Am I overthinking wind drift and broadheads for open country Mule Deer

[Maz7869]

I picked up a new bow this year and have been messing with everything, the stats are a 478gr rip tko at 287fps giving 87.8 ke and 13.6%foc. The last few years I've been tree stand hunting for deer and hogs in the SE US shooting 2" Hypodermics, 1.5"/2" Sevr, Day Six and Iron Will wide's. I am heading to South Dakota in September for my first mule deer hunt and had planned on running the 2" Sevr as I felt they'd perform best in the wind. I have a good supply of all heads. In the opinion of those with more western experience should I be concerned about the mechanicals or just send it?

Thanks

 

[Marble]

The wind will most likely affect your ability to hold your bow on target, than blow your arrow off target.

Practice in the wind while you are standing behind something blocking the wind and practice while the wind blows on you. You'll get an idea of what wind does at distance to your arrow.


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[mighteywhitehunter]

Shoot a good mech and you should be fine.

 

[GotDraw?]

Buffeting by open-country wind and fear of not being able to hold a steady aim can lead to target panic and blown shots. I agree w/ @Marble that this is as much or more of a factor than arrow drift.

Strongly consider using a heavy-ish, long stabilizer.

If you need to RUN that stabilizer, add another 2oz ;-)

Practice as much as possible in the wind. Perhaps even consider zip tying thin plastic plates to the upper / lower risers of the bow to force it to move more in light breezes so you get used to the bow being buffeted.

JL

 

[Duh]

I just shot in the wind out to 74 the other day in the Dakota’s. I usually shoot the sever 1.5 but I have some iron wills that I’m planning on using for a Buffalo.

I’ve got a 80lb Hoyt VTM 34, 538grain Easton axis 3 fletch, shooting 293fps, with a 5 arrow quivalizer and a extra 2 ounces glued in the front.

My kestrel was reading 8mph of wind directly left to right. Out to 74 yards, I was surprised that there wasn’t that much of a difference in drift. The ironwill (S100) was about 2 inches more of drift. Not much though.

 

[Tilzbow]

Arrow drift with field points, not much of an issue. As stated above your ability to hold steady is more of a factor. That said, when shooting fixed blade broadheads with a cross wind the wind will definitely have a huge impact on impact at long range. When shooting field points and low profile mechanicals the wind seems to push the arrow from the fletch forward equally and the heavier front end and seems to keep the arrow on track to the target. However, with a FBBH the wind will push the front end to the side, the fletch will correct it and so on all the way to the target. Shoot FBBH in a good cross wind and you’ll see the arrow fish tail much more than it does with field points or mechanicals and it‘ll impact further left or right depending on the wind direction.

I shoot a lot with a right to left cross wind and my house protects me from the wind from 50 to 70 yards so I’m able to hold steady on target but once the arrow passes the 50 yard mark there’s no wind protection and I can definitely see the difference between flight and impact of FBBH vs field points/mechanicals.

Bottom line shoot mechanicals if you want to minimize wind drift. For what it’s worth, I shoot mostly the original standard Slick Tricks in 125 grain but do carry one mechanical tipped arrow in my quivers last spot for longer shots when it’s breezy or just in case I need to try to get another arrow in an animal past 70-80 yards.

 

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If you want to minimize wind drift I don't think there is a possible better solution than running the Thorn G.I. micro broadhead. There are no blades exposed at all. Also - I'd run a 3 fletch lower profile over a 4 fletch.

To get the absolute most out of this setup you need to tune with a fixed head in my opinion. Or heck maybe even bareshaft using these heads with the blades locked in.

 

[Beendare]

OP, did you BH tune your bow...or just slap a Mech head on there and hope?

Do you know your bow is not tuned until it can shoot a fixed BH to the same POI as your FP's?

No matter which head you use, you have to practice in the wind to know what it does to your arrows.

 

[Maz7869]

The wind will most likely affect your ability to hold your bow on target, than blow your arrow off target.

Practice in the wind while you are standing behind something blocking the wind and practice while the wind blows on you. You'll get an idea of what wind does at distance to your arrow.


Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalkhooting behin

OP, did you BH tune your bow...or just slap a Mech head on there and hope?

Do you know your bow is not tuned until it can shoot a fixed BH to the same POI as your FP's?

No matter which head you use, you have to practice in the wind to know what it does to your arrows.

Yes, I tuned the bow it groups my fixed, expendables and field points to the same poi. I generally don't have the high winds experienced in the midwest where I live in florida and was wondering how much drift to expect.

 

[Marble]

I just shot in the wind out to 74 the other day in the Dakota’s. I usually shoot the sever 1.5 but I have some iron wills that I’m planning on using for a Buffalo.

I’ve got a 80lb Hoyt VTM 34, 538grain Easton axis 3 fletch, shooting 293fps, with a 5 arrow quivalizer and a extra 2 ounces glued in the front.

