Practice Broadhead.
General Topic
What is the best way to practice with broadheads? If I spin test each arrow and head and shoot field points with each arrow Is it ok to use one bh to practice with and check each arrows flight with that broadhead and assume that is how it would fly when I take one new out of the package. Or should I check each broadhead/arrow individually?
I learned a life’s lesson.
1) don’t assume anything
Thanks for the replys guys.
^ Agree with Bill.....beentheredonethat
Part of my BH selection process is my system. I shoot every arrow/BH to make sure its perfect. Sure you can spin them...but I've had 1 in 18 not group with a BH.....spine inconsistency. No Assuming.....No guessing.
Then I touch up my Buzzcuts or VPAs and in the quiver. Typically they are sharper after touch up than from the package. I spin check, but since I mill the ends of the Axis and the mating surface is perfect....they are always straight even after shooting a few times.
Its a confidence booster to know your arrows shoot well.
I shoot the same 10 or so that i hunt with, I just sharpen before I hunt. I rarely shoot field points except to check tune or something. Mine all have started right around 175 grains the last 10 years and some now weigh around 160 grains or so but I am not a good enough shot to tell the difference in 15 grains. Shawn
If you tune your bow to get broadheadd and field points to the same point of impact why shoot broadheads after tuning. They are by definition interchangeable and field points are much easier to deal with
Because if you think every single broadhead flies the same you have a problem. In a perfect world they would. Spin testing is good, and I do it, but for me it hasn't been the final answer.
With replaceable blade heads, I have a set or two blades that I use for practice. I shoot all of the heads, just replace the blades. Non-replaceable blade heads, I shoot and sharpen as others have said. If there are no issues with flight after a couple of shots, I have a practice head of each that I practice with as well as field tips.
I only buy broadheads that say on the package they hit with my field points. That way I don't need to practice with them and dull them before hand.
Shoot the broadhead you intend to hunt with, spin test as necessary. Most if not all arrow flight problems are due to bow tuning and alignment. Its certainly worth the cost of a few heads in order to not wound game.
A few cautionary words about re-using heads after harvesting an animal or miss. Never assume they are still straight, replace the blades and move on. Often times they hit a bone, rock or something else. Spin tests, re-shoot, re-sharpen, etc. Learned that the hard way...
I'm with Bou. My 125 ST fly identicacl to field points. If they spin true they're going to hit the same place. I've shot them enough to be confident in that.
Well it only takes one....and guys like Bou and Smarba will never know why that shot didn't go where intended.
I shoot every dozen arrows and number them for groups. I don't find too many Axis that won't group. Back about 8 years ago when shooting some Maximas I got for 3d I found 4 in a dozen that didn't group....Spine Inconsistency.
And that was with FP's!
BTW, this SI is exacerbated by BH's.
You can say, "they fly like my FP's"....but you really don't know unless you test each one....thus one of the reasons I use the BH I do....those crummy replaceable blade or mech heads make testing each arrow more difficult.
Use one broadhead for practice on all arrows.....and then use that broadhead as the "grouse" arrow. LOL
Thats what I do but I use one peice two blade heads. I haven't ever found a Beman or Easton shaft to have any issues but I can't say the same for Gold Tip, although the GT shafts I have seen inconsistency in were the cheaper ones.
I guess if you're Levi and gonna shoot them at rifle ranges you need to be that anal. If you shoot deer and hogs under thirty yards I doubt it's gonna make or break.
I’d like to know what the hell im doing wrong then...
I bareshaft to twenty yards and get excellent results
Then will screw in Broadheads and will test with one BH and make slight rest adjustments as necessary..
Then I will shootEVERY arrow I plan to take to the field.. damn near every arrow I will have to twist nocks to get them to fly straight.. 9 out of 10 I can after twisting nocks but there is still always one..
I shoot slick trick standards!
I'm not saying I don't test hunting arrows, I do. I shoot all my hunting arrows w/ FP & practice BHs to ensure they are flying well. But the BH I screw on to hunt is typically new, always has new blades, and doesn't get shot tested so long as it spins true.
I still shoot the old Carbon Tech, which are known for good spine consistency. I also don't like to shoot much more than about 40 yards for hunting although I practice out to 80.
The question wasn't whether to check ones arrows (spine, fletching, nocks can all be a culprit for a bad arrow flight), but rather the specific broadhead you'll be hunting with. I've shot my gear enough to be confident that if my arrow flies true with a practice BH, when I screw on a new BH it's also going to fly the same.
The key to good broadhead alignment is a perfectly square shoulder. Nine times out of ten when a broadhead doesn’t spin true on one shaft, then other broadheads wont either. I get about one out of fifty broadheads that need to be straightened or the shoulder machined.
As for spine and run out, I finally gave up checking the Axis arrows. After many dozens (I check for others too) they are so good that it is just a waste of time. All shafts should be shot with field points to confirm dynamic spine.
I use a lathe and grinding attachment to square the shoulders, but everybody would benefit from at least an arrow squaring device. And, no, your arrow saw is not good enough.
I have a couple of heads for tuning, but animals get new ones or rebuilt ones that have not been shot at anything. If it spins true, it flies true.
Ambush x2. I square the shaft AND the insert on standard shafting and that will cure 99.9% of the wobblers. Axis shafting is top notch in my book.
Once I'm sure my bow is tuned as well as I can get it, after walk-back tune, etc., I sight in out to 60 yards with field tips. Then I screw on SlickTricks and spin my arrows and mess with them until they all spin 100% perfectly. Then I shoot one head at all distances. If it doesn't hit perfectly with the field tips I start over; but almost always my shots line up by that point. If I'm feeling particularly OCD I'll switch that head to different arrows, check the spin, and shoot them. When I'm done I re-sharpen the blades I used with a Lansky and quiver up.
I shoot every arrow with a broadhead into foam then I take the blades out and sharpen them.
I have shot just broadheads mostly for 20 years. It is just me, I know they all hit to POI with field points but that is how I do it!! Shawn
I buy 3 BH just for target. I shoot them every session for hunting season. I don't hunt with a FP.
Once I shoot my last target round I break out the hunting bow. I have a half dz. heads I use for practice (Rocky Mountain Ironheads 3 blades). I spin them all & then shoot nothing but BHs till season (usually 2weeks). I "don't shoot at the same spot twice". Last shoot will be NFAA Target Nationals in Yankton S.D for me (Sept 15/16th. I shoot Aluminums & have used the same arrows several years now.. 4 in the quiver with new, sharp blades when I go to the woods.
