I've heard that crossbow bolts have an issue with penetration. Would shooting heavier stuff (bolt and tips)help with penetration

[Mark Watts]

I have xbows from 80lb to 200lb, I do not hunt but,iam constantly surprised by the enormous power output of these weapons. My 80lb pistol xbow I have modified to shoot around 300fps (but the kinetic energy is lower than that of a full xbow) I can put a 6"bolt through 6 cans of full dog food with it..and the 200lb xbow has shot a 20"bolt through a car door and some all most through the other door as well.

[deerhunterrick]

Friends of mine did a forensic study on arrows,compound bows,crossbows and broadheads for the police dept . What they found was that a crossbow shooting 150# with a 125gr snuffer would penetrate a bulletproof vest at 15 feet and pass through it and still remain intact. Arrows fired from a 90# compound bow only penetrated the outer layer and the broadhead exploded along with the arrow. Excluding the snuffer braodhead which broke at the ferral. Crossbow bolts do lose velocity faster though then do arrows over the course of distance. The turning point is rather quick too. Less then 75 feet. Penetration should not be a problem if the correct shot has been taken. They are not rifles or shotguns, they are archery tackle

[Christopher Spangler]

Buddy o mine just shot clean through a doe with a lower end horton crossbow. Crossbows are a very seroius weapon. He shoots 125gI shoot 100g his does penetrate deeper, but my deer was double lunged at 30 yards.

[Beekeeper]

Crossbow bolts are shorter and thus posess less mass per shaft diameter than an arrow delivered from a verticle bow. They are fst to a certain point but due to decreased mass they loose velocity quicker. My compound actually shoots flatter over 40 yards than a high dollar crossbow I have.

My crossbow directions recommended not using broadheads heavier than 100 grains as the heavier heads create balance issues and decrease performance. I use a 100 grain 3 blade Muzzy with the set up to great effect. With any bow I restrict my shots to 30 yards of less. My crossbows direction make a statment about not using a crossbow on game beyond 40 yards due to penetration issues from reduced mass.

[buckshot89]

ive never had any trouble with penetration with a crossbow... those bolts are flying fast enough that they go through almost every time. it is actually by compound bow that i'm having trouble with.

[Cgull]

never shoot less than a 125 gr broadhead with crossbows

[JayAquino]

I've heard that crossbow bolts have an issue with penetration. Would shooting heavier stuff (bolt and tips)help with penetration?