Glad I came across your channel! I just ordered my Tactical II crossbow yesterday and am excited to get it. I’m new to this hobby but here in Texas, I’ve known that I can actually hunt with a crossbow because of my disability, just never have because I quit hunting years ago. I do wanna learn how to shoot one of these accurately and any information you share will be greatly appreciated!subscribed!
The bolt loosening issue definitely has been something to find out the hard way with my gator cross bow pistol! Luckily i found both the allen screw, and the metal block!
Another great video, I've been looking forward to. One of the 3 QD blocks I've bought came apart as I was putting it together! For the price, I think a lot of the components should be better made. I found the original Steambow laser hard to adjust, and didn't like the switch at all, particularly after fitting side rails. I have a flashlight and a better laser mounted underneath, each at 45 degrees, which allows me to turn them on very easily. I have a quiver mounted on the right-side picatinny rail, and a swivel mount for a 2-point sling on the left. Red-dot on the main rail. I also have the magazine cover with the picatinny rail, but haven't decided what to do with it yet! I hope Steambow issue a magazine with a better latch, like on the Limited Edition. I really like your stock, and may replace mine with something better. I have a folding foregrip. I have the same Magpul foregrip on my Compact. I like that CTR stock :) Thanks for all your research, looking forward to hearing more :)
Thank you for your comment! Your setup sounds very good to me, thank you for sharing. I hope you sent back the defective block, that is unacceptable even if it cost 1 euro. And yes, I am not particularly fond of either of the original Steambow lasers, and I hope to see some key upgrades to the Stinger in the near future, in response to more options coming onto the market and all the feedback they must be getting directly and through social media.
@@fletchedevolution Thank you very much. I have emailed Steambow a couple of times about the defective block, but haven't had a response. I think you mentioned that the composition of the polymer can vary, and this had the strength of cheddar cheese!
I bought the stinger 2 because of your videos& I’m glad I did, it’s a powerful& accurate wee thing, I’m thinking of getting the 90lb limb but have heard different things about bolts for it( the normal bolts break🤷♂️)
Very cool, I'm glad you are happy with your Stinger!! In terms of bolts for the 90 lb limb, the standard blue aluminum bolts (or cheaper ones from Amazon or ebay) can bend easily when striking the target or when you are pulling them out. Additionally, these bolts are a bit too light for the draw weight, meaning more energy remains in the bow, which causes faster wear. My minimum bolt weight recommendation for 90 lb draw weight on these crossbows is 150 grains. Otherwise, I generally recommend carbon bolts for their durability, I think you will be happier with your return on investment! Have fun with your Stinger!
@@fletchedevolution Eric also got me to buy the AR-6 a few months ago, where initially I was looking at the RedBack. Being an American, I was at a loss to what's best. I'm now at the stage where upgrading is a must. I moved on to the tuning trigger, metal mag, and the red dot. However, I'm having issues with my receiver allowing a mil-spec castle nut from Law Tactical to thread into the receiver? 🤔
Eric, that was a very enjoyable and interesting video! Its great to see what mods and upgrades you have done with your Stinger II. I currently have a 35lb Compact but have just taken delivery of the 'tactical' upgrade, which I will fit this weekend. I'd love to know more about how you changed/upgraded the buffer tube and buttstock. Also, did you say that Survival was running a 150lb Limb!? how did you manage that lol. Keep the Stinger II content coming, thanks man. PS did these upgrades increase your accuracy?
Thanks, Steven! Changing the buffer tube and stock is easy, just loosen the castle nut with the wrench that came with the Stinger and unscrew the buffer tube, and then reverse that procedure. To pull the stock off, just pull the adjustment lever pin down farther than it is activated by the lever. It may take some effort, but that is how it works on any of these stocks, Stinger or firearm. Steambow sent me a 150 lb limb for evaluation, I guess they want to see how far they can go usefully. And I support that, of course! The 120 lb limbs I have tested from them are great. If you have a desire or use for that penetration, of course. These upgrades, especially the buttstock and then the tuning trigger, have increased my accuracy. The buttstock provides me better ergonomics and indexing, and better stability. And the tuning trigger is easier to depress and also more consistent and predictable for me in actuation. Oh, and a red dot sight or scope (Tactical, or Survival) is better for me than the iron sights. Especially on the Tactical, the rounded spring and round dot to align do not give me clear reference points for a repeatable alignment. But only if you are chasing the fractions of an inch, I also don't want to overblow all this. These are not sniper rifles, and none of the bolts I have tried fly nearly as well as a cheap bullet out of a rifle or handgun.
