New broadhead/arrow setup

[Prairiekid]

I was thinking that over this winter I would take the time to research a possible new arrow set up. This fall I was able to take a whitetail buck and cow elk with my bow, I hope to do a short write up later but in the meantime would like to research some of the arrow options.

My bow is set at 62lbs and my draw is approximately 28.5". This season I used some random Rage mechanical broad head, they performed well but actually bent a little bit on impact and I want to switch to fixed blade anyways. I use Goldtip XT 400 arrow shafts (not sure on diameter). I also use Nockturnal nocks.

I have been looking at Iron Will broadheads and the feedback seems very positive. Of course at that price point you would hope to get a quality product.

You maybe able to tell but I haven't spent much time on the specifics of my set up, but rather focused on practicing and then getting close when hunting. My shots this season were 12 yards on the buck and 25 on the elk. I had a complete pass through on the buck but on the elk it seemed I got full penetration and then the arrow eventually backed its way out with blood on the fletching. Both animals were recovered quickly.

I'm thinking of maybe switching to 150gr IW single bevel. Does that mean I need to use helical vanes? I looked at arrow saws and vane jigs. Are they worth it for someone like myself who shoots a 2-3 times a week when I can and once a week I when I get busy? or is it better to just get them built up. I do like to tinker and reload for my hunting rifles, but still shoot less than 100 center fire rounds a year. I thought it might be enjoyable playing a little bit with different fletching/wraps etc but it might not be worth the cost of the equipment.

Thoughts?

[Maxwell87]

get after it! it’s fun to tinker i shoot IW and other similar broadheads, resharpening them isn’t to hard and many different jigs out there to get you on your way, they come razor sharp aside from a minor touch up for hunting season you won’t need to do anything g major if you keep the broadheads in the foam.

have played with weights/inserts and different fletchings. i’m not good enough to shoot much of a difference. some differences forsure in fletching sizes at distance, taller seems to control better. i shoot a helical but many “pros” don’t seem to add a ton. i have the arizona ex-fletch. the bitz seems to be the choice fletching jig if you really want to do it all. obviously if you go way up or down in your point weight to the drop changes.

get a arrow spinner and end squaring tool to fix the wobble, is makes a major difference i found with accuracy.

like loading ammo or tying flies it’s fun to put the personal touch on your setup and i feel i have learned a lot with the overall process the last 18 months or so since i stopped shooting factory arrows.

learning to tune your bow i feel is major, you can do some adjustments with the rest but having your stuff shooting square and your arrows spinning true is the name of the game

[KrisRD]

If you are looking at a 150 grain IW broadhead then your current 400 spine arrows are very likely too weak. You'd probably need something around 350. Under spined arrows are not going to tune well. You'll also need to do some bow tuning to get the IW's flying nicely.

As Maxwell87 said, getting the arrows shooting perfect is key, especially with a big fixed blade broadhead.

[Gun]

Not sure what IW is. I shot 5 critters this fall. All one arrow kills except my P&Y Moose.(low lung) He didn't go far just put another in him to speed things up.
I use a Bear TD Recurve, right now 43# at my 26.5" draw. Carbon and aluminum arrows. I used a 200gr Cutthroat single bevel on the Moose and Mulie buck. Two blade Zwickey Delta w steel insert (200gr total head weight) for the three does.

I bareshaft tune w point weight arrow length. Just brace height and nock point height other wise. Pretty simple and works for me. Complete pass thru on all 4 deer.

Still recovering from shoulder surgery two years ago, hence the light weight and short draw. Hope to be close to 50# and 28" by spring Bear.
Keep it simple. Good Luck!

[Maxwell87]

Originally Posted by Gun

Not sure what IW is. I shot 5 critters this fall. All one arrow kills except my P&Y Moose.(low lung) He didn't go far just put another in him to speed things up.
I use a Bear TD Recurve, right now 43# at my 26.5" draw. Carbon and aluminum arrows. I used a 200gr Cutthroat single bevel on the Moose and Mulie buck. Two blade Zwickey Delta w steel insert (200gr total head weight) for the three does.

I bareshaft tune w point weight arrow length. Just brace height and nock point height other wise. Pretty simple and works for me. Complete pass thru on all 4 deer.

Still recovering from shoulder surgery two years ago, hence the light weight and short draw. Hope to be close to 50# and 28" by spring Bear.
Keep it simple. Good Luck!

sorry IW is short for IronWill. a broadhead and component manufacturer. cutthroats are break broadheads aswell!

[3blade]

Do it.

IW or any similar heads do usually require a high level of tuning, so if that’s the direction you want to go, go all in. You will end up at 350 or even 300 spine arrows. I like microdiameter arrows and have seen improved pass through rates, but that limits or eliminates your ability to helical. I played around with a pile of different arrows and broadheads, and while it wasn’t cheap, it gave me a ton of confidence in my final setup and resulted in many quick, clean kills.

[Prairiekid]

Thanks for the feedback I want to understand the whole process a little more and jumping into arrow selection/building should really help with that.

[Gun]

Check out "Ranch Fairy" on YouTube. He has a pile of videos on tuning, broadheads, setting up and testing arrows. He has people that don't agree w some stuff and is a bit goofy.

I thot I knew how to sharpen a Broadhead pretty well until I watched his method. I get them "scary" sharp now and consistently have critters die in sight.

[Prairiekid]

Originally Posted by Gun

Check out "Ranch Fairy" on YouTube. He has a pile of videos on tuning, broadheads, setting up and testing arrows. He has people that don't agree w some stuff and is a bit goofy.

I thot I knew how to sharpen a Broadhead pretty well until I watched his method. I get them "scary" sharp now and consistently have critters die in sight.

Thanks! I had checked some out but I’ll stay in it. I found the most difficult par, like most things is starting. Do tune my bow and then decide the broadhead I want and work back? Which ways do I want to tune? Helical or straigh. More options than I ever imagined. Obviously you can successfully kill with almost anything, I proved that this year. But I want to be as effective and ethical as possible.

[Maxwell87]

Originally Posted by Prairiekid

Thanks! I had checked some out but I’ll stay in it. I found the most difficult par, like most things is starting. Do tune my bow and then decide the broadhead I want and work back? Which ways do I want to tune? Helical or straigh. More options than I ever imagined. Obviously you can successfully kill with almost anything, I proved that this year. But I want to be as effective and ethical as possible.

i will second Gun’s comments with Troy aka ranch fairy. he’s is a little quirky but does touch on a lot of good things. i started off with one of his arrow test kits to with sirius archery. you can get 2 pairs of arrow shafts 300/350 for example and point weights in 100/125/150/175/200 and shoot a variety of setups and 2 spines to see what you bow “likes” is a way to get into tuning without adjusting your bow a lot. sort of how recurve guys do it i guess and have read. then you can go from there. it helped me learn a bunch and a cheaper way than buying half dozen arrow shafts at a time. from there once i had my “favourite point weight” i fletched a few different fletches and shot them before buying a dozen or more arrow shafts to get all set up! here is the link to them

https://siriusarchery.com/rf-test-kits/

[KrisRD]

Here is my approach to broadheads/arrows/tuning and an outline of the key