Barnett Crossbow Bolts

The Hyper series exists because a narrower shaft carries less drag and takes more of the bow's energy downrange. That is a real performance argument, and the price of it is a bolt that only works in one family of bows.

There is no adapter, no workaround and no partial compatibility. A Hyper crossbow's rail and retention are dimensioned for the narrow shaft.

Two models worth knowing by name: the Quad 400 is on the standard Headhunter side despite the number in its name, while the Hyper Whitetail 410 is on Hyperflite because of the word Hyper - full specs for both are on their own pages.

Two more on the standard side: the Whitetail Pro STR and the Quad Edge both run 22-inch Headhunter bolts, confirmed by their own string lengths - full specs for both on their own pages.

The standard Barnett bolt, and the one most owners need:

• Grains per inch: 13.78
• 20-inch total weight: 303 grains, including the insert, half-moon nock, vanes and the 100-grain field point that ships with it
• 22-inch: same shaft at the same 13.78 grains per inch, so proportionally heavier
• Nock: half-moon, pre-installed
• Pack sizes: 5-packs and 12-packs, plus lighted Strobe versions in 3-packs

303 grains at 20 inches is a moderate bolt weight. It is what the bows are tuned around, and it is the figure to match if you switch to another manufacturer's shaft - see below.

Go by what your crossbow came with, not by preference. Barnett has shipped both lengths across the range and the correct one is determined by the rail and the model.

Why it matters: a bolt that is too short may not seat fully against the string. A bolt that does not seat is the single most common route to a dry-fire, and a dry-fire damages limbs, cams and rail even on a bow with an anti-dry-fire mechanism fitted.

If your original bolts are long gone and you cannot find the manual, the safe move is to measure the rail and check against a listing for your specific model rather than assuming. Barnett lists both lengths in both families, so the wrong choice is easy to make and easy to avoid.

Two concrete examples: the Droptine STR ships on 22-inch Headhunter arrows, while the Stalker 380 (not the faster Stalker 410) runs the same standard Headhunter family - full specs for both, including string length, are on their own pages.

Older Barnett models follow the same rule as the current ones. The discontinued Wildcat C5 has no Hyper in its name, so it takes standard 20-inch Headhunter bolts - not Hyperflite - exactly like the rest of the compound range. If you own one, any current Headhunter pack fits it; the model name tells you the bolt family regardless of the bow's age.

Perfectly possible, provided three specifications match: length, total grain weight and nock type. Brand is not one of them.

On a standard-diameter Barnett, a 20-inch carbon bolt at roughly 300 to 400 grains with a half-moon nock will work. Match the weight to what you sighted in with, because changing bolt weight changes both speed and point of impact - a heavier bolt is slower and prints lower.

On a Hyper-series bow this is where it gets restrictive: the narrow shaft is not a common specification, so third-party options are limited and you should read listings carefully rather than assuming a bolt marketed for crossbows will fit.

The nock is the specification not to compromise on. Half-moon nocks must be indexed correctly against the string; flat nocks do not. Mixing them is a safety problem, not a preference.

Barnett makes lighted versions in both families - Headhunter Strobe and Hyperflite Illuminated, both in 3-packs of polycarbonate half-moon nocks. They make a bolt easy to follow in flight and easy to recover afterwards, which matters most in exactly the low-light conditions where hunting shots happen. Barnett also sells the Strobe lighted nocks separately, so you can convert existing bolts rather than buying new ones.

Note that a lighted nock adds weight at the back of the shaft, so re-check your zero after fitting.

For broadheads: sight in with field points, then shoot several broadhead-tipped bolts at your hunting distance before the season. A broadhead has surface area that a field point does not and will plane in flight, sometimes printing well away from your field point group at 40 yards. Keep the grain weight identical between the two.

More than the pack you are looking at. Bolts are genuinely consumable: they get lost in undergrowth, they bury in targets and split on extraction, and two bolts that hit each other in a tight group are two bolts binned. A 5-pack is a starting point, which is why Barnett also sells Headhunter in 12-packs.

Keep one field-point shaft back as a discharge arrow for decocking the bow safely at the end of a hunt.

Inspect carbon shafts before every session. Flex each one slightly and listen - a cracked carbon shaft makes a distinct crackling sound. A shaft that fails on release is a real injury risk, not a wasted bolt.

The entry-level Recruit XP has no Hyper in its name, so it runs standard 20-inch Headhunter bolts like the rest of the compound range. The discontinued Ghost series is on the same standard side but shipped on 22-inch Headhunter arrows - the model name again decides the bolt family, not the speed in the badge. Full specs and string lengths for both are on their own pages.

Two commonly searched older models follow the same rule as the rest of the standard range. The Raptor Pro STR takes 22-inch Headhunter bolts and the Jackal takes 20-inch Headhunter bolts - neither is a Hyper bow, so Hyperflite does not apply to either. The word Hyper, not Raptor, is what would change the shaft.