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Hickory Creek Koolaid

@larasea, I don't think anybody would be against hearing how your issue went. I know you and I talked about it some.

Scope is not good. But most scopes that come with stuff aren't. Every dealing I've had with Jerry was positive, and I know several other guys who have worked with him. Not sure what the warranty is, but Jerry is super-proud of his bow, and I can't imagine him not standing behind it.
 
DB4x4 said:
Is there any type of warranty with this xbow? Return or repair policies? Has anyone had any issues at all?
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I bought an original inline which he hasnt made for probably at least 6 years used. Unfortunately, UPS beat the crap out of it in transit and it somehow through the string, broke some bushings, nicked a cable, and through everthing out of alignment. The original owner I bought it from got me in touch with Jerry. He had me send pictures, measurements, etc. He then walked me through the entire process of getting the bow set back up and ready to shoot(over a period of a few weeks as my time was limited). I continued to have some tunign issues with it and Jerry was always VERY responsive. Like emails were returnd withing hours, sometimes minutes of me sending the questinos. He was more than happy to help me and found the parts I needed even though I bought it used, from someone else. He probably put several hours into conversing with me via email and sending pictures, directions, etc. Bow is now shooting great, and I couldnt be happier. Jerry gives a crap about his customers and is super proud of his product. Even if you run into small issues(as I ahve with almost every pice of gear I have ever bought) he stands behind them and gives some of the best support in the industry.
 
Nutterbuster said:
@larasea, I don't think anybody would be against hearing how your issue went. I know you and I talked about it some.

Scope is not good. But most scopes that come with stuff aren't. Every dealing I've had with Jerry was positive, and I know several other guys who have worked with him. Not sure what the warranty is, but Jerry is super-proud of his bow, and I can't imagine him not standing behind it.
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Is there a short list of preferred crossbow scopes? I have never bought a scope individually.

I'm sure it's another rabbit hole, but would appreciate the time savings of advice from others.

My only significant preconceived desire is low light effectiveness, as I often see deer in last 10 minutes.
 
TNSTAAFL said:
Is there a short list of preferred crossbow scopes? I have never bought a scope individually.

I'm sure it's another rabbit hole, but would appreciate the time savings of advice from others.

My only significant preconceived desire is low light effectiveness, as I often see deer in last 10 minutes.
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I bought one of these truglos( TruGlo 4X32 Realtree APG Camo Crossbow Scope With Rings - TG8504C3) for like $75 tmd on ebay and am pretty happy with it--I mean it's not a leupold, but its better than a cheap tasco, or the "ruger" that came wtih my ruger air rifle. I"ve got one of the "stock" scopes coming from Jerry to try on a mini, so I'll be able to compare in a week or so.
 
TNSTAAFL said:
Is there a short list of preferred crossbow scopes? I have never bought a scope individually.

I'm sure it's another rabbit hole, but would appreciate the time savings of advice from others.

My only significant preconceived desire is low light effectiveness, as I often see deer in last 10 minutes.
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@TNSTAAFL - When I purchased my Mini from Jerry earlier this year, I told him I might try to find an illuminated-reticle crossbow scope for my Mini. He said that most of his customers find that the included scope is a decent one to hunt with and urged me to give it a try before just upgrading immediately.

He also saved me some grief because he said, “Be sure that any replacement scope you get is (1) at least 4X or you’ll see the bow in your field of view; and (2) Sits clear of the bowstring. You need to ensure that the objective bell and the knobs on the scope don’t encroach into the path of the string.” Since I’m a lefty and purchased a left-handed Mini, the string is to the right of the scope and the windage knob on the scope already sits pretty close to the path of the string.

I had been looking at one of TenPoint’s high-end crossbow scopes, but after talking to Jerry I realized that it failed to meet both criteria, so his advice saved me the hassle of a purchase & return on a scope that wouldn’t work with the Mini.

So my plan is to give the standard scope an honest try for a few dawn & dusk hunts to see if I find it to be sufficient for the task.

I know I’m not providing any preferred scope selections, but I hope that by passing this along it saves you the hassle of buying a scope that isn’t compatible with your Mini.
 
