What is the one broadhead you guys found to fly better than any other? I have noticed a marked difference in how forgiving some broadheads are in respect to arrow tuning compared to others. Some broadheads it seems like would only fly good out of perfectly tuned arrows, while others (very few) it seems like I could stick on the end of a pool cue or on the end of a flyrod and they would still fly like a field point! I have found that Howard Hill broadheads are like this. However they are extremely hard to sharpen
I haven't found any that wouldn't fly good unless they weren't the right weight for the arrow/bow in question!
I have never had an issue with any broadhead not flying good. I use mostly bear Razorheads and zwickey no mercys. Have tried a lot of heads. If your bow is tuned correctly it shouldn't matter.
In my experience, most broadheads will fly great if the arrow it sits on flies well without feathers, unless the broadhead is bent some. Woodsmans have been the most tolerant of a poorly tuned arrow for me, but I prefer Zwickey Eskimo.
As mentioned most will fly well with a good tune, but there are definitely heads that tend to be more "forgiving" and fly extremely well even if tune is less than ideal or you make a poor release.
I shoot more broadheads than anything, and get to try lots of them. Here are a few I have noticed that have raised to the top of the heap in the forgiveness category:
Howard Hill
Hunter's Head
STOS
Tusker Javelin
Tusker Spirit
Woodsman
I imagine I've forgotten a few. Hope this helps.
Those smaller zwickey Eskimos and mangus stingers are like that. I've shot them on arrows that were nothing close to tuned and gotten accurate flight. The VPA 3 blades are offly easy to get good flight with as well.
...then there are some heads I've messed with to no end and haven't gotten good flight. All Simmons heads would be in this category although I haven't tried the smaller ones only the treeshark and interceptors
...yeah better add the woodsman to that list. Basically any head that is less then 1 1/8" and fairly short
Never had any bh fly bad out off my trad gear. A tuned arrow with trad gear speeds should throw just about anything
QuoteOriginally posted by Michael Arnette:
...yeah better add the woodsman to that list. Basically any head that is less then 1 1/8" and fairly short
That's about what I was going to say.
The longer and wider the head the more any tuning issues will be exaggerated....which is not to say a WIDE LONG head can't be tuned...it's just more picky.
I've found 3 blade VPA's to be very easy all around.
Heck I tune my bow using long/wide BHs to show the issues. It is all about proper tune unlike the compound world where they throw on an expandable and just shoot.
Mike
It's all about the arrow tune. I must have gotten good or lucky when tuning because I have never had an issue with BH flight. I only shoot Grizzly Kodiak BHs which are long and wide. They fly like darts - just like my field points.
VPA 3 blades...easy to sharpen and easy to tune.
Easiest for me have always been Grizzlies and old MA3 heads.
Grizzlies, Howard Hills, Woodsman, Zwickey Eskimos and No Mercy. I used to say that if your wooden arrow will shoot a field point good, it will shoot a Grizzly of the same weight good.
vpa three blade and simmons two blade
Zwickey Deltas fly great on woodies and carbons. Simmons Tiger Sharks fly just as good on my woodies as well.
I shoot Grizzly Kodiaks and Instincts with no flight issues, but I'm picky about tuning and paper tune. Woodsmans and VPAs have always shot very well for me as well.
Without a doubt, the Howard Hill broadhead flies as good as a field point even in wind and even if your arrows are of the wrong spine.
Howard Hill. Eskimos
Deno
I also shoot 2 and 3 blade VPAs, Woodsmen, Grizzlies, Simmons, and Zwickey heads. I really couldn't tell a difference out to 20 yards with a tuned bow/arrow. This is from carbon, wood and aluminum.
No issues with BH flight.
Excellent flight with large sniffers and even larger Big 3's.
Have been shooting the wide Tree Sharks for quite some time. The flight is excellent and no additional tuning beyond previous bare shaft tuning was required. Haven't tested beyond 35 yards, however they are spot-on with my field points at that range.
If you like a Hill head you can sharpen easier try the Hunter Head.
(http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr180/two4hooking/20130819_214741_zpsf95cf4d5.jpg) (http://s481.photobucket.com/user/two4hooking/media/20130819_214741_zpsf95cf4d5.jpg.html)
Best of both worlds and you can do this if your state allows barbed heads:
(http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr180/two4hooking/HH2_zpsnls7fipr.jpg) (http://s481.photobucket.com/user/two4hooking/media/HH2_zpsnls7fipr.jpg.html)
I find that even my most most all thumbs friends can get a Hill hunting sharp with a 1/4" round Grobet file. What I showed is similar to what Nate does, just ending in a hard pull with the file reversed like Hill would do when putting on a serration, but at a flush angle to raise a burr. Not exactly a shaving edge, but the deer and hogs that they have taken didn't seem to know that. The Hunter's Heads are cheaper to buy than the Hills, and as far as I can tell are just as effective on deer.
