what is your favorite LR broadhead?

It's going to depend more on how well your bow is tuned to your arrows and vice versa. If you're bow is tuned well and so are your arrows, technically you can shoot a bareshaft at 20yards and it will stick straight in the target...then you know you're getting optimum launch...

but to answer your question, I prefer small fixed blades like nap nitrons with quickspin speed hunters on the back...make sure your Front of Center is between 12-15% and you'll have better steering.

mechanicals I've used spitfires with good performance but I prefer the nitrons.

100 or 125 doesn't really matter as long as you can get your arrows to spine correctly and your FOC is in the right spot..

With my current hunting setup I can shoot out to 65yards and hold 2" groups or less with broadheads and usually stack my field tips together. no exaggeration.....
 
The best thing you can do IMO is practice with field tips really long......

I used to practice on the target out past 80 yards. Couldn't group there....but it made my 50 yd groups shrink to arrows touching.

@ 80 yds the pin was bigger than the feed bag I was using for a target :)
 
Here ya go nathan, it's a long post but it should give you most of what you need. There's more to tuning but if you get that crazy you should be competing :)

I've been competing and hunting with a bow for several years mostly with two cam bows and hybrids. If you're shooting a binary cam I'm not the best resource but I can find out the information for you.

This is my method for tuning: Warning, it gets involved...First things first, make sure you're anchoring the same, and holding your bow hand, shoulder grip everything must be the same way exactly the same every time you shoot. Otherwise you'll just end up pulling your hair out. Small things like different pressure on the bow hand will alter your impact greatly.

1. Make sure the arrow selected is properly spined with the proper tip. Generally 100gr to 125 gr will work just fine. I prefer 125 because it gives a better Front of Center percentage. This is important for broadhead steering. Cut the arrow to length where it will spine correctly for your draw weight and poundage. you can find this using an arrow program like Archers advantage or ontarget2. both are very good, ontarget is cheaper.

also squaring the ends of your arrows and inserts is important. If you spin your broadheads on a table it should not wobble. if it does you need to either square the ends of the shaft or try a different broadhead.

2. MAke sure you're not getting any fletch contact when your shooting. Shoot into a bale 5 yards away, spray yoru fletching with foot powder and see if you're getting any contact anywhere.

3. Find your dynamic centershot: the best way to do this is called walkback tuning. (Get all your pins lined up in a straight line on your sight and make all your adjustments moving the whole cage) start at 10yards and get your zero dead on. move back to 20 shoot another group. walk back to 30, 40, 60..as far as you can shoot accurately. DO NOT MAKE ANY ADJUSTMENTS TO YOUR SIght AS YOU WALK BACK. If your shots are drifting to the right as you get further from your target move your rest to the left 1/32". Go back to 10 yards rezero your entire sight and repeat the process. If they drift to the left with distance move your rest to the right. ALWAYS MOVE IN SMALL INCREMENTS. 1/32" MAY NOT SEEM LIKE A LOT BUT IT CAN MAKE BIG IMPACT CHANGES. once you have all your shots dead on out to as far as you can shoot your centershot is set. Don't move it.

4. If you're shooting a two cam bow you can creep tune. You can do it with binaries but I'm not as experienced with binaries. One cam bows you can't really creep tune. If you're interested in the procedure send me a pm. The long and short of it is basically to make sure your cams are in time.

5. Now you can start shooting your broadheads: Before you start number each arrow on the fletching. start at 20 yards.



Take arrow number one fire with field tip. note the impact. Walk down retrieve arrow number one and put the broadhead on. Fire with broadhead. note the impact, retreive arrow and repeat 3 times. (If it impacts in different places then you most likely have a form issue, something is not being repeated the same way. probably in the bow hand where your hand contacts the bow. Broadheads amplify form irregularities) If it impacts in the same place, that is good. take the the arrow with the broadhead and turn the nock to a different cock vane. Fire again. note the impact. Keep rotating cock vane until your poi with broadhead is the same as your field tip at 20 yards. for an arrow with 3 vanes you have a total of 6 nock positions. Don't forget to flip it 180 degrees and use those rotations as well. One of these position should get you close if not dead on left/right with your field tips. If the best you can get is dead center but just high or just low this is ok as well, we'll get to that later.

repeat this with all your arrows until they all or most impact to the same as field tips or just high or just low. (side note once you find an arrow broadhead combo, number the arrow and broadhead and use them together. IF you can't get a broadhead to group with the rest, try switching broadheads...I haven't found that this really works too often but it can)

If you find that when Shoot all your arrows with broadheads and If they consitently impact in the same place. That is good. If they're all low, then raise your rest up 1/32" at a time until they impact to the same place your field tips do.. you will have to rezero your field tips each time you move your rest. If they're impacting high lower your rest 1/32" at a time.

If they're just off to the left or right you can move your rest in the direction you want your broadheads to go again in 1/32" till they impact with your field tips, however if you do that check your walk back tuning again with field tips. If it threw it off put the centershot back to where it was. You might have to just discard that arrrow or try a different combo head/nock.

once your good at 20 yards. Repeat your groups at 40 yards and beyond if you can.


This is just the method I use and it is involved and time consuming but I know that once completed my bow and arrow tune is as best it can be.

You can accomplish most of the above by bareshaft tuning as well. Be forewarned Bareshaft tuning is not easy and your form must be rock solid. If you want some more info on bareshaft tuning let me know.

Hope that helps.
 
no sweat, like i said let it can get involved!! :) but it sure is fun tuning up to optimum performance...

let me know if you nee help, I can walk you through it over the phone or pm's...

try to find a used g5 arrow squaring device...worth the money for sure...it will square your inserts and the end of your shaft...definitely a must to make sure your broadheads are on straight....

but, just one part of the puzzle!
 
Awsome post FROGMAN77.
I'm going to run through this with my gear as I know it's not tuned dead nuts. It shoots well but is very touchy. The only broad head that shoot for me right now is the G5 Tekan ll, it bunches them up out to 60yds perfect but with any fixed blade they start planing @ 30yds and are not consistant.
They did a number on mule deer for me last season so I wouldn't change anyway but my gear is not as dialed in as it should be.
 
I'm a tuning nut.....that's the bottom line...if you're bow and arrows are tuned to eachother, then it ultimately is a more forgiving setup...the only peice of the puzzle left is the shooter which is by far more difficult to tune!!

I've used the above method with multiple broadheads and have been able to get them to group with field tips out to 60yards dead on....It can be done....just depends how much time you want to put into it....

before knowing what I know now.... I just moved the sights for the broadheads...and it worked to an extent...but once you get beyond 20 yards minor errors turn into misses and at worst wounded animals.
 
Frogman

Great post on tuning....good place to start for a Tuning Sticky if you ask me:)

To the OP question...

125 gr Hypershocks are the best flying broadheads I've shot. Rages are a close 2nd.

My conclusion on broadhead selection, was you have to hit your target first, before you can become concerned with it's terminal performance.

If your hunting in the eastern US, and max range due in a tree stand set up is 30-40 yds, then a fixed blade setup would be the way to go.

If your looking out west, either spot/stalk or sitting in a blind ambushing a water hole or bait, then you might have to stretch it out some. For the best absolute stabilization and longer ranges, then that will steer your set up towards Mechanicals and FOBs.

Everyone's experience is different, and archers are very opinionated about what works, and are usually very brand loyal to boot. I would try as many different broadheads you could and make your own conclusions with your setup.

I also recommend some software....I like Ontarget2. Will pay for itself within the next 2 dozen arrows you buy by assisting you in selecting the perfect arrows for your setup.
 
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