Also running the Magpul CTR w/ 0.75 cheek riser. Anything lower than that and it was terrible trying to line up the shot with the reflex. I got the picatinny rail mag cover as well. Any reason you don't want to mount the reflex closer to your face instead with the picatinny mag cover plate? The FOV through the sight was really bad having it mounted so far forward. Acquisition always took more time because I had trouble finding the red dot. Much easier when it's closer to your face with a much larger FOV. My only concern is that there's a bit of a wobble on the cover so that might affect the zero. I mean people mount scopes to it, so it should be fine for a reflex/red dot. I skipped the trigger upgrade, because as even mentioned by Steambow's rep, they aren't as reliable as the more simple trigger design. Fewer parts = fewer failures.
Another great video. Thank you for sharing those experience tips. I am curious, what is the trigger pull on the 150 lb bow limbs even with the rack trigger upgrade? I think one thing you would love for that bolt cover Picatinny rail would be the IR camera. How solidly does that cover close? Will it keep a zero on the scope with repeated opening and closing? Since the Burris FastFire is lower to the mount, it would be a good addition to the Vlad. One other front Picatinny device would be the non-edged 4" or 6" steel spike for CQC. Keep cranking out these good videos.
Thank you" he IR camera is a good idea on that magazine rail. There is about a half a millimeter of side-to-side play in the cover when it is closed, but at short range I think that would not entirely be a problem. At Shot Show, I briefly saw that Holosun is coming out with a thermal red dot. I will be at IWA and plan to get a closer look. Spendy for sure, something like 2500 euros, but that would really be awesome. I am very happy with the Burris sight, I have to admit. I will put it on the Vlad, out front, when I do more shooting with it.
So I measured the trigger pull with the 150 lb limb in my test bed, which gives me lower weights overall than with the crossbow mounted in a Hog Saddle on a tripod for some reason. In any case, I measure a trigger pull of a bit under 8 lb with the 150 lb limb. It is quite heavy for sure.
@@fletchedevolution Thank you for the follow-up. I personally feel that 150 lb limbs are a little too much for a pistol crossbow, I'm sure there are some who would like to. It surprises me that it has such a low trigger pull. I think that 8 lb trigger pull is quite acceptable especially for defense purposes. That is about what a double action revolver is. My personal experience with a CCW is that a double action shrouded hammer revolver is still one of the best carry options like the S&W 442. It is the only firearm that can be fired from a jacket pocket. It would kind of messes up the jacket though, haha.
@@SilverShadow2LWB LOL, it would slightly mess up the jacket! I also think 150 lb is pushing it probably, but maybe useful for a true survival hunting scenario in the back country. Not everyone using something like this will be an accomplished stalker on game, and maybe reaching out a few more yards could make the difference.
Really like your channel and thanks for all your advice . I do have a question for you about the strings though. What's your favorite string or brand of strings for the heavy limbs? I'm actually thinking of making my own from a product called braided dyneema. What are your thoughts on something like that ?
I know of people who have spliced strings using 3 mm braided Dyneema and are very happy with the durability. You just need to make sure you insert a piece of dyneema in the middle or serve the string like you normally would so that it is thick enough to function reliably.
I noticed that you didn’t have the aluminum special edition magazine. Is there is reason you prefer the stock plastic magazine? Also, is the aluminum magazine noisy? Thanks!
