Hickory Creek Koolaid

bj139 · Oct 9, 2020

bj139 said:
I was walking out yesterday and thought how can I sling the mini? The buttstock was right near the right front shoulder strap of my pack and I already had a carabiner there for attaching something which I don't remember what so I just clipped the buttstock to it. It put all the weight on my backpack strap and I just steadied the bow with my right hand. It made the long walk out much more pleasant. There, single point sling, impromptu. I don't know if I would carry this way with an arrow loaded since my leg or foot may be in the line of fire.

Works great. Used it extensively today.

mtsrunner · Oct 9, 2020

LoadedLimbs said:
@TNSTAAFL - I took a look at the manufacturer's specifications for the Vortex Crossfire II 2-7x32mm crossbow scope and compared them to the specs for the TenPoint EVO-X. If you're going to use the single pin sighting approach, I would keep looking for a better light-gathering scope that has a single crosshair instead of at multi-stadia reticle. If you're considering using the multi-stadia reticle as it is intended, then here's the rundown on the important specs to compare between the Vortex Crossfire II and the TenPoint EVO-X:

Main scope tube diameter:
Vortex = 30mm; TenPoint = 30mm (Identical)

Objective lense diameter:
Vortex = 32mm; TenPoint = 36mm (Advantage goes to TenPoint)

Parallax-free distance:
Vortex =75 yards; TenPoint = 50 yards (Advantage goes to TenPoint)

Approximate Magnification Power setting for 330 fps crossbow bolts:
Vortex = 3.0X; TenPoint = 2.5X (Advantage depends on personal preference - i.e., higher or lower mag preferred?)

Approximate Field of View at 100 yards at power setting for 330 fps crossbow bolts:
Vortex = 49.2 feet; TenPoint = 73.2 feet (Advantage goes to TenPoint - a pretty big advantage)

Approximate Ocular Lense Exit Pupil Diameter at power setting for 330 fps crossbow bolts:
Vortex = 13.7mm; TenPoint = 20mm (Advantage goes to TenPoint - a huge advantage for low-light performance)

Ok - so here's the breakdown of what the above comparisons mean in layman's terms...

Objective Lense: A larger objective lense gathers more light. The difference in objective lense diameter between these two scopes is not large - but it IS significant, because the larger the area of the objective lense, the more light it collects. The area of the TenPoint's objective lense is 27% larger than that of the Vortex's objective lense - that translates into 27% more light gathered to help you see in low light conditions.

Parallax: Parallax is the phenomenon where you have inaccuracy introduced due to misalignment of your eye and the axis you want to view. A good example is if you have ever been in the passenger seat of a car and you look over at the needle on a speedometer when the driver is at highway speed... it will seem to indicate a different reading than what the driver sees because of the offset between the plane of the needle and the plane of the lettering of the speedometer. The inaccuracy that you see as the passenger due to not looking down the axis of the speedometer is "parallax". A fixed focus scope is only parallax-free at one distance. At the parallax-free distance, if your eye isn't precisely aligned with the axis of the scope when you fire, it won't matter because the aiming error introduced will be exactly zero. The more that the shot distance departs from the parallax-free distance, the larger the aiming error when your eye isn't centered on axis of the scope. If your most probable shot distance hunting with your crossbow will be between 10 and 40 yards, having a scope that's parallax-free in the exact middle of those distances (25 yards) would be ideal. Note that the Vortex has a parallax-free distance of 75 yards (which is more suitable for a rifle than a crossbow), whereas the TenPoint has a parallax-free distance of 50 yards. Also note that the layout of the HC Mini makes it easy to have a certain amount of misalignment between your eye and the axis of the scope. (You have to tilt your head a little awkwardly when using the scope.) Advantage goes to the TenPoint.

Ocular lense exit pupil diameter: This is the diameter of the visible light transmitted out the back of the scope to your eye. The larger the exit pupil diameter, the brighter the image appears to you because you're getting more light into your eye. Note that there's a SIGNIFICANT difference in the exit pupil diameters of the Vortex vs. the TenPoint. If looking through scopes with equivalent objective lense size and glass quality, it's the circular area of the exit pupil that affects perceived brightness of the scope. The circular area of the exit pupil of the TenPoint is 113% larger than that of the Vortex.

