RAVIN CROSSBOW, THE REAL OWNERS MANUAL WITH ARROW OPTIONS

Hi everyone, I am Jon with ZUMA concepts. I wanted to make a video to help people who have purchased or are about to purchase a Ravin Crossbow. I will be covering the key points to making the long-range shots with this piece of equipment.

In this video I will cover:

Set up

Scope selection

Arrow selection

Broadheads

Helpful equipment for setup 

Target selection 

Maintenance

AND

Achieving confidence in taking long shots and maintaining that confidence 

I have spent quite a bit of money to learn what I have to share with you, and I hope to save you a lot of steps and money with this video. Everything I will cover is linked in the description. These are affiliate links, using the links for your purchase helps me keep providing helpful tips. I also wanted to give you an easy way to get the exact product I am explaining to you. Anyway, here we go. 

Let us start with a quick overview of the equipment. Ravin hands down manufactures one of the most advance pieces of precision archery equipment on the market today. Having said that anything precision, requires precision set up, and maintenance if you intend to keep it on target and reliable. I am using the R15 for this video. I have also done this with an R20. I had 2 setups one for each of my kids. The R15 and R20 are about the same. There is only about 5 feet per second difference. Everything I show you here is transferable. It will not matter which Ravin you own the principles are the same. 

The first thing on the standard bow package I replaced was the factory scope. I did this for two reasons. First, I was having trouble getting reliable accurate at long distances and my kids were the ones that would be using these, and I wanted a less complicated sight explanation in the field to eliminate chances at operator error. What I put on here at the time was unavailable with Ravin, but it is now a factory option on the newer models.

The problems I experienced with the factory scope was caused by two factors. The first one was I would get the bow sighted in as directed in the manual and via the Ravin video and the longer rage shots say 80 + yards we dicey. I have worked a long time mastering long range archery shots. I took the time to master the 100 yard shot with my compound. That takes some time and talent. I did find that you can shoot much better at normal bow ranges say inside 70 yards and less, once you condition yourself and equipment to perform at that range. I recalled one of the biggest factors for tight groups was is your arrow. I learned then that arrow specs are critical. I looked at the factory arrows I had from Ravin and found that to be my first issue. I needed a better arrow. Ravin offers this arrow which I had to buy to master this shot. This is what to look for in your arrow selection. Straightness is the key. All other specs must be considered but the difference in inches is heavily in part to the straightness. The standard arrow is a 0.003 straightness tolerance. The performance arrows are a 0.001 straightness. The 0.001 straightness is what I needed for my compound. Made sense. What I found is the difference is about a 5-inch group at 70 yards with .003 vs 2-inch group same distance with the .001. With these arrows be sure to not shoot at the same spot twice or you will be replacing your new high dollar arrows. These are that accurate. While we are on arrows, I want to recommend the targets in this video and here is why. If you use a lessor target your arrow will pass through and destroy your fletching’s. When you spend this much money on arrows you will want to get the right target to protect your investment. Preventative measures will save you money. Trust me.

The second factor was the string. I found that over time the string weakened and caused the FPS to drop in turn changing the trajectory of the arrow. To monitor this issue, I bought a chronograph. I use it to track the string integrity. A couple test shots through the chronograph will give you the confidence that your bow hasn’t lost critical power for your accuracy past 50 yards. The next item I acquired is the Ravin bow press. You do not need this you can take your bow to a pro-shop. If you purchase the sting set from them, they usually replace it for free. I personally like to complete my own repairs. This allowed me to have a set of strings on hand and the ability to make a change whenever necessary. FPS matters remember we are talking precision and confidence that precision will be there when you need it. 