I do wonder if it would make the trigger even lighter if you angle the part that pushes the string up in the opposite way. So instead of pressing against the notch, it would act like a wedge between string and notch. I get my survival soon and will try that out 🙂
Hi there, I have owned a Stinger 2 for about a year now but looking to upgrade it, with the 90lb limb. Can you tell me if the standard practise arrows (circa 10 grams) can be used with the 90lb limb? I am aware Steambow recommends the heavy carbon arrows but I don't think they were available at the time of this video? I look forward to your reply.
I generally do not recommend aluminum arrows at all anymore, since they tend to bend with use. And a slight bend that you cannot see will send the arrow off course. So no matter what you get when you buy something new, I would recommend carbon fiber. The lightest I generally recommend for 90 lb is 150 grains, but 160 to 170 is better in my opinion. The blue aluminum arrows are 145 grains nominal, so a bit under. The lighter the arrow, the more energy remains in the bow, and this can be hard on end caps and reduces the life of the limb. And I have had so many aluminum shafts bend on impact in harder foam targets when shooting with 90 lb, even from 15 or 20 meters. Also, based on all of my velocity research, a heavier arrow tends to get a little bit more kinetic energy out of the bow. But my main concern would be end caps and limb life. So I would tend towards the heavy carbon target arrows or the bodkins in the carbon line if you want to go Steambow, or something else to your liking at around 160 to 170 grains. I hope this helps!
@@fletchedevolution thank you very much for the detailed response. I was curious as Steambow recommend, all the other types of aluminum bolts for the 90lb limb, except the practise bolts. I will be purchasing the heavy carbon bolts in future but wanted to practise with the bundle of aluminum bolts I have in the interim.
I just tested my Steambow AR-6 Stinger 2 Survival using 120lb Magnum limb. I found the trigger hard to pull comparison to my Stinger Compact 35lb limb is it because of the heavy limb? Or do I need to upgrade the trigger?
Glad I came across your channel! I just ordered my Tactical II crossbow yesterday and am excited to get it. I’m new to this hobby but here in Texas, I’ve known that I can actually hunt with a crossbow because of my disability, just never have because I quit hunting years ago. I do wanna learn how to shoot one of these accurately and any information you share will be greatly appreciated!subscribed!
First time to stop by and see your Channel. Hope you get more information from the work you're putting into this. For it is valuable to all of us
Welcome aboard!
The bolt loosening issue definitely has been something to find out the hard way with my gator cross bow pistol! Luckily i found both the allen screw, and the metal block!
Another great video, I've been looking forward to. One of the 3 QD blocks I've bought came apart as I was putting it together! For the price, I think a lot of the components should be better made. I found the original Steambow laser hard to adjust, and didn't like the switch at all, particularly after fitting side rails. I have a flashlight and a better laser mounted underneath, each at 45 degrees, which allows me to turn them on very easily. I have a quiver mounted on the right-side picatinny rail, and a swivel mount for a 2-point sling on the left. Red-dot on the main rail. I also have the magazine cover with the picatinny rail, but haven't decided what to do with it yet! I hope Steambow issue a magazine with a better latch, like on the Limited Edition. I really like your stock, and may replace mine with something better. I have a folding foregrip. I have the same Magpul foregrip on my Compact. I like that CTR stock :) Thanks for all your research, looking forward to hearing more :)
Thank you for your comment! Your setup sounds very good to me, thank you for sharing.
I hope you sent back the defective block, that is unacceptable even if it cost 1 euro.
And yes, I am not particularly fond of either of the original Steambow lasers, and I hope to see some key upgrades to the Stinger in the near future, in response to more options coming onto the market and all the feedback they must be getting directly and through social media.
@@fletchedevolution Thank you very much. I have emailed Steambow a couple of times about the defective block, but haven't had a response. I think you mentioned that the composition of the polymer can vary, and this had the strength of cheddar cheese!
@@JackBlack-gh5yf
Someone should get smart and fab the QD blocks from 7075 aluminum.
I bought the stinger 2 because of your videos& I’m glad I did, it’s a powerful& accurate wee thing, I’m thinking of getting the 90lb limb but have heard different things about bolts for it( the normal bolts break🤷♂️)
Very cool, I'm glad you are happy with your Stinger!! In terms of bolts for the 90 lb limb, the standard blue aluminum bolts (or cheaper ones from Amazon or ebay) can bend easily when striking the target or when you are pulling them out.
