My favorite head for white tails is the silver flame XXL its a big 2" cut fixed blade.
I noticed that it make a lot of "wind" noise and at longer distance - longer flight time - deer seem to hear it more at longer distance.
I Tested some VPA 175 grain vent-less three blades and they are much quitter in flight.
my plan is to continue to use the SF XXL for normal shots inside 25 yds. then keep the VPA's in my quiver for longer shots. they have a smaller profile (less wind catch) and are more quite.
I know at longer distance deer have a longer time to react so that's another reason to have a super quite set up.
what are your thoughts on arrow noise VS bow shot noise?
Please share your thought's.
Distance to target is also a factor.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the broadhead making noise.
Sound travels approximately 1100 feet per second at sea level. Less feet per second at higher altitudes, but a lot faster than the arrow. ( you don’t hunt at those higher altitudes that would make sound travel slower )
Both sounds, the string and the arrowhead, reach a deer’s ears, at 20 yards in 0.0545 seconds, but time wise on a 30 inch arrow, the small broadhead noise arrives 0.0027 seconds prior to the big pop of the string.
Say your bow shoots 280 feet per second, then the physical arrow arrives at the deers chest cavity, or the ham, depending on what shot you choose [ :^) ], in 0.2143 seconds.
If we want, we can subtract the time of sound travel out to 20 yards ( 0.2143 minus 0.0545), giving the deer a total reaction time of 0.1598 seconds before the arrow arrives in the ribs or ham. We all know this is more than enough time for a whitetail to jump a string.
Again, the arrow travels to the deer in 0.214 seconds, and the sound travels to the deer in 0.0545 , distance of 20 yards.
Again, the time between the leading quiet arrowhead sound, and the lagging BANG of the string is 0.0027 seconds on a 30 inch arrow at 20 yards.
So contending with string Pop, I am not sure that the 0.0027 seconds faster that the broadhead sound travels make a difference within short bowhunting distances ( less than 30 yards ). I do believe a deer takes longer than 0.0027 seconds to react.
Now at longer distances, broadhead noise could be a factor, say if you are shooting past 40 or 50 yards. This is because the arrowhead is traveling, and the amplitude will seem to be steady and growing in amplitude and pitch (Doppler effect), while the POP of the string is a single finite event, and is attenuated proportional to distance and time.
Bottome line in my estimate, short distances broadhead noise not a factor. Long distances, it definately could be.
Tony
My experience has been the opposite. My string jumpers have been mostly in the 20 yard range and in even. Almost never in the 40+ area. They react to the bow noise IMO, not the arrow noise. If it were arrow noise I should see more reaction at longer ranges, not less. The further from the bow noise the less reaction I see.
Everything I shoot is vented, stingers, snuffer ss, muzzy, etc. IMO the animals are used to hearing birds and such fly by and the flight noise doesn't bother them. I hear almost the exact same noise from birds zooming by me. Never been an issue.
Loud bows OTOH.....
At distance when their head is behind a tree or brush, they don't seem to jump as much.
From a tree stand and close in, the BANG of the string must sound like a limb breaking, and the deer are getting out of there.
Pete, I have had one swap ends on me at 8 yards. It was unbelievable to me at the time. I am guessing it was the BANG of the bow, and not the arrowhead that close in.
But one thing is for sure, you really never know what they are going to do at the shot. Lots of other factors besides the bow and arrow, and speed of sound.
Many deer spook before the bow goes off...The jump at the sound of the release. You will be surprised at how much noise the release makes and it is metallic in sound. The reason there is a delay is it takes a while for the sound to reach the deers ears and there is a reaction time also. The arrow normally travels around 8 to 10 yards before you see the begin to react to the sound and a few mire yards before the begin to actually drop. Once the deer begins to drop they will drop roughly 1 inch for every yard the arrow travels and they can drop an entire body depth in 12 yards of arrow travel. That is a 300 fps arrow.