[Fletchshedder]

I have never shot fixed broadheads, but I am thinking after this year I might give them a try, but my question is. After attaching the broadhead to my arrow, do I need to make sure that the blades of the broadhead are in line with the fletching, (or at least as close as possible)? And also, if they need to be inline, is it as simple as heating the insert up and rotating them? I know that is for the arrow, and that their might need to be some adjustment to the rest if needed. Just wanted to make sure that was the correct way to set up fixed blades.

 

[Mike @ Ft Sill]

I never lined mine up and my arrows shot fine. I feel that would involve a lot of additional work.

 

[308Havoc]

some people are going to argue with me about this, but im going to give you a FACT. aligning your broadhead to the feathers/vanes do not do anything. you can do it if you want to, but it wont make a difference. if you do do it(just because you want to), do not heat up the insert if you have a carbon arrow. if you want to properly "tune" your fixed blade heads, then put feathers on your arrows in place of the plastics. some will argue that fact, but you will get better flight. hope this helps

 

[dce]

I agree with point A and disagree with point B unless you're using a rest where you get fletch contact.My bow is set up to hunt with at 325 fps.I use fixed blades heads with blazer vanes and get perfect arrow flight at any distance.

 

[Fletchshedder]

Thats what I was hoping you would say. I was nervous that if they were not aligned up they would fly all over the place

 

[308Havoc]

i wasnt saying, that you couldnt get good flight with vanes, i myself shoot vanes, but the norm is better flight out of feathers for most. sorry bout the misconception

 

[dce]

That used to be true at one time but that's the beauty of a properly tuned drop a way rest.In my experience,certain vanes definately promote better flight than feathers if you get 100% clearance.Otherwise,I agree with you.

Fletch,think about two things.First,a properly tuned arrow will spin in flight.If the arrow is spinning,how can it make a differance if the blades are aligned with the fletching?Second,how would you align the fletch with a four bladed head?It's an old wives tail.

Use good form,use the right spined arrow,make sure the broadhead is aligned on the shaft so it spins true,make sure you don't have fletch contact and tune the bow so the arrow is leaving the bow strait.If you do that,you'' get excellent arrow flight at any speed.

I replace my strings and cable every spring with a good custom set.I shoot a bunch of shots with it before I set my peep.With todays string materials,it takes way less time to shoot a string in,usually less than 30 shots but I take at least 50 to make sure.the next day,I set my peep,paper tune and then tune my broadheads.Usually within less than a half hour,I'm all set.I keep two BH tipped arrow in my quiver all summer and take a few shots every time I practice.That promotes confidence,which is paramount.Don't wait until the week befor ethe season.

 

[Fletchshedder]

DCE thanks for the information. I now understand much better about tuning a broadhead. I am going to start looking at the slik tricks, I hear good information on them

 

[dce]

That's what I use and I can't ever see myself changing.They're easy to tune but they still need tuned.

 

[SpiritNugent]

If the bow is in tune, which I would recommend highly to have someone look at it and tune it that knows what they are doing, any fixed blade will fly for you.

I recommend slick tricks.

An out of tune bow will show the first shot with a fixed blade...

You will not need to line fletchings up with blades.

Get the bow tuned though!!!

 

[Fletchshedder]

SpiritNugent I will definately do that. Everyone's information has been very helpful. I will let everyone know how it goes

 

[tomwysox]

For years I shot my broadheads anyway at all. I don't think it makes a diff. But the last 15 years, I sort thru the broadheads to match the blades with the fletch. If the blades don't match I just try a different head. Usually you don't have to twist the arrow sleeves.

 

[fall gobbler]

If the bow is in tune, which I would recommend highly to have someone look at it and tune it that knows what they are doing, any fixed blade will fly for you.

Agree 100%....If your bow is not tuned properly, nothing else matters. I would suggest learning all you can about bow tuning, get the required tools and do it yourself. You'll be glad you did.

 

[RayRay]

I use 4 blade BH's with 3 fletch Or 3 blade Bh's with 4 fletch or any combination, They all fly great. No reason to line them up. Tune the BH's to the arrow by spin testing & tune your bow perfectly & you will have no problems.All I use are fixed BH's.

 

[Buck Whisperer]

This might be a dumb question, but how do you spin test a broad head to an arrow? Another thing, i was looking at arrows online and there were three different fletching options for the arrows i was looking. Im thinking about gettting blazer vanes this year but i dont know if i need to get the 4 degree to the right, 4 degree to the left, or straight vanes? If anyone could help me out with this id really appreciate it. Ive been bow hunting for 7 years but i still dont know all the in's and outs yet.

 

[Born2Hunt]

The theory is that the arrow rotation created by adding some degree of angle to the vanes enhances a fixed broad head to fly more stable and thus straight.....similar to the method used to throw a football. I have found this to be true. However, all vanes must be the same degree or right of left; whereas mixing right and left will probably provide a different point of impact, but it is possible that both may group well. The right in one group and the lefts in another location on the target. Right appears to be more popular.

Spin testers are made by Apple and are available from several suppliers i. e. Cabela's, Bass Pro etc. First spin the shaft without the BH to determine if the arrow is straight then add the BH and spin again testing the straightness of the BH. If there is wobble at the point of the broadhead and the arrow is straight probably the insert is not installed straight or the arrow tip was not cut straight. Often the BH wobble can be solved by rotating the insert a quarter of a turn or so. If not try different insert, if NG the shaft may not be cut evenly. This too is easy to fix by removing the insert and trimming the arrow with a G5 trimming tool.

I cut all my arrows precisely the same length weighting them to assure they are the same or very very close. I also weigh all my components, BH's, inserts, knocks and vanes before assembling each and select the ones which weigh the same to assemble as my hunting arrows. I weight the final product and number each vanes to keep records.

I make a chart and shoot each arrow at 20,25,30,35,40,45 & 50 yards to record the performance of each. The number arrows which perform best are arranged in my quiver to be shot in sequence while hunting.

This doesn't take long, helps one to concentrate on each test shot, increases accuracy and builds confidence in shooting ability.

 

[Buck Whisperer]

Wow dude, thats really technical but it makes perfect sense. Sounds like i have some gear to buy to get things as close as they possibly can. I like to think im a pretty good shot with my bow but i am always trying to look for an advantage anywhere i can. I have noticed that some of my arrows seem to fly better at certain distances now that you mention that. Im really looking forward to learning more about this and seeing all this come together full circle. Thanks for the advice.

 

[fall gobbler]

A quicker, less expensive way to check BH alignment is to just open a desk drawer and lay your arrow accross the two sides and roll it. Assuming your arrows are straight, the tip of your broadhead will run true if it is aligned properly.

If it's not aligned, you'll see even the slightest wobble of the BH tip. If the arrow is bent, the BH tip AND the nock will wobble.

There are obviously more accurate ways to test but my shooting ability wouldn't notice the difference.