Additionally, these bolts are a bit too light for the draw weight, meaning more energy remains in the bow, which causes faster wear. My minimum bolt weight recommendation for 90 lb draw weight on these crossbows is 150 grains.
Otherwise, I generally recommend carbon bolts for their durability, I think you will be happier with your return on investment!
Have fun with your Stinger!
@@fletchedevolution
Eric also got me to buy the AR-6 a few months ago, where initially I was looking at the RedBack. Being an American, I was at a loss to what's best. I'm now at the stage where upgrading is a must.
I moved on to the tuning trigger, metal mag, and the red dot. However, I'm having issues with my receiver allowing a mil-spec castle nut from Law Tactical to thread into the receiver? 🤔
Eric, that was a very enjoyable and interesting video! Its great to see what mods and upgrades you have done with your Stinger II. I currently have a 35lb Compact but have just taken delivery of the 'tactical' upgrade, which I will fit this weekend. I'd love to know more about how you changed/upgraded the buffer tube and buttstock. Also, did you say that Survival was running a 150lb Limb!? how did you manage that lol. Keep the Stinger II content coming, thanks man.
PS did these upgrades increase your accuracy?
Thanks, Steven! Changing the buffer tube and stock is easy, just loosen the castle nut with the wrench that came with the Stinger and unscrew the buffer tube, and then reverse that procedure. To pull the stock off, just pull the adjustment lever pin down farther than it is activated by the lever. It may take some effort, but that is how it works on any of these stocks, Stinger or firearm.
Steambow sent me a 150 lb limb for evaluation, I guess they want to see how far they can go usefully. And I support that, of course! The 120 lb limbs I have tested from them are great. If you have a desire or use for that penetration, of course.
These upgrades, especially the buttstock and then the tuning trigger, have increased my accuracy. The buttstock provides me better ergonomics and indexing, and better stability. And the tuning trigger is easier to depress and also more consistent and predictable for me in actuation. Oh, and a red dot sight or scope (Tactical, or Survival) is better for me than the iron sights. Especially on the Tactical, the rounded spring and round dot to align do not give me clear reference points for a repeatable alignment. But only if you are chasing the fractions of an inch, I also don't want to overblow all this. These are not sniper rifles, and none of the bolts I have tried fly nearly as well as a cheap bullet out of a rifle or handgun.
Also running the Magpul CTR w/ 0.75 cheek riser. Anything lower than that and it was terrible trying to line up the shot with the reflex. I got the picatinny rail mag cover as well. Any reason you don't want to mount the reflex closer to your face instead with the picatinny mag cover plate? The FOV through the sight was really bad having it mounted so far forward. Acquisition always took more time because I had trouble finding the red dot. Much easier when it's closer to your face with a much larger FOV. My only concern is that there's a bit of a wobble on the cover so that might affect the zero. I mean people mount scopes to it, so it should be fine for a reflex/red dot. I skipped the trigger upgrade, because as even mentioned by Steambow's rep, they aren't as reliable as the more simple trigger design. Fewer parts = fewer failures.
Another great video. Thank you for sharing those experience tips. I am curious, what is the trigger pull on the 150 lb bow limbs even with the rack trigger upgrade? I think one thing you would love for that bolt cover Picatinny rail would be the IR camera. How solidly does that cover close? Will it keep a zero on the scope with repeated opening and closing? Since the Burris FastFire is lower to the mount, it would be a good addition to the Vlad. One other front Picatinny device would be the non-edged 4" or 6" steel spike for CQC. Keep cranking out these good videos.
Thank you" he IR camera is a good idea on that magazine rail. There is about a half a millimeter of side-to-side play in the cover when it is closed, but at short range I think that would not entirely be a problem.
At Shot Show, I briefly saw that Holosun is coming out with a thermal red dot. I will be at IWA and plan to get a closer look. Spendy for sure, something like 2500 euros, but that would really be awesome.