From my own experience I'd have to say is the old Bear Razorheads. They fly well from any bow I've ever owned
Not to sound like too much of a smart a** but the kind that has the right amount of fletch on the other end. :)
I've always been a proponent of enough fletch...4" four fletch, 5 1/2" 3 fletch, good helical on them. I haven't found a broadhead yet in over 45 years of shooting broadheads that would not shoot with either of those on a properly spined shaft...and not only do they fly well, they hit where the field points do.
So that leaves me with being able to shoot what I like and over the years, a good Zwickey Delta is hard to beat for price or performance.
True that balance between fletch and head design, gets the job done most of the time. I have seen things happen in high quartering and cross winds that have surprised me. With a lot of feather and a large head, and arrow can drift more, but things really catch ones attention when they take crazy side steps. That is when a Hill head will out perform a head like the ones that I had at the time, the large Magnus. A strong quartering tail wind with the wind buffeting off of a steep slope. After I missed the first shot and the deer bolted, I took a second test shot with a Hill on the arrow, it was good and on the mark, then one with the wide solid Magnus and jumped all over the place again. Prior to that I believed they flew the same, but I guess it was a variable that I did not consider until it happened. It was a really big buck and I can still vividly see that arrow taking that huge side step. Good thing that side step was a complete miss.
The heads shot in combination with arrows.
I shoot a bunch of different ones out of two types of bows. I haven't had any issues with getting any of them to fly from well tuned bow/arrow combos. Of course it takes decent and consistent form to get the tuning right.
Lot different from the 1970s and 1980s!
I don't recall having issues with any head..... but all my arrows over the years have been tuned.
Form work will do more for accuracy than some head.
have fun
I'm a stickler for bare shaft tuning, I use the Simmons Tree Shark most of the time and with good tuning and careful mounting I have had no issues with flight, and they are Hell when they get where they going.
My number two head is the 160gr Snuffer, they have the death whisper inflight but flight is true and they also make for short blood trails.
For what it is worth ....when I shot off the shelf there were a number of heads that gave me fits. When I went back to an elevated rest I haven't had any trouble with any head of the weight that matched my tuned field points. In addition, I don't think I have lost only two deer in that time after going back to the elevated rest. For me that has been the biggest factor in getting good flight, increased accuracy and a giant leap in recovered game.
Hmmm. Let me see. Zwickey (any model) Magnus, (any model), STOS, Abowyer, Woodsman, Hill and a few others. They're all the best. :bigsmyl:
Like several others have said, get the bow/shaft tuned right, mount the head straight with no wobble and keep good form and all quality heads will shoot good. Once my bow/shaft was tuned correctly, I have had zero issues with the biggest Snuffers and other big heads flying true.
QuoteOriginally posted by DarrinG:
Like several others have said, get the bow/shaft tuned right, mount the head straight with no wobble and keep good form and all quality heads will shoot good. Once my bow/shaft was tuned correctly, I have had zero issues with the biggest Snuffers and other big heads flying true.
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This!
Literally the tuning is key... if your bow isn't tuned no broadhead is going to truthfully fly right... But, if your bow isn't tuned correctly the narrower your head the better... 1"-1 1/8" heads will fly better then your 1 1/2" plus wide heads... Simple physics...
As I found, an arrow may seem to fly fine in most conditions, but there are times when high gusting and swirling winds can cause any arrow to misbehave. Those situations are best to be avoided and no shots attempted.
175gr Woodsman's for me with a 50gr brass insert. Works great at 18-20 yards on spot, works for me and my set up.
I got some Centaur Big Game heads in the mail tonight. We had a really windy evening so conditions were far from ideal. They are pretty big heads. Similar to Tree Sharks. As near as I can tell they fly as good as anything else. I find the tree sharks a little twichty but that could be in my head!
Magnus stingers have worked the best for me
my bows usually answer that question for me,,, its alot cheaper!
VPA 3 blades and Zwickeys 2 blade.
This cracks me up people actually think there is a best flying Broadhead, what a hoot!!!
I also thought tradgang members would know better than this, I guess not.
There are some variables that could make differences. A tuned wood arrow in different conditions can behave differently than an excessive weight forward carbon. The fletching requirements can be different, the balance will be different, the way strong cross currents affect it will be different. With all of those variations various heads of different weights and designs can respond differently. A perfectly made and tuned arrow in a zero wind environment will be no guarantee of what that arrow will do if it is bucking some bumpy sideways air. Of course, in today's 20 yards and under carbon arrow shooter, those longer shots in a higher wind which were more common out west in previous archery times are not part of many bowhunters' experience today.
Pearson Deadheads take some doing even a tuned shaft-they really like being o straight. Like eskimos and woodsman
Whichever one that happens to be coming out of my bow
I have shot a number of deer with the large Deadheads. I do not remember them giving me a flight problem, I did have one not track through a deer straight, it looked like the head hit with blades horizontal. The deer was angled by the time the arrow hit. The path the arrow traveled in the deer was diverted. I imagine the spoon shape of the head did not help, but it left a huge gash, which made the long blood trailing job fairly easy. One of those hits when an 85 pound bow with a stuffed Microflite made a major difference. To get heads on straight I like to use a roller jig to check them. Spinning is a check as well, but the roller jig tells me which way a wobbly head needs to go.