TNSTAAFL said:
Is there a short list of preferred crossbow scopes? I have never bought a scope individually.

I'm sure it's another rabbit hole, but would appreciate the time savings of advice from others.

My only significant preconceived desire is low light effectiveness, as I often see deer in last 10 minutes.
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Nikon has been pretty good for clarity and light transmission. Haven't compared to Vortex/Leupold but my SlugHunter has been wonderful. Some say they can't see reticles when its darker, but that has not been my personal experience. I prefer the less clutterd view the circles that each one gives you instead of lines running all the way across. Each cirgle give you three different reference points. The SpotOn app is pretty neat as well. I just ordered the Prostaff 3x32 Crossbow scope an hour ago to throw on this thing. Academy has them 30% off right now and actually has stock with free shipping.
 
“Be sure that any replacement scope you get is (1) at least 4X or you’ll see the bow in your field of view"

Well damn. Didn't even think about that before I placed the order. I'm going to try it when it gets here and see just how bad it is. With the generous eye relief, might be able to move the scope forward more and hopefully negate the issue with 3x. Thanks for the heads up.
 
The scope on my HC mini seems good to me. I don't want my scope to cost more than my crossbow. If I was shooting 1000 yards maybe but I don't think the mini will get there.
 
Jimmyfunk60 said:
I’m going to buy a new crossbow before our season opens. I enjoy my Mathews but really want something I can be more accurate with and cut down on movement. I didn’t get a shot on a stud last year do to not being ready and by the time I got my bow drawn and the deer stopped he was just outside my comfortable range and just at an odd enough angle I didn’t take the shot.

I’ve come down to three bows #1 the mini, #2 the ravin r26, #3 the tenpoint viper s400


Mini seems to hit all the important stuff but I’m Leary of the offset scope and what I’ve read about using Kentucky windage to hit where u want. I also think shooting it on the non dominant side will be awkward

The ravin seems awesome other than needing new strings really quick and the possibility of it blowing up fairly soon.


Tenpoint seems all around good but not quite as compact or light..

I have an Excalibur micro 335 right now for my wife,kids, and dad and it will hit bullseyes at 60 every time.. can you expect that out of the mini ?


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I would go with an Excalibur 360 Takedown package. Simplicity at it's best .
 
Excalibur bows are simple and I like my micro but it is hard to beat the hickory creek. Why? For saddle hunting I often face the tree and to take a shot I have to lean out from the tree for limb clearance.
I have been busted doing that and I have had limbs hit the tree when I don’t ensure enough clearance


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I purchased a Hickory Creek Mini in July of this year. I have been impressed with the bow and the owner of the company, Jerry. Jerry is a stand up guy who will go the extra mile to satisfy his customers. I purchased the bow and a dozen Deer Crossing Arrows for the Mini. With that being said up front. Here is my story.

I sighted the scope and bow in with the purchased arrows and field points. All good. The next day I shot 3 Magnus Stinger Buzz Cuts and this is where the journey began. The bow would not shoot the broad heads and field points the same. I stripped 3 arrows and bare shaft tuned the bow. Again, same results. Broad heads would shoot 3 to 5 inches to the right. Could not get them any closer.

Jerry and I had numerous conversations and I chatted with a member on this blog about the issues. At the suggestion of Jerry, I purchased G5 Montec broad heads to give them a run. No improvement and possibly even a little worse. Jerry then requested that I send the bow portion back and he would take a look at it.

Jerry received the bow and tested it. At this point, Jerry decided to send me a new bow. Prior to sending, Jerry shot the new bow with field points, broad heads, and Victory arrows. Jerry advised the bow was shooting great.

I received the bow and tested in the same manner. I shot the stock Deer Crossing Arrows that came with the bow. I did not get the same results as Jerry. The new bow showed no improvement. Jerry advised that he would send 3 new Victory arrows to test.

At this point, I have not received the arrows. So, today I re-fletched 3 of the Deer Crossing Arrows with 2 inch Blazer vanes. The arrows were fletched right helical. The stock arrows came with a straight fletch 2 inch vane.

