[buckeye dan]

I received a Horton EXP for my birthday some 18 years ago. Serial number 13876 it's the all black model with plastic stock. I shot it quite a bit back then but never hunted with it. I went in a different direction with archery and used a compound bow instead. Well many years ago when money was tight I got rid of all my archery equipment except that crossbow which has been in storage till now. Seeing how it was a present I just couldn't bring myself to sell it even though it was from an ex girlfriend that I haven't seen in 15+ years. I thought someday I am going to use that thing to hunt with. Well this is that day. It's in virtually perfect condition and looks like it did the day I put it away.
End of story on to the questions.
I had attached a cross hair style box sight to the front of it. I want to switch to a scope and get rid of that. I noticed that the box sight is where the front bolt retainer is attached. So if I remove that the front of my bolts will be able to flop around. Is there a source Horton or otherwise for replacing that retainer with something that is scope compatible? I remembered I liked this feature and it was the reason I went with this box site. The site has no markings on it all. I wondered if it was a Horton product or after market. I think I payed $50 for the sight. Anyway locking the front of my bolts down is my main goal.
Are there still scopes made that will fit my model? I am not too thrilled with the red dot stuff. I would rather go with an incremented cross hair type scope. If there aren't scopes for my model are there still kits available for adapting other scopes?
It's pretty noisy and I will definitely need a silencer kit for it. Any suggestions there? A link or model number. I saw the ones on Horton's site but not sure if they will work on mine.
Is there anything I can do to increase arrow speed or beef up the weight at all?
Any suggestions anyone has for me to update this old bow would appreciated.

 

[Hoss]

Buckeye Dan,
Send an e-mail to Horton via crossbow.com. They may be able to help.

Thanks.

 

[buckeye dan]

Buckeye Dan,
Send an e-mail to Horton via crossbow.com. They may be able to help.

Thanks.

I did one better and called them. There is a cable and pulley update for my bow thats worth about 10fps. There is also a trigger update that resolves accuracy issues with half moon nocked bolts. Mine was designed to shoot the flat nocks. I can get the cable update done at a dealer but I have to ship the bow back to them for the trigger update. The lady on the phone was real helpful though. She said I may not have the accuracy issue and not need the trigger update. She said to try the modern bolts and see how they perform. If I noticed a problem with windage issues then I could just grind the half moon nocks flat to correct the problem. How cool is that? I would think most companies would pressure you to send them the bow for the $25 update. With customer service like that my next bow is going to be a Horton too. That is if I live long enough to need another considering this one is 18 years old and shows no signs of wearing out anytime soon. I gave her a list of all the modern accessories I want to attach and those will work too.

 

[buckeye dan]

Update

I nabbed a scope and mounts off ebay (Horton ss047 and ss120). I ordered some lightning strikes from wally world. Mounting the scope to my old bow was a royal pain. My dial a range spring was too beefy for the modern scope so I had to wind it tighter to shrink the diameter. I then had to clip some of the spring off to make it shorter so I could dial past a 2 without bending the entire top end of the bow mount downward. With my ranger set to 0 and the scope as is I shot 8 inches low and 6 inches right at 10 yards. This worried the heck out of me because I thought this may be the reason the guy sold the scope. I clipped another tiny piece off the spring and remounted the scope with close attention to the windage result I got the first time. I switched the hinge screw to the other side so it would pull in the proper direction for the windage problem. All while I am doing this I remembered what the lady at Horton told me about these older bows and the new arrows having windage issues. With the new alterations I was shooting with my dial a range at 2 and this corrected my elevation problem perfectly. My windage was now also within 4 inches. A few clicks on the scope adjustments and I am striking a 1 inch circle free handed at 10 yards. Groupings so close in fact I started shooting 1 arrow at a time so I didn't peel the fletchings off my new bolts.
Over the next few weeks I will shoot in the 20,30,40,50 ranges and create a cheat sheet for the reticles of my new scope. I can tell this old bow wants to hunt. Too bad I kept it stored as long as I did. I hope it forgives me when the shot counts!
Talk about noisy...TWWAAANG...SMACK! when the limbs go taunt. Next project in the works. Oh yea I didn't update a thing.I just bolted new stuff on and started shooting. You gotta love that!

 

[Guide Girl]

Buckeye Dan,
I prefer mine set on 2. Why? Because while I'm setting up in the dark, I can feel the dial and it's perfectly horizontal. I know then it's exactly how it's supposed to be without looking at it. Glad you got your sighting situation figured out.
The bow? She's sweet so she'll forgive you for ignoring her when you take her out and show her a good time. Good Luck in your next adventure!

 

[Mike]

Buck -

Remember to keep your strings and serving (across the arrow track) waxed.

Mike

 

[buckeye dan]

No problem Mike. This bow is in mint condition. A bud of mine actually asked me when Horton re-introduced the EXP when he saw it. You know those car collectors that bought a 69 fastback mustang in 1969 with the rare manual transmission. The car thats never seen rain or snow and only comes out of the garage on the best days...Thats pretty much my bow right there. It is stock from the day the factory sold it and nothing is worn. The cables and string look brand new with the exception of lube and wax. The rail the arrows launch from just got their first scuffs this week from trying the new scope and arrows.

 

[urban legend]

You still might want to put a new string on that thing. It could dry rot from sitting for so long. Also, string materials have changed a bunch. I wouldn't be surprised if a new string would make the bow quieter and faster.

 

[buckeye dan]

You still might want to put a new string on that thing. It could dry rot from sitting for so long. Also, string materials have changed a bunch. I wouldn't be surprised if a new string would make the bow quieter and faster.

I hear you and have taken it into consideration. The problem now is I think I am going to wait for visible signs of wear or maybe next year before season. I am hitting the same holes at 20 yards now woo hoo! If I don't wear anything out going for 30 or 40 yards I am going to have to go as is with this setup for this season. I don't think I am going to improve my accuracy thats for sure. I may go ahead and update in the fall. I will have to pretty much start over when I start practicing from my tree stand anyway. We will see.

 

[buckeye dan]

Playing with new camera

I was playing with my new Kodak MD863 8.2MP camera and decided to show off my bow. It's ready to hunt now. I'll need some tune up shots from my tree stand closer to season but here it is.

Here is a photo of the bow:

Here is a few close ups and I told you guys it was like new!

Still no visible string or cable wear with almost 200 shots not counting what I shot some 18 years ago. Also on another note I like this camera. It's a little slow reloading for the next photo to be taken but it is as simple as they come. I had to downgrade all of these photos to make them up loadable for display. Can wait to get some deer picks for the photo section of the forum.

 

[edmcclaskey]

looks like new

Looks like new,
very nice crossbow. That is a classic Horton.