Broadheads

[Bowbum]

Hello everyone,
So I have been reading so much about thouse slick trick broadheads and I would like to give them a try but I don't know how you index an arrow head that has four blades. I know that you check for woble and all but then with a three blade system you match it up with your feltching, what do you do with four blades? Does it matter that much mathing blades up with the fletching on your arrows :-D thanks for any help guys
Steven (bowbum)

[WOOKIE]

Steven, I have never worried about indexing BH's to the fletching. I just make sure that the BH is true to the shaft with no wobble. I always use RH helical fletching to counteract the BHs tedancy to want to plane. Have always had good flying broadhead tipped arrows with this method.

[scooter]

Steven, I have never worried about indexing BH's to the fletching. I just make sure that the BH is true to the shaft with no wobble. I always use RH helical fletching to counteract the BHs tedancy to want to plane. Have always had good flying broadhead tipped arrows with this method.

:twak: Bad archer! You should ALWAYS index your 3 blade broadheads....always! :twak:

Your 4 blades don't need to be indexed, but you must spin them on an arrow spinner to make sure they are true and there are no wobbles in the tip. If the tip is untrue, lightly put your weight on the tip, while holding the arrow close to the broadhead and bend it the opposite way from what it's bent to. The spin it again. Keep tweaking until they spin with no wobble.

:twak: BAD CDNARCHER! :twak:

[WOOKIE]

Bad archer! You should ALWAYS index your 3 blade broadheads....always!

Warden, you obviously do not know much about aerodynamic principles do you. BH indexing does not matter one bit. The fletching is there to counteract the planing forces of the BH not work with it.

[scooter]

Bad archer! You should ALWAYS index your 3 blade broadheads....always!

Warden, you obviously do not know much about aerodynamic principles do you. BH indexing does not matter one bit. The fletching is there to counteract the planing forces of the BH not work with it.

Oh, but I do...and you are incorrect.

[WOOKIE]

Here are a few quotes on the subject that I have found on Archery Talk.


Question about broadhead tuning for you veterans. I recently switched to Steel Force 100's and getting to crunch time for season...starts Saturday the 13th...any way on a 4 blade head would ti be crucial to get the main blade to line up with the cock vane or is this not a problem with 4 blade heads?



As long as the head is aligned with the shaft properly, it doesn't matter whether the feathers/blades are aligned with each other. The "line up your blades/fletchings" adage is an old wives tale. It should make no difference in how your arrows fly as long as your bow is tuned, arrows spined correctly, and broadheads spin true, without any wobble. Good luck.

agree totally with Meleagris1. I've read some posts where guys are saying that they should line up 3 blade broadhead with the fletching or opposite the fletching, etc., etc., None of that matters if you have the broadhead on the shaft straight, the shaft spine is correct, your bow is in tune and you have enough fletching size.

Some guys will try to shoot broadheads with the same small fletching that they were shooting 3-D with and that won't work with fixed blade broadheads.

I've not heard of anyone having flight problems with Steel Force broadheads....all other things considered. Great broadhead!


So, there you go Boss. Don't call me bad when I have done nothing wrong :flipoff:

[WOOKIE]

Warden, here is an article off of Barrie Archery website, the makers of Rocky Mountain BH's. The article is on building the perfect arrow. Funny, but I see absolutely nothing on BH/Fletching alignment. If you want, I can lend you several dozen books on aerodynamics and the theory of flight, so you can learn the truth.

BUILDING THE PERFECT ARROW
John L. Sloan
Give this some thought. Just about any, well-tuned bow will shoot an arrow with enough accuracy to kill a deer. But no matter how well tuned the bow is, if the arrow is not perfect, you can never achieve the pinpoint accuracy and straight arrow flight we would like to have. The arrow, with attached broadhead, is the most important piece of your equipment. No matter how expensive or how well the rest of your equipment performs, if the arrow sucks, so will your shooting.