My kestrel was reading 8mph of wind directly left to right. Out to 74 yards, I was surprised that there wasn’t that much of a difference in drift. The ironwill (S100) was about 2 inches more of drift. Not much though.

Thats my experience with my hunting arrows too. My super light, small vane 3d arrows seem to drift more, but I pay more attention to them than my hunting arrows.

I'm hoping the OP does what I suggested above, but also does it with all the different field tips he has. IME, they don't drift as much as people anticipate.

If that wind drift gets in my head, then I'm more likely to do something to cause a bad shot.

I've also noticed this with shooting my rifle. Wind drift is a real thing, but at the distances I typically shoot, it has never been a factor. In the last 10 years, I've only missed one animal over 500 yards, and I doubt that was because of wind.

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[Lsorum13]

Wind drift can definitely be an issue in the open plains. I shoot 1.5" Sevr with Blazer vanes. I have had better luck with that set up than i have with fixed blades and longer vanes.

 

[Maz7869]

The wind will most likely affect your ability to hold your bow on target, than blow your arrow off target.

Practice in the wind while you are standing behind something blocking the wind and practice while the wind blows on you. You'll get an idea of what wind does at distance to your arrow.


Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

I will try that thanks for the suggestion it'll help show the true drift difference

 

[Beendare]

OP, Good on you for tuning.

The suggestion of taking your quiver off in heavy wind is a great one. Typically with a compound, it takes a lot of wind for the arrow to drift out of the kill zone at 40y. At 70/80y yes, drift is a factor, its a whole different ballgame.

IME, the size of fletch has more to do with wind drift vs your BH. In a tuned bow, you can use less fletching. My compound in a 10mph cross wind drifts about 3” at 50y- FPs…only an inch more with BHs.

You just have to test in a cross wind to know what your setup is doing.

 

[mod-it]

With a mechanical you are more likely to affect how much wind drift gets applied to the arrow by what vanes and vane configuration you use.
The less surface area of the vane, the less the wind will affect it. A Blazer vane is .55" tall, which is why they steer fixed blades so well...lots of vane surface. A shorter vane in a 3 fletch configuration should drift less than a taller vane. A helical applied to the vanes is also said to help them "cut" through the wind better and not be affected as much.
Something like a 2.1" or even 2.5" length Q2i x-ii vane in a 3 fletch with as much helical applied as possible comes to mind when thinking about a setup that would be nice for shooting in a cross wind.
With that being said, I fight holding the bow steady and getting off a good shot with the pin where I want it much more than how much the arrow drifts in the wind. What stabilizer you have on the front can also determine how much the wind blows the bow around. A smaller diameter front bar around 8" to 10" long will hold better in the wind than a larger diameter front bar 12" to 15" long. Some people take their front bar clear off when it is windy.

 

[JStol5]

You didn't ask for it, but I would add Grim Reaper Pro Mechanicals into the mix. 3 Blade. They're outstanding.

 

[longspeak74]

I would also suggest taking a look at Spitfires. They've worked for me on both Midwest and mountain hunts.

 

[Brusso89]

For what it’s worth, I’m switching to sevr this upcoming season after not getting the best performance on 2 animals I shot over the past few years. I’ve never given the thought to mechanical vs fixed or even type a head vs type b head in wind. I’ve choose sevr and not look back.

 

[Maz7869]

With a mechanical you are more likely to affect how much wind drift gets applied to the arrow by what vanes and vane configuration you use.
The less surface area of the vane, the less the wind will affect it. A Blazer vane is .55" tall, which is why they steer fixed blades so well...lots of vane surface. A shorter vane in a 3 fletch configuration should drift less than a taller vane. A helical applied to the vanes is also said to help them "cut" through the wind better and not be affected as much.
Something like a 2.1" or even 2.5" length Q2i x-ii vane in a 3 fletch with as much helical applied as possible comes to mind when thinking about a setup that would be nice for shooting in a cross wind.
With that being said, I fight holding the bow steady and getting off a good shot with the pin where I want it much more than how much the arrow drifts in the wind. What stabilizer you have on the front can also determine how much the wind blows the bow around. A smaller diameter front bar around 8" to 10" long will hold better in the wind than a larger diameter front bar 12" to 15" long. Some people take their front bar clear off when it is windy.

That is actually the exact vane q2I recommended and I have some arriving this weekend to try in a 3 and 4 fletch. Thanks for the stabilizer tip I run a 12” and hadn’t thought of taking it off.

 

[Maz7869]

For what it’s worth, I’m switching to sevr this upcoming season after not getting the best performance on 2 animals I shot over the past few years. I’ve never given the thought to mechanical vs fixed or even type a head vs type b head in wind. I’ve choose sevr and not look back.

Which size cut are you going to use?

 

[GuyinIdaho]

If its that windy, its easier to get closer while stalking. Will help hide your noise and movement