Two hours later the problem was solved. The arrows with a right helical fletch flew perfect and like the field points. I have now learned that a straight fletch arrow can stabilize a field point, but does not stabilize a broad head arrow. This may be common knowledge to some on the forum, but for me it has been a head scratcher.

If you have stock arrows with straight fletching, I suggest you re-fletch with Blazer vanes either right or left helical. I think most hunters are using left or right helical fletched arrows for their hunting applications. I have been fletching my own arrows, right helical, for years. These are the first straight fletch arrows that I can ever remembering shooting. At this point, I have no use for straight fletched arrows.

I have relayed this information to Jerry. Jerry has just recently began selling the Deer Crossing Arrows with his bow. Jerry advised he will share this information with future customers.
 
I can't say I've had the same experience. I shot the 3 DCA arrows straight vanes sent with the bow with both field points and broadheads and it shot the same with the 100 gr. field points and 100 gr. Tooth Of The Arrow 4 blade broadheads. I ordered a dozen more DCA bare shafts, put straight vanes on them with Fusion vanes and shot all 12 with both the field point and practice Tooth of the Arrow broadhead and both hit at the same POI. I went out to 50 yds. with a solid rest and have the same results.
 
parker red hot scope if you can find one. Sight tapes for various speeds. I shoot 250 spine arrows, 100gr ethics inserts and 125gr exodus in my mini. I usually leave the scope dialed at 30. But i can crank it up if i want to shoot farther.
 
larasea said:
I purchased a Hickory Creek Mini in July of this year. I have been impressed with the bow and the owner of the company, Jerry. Jerry is a stand up guy who will go the extra mile to satisfy his customers. I purchased the bow and a dozen Deer Crossing Arrows for the Mini. With that being said up front. Here is my story.

I sighted the scope and bow in with the purchased arrows and field points. All good. The next day I shot 3 Magnus Stinger Buzz Cuts and this is where the journey began. The bow would not shoot the broad heads and field points the same. I stripped 3 arrows and bare shaft tuned the bow. Again, same results. Broad heads would shoot 3 to 5 inches to the right. Could not get them any closer.

Jerry and I had numerous conversations and I chatted with a member on this blog about the issues. At the suggestion of Jerry, I purchased G5 Montec broad heads to give them a run. No improvement and possibly even a little worse. Jerry then requested that I send the bow portion back and he would take a look at it.

Jerry received the bow and tested it. At this point, Jerry decided to send me a new bow. Prior to sending, Jerry shot the new bow with field points, broad heads, and Victory arrows. Jerry advised the bow was shooting great.

I received the bow and tested in the same manner. I shot the stock Deer Crossing Arrows that came with the bow. I did not get the same results as Jerry. The new bow showed no improvement. Jerry advised that he would send 3 new Victory arrows to test.

At this point, I have not received the arrows. So, today I re-fletched 3 of the Deer Crossing Arrows with 2 inch Blazer vanes. The arrows were fletched right helical. The stock arrows came with a straight fletch 2 inch vane.

Two hours later the problem was solved. The arrows with a right helical fletch flew perfect and like the field points. I have now learned that a straight fletch arrow can stabilize a field point, but does not stabilize a broad head arrow. This may be common knowledge to some on the forum, but for me it has been a head scratcher.

If you have stock arrows with straight fletching, I suggest you re-fletch with Blazer vanes either right or left helical. I think most hunters are using left or right helical fletched arrows for their hunting applications. I have been fletching my own arrows, right helical, for years. These are the first straight fletch arrows that I can ever remembering shooting. At this point, I have no use for straight fletched arrows.

I have relayed this information to Jerry. Jerry has just recently began selling the Deer Crossing Arrows with his bow. Jerry advised he will share this information with future customers.
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You had me second guessing so I had to go upstairs and shoot. The pink vanes is the broadhead and the orange with white cock vane is the field point. Both were shot at 25 yds.both are straight vanes. Don't mind my "broadhead" target :). I'm glad you found the issue @larasea and the bow is shooting good for you now though!

