Looking for some pro's and con's on these boats. Preferabaly the 21XD or 21XRD.
I already know about the speed. Im needing to know about ride, stress cracks, handling, comfort, etc.
Any feed back will be greatly appreciated.

I was surprised at how much storage they have and how well they fish. You usually sacrifice something for extremes (i.e. speed) but with the Bullet I was impressed with the overall package. You might look up KenA on the forum as he was my host for my only Bullet experience.

And yes, that speed factor is pretty impressive!

Sinkey.
I just bought an 18 yr. old bullet 20 footer light layup dual console. It only has 2 stress cracks in the gel coat.

The ride in the 21xrd is amazing. comfort is just slightly above average as the seats are not real cushiony.
handling is great once you learn to handle it. above 85 can talk a little time.

if you want to know more just call me.

Anybody know how these balsa core hulls hold up in stumpy lakes like Fork, ect.?

as light and thin as the hull is... I would be scared to take it into the woods.... I also have heard the ride in 3 foot waves will bust your guts loose. The speed in these boats is awesome.. but you give up a lot to gain a little....

I have owned Bullets for the last 10 years and have been very satisfied. I have never owned a 21, only a 20xd. Obviously the speed and handling on these boats is well documented, however the the fishablility has been overlooked. Mine has plenty of storage, large front deck, and rides amazingly well in rough water. However, it is somewhat of a compromise. It is not a boat designed with 100% fishability in mind. It is designed as a high performance fishing boat. Also, I have owned a couple of 20xd's and have never had a stress crack, anywhere.

Sort of like automobiles. Some people like to travel across the country is an Escalade and some people like a Corvette. The best advice would be to ride and fish in one. You might like it, you might not but the quality and attention to detail should impress you.

Pards has an 04 21XD and You better have a good Back Doctor or a big supply of Pain pills. Actually the Boats Fishability is descent but the Ride is a little less desirable. The Boat runs Ok in about a ft and half Chop, but after that- You kinda have to Drive it alittle.( I think We have only crunched about 6or 7 this Year) The Boat has held up good considering the the amount of Trips to Rayburn and Toledo the last couple of Years. One of the fastest on the Water, but kinda feels like Riding on a Tin Can compared to a Champion or Ranger.

* I also will add that the Livewell System is a Joke. Their are better Livewells on a stock JohnBoat then on a Bullet

If you're considering a Bullet, you really ought to consider a Gambler. They have a great ride.

I owned a Bullet 21XD for about 3 years and it was a great boat. A friend of mine bought it from me and fishes Media, Federation and club tournaments out of it now. I fished some pretty rough tournaments on lakes like Texoma and Sam Rayburn with 30+ winds and never had a problem. It was one of the best laid out boats and probably the easiest one to get in and out of. I used the center front storage for my rod and reels and you could lay at least 14 side by side without them getting all tangled up and still left huge storage in the side rod boxes. I have owned two Bass Cat Pantera's and now own a Ranger 520VX Commanche and sometimes I still miss the old Bullet.
I took it in when Bullet was changing out all of the older boats that didn't have hydraulic steering so I got to see quite a few older boats there to have this done and me and my brother were commenting about how great all of the boats looked considering most of them were between 5 and 10 years old.
If you ever need to talk to a Bullet expert call Billy Sartin of Sartin Marine at Fork and he can give you the low down.
At one time we had about 10 members in the Century Bass Club that all owned Bullets and about 8 of those guys including my brother still have them and if you ever saw my brothers boat you would swear it is maybe a year old instead of 6.
And if you want to expierence something you have never done join Century and hope you draw Coy Frazier. You will probably have a morning run like I had with him from the state park on Tawakoni to the dam which only took a couple of minuites and when I saw the speedometer around the 80 mark I just hung on and took it all in. It took me a couple of minuites to get settled once we got there but it was fun. My boat usually maxed out at about 72 with the 200HP motor that was on it.
It is definitely a well built and fun boat.

Bullet makes an AWESOME boat. I can only assume you're looking at a used one, and like all used boats you should do your homework. I owned a 20XD that I absolutley loved from a fishing and SPEED perspective. Good luck!

I had a 20 footer from '95-'01. I wouldn't worry about taking it in the stumps as I mostly fished Toledo Bend. It is a lighter boat but this means less weight on the stump thats trying to punch through the hull. I never had any trouble with stress cracks, it had great livewells and was fun to drive. It fished well, but if the wind was blowing and you were fishing the main lake and had to dig in your box for a bag of worms or something you would be blown a long way off your spot. I've driven in a lot of rough water and in my opinion it did not have a good rough water ride. The only other negative I can think of was the compartments behind the seats would hit the back of the seats when you tried to open them. In my opinion the layout and ride could be better but they are a very well built boat.

as you've heard most of the rough water statements are from bullet owners with the 20xd's that much is true.
the stress cracks on mine are only about 1" long and are of NO concern to me at all. the previous owner probably hit the side of the boat on a dock or tree or something. most boats would have spider cracked like crazy..

now,that being said. the new 21xrd is actually a 21'10" boat. almost 22 foot long. the ride in that boat is absolutely amazing.
Billy Sartin will take you for a ride in the 21xrd with a 300xs on it to prove to you how they ride. that boat will run 100mph light loaded. and about 92-94 loaded to fish.

as far as stumps go. i know they hold up very well. it has nothing to do with the balsa wood. the strength comes from the type of resin used to en case the balsa. it's very strong. ask Randy Oldfield or Ken Addington. They fish fork all the time.

My boat was a 21XD and my brothers and some other buddies have the 20XD and in my humble opinion the rides are quite a bit different. The length of the 21XD makes it a much smoother ride to me in rougher water but then again I found out years ago that the driver has a lot to do with it. I fished team tournaments with a guy Jon Harshbarger who flat knows how to drive in rough water. I am not the best but I had another fishing buddy teach me that if you just take it easy and don't try to break any speed records you can just about navigate in any conditions without too much trouble and without tearing stuff up including your body. I was fishing an Anglers Choice championship on Sam Rayburn a few years back and the wind blew really hard and there were some really big rollers but I actually found that the lighter weight Bullet really floated and skied the waves whereas a buddy of mine was spearing waves left and right in his heavy Ranger.

preety mixed answers on the rough water ride.

You really expected people on the TFF to agree on something? Heck, folks won't even agree on what type of fish is posted when their is a picture of it!