Groupings with BHs

[Vandy321]

are your BH groupings as tight as with field points? Or is that asking too much?

Finally pretty well tuned, BHs are grouping with my field points, no wierd flyers or anything, however my groupings are definitely larger with my BHs.

5" groups at 50 are pretty consistent for my with field points. That opens up about another 2" with my BHs. They still group, just not as tight.

Normal? A pie plate at 60 still with BHs. And that'll get it done, just wondering if I should be expecting better.

Shooting AAE max stealth and Iron will solids...not seeing any wobble in the arrow in flight like I was when it was out of tune

 

[Ucsdryder]

I think that’s too much to ask for. Mine group with my field points but anybody that can group BH AS TIGHT as FP at 50+ is full of it. Even with a perfectly tuned bow, you can’t overcome the fact that Broadheads have significantly more surface area. Even out of a hooter shooter they don’t group as tight. Expandable are a different story.

 

[pdun24]

You have to expect a little wiggle room with a fixed blade broadhead. One extra inch group at 50 is not much of a downgrade. As long as you're confident that you can put it where you need, you should be good to go.

 

[MattB]

To be expected.

 

[Samdemarais]

are your BH groupings as tight as with field points? Or is that asking too much?

Finally pretty well tuned, BHs are grouping with my field points, no wierd flyers or anything, however my groupings are definitely larger with my BHs.

5" groups at 50 are pretty consistent for my with field points. That opens up about another 2" with my BHs. They still group, just not as tight.

Normal? A pie plate at 60 still with BHs. And that'll get it done, just wondering if I should be expecting better.

Shooting AAE max stealth and Iron will solids...not seeing any wobble in the arrow in flight like I was when it was out of tune

Have you tuned your arrows to each broadhead? Shoot one broadhead at a time on a specific arrow and turn the nock and it should change your impact at 40+ yards. I would keep track of your flyer arrows and try that and see if it brings them in.

 

[Sobrbiker]

If I recall a recent post by Iron Will correctly, they recommend a little more fletch than the Max Stealth.

 

[Vandy321]

see their tech tip below

 

[Sobrbiker]

I stand corrected, the thread I was thinking of Bill V responded to referenced AAE Pro Max, not the Max Stealth.

 

[Vandy321]

I did ask Bill about that too though when I was tuning, to be sure, defiantly could have been part of the issue with vanes too small. Not to sound snappy, just wanted to squash that bug before someone read that as fact.

 

[Billy Goat]

What is your arrow straightness? That can play huge with broadheads.

 

[Bill V]

The best broadhead accuracy test I've seen lately is the one done by John Stallone with a Hooter Shooter at 70 yards. The field point group was 0.7 inches and Iron Will S Series had the second best group out of 30 broadheads at 1.1 inches, including mechanicals. I believe he used blazer vanes at 3 degrees helical for the test. It shows what is possible with a well tuned bow and no human error. To answer you question, a slightly larger group with fixed broadheads vs field points can be expected, but I think both groups could be tightened up significantly. Question on the Max Stealth: 3 or 4 fletch and how much offset or helical? Also, I'd shoot a bare shaft vs. fletched shaft with field points at 20 & 30 yards to check your tune. They should hit close to each other and parallel. I'd also do it several times to see if it varies, which could be a form issue.

 

[Brendan]

Great posts above - there are things you can do to make the gap smaller. With that said - if your form isn't hooter shooter perfect, a fixed blade broadhead will magnify error and cause a slightly larger group. Some heads are more forgiving (Iron Will, Wac 'Em in my experience) some less (VPA) which is born out by the test Bill V posted above. (First time I've seen a test like that, but I've been saying that about VPA for years....)

Things you can do, depending on how much time you have, and how OCD you are:

* Appropriate spine arrows. Arrows with spine consistency.
* .001 straightness arrows
* check runout as you cut your arrows down, iteratively cutting the ends that have more
* Square your arrow shafts, inserts if needed and able
* Nock tune every arrow as a bare shaft (best) or spine align
* Use taller, longer fletching.
* 4 fletch instead of 3 Fletch
* More Offset, Helical instead of straight fletching. Combine offset with a helical clamp.
* Spin every arrow / broadhead combo on a spinner. Only use those that spin without any visible wobble.
* If you use outserts - check them frequently. They tend to tweak more and go out of alignment
* TUNE YOUR BOW (I like bare shafts at long range, because that way you know if the bow is in tune, and you're being consistent. I want bare shafts, field points, and fixed blades hitting together out to 40 yards for me. FB and FP to longer ranges minus some drop at long range)

Just depends on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go....

 

[Vandy321]

Thanks Bill and Brendan, great info

...leaving at 3 am for 8 days in the elk woods, chalked it up yesterday to "good enough for now". I am not 100% tuned, my rest is bottomed out on adjustments and I still have a slightly nock low tear. Arrows are also on the verge of being underspinned. Too late to mess with any of it now. I've shot better groups than archers moa at 30-60, but for outside, little wind and uneven ground that is about as good as i can do. Perfectly ok with the BHs grouping slightly larger, just wanted to know if that is to be expected or something I should shoot to do better with this fall with the fixes listed below.

Easton axis, 3 fletch max stealth, 2 deg RH helical. Dropping down to 260 spine this fall, 4 fetching the stealth and bare shaft tuning after remounting my rest lower

 

[Brendan]

Thanks Bill and Brendan, great info

...leaving at 3 am for 8 days in the elk woods, chalked it up yesterday to "good enough for now". I am not 100% tuned, my rest is bottomed out on adjustments and I still have a slightly nock low tear. Arrows are also on the verge of being underspinned. Too late to mess with any of it now. I've shot better groups than archers moa at 30-60, but for outside, little wind and uneven ground that is about as good as i can do. Perfectly ok with the BHs grouping slightly larger, just wanted to know if that is to be expected or something I should shoot to do better with this fall with the fixes listed below.

Easton axis, 3 fletch max stealth, 2 deg RH helical. Dropping down to 260 spine this fall, 4 fetching the stealth and bare shaft tuning after remounting my rest lower

I sure as hell wouldn't mess with it now, especially since BH and FP are grouping together at your hunting ranges. Sounds like you know your setup - go kill an elk!