With those variables out of the way, I went back to the scope. I seen worse results now that the bow and arrows were outperforming the scope. I decided to go to an adjustable mount that handled the range with a single crosshair. This mad it very precise and very easy to explain to my kids. You simply range adjust aim and shoot. I prefer the illuminated red dot. I like it for dusk shots and hunting out of dark tents. I chose the CCOP 1-6. A4 reticle. On my rifles I use the Leopold FireDot. The Leopold is hands down the best illuminated fire dot/red dot reticle on the market. The adjustable brightness prevents the light from dilating your eye and or bleaching out the lensed causing it to be imposable to see your target in early and late hours. 

I chose the HHA Sports Crossbow Speed Dial. It is reasonably priced and was just what I was looking for. I found some issues with this as well that I will help you with. The preset range stickers do not work. Please see the video for details on this setup process. What I found was there are far too many variables plaguing your shot past 50 yards, and you need a custom approach. I purchased a roll of ¼ inch white tape. Using the base tape with just equal measurements I hit the range with a piece of paper and pen. I determined that the bows performance out to 40 yards was about a 2 in variance. This means 2” high at 15 yards and 2” low at 40 yards) So, I used 30 yards as zero. This is will within a kill zone and gives me more travel on my dial for farther max range. I started with the dial at zero and a 30-yard shot to zero th scope. Now I moved the target 10 yards back to 40 and shot. I adjusted the mount for elevation and recorded the number from the dial on the paper. I repeated this process in 10-yard increments until the dial was maxed out. It was about 135 yards. It must be a calm day to complete this setup. You will use the scope to adjust left and right during the initial setup when you get to around 60 to 80 yards. This will allow you to really dial in for accuracy. I also added a level to the scope because I learned this matters quite a bit for precision. A little motion at your bow is compounded down range. 

Now back to the bench I stuck a clean piece of white tape next to the replacement measurement strips that came with the mount and marked all the ranges based on my notes. I carefully removed the marked strip and slowly placed it on the dale lining up the 0 and softly put the new marked tape over the dial. Make sure you do not stretch the tape. Watch to see that the marks you made line up with the numbers you identified while shooting. Now I place a piece of clear tape over the new strip to prevent the ink from running. Now you have easy to read quick to set markings. 

The final item I added was the light so I could read the dial in the morning evening and while in a dark tent. I used the TrueGlow bow sight light with rheostat. To fasten it to the scope I used a hose clamp to modify a bracket. I trimmed it to size drilled a hole and bolted it together. 

Now one last critical aspect that only counts for hunting and shooting an animal past 60 yards is your broad heads. Remember precision. I had my daughter shoot at a doe that was 90 yards out and she missed something awful. I felt bad for her but when I got home, I tried the same shot myself with the rage broadheads she had and sure enough the broadheads caused the error in flight. I did the research and found Thorn broadheads. This was the last element. You get a completely enclosed design eliminating the wind turbulence caused by the blades on the rage. They also came with clips to prevent the broadhead from opening. This allows you to take practice shots with the same tip you will hunt with. Worked like a charm. 

Keep in mind if you use a lighted nock, it changes the arrows weight and will affect your shot if you sight it in without the lighted nocks. I personally recommend you sight your bow in with the nocks you hunt with but here is an alterative option for targets or just wanting to have a junk arrow for rodents that performs the same. I weighed the Lumenocks and then use a piece of wire hanger cut to match the difference in weight between the standard nock and the Lumenock. Then I epoxied the piece of hanger into the back of the standard nock to match the weigh of the Lumencock weight. 

I highly recommend using the Coldwell tripod and this adjustable tripod chair. They work very well together and aid in the precision reliability. 

Last but not least. I did the research on the Ravin arrows and figured out the manufacture and specs. I identified an alternative option and I assemble my own arrows. Warning!! Ravin will not warranted your bow if you do this. These arrows are the same ones you are getting from Ravin but at a better price. Same manufacture, size, weight, spin, and straightness. The difficult part was locating the nock bushing but what you need is in the links below. I use a 2-part epoxy to install the nock bushings. When choosing the epoxy use the highest PSI rating you can find to ensure a strong hold through multiple impacts. Please view the video for details on this process.