I had no idea that there’d be that much difference from bolt to bolt.
I have marked all (6 of them) with permanent ink. I have #1 wich is the first shot, #2 is the next closest (.25” from first) and so on. I have one turd that is consistently 1.8” off high and left at 30 or 40 yards.
I learned this lesson by experience and frustration. I’d get the crossbow sighted in using one bolt then shoot all 6 at the target. Being used to firearms, I got very frustrated when I couldn’t put all in the same hole, especially after getting it sighted in and being able to ruin a bulls eye with the same bolt. So I sighted in another bolt and so on. Finally it occurred to me what was going on and I did some google research. I wish I would have started there. If a bolt has fetching off by 1 mm and the twist is a tad different, the center of gravity off by 1 mm, etc. it does perform slightly different. The manufacturing tolerances are tight. But with the accuracy we are talking about, I don’t believe identical exists.
Again, all the tolerances I am talking about are still pretty tight. And I make all comparisons to the slug barreled shotguns that I use to hunt deer here. I struggle to get a 3” pattern at 50 yards with my smooth barreled shotgun from shot to shot. The specialty, rifled slug barreled weapons with magnum sabbots are a lot more accurate than my shotty and with more range too. So the accuracy we are talking is relative for what you want out of it. A real clean kill shot on a midwestern whitetail provides some room for error (Big lungs and heart). But I can also hit a rabbit in the heart at 30 yards. I have learned broadheads are a bit much for rabbit as the bolt will either be lost or damaged by the ground and it about cuts the hare in half.