ready to shoot! Typical assembly time is about 20 minutes.

MISSING PARTS: For faster service....should you discover you are missing any parts or fasteners during assembly, please contact the crossbow manufacturer and request any missing parts be shipped directly to you. Here is the contact information for the various crossbow manufacturers.

Barnett Crossbows
13447 Byrd Drive
Odessa, FL 33556
800-237-4507
EMAIL

Horton Mfg Co. Inc.
484 Tacoma Avenue
Tallmadge, OH 44278
800-551-SHOT
EMAIL

Parker Bows
PO Box 105
Mint Spring, VA 24463
540-337-5426
EMAIL

PSE, Inc.
2727 N. Fairview Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85705
520-884-9065
EMAIL

TenPoint Crossbows
1325 Waterloo Road
Suffield, OH 44260
330-628-9245
EMAIL

SETTING UP TO SHOOT: Once your crossbow is assembled, you will need to find a suitable and safe place to shoot. You'll also need a good quality target, preferably a target specifically approved for crossbow use. We suggest a quality bag-target or a layered foam target like "The Block" for stopping high-energy crossbow bolts. Be advised that bales of straw/hay or cheap Styrofoam squares will likely NOT be able to stop incoming crossbow bolts, especially at close range. This will also be a good time to consider safety on your shooting range. No matter how good of a crossbowman you are, on occasion a shot will NOT go as planned. Always consider where an arrow could go in the event of a premature release, misfire, mechanical failure, or just a very bad miss. Consider anything forward of your shooting position to be in the "danger zone".

PREPARING TO SIGHT-IN YOUR CROSSBOW: Virtually all crossbows will come with an Optical or Red-Dot Scope. They vary by design and manufacturer, but you will likely have 1 of the 4 views when looking through your crossbow sighting device. Look through your scope and determine which style you have. Note: Red-Dot scopes turn on and off (battery powered). You will not see the red-dots until you power-on the scope. If yours does not come on, check the battery to be sure it's properly installed.

Optical Scope
Single Reticle

Optical Scope
Multi-Reticle

Red-Dot Scope
Single Dot

Red-Dot Scope
Triple Red-Dot

For sighting-in, you'll be starting from scratch in most cases, but some crossbow manufacturers pre-sight their crossbows to make the process a little easier. Either way, some adjustments are surely going to be necessary to get your crossbow hitting right on the X.

LEARN HOW YOUR SCOPE ADJUSTS: Before you begin shooting, this is a good time to get to know how your scope adjusts. All scopes have a windage (left/right) adjustment which is located on the side of the scope, and an elevation (up/down) adjustment located on the top of the scope. These adjusters for the top and side turrets are covered with screw-off dust caps. To access the actual adjustment mechanisms, you must unscrew and remove the caps.

SPECIAL TIP: Adjustment caps are easily cross-threaded. They are usually machined with very fine threads, so be careful when taking them on and off. They are also easily dropped and lost outside. We recommend you remove them while still indoors and put them in a safe place. You can replace them later when you finish sighting in your bow and return indoors.

Once you remove the caps, you'll see the adjusters inside. The adjusters will have arrows indicating direction for adjustment and a slot for a screwdriver or coin (usually a penny works like a charm).

If you've never adjusted a scope before, the process is pretty simple. As you move the adjusters, the respective directional arrows tell you which way your point of impact will be adjusted. This can vary from scope to scope, but it's generally clockwise for UP and RIGHT, and counterclockwise for DOWN and LEFT. As you turn the adjusters you will hear a "click". Each "click" represents a change in M.O.A. (minutes of angle) toward your intended target. For most scope designs, a single "click" adjusts your impact point 1/4" @ 100 yards (or about 1/20th of an inch @ 20 yards). More on this later.

COCK AND LOAD THE CROSSBOW: If you haven't yet familiarized yourself with the procedure for cocking and loading your crossbow, please do so before proceeding. This information is available in your crossbow's literature. You may also benefit from our help guide on cocking your crossbow.

BEGINNING TECHNIQUE TIP: Shooting a crossbow accurately requires two key technique elements: a steady aim and good trigger technique. Don't start-off on the wrong foot by "jerking" the trigger (anticipating the shot). Train yourself not to think of aiming and shooting as separate tasks. If you aim first THEN quickly yank the trigger, your brain momentarily stops focusing on the task of aiming and starts focusing on the task of pulling the trigger - and in the interim you'll invariably drift a little off-target and/or flinch in anticipation of the shot. So your accuracy will always be mediocre at best.