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Jtaylor said:
You had me second guessing so I had to go upstairs and shoot. The pink vanes is the broadhead and the orange with white cock vane is the field point. Both were shot at 25 yds.both are straight vanes. Don't mind my "broadhead" target :)

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I'm glad your Mini experience was all good. I have been fighting this shooting issue for a month. The Deer Crossing Arrows I have will not shoot field points and fixed broad heads the same. It has now been consistent with 2 different Mini's. I'm not only shocked but extremely pleased that by just changing the fletching, my arrows now shoot the same. After shooting the right helical fletched arrow, with positive results. I then began to research and read on the topic. This information is provided, so that, the next guy doesn't waste a month of time trying to figure it out. I have talked to numerous archers with a whole lot more knowledge that I have, and, no one ever suggested it may be a fletching issue. I for one have for sure learned something new thru this adventure.

This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday is our annual velvet hunt in Tennessee. The Mini will for sure be in the tree this weekend.
 
larasea said:
I'm glad your Mini experience was all good. I have been fighting this shooting issue for a month. The Deer Crossing Arrows I have will not shoot field points and fixed broad heads the same. It has now been consistent with 2 different Mini's. I'm not only shocked but extremely pleased that by just changing the fletching, my arrows now shoot the same. After shooting the right helical fletched arrow, with positive results. I then began to research and read on the topic. This information is provided, so that, the next guy doesn't waste a month of time trying to figure it out. I have talked to numerous archers with a whole lot more knowledge that I have, and, no one ever suggested it may be a fletching issue. I for one have for sure learned something new thru this adventure.

This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday is our annual velvet hunt in Tennessee. The Mini will for sure be in the tree this weekend.
Click to expand...

@larasea - thanks for sharing your experience, and good luck on your hunts!


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larasea said:
I'm glad your Mini experience was all good. I have been fighting this shooting issue for a month. The Deer Crossing Arrows I have will not shoot field points and fixed broad heads the same. It has now been consistent with 2 different Mini's. I'm not only shocked but extremely pleased that by just changing the fletching, my arrows now shoot the same. After shooting the right helical fletched arrow, with positive results. I then began to research and read on the topic. This information is provided, so that, the next guy doesn't waste a month of time trying to figure it out. I have talked to numerous archers with a whole lot more knowledge that I have, and, no one ever suggested it may be a fletching issue. I for one have for sure learned something new thru this adventure.

This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday is our annual velvet hunt in Tennessee. The Mini will for sure be in the tree this weekend.
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Well I'm glad you got it figured out. My wife's Diamond Bowtech bow used to have one of those whisker rests like what's on the Hickory Creek and we had some issues with it. If a vane would connect with any point of one of the whiskers we'd have flight issues. I ended up switching the arrows she shot to 2" Rayzr feathers until we got a new rest for that bow and it helped a lot. Kind of a band aid fix in her case but it worked for the time being.

Are you cranked up all the way to 150 lbs. on the Hickory Creek? I ask because maybe one of the vanes is connecting with the rest, cable, etc. and at a lower poundage it would be more noticeable. The Fusion vanes (similar or same to what is on the DCA arrows) come a couple different sizes and I put the pink ones on the extra dozen arrows I got and noticed they were rubbing the rest and I had a bit of erratic flight. I had to trim those vanes down.

Could any of the above factors magnified by the broadhead be contributing to the erratic flight of your broadhead arrow? I know you said you bare shaft tuned but if the field point hit well and the broadhead was off, I'd assume I'd need to change broadheads until it matched the flight of my field point.
 
I thought all fletchings were placed on the arrow at an angle to achieve some spin. I will have to check mine.
 
Just a tip to folks on the mini - Lot's of folks doing the heavy arrow thing, and tinkering, and selling their stiff spine arrows that are already cut to their draw length for dirt cheap on here, rokslide, AT, etc.

I watch AT, and buy 250 or 200 spine arrows that people are almost giving away because they are already cut/fletched to a length other people don't want. Chopping them down to fit the mini is easy, and 99% of them will be fletched with either an offset or helical.
 
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