Conclusion: the TenPoint objective lense collects 27% more light into the tube than the Vortex, and the TenPoint ocular lense emits 113% larger area of light to the viewer's eye. Vortex makes a decent product, and so does TenPoint. These two scopes aren't equals, however, so only you can decide if those differences are meaningful enough to you to justify the price difference. I hope I haven't caused confusion, and that this info is helpful to you. These numbers probably aren't real meaningful - I get that. But without trying both scopes side by side in low light, it's hard to know exactly how big of a difference in low light performance there is. Is that a possibility? Could you just buy both and (without mounting them) compare them side by side as it gets dark in your yard? Then return the one you don't want to keep?

Good points except for the exit pupil argument. The old mantra was 7X was best (I was sold on 6x42 fixed scopes for years). It turns out that optimal exit pupil is a very individual thing.
Read the article below and make your own conclusions. FWIW. The quality of glass is a BIG factor in any scope choice for me.

A Pupil Primer: How Big Should a Telescope's Exit Pupil Be?

Learn about the pupils of your eye, and why the old ideal of a 7-millimeter exit pupil for your telescope is not so ideal after all.

skyandtelescope.org

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

philsanchez76 · Oct 9, 2020

five said:
I had not looked at this thread in awhile. But my current crossbow had issues this weekend and I plan to replace it. I've not shot a regular bow in 30 years, back in cub scouts. I went through this thread looking at popular options that people are hunting with this year. Honestly most options are not too far off of the Hickory Ridge price wise, once you get all of the gizmo's that go with it. It seems at best I'd save a 100-150 bucks. And then there would be a learning curve. It might be super easy, I don't know. But we are already in-season here with more public land opening soon.

So that leads me back to this thread and idea. I like the idea of being able to get this and take a dozen shots and being ready to hunt. Arrows, scope, everything ready and it's essentially a rifle.

However, since I last looked at this sweet kool aid thread, it's turned a bit sour it seems. And might have to do with older manufacturing being better, I don't know. New concerns in the thread:
1) Inferior scope (many users talking of replacing the one that it came with)
2) Change in arrows with inconsistent results (mainly one or two users with this issue?)
3) Loose build, requiring additional washers and bolts to make everything tight (3 or 4 users with this issue)

So now I am torn. Thoughts?

I echo what these other dudes have said. I LUVVVV this thing. Already killed one deer on my first hunt!

1) I called Jerry from Hickory creek and ordered it without the scope. He knocked off $50 and I bought a Hawke scope that's been awesome.
2) During practice I basically screwed up all the arrows it came with cuz it was so much fun to shoot. I've replaced it with Black Eagle Deep Impact micro diameters since then and those thing DRIVE through whatever they hit. They are much heavier arrows than the Victory ones it came with. It was a super easy scope adjustment. And done.
3). I used a pair of channel lock pipe pliers and screwed the hand knob down tighter than I could get by hand. Hasn't budged since.

I also recently pulled the string off accidentally so had my first time putting the string back on. 10 minutes and good to go. Try doing that with a traditional xbow. Nope enjoy taking it to the shop.

Jimmyfunk60 · Oct 9, 2020

philsanchez76 said:
I echo what these other dudes have said. I LUVVVV this thing. Already killed one deer on my first hunt!

1) I called Jerry from Hickory creek and ordered it without the scope. He knocked off $50 and I bought a Hawke scope that's been awesome.
2) During practice I basically screwed up all the arrows it came with cuz it was so much fun to shoot. I've replaced it with Black Eagle Deep Impact micro diameters since then and those thing DRIVE through whatever they hit. They are much heavier arrows than the Victory ones it came with. It was a super easy scope adjustment. And done.
3). I used a pair of channel lock pipe pliers and screwed the hand knob down tighter than I could get by hand. Hasn't budged since.

I also recently pulled the string off accidentally so had my first time putting the string back on. 10 minutes and good to go. Try doing that with a traditional xbow. Nope enjoy taking it to the shop.

Haha wish u would have posted that about the scope before I ordered mine!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

bj139 · Oct 10, 2020

mtsrunner said:
Good points except for the exit pupil argument. The old mantra was 7X was best (I was sold on 6x42 fixed scopes for years). It turns out that optimal exit pupil is a very individual thing.
Read the article below and make your own conclusions. FWIW. The quality of glass is a BIG factor in any scope choice for me.

A Pupil Primer: How Big Should a Telescope's Exit Pupil Be?