I am very happy with the Burris sight, I have to admit. I will put it on the Vlad, out front, when I do more shooting with it.
Oh, I will measure the trigger pull with the tuning trigger and the 150 lb limb as soon as I am using that bow again and post the result here!
So I measured the trigger pull with the 150 lb limb in my test bed, which gives me lower weights overall than with the crossbow mounted in a Hog Saddle on a tripod for some reason.
In any case, I measure a trigger pull of a bit under 8 lb with the 150 lb limb. It is quite heavy for sure.
@@fletchedevolution Thank you for the follow-up. I personally feel that 150 lb limbs are a little too much for a pistol crossbow, I'm sure there are some who would like to. It surprises me that it has such a low trigger pull. I think that 8 lb trigger pull is quite acceptable especially for defense purposes. That is about what a double action revolver is. My personal experience with a CCW is that a double action shrouded hammer revolver is still one of the best carry options like the S&W 442. It is the only firearm that can be fired from a jacket pocket. It would kind of messes up the jacket though, haha.
@@SilverShadow2LWB LOL, it would slightly mess up the jacket!
I also think 150 lb is pushing it probably, but maybe useful for a true survival hunting scenario in the back country. Not everyone using something like this will be an accomplished stalker on game, and maybe reaching out a few more yards could make the difference.
Really like your channel and thanks for all your advice .
I do have a question for you about the strings though. What's your favorite string or brand of strings for the heavy limbs?
I'm actually thinking of making my own from a product called braided dyneema.
What are your thoughts on something like that ?
I know of people who have spliced strings using 3 mm braided Dyneema and are very happy with the durability. You just need to make sure you insert a piece of dyneema in the middle or serve the string like you normally would so that it is thick enough to function reliably.
I noticed that you didn’t have the aluminum special edition magazine. Is there is reason you prefer the stock plastic magazine? Also, is the aluminum magazine noisy? Thanks!
I do wonder if it would make the trigger even lighter if you angle the part that pushes the string up in the opposite way. So instead of pressing against the notch, it would act like a wedge between string and notch. I get my survival soon and will try that out 🙂
Very intriguing idea, I am looking forward to your results!
Hi there, I have owned a Stinger 2 for about a year now but looking to upgrade it, with the 90lb limb. Can you tell me if the standard practise arrows (circa 10 grams) can be used with the 90lb limb? I am aware Steambow recommends the heavy carbon arrows but I don't think they were available at the time of this video? I look forward to your reply.
I generally do not recommend aluminum arrows at all anymore, since they tend to bend with use. And a slight bend that you cannot see will send the arrow off course. So no matter what you get when you buy something new, I would recommend carbon fiber.
The lightest I generally recommend for 90 lb is 150 grains, but 160 to 170 is better in my opinion. The blue aluminum arrows are 145 grains nominal, so a bit under. The lighter the arrow, the more energy remains in the bow, and this can be hard on end caps and reduces the life of the limb. And I have had so many aluminum shafts bend on impact in harder foam targets when shooting with 90 lb, even from 15 or 20 meters.
Also, based on all of my velocity research, a heavier arrow tends to get a little bit more kinetic energy out of the bow. But my main concern would be end caps and limb life. So I would tend towards the heavy carbon target arrows or the bodkins in the carbon line if you want to go Steambow, or something else to your liking at around 160 to 170 grains.
I hope this helps!
@@fletchedevolution thank you very much for the detailed response.
I was curious as Steambow recommend, all the other types of aluminum bolts for the 90lb limb, except the practise bolts.
I will be purchasing the heavy carbon bolts in future but wanted to practise with the bundle of aluminum bolts I have in the interim.
I just tested my Steambow AR-6 Stinger 2 Survival using 120lb Magnum limb. I found the trigger hard to pull comparison to my Stinger Compact 35lb limb is it because of the heavy limb? Or do I need to upgrade the trigger?
Hi man. Do you have a 120 lb limb on the stinger? Did i hear that right?
Yes, Steambow should be releasing it in the near future, I was lucky to get a pre-production version from them to test out. It's pretty sweet!
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