Instead, train yourself to think of aiming and firing as ONE SINGLE TASK called a shot sequence. Find your target in the scope, click-off your safety and begin your shot sequence by slowly and gradually "squeezing" the trigger. It takes about 5 lbs. of pressure to activate a crossbow trigger, so when your shot sequence begins, apply just 1 lb. of pressure, then 2 lbs, then 3, then 4 and so on. Keep your crosshairs steady on the bullseye the whole time, and continue to focus on maintaining your aim while your finger squeezes harder and harder. Keep it up until "POP"- the trigger releases and the bow finally fires. A good shot sequence might take as much as 8-10 seconds. If you do it right, you should be almost surprised when the bow finally fires. You'll be dramatically more accurate with your new crossbow (especially at longer ranges) if you start off right and train yourself to NOT jerk the trigger and anticipate the shot.

ROUGH-SIGHTING: Begin Up-Close! Stand just 10 paces from your target and fire your first shot (use your top red-dot or top crosshairs). If your arrow (bolt) hits in or near the bullseye, you're in business (skip down). If you miss the target at such close-range, you may have improperly installed your scope. Please recheck your mount. If your scope is mounted properly, then you'll need to begin by making a MAJOR adjustment to the scope. For example, if you missed low, turn the elevation adjuster 2 complete turns (towards the UP position) and try again. Repeat this procedure until you're hitting within a few inches of the bullseye.

SHOOT FOR TIGHT GROUPS FIRST: Before you can begin to zero-in your scope at distance, you must be able to shoot a tight and repeatable group. A single arrow doesn't really tell the story, particularly while you're learning. Move out to 20 yards, and fire three shots at the bullseye. As long as the arrows are hitting the target, don't worry about where they're landing - and don't compensate your aim on the 2nd and 3rd shots. Just aim for the bullseye each time. Use your best technique. The object is to get all three arrows to land close-together in the target (in a spot no larger than a tennis ball).

Good Grouping

Poor Grouping
You will be wasting your time adjusting your scope if you're not shooting tight groups first. In the Poor Grouping Illustration (at left), it isn't clear which way the bow is missing. One of the arrows is in the bullseye, one is high-left, and the other is low-left. Making adjustments based on these results would be a futile effort. So before you begin making adjustments, practice your aiming and trigger technique until you can shoot a tight group of 3 arrows every time.

BASE DISTANCE: Once you're shooting tight groups, it's time to permanently sight-in your crossbow. Regardless of what type of sight you have, you'll need to decide on a "base" distance first. The base distance will be the distance at which your top aiming point (red-dot or reticle) is dead-on. For single-dot and single-reticle scopes, this distance can be any distance you wish. For triple-dot and multi-reticle scopes, the aiming points are staggered to give you approximately 10 yard increments, starting with a base distance of 20 yards. For the purposes of illustration, we'll assume a 20 yard base distance for every scope type.

SIGHTING-IN: Sighting in your bow will be a process of trial and error. You'll have to shoot, adjust, shoot again, adjust again, etc. So allow yourself some time to get this right. Begin by taking 3 shots into the target, then examine where the group lands.

FIRST VOLLEY & ADJUSTMENTS: In this example (left), the group landed approximately 1" low and 3" to the right. At 20 yards, your 1/4" MOA click adjustments will adjust your point of impact by roughly 1/20th of an inch per click. So you'll need to adjust your scope 20 clicks UP (clockwise on the elevation adjuster) and 60 clicks left (counterclockwise on the windage adjuster). Then pull your arrows and shoot again.

SECOND VOLLEY & ADJUSTMENTS: If you've done everything right, your new group will be closer to the bullseye (though likely not perfect just yet). In this example, the group was improved, but is still 1/2" low. So you will need to make an adjustment by going another 10 clicks up on your elevation adjuster. Then pull the arrows and shoot again.

BULLSEYE: You may have to repeat this trial and error process a number of times to get your arrows to land precisely in the bullseye. Once you've finished, your crossbow will be sighted-in at your base distance (in this case - 20 yards). Remember to replace the adjuster caps on your scope.

STANDARD SCOPE SETTINGS: As discussed earlier, you can set your scope for any base distance you prefer, but these are the "standard" settings for the major types of crossbow scopes.

NEED HELP?: As always, our staff stands ready to help should have questions or trouble with getting your new crossbow setup and sighted-in. Please email or call us at 877-410-7811 for assistance.

CROSSBOW BUYER HELP
1. View Main Crossbow Page
2. View All Crossbow Specifications
3. View Crossbow Accessories
4. Assembly - What to Expect
5. Field Performance - What to Expect
6. Cocking the Bow - Things to Consider
7. State Crossbow Regulations