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When do you sight in your broadheads?

Forest Hunter

By Forest Hunter,
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Forest Hunter Newbie

Forest Hunter

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I wanted to use a rage broadhead but I only shoot 50 pounds and I think it would be harder for the blades to deploy. I want to use the 40 KE broadhead but I'm still hesitant.

Never... i shoot field tips and head to the woods with my Rages. Shoot out no problem with those broad heads. I go with what works for me and there is no need for me to sight in with broad heads.

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Geno C Newbie

Geno C

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i dont thick they would be hard to deploy at 50... they are not an over the top deploying design. they switch out on contact. the design of them is actually really nice. i never have seen them NOT put a 2" slash in a deer upon contact. for a mechanical BH they open fully on immediate contact atleast is all the vids i have seen and also my own personal experience. you should try them out.

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meatmuzzy Newbie

meatmuzzy

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i recently switched from muzzys to NAP hellrazors and you can get a pack of practice heads.  I got the hunting heads and practice heads but they fly the same as the field points anyways.  When i was shooting the muzzys I would use old tips and blades for practice and just stiwch them out for new ones when it came time to hunt.  Its never too early to shoot your bow with what is eventually going to be shot at an animal.

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loworange88 Collaborator

loworange88

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Do you sharpen them after you shoot them or no? I am afraid to shoot them because I'm not sure how to sharpen them afterwards if I miss or something like that.

I've shot each of my new broadheads once into my block target, and I may do that one more time.  I will end up buying another pack of them right before season just to have.  As for sharpening them, my experience, and I wont speak for everyone, is that if you shoot BH arrows into a target 1, 2 or 3 times, usually its not enough to dull them up much.  Always sharper is better of course.  IF your really worried about it, buy a second pack, and either swap the new ones out before season, or get a pack of replacement blades if you can.  I personally never had good consistent results sharpening BH blades.

When I took my archery course, the instructers had a neat DIY trick to determine if a BH needed to be sharpened or replaced...Take a roll of masking tape, and a fist full of rubber bands...put the rubber bands all over the tape roll so that they criss cross the hole of the roll and make a "web"....The instructors then took a sharp and a dull broadhead on an arrow and by hand, inserted it into the web of rubber bands....the dull one did not cut the rubber bands, it merely pushed them aside.  The sharp one cut a bunch of them.  They then said that rubber bands are similar in elasticity to that of tendons and arteries in a deer.

It made sense to me, and I tried it at home with a dull BH and a brand spanking new one out of the pack, and I got the same results.  So that is sort of my "checker" for blade sharpness.

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Forest Hunter Newbie

Forest Hunter

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Do you sharpen them after you shoot them or no? I am afraid to shoot them because I'm not sure how to sharpen them afterwards if I miss or something like that.

I've shot each of my new broadheads once into my block target, and I may do that one more time.  I will end up buying another pack of them right before season just to have.  As for sharpening them, my experience, and I wont speak for everyone, is that if you shoot BH arrows into a target 1, 2 or 3 times, usually its not enough to dull them up much.  Always sharper is better of course.  IF your really worried about it, buy a second pack, and either swap the new ones out before season, or get a pack of replacement blades if you can.  I personally never had good consistent results sharpening BH blades.

When I took my archery course, the instructers had a neat DIY trick to determine if a BH needed to be sharpened or replaced...Take a roll of masking tape, and a fist full of rubber bands...put the rubber bands all over the tape roll so that they criss cross the hole of the roll and make a "web"....The instructors then took a sharp and a dull broadhead on an arrow and by hand, inserted it into the web of rubber bands....the dull one did not cut the rubber bands, it merely pushed them aside.  The sharp one cut a bunch of them.  They then said that rubber bands are similar in elasticity to that of tendons and arteries in a deer.

It made sense to me, and I tried it at home with a dull BH and a brand spanking new one out of the pack, and I got the same results.  So that is sort of my "checker" for blade sharpness.

That does sound like a good idea I shoot muzzy three blades and they're relatively cheap so I might shoot the three in the pack into my target. I have and see how they shoot and buy another pack of the same broadheads to put them on for hunting. I might try that rubber band method and see how shooting broadheads dull them.

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Fantail Newbie

Fantail

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My hunting bow rarely sees an arrow tipped with a field point unless its hitting a bag. The poor 3d target is taking a beating this year, though. The practice bh for Grim Reapers are primo.

Are you anywhere near a Central Tractor? They usually have tons of 12x18" foam blocks the trailers ship in on, they give them away free & make good broadhead targets.

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wdswtr Newbie

wdswtr

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Do you sharpen them after you shoot them or no? I am afraid to shoot them because I'm not sure how to sharpen them afterwards if I miss or something like that.

I've shot each of my new broadheads once into my block target, and I may do that one more time.  I will end up buying another pack of them right before season just to have.  As for sharpening them, my experience, and I wont speak for everyone, is that if you shoot BH arrows into a target 1, 2 or 3 times, usually its not enough to dull them up much.  Always sharper is better of course.  IF your really worried about it, buy a second pack, and either swap the new ones out before season, or get a pack of replacement blades if you can.  I personally never had good consistent results sharpening BH blades.