Learn about the pupils of your eye, and why the old ideal of a 7-millimeter exit pupil for your telescope is not so ideal after all.

skyandtelescope.org

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

One thing I have noted about overly large exit pupils on optics is your eye will see the full field of view even if not aligned precisely behind the optic. 40mm/3power= 13.3mm exit pupil. Your 7mm pupil in your eye can be shifted around within this 13mm diameter and you will see the full field of view. If 7mm to 7mm if your moves slightly the edges blacken. I am sure anyone that has looked through a scope has seen this. 40mm objective at 3 power is golden for easy sighting full field of view..

sokraski · Oct 10, 2020

Had a buddy over last night and he was shooting the mini. He managed to derail string. I know how to put it back on, but not sure if the string should have any twists in it or not. Can someone look at their string and see if there are twists or none? Much appreciated.

Jtaylor · Oct 10, 2020

sokraski said:
Had a buddy over last night and he was shooting the mini. He managed to derail string. I know how to put it back on, but not sure if the string should have any twists in it or not. Can someone look at their string and see if there are twists or none? Much appreciated.

It's twisted. I'm hunting right now or else I'd measure brace height but I'm not sure that would matter all that much anyways. Maybe start conservative with just one of the generic formulas for a compound like 1 twist per 1.5" or something.

philsanchez76 · Oct 10, 2020

Jimmyfunk60 said:
Haha wish u would have posted that about the scope before I ordered mine!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

haha! Well at least you’ll have a backup after you order a new one. 1 is none!

philsanchez76 · Oct 10, 2020

Jtaylor said:
It's twisted. I'm hunting right now or else I'd measure brace height but I'm not sure that would matter all that much anyways. Maybe start conservative with just one of the generic formulas for a compound like 1 twist per 1.5" or something.

I was wondering this too. Mines be derailed twice and I did not twist when putting it back on. It still shoots to same POA so I’m calling it good. Also it was REALLY tight to put back on even with no twists!

bj139 · Oct 10, 2020

philsanchez76 said:
I was wondering this too. Mines be derailed twice and I did not twist when putting it back on. It still shoots to same POA so I’m calling it good. Also it was REALLY tight to put back on even with no twists!

The longitudinal fibers in mine don't seem to be twisted. I bought it used so I can't be sure what is normal.

Jtaylor · Oct 10, 2020

philsanchez76 said:
I was wondering this too. Mines be derailed twice and I did not twist when putting it back on. It still shoots to same POA so I’m calling it good. Also it was REALLY tight to put back on even with no twists!

Yeah I guess it doesn't really matter as long as it shoots fine!

philsanchez76 · Oct 10, 2020

Yeah also watched Jerry’s video on it and he doesn’t mention twisting in there. As long as it still kills deer I’m good! Now if we can just get hurricane delta out of here!

sokraski · Oct 10, 2020

I did get a call back from Jerry today. He said they do not put any twists when they put on the strings

TFL · Oct 13, 2020

I received my mini yesterday, had it out back and shot it last night , pretty cool little bow,
it is apparent that the front bolt needs a lock nut and washer, the knob came loose a couple of times,
do you know the thread diameter of that front alignment bolt, everything seems tight, seems like it could use a nut up there

is anyone shooting aluminum? I have a dozen 2219's laying around that I could cut down and use, the are 294 spine
would be a lot heavier,
how about accuspine ? have a bunch of them also cut at 21" that could work.
any other tips, the bow is set now at 125# , may try it backed off another turn,
scope is ok, had a couple of flyers, had to adjust scope twice, don't know if its moving somehow internally
need another few nights with it out back to confirm the scope and shoot some broad heads

bj139 · Oct 13, 2020

TFL said:
I received my mini yesterday, had it out back and shot it last night , pretty cool little bow,
it is apparent that the front bolt needs a lock nut and washer, the knob came loose a couple of times,
do you know the thread diameter of that front alignment bolt, everything seems tight, seems like it could use a nut up there

is anyone shooting aluminum? I have a dozen 2219's laying around that I could cut down and use, the are 294 spine
would be a lot heavier,
how about accuspine ? have a bunch of them also cut at 21" that could work.
any other tips, the bow is set now at 125# , may try it backed off another turn,
scope is ok, had a couple of flyers, had to adjust scope twice, don't know if its moving somehow internally
need another few nights with it out back to confirm the scope and shoot some broad heads

5/16-18