Today, there is no excuse for shooting less than perfect arrows. Back in the old days - 10 or so years ago - when you bought arrows, you pretty much took your chances with them being straight. Sometimes you could get 10 good arrows, out of a box of 12. That didn't mean the other two wouldn't fly straight, although sometimes they really wouldn't. Usually, they just didn't fly as straight as the others. They became wingers, zipping off to the right, left or up or down. They became practice arrows or, in my case, got use to hold up the tomato vines, or prop us targets.

Just about any tournament shooter today, will not have an arrow that is not at least within .030, of being perfect. I know, few of us, including me, have a device to measure an arrow accurately. Spin testing is not quite good enough either. But I still do it. But here is a way to get arrows that are straight. Some manufacturers guarantee their arrows to be that straight. Easton XX78 aluminum arrows are among those.

In the early days of carbon, they had some problems with straightness. Compounding that problem, you could not straighten carbon arrows. They were either straight or broken. That has changed. Today, most carbon shafts are at least .030 or better.

After the arrow shaft, the next point of interest is the fletching. All arrows must have some sort of fletching. Fletching comes in two basic types - plastic vanes or feathers. There are arguments in favor and against each. Personally, I shoot some of each. I shoot the vanes in wet weather and the feathers in dry. I really can't tell any difference in arrow flight. Feathers are known to be a little more forgiving, vanes a little sturdier. Feathers are a little lighter but not enough to make any difference. Of course, if you are a traditional archer, then probably feathers would be you natural choice.

Most archers like their arrows fletched with a slight spiral. This causes the arrow to rotate during flight and helps stabilize the arrow. I prefer a five degree helical or spiral. The longer and heavier the arrow, the larger or longer the fletching should be. Obviously, the converse is true.

Next come the nocks. The nock must be perfectly aligned with the arrow shaft for it to fly accurately. I mean perfectly. The best way to check is to spin the arrow on a commercial arrow straightener. Watch the nock end of the arrow for any sign of wobble. If it wobbles, start adjusting the nocks.

Last, you go to the other end of the arrow. Check to be sure the insert is properly installed and glued in place. It has to be perfect too. Just as the arrow must be perfectly straight, the same is true of the broadhead. And then the broadhead must be tuned to the arrow shaft. If you have a precision you may even weigh each broadhead. Use only the broadheads with the same weight. Most manufacturers, such as Rocky Mountain, do that for you. Then the head must be aligned with the arrow.

In doing this, again you test for wobble. But now you look at the broadhead end. If the head wobbles, keep adjusting until it spins perfectly. Sometimes, experimenting with different broadhead types or styles will produce one that works better than the others. That is the one you use.

After you have done all of that, now it is time to shoot some arrows. If you are going to hunt with broadheads, they you need to practice with broadheads. In choosing the 18-24 arrows that I will hunt with each year, I shoot each and every arrow four times. With a practice broadhead, I shoot that arrow from 20, 25, 30 and 40 yards. My Champion bows get a lot of off-season use doing just this. If it flies perfectly at all distances, that arrow goes in the hunting batch. Naturally, I replace the broadhead with a new T-125. In fact, I do it right then. That way I can get the broadhead alignment the same as the practice head.

Only when all the components of the arrow-shaft, fletching, nock insert and broadhead are perfect, can you expect perfect flight. It may take some time to get it right, but that is what rainy afternoons are for. They are perfect for guaranteeing perfect arrow flight.


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[archer2]

Like cdnarcher, I see no point to having the vanes/feathers aligned with the blades of a broadhead. If the broadhead is balanced on the arrow shaft and the fletching is large enough to compensate for the broadhead blades, there should be no problem.

[petew]

You don't need to index them.It makes no diference at all .I have the same point of impact with2, 3 and 4 blades on my arrows with the same fletching, 3 fletch helical, feathers and vanes.If we needed to wory about this how would we ever align a 2 blade??Screw them on , spin them and tune the rest/noc.If you realy think it is necessary fletch your arrows with 4 fletch , and align them to this.It will do nothing but might make you feel better.
As for the slick tricks you don't bend the shaft or point. you loosen them and adjust the washer as per the instructions.
Pete