When I took my archery course, the instructers had a neat DIY trick to determine if a BH needed to be sharpened or replaced...Take a roll of masking tape, and a fist full of rubber bands...put the rubber bands all over the tape roll so that they criss cross the hole of the roll and make a "web"....The instructors then took a sharp and a dull broadhead on an arrow and by hand, inserted it into the web of rubber bands....the dull one did not cut the rubber bands, it merely pushed them aside.  The sharp one cut a bunch of them.  They then said that rubber bands are similar in elasticity to that of tendons and arteries in a deer.

It made sense to me, and I tried it at home with a dull BH and a brand spanking new one out of the pack, and I got the same results.  So that is sort of my "checker" for blade sharpness.

I tell you what I would and will never ever take afield a broadhead that I have shot through any target without sharpening it or replacing it period.  I have a very similar story to yours and when I took my bow course the instructors kept pounding it in our heads that if you shoot your broadhead just once replace it or sharpen it.  He said it over and over and jumped at the first chance someone laughed at him.  The instructor said okay lets do a demonstration.  He opened a brand new package of thunderheads and shot one into a 3d target.  He took a piece of elk hide and challenged the guy to stick the arrow through it.  The guy tried and after much struggles he finally got the broadhead and arrow through the hide.  The guy was all proud of himself and until the instructor said okay now take this brand new one and try the same thing.  It sliced right through with no problem.  The guy said point taken. 

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Nomad Grand Master

Nomad

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My fieldpoints and broadheads fly the same, as they should . Which is why I never understood the whole mechanical thing.

I have a few practice BH's that I shoot along with my FP's everytime I practice .

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doulos Newbie

doulos

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I have to agree with Larry. I do the same thing.

By the way I have alot less problems with broadhead accuracy since going back to helical fletching.

Mechanicals are a product of us shooting faster and faster bows with light arows and small fletch.

For years everyone used pretty straight fletch because most guys were using prong style shoot through rests. Clearance was an issue unless the fletch was straight or just slightly offset. Helical was a problem with those style rests. Well fixed broadheads wanted to steer your arrows and the smaller straight fletch wasnt helping much. Sometimes even the best tuned bows didnt shoot broadheads as well as they could have. So in comes mechanicals to fix the problem.

Now I know many have good fortune with Blazer vanes that are straight.I have used them and they worked OK. They work because they have a high profile and are very stiff. Today people are fletching Blazers also with a helical twist.

Since I started using a drop away years ago I figured there was no reason not to fletch with a tight helical. Clearance of the rest was not an issue anymore. Broadhead accuracy has improved and overall accuracy also.

This is not a thread to bash mechanicals. Im just presenting altenatives to those who want to stay with fixed blades and are having difficulty.

Most fixed blade heads can be controlled with a 4 inch 3 fletch helical. I still use 4 inch 4 fletch helical.

And feathers are even better for control.

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wdswtr Newbie

wdswtr

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Good post Doulos and I agree. I am against light arrows to begin with. The lighter the arrow the less penetration period. I remember years ago every archery shop that talked about hunting arrows say 500 plus grains. Now days I read about guys just hovering above 300 but dang those arrows are fast and I only need 1 pin to shoot out to 40 yards. Yep then the arrow hits a rib on entery and gets deflected missing vitals blah blah blah. My hunting shafts ready to go are 487 grains. I shoot fixed baldes with 4 inch vanes with a helical. I tried the blazers, 3inch vanes and a few others and nothing could get the arrow to fly like the 4 inch with helical. There are alot of things that take place when that release is pulled and a properly tuned bow is key to making a fixed blade fly true. There have been so many advances in bows over the years and I think alot of them have favored to the guys who do not know or cannot tune there bows on a regular basis. Single cams got rid of the need to make sure your cams were timed to each other properly for example. Mechanicals also took away the need to properly tune a bow to get your hunting arrows to fly true. I also still wonder how many people actually tune there arrows. Remember the old water bath trick. Put your shaft in a tub of water and watch it spin to the same spot ever time mark the high side on each arrow and fletch them identical. What about fletching lining up with the blades on a broadhead. Every half dozen of arrows I have ever bought from the aluminum days to the carbon craze atleast one but most times 2 of them are way off compared to the others. Mark your arrows with numbers and keep an eye to see if there is a pattern that develops with an arrow that seems to shoot off compared to the rest. I could go on for pages on tuning a hunting setup.

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doulos Newbie

doulos

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I shot my BHs the other day, and they are flying right with my field tips, no adjustment to my bow what so ever. My bow has been properly tuned and the end result is that my fixed blade BHs fly the same as my field points.

Thats what supposed to happen. You should be able to do that out to whatever range is your self imposed limit. Many times they will group together at 20 but not 30 or farther. And a tiny adjustment will bring them together. Sounds like your ready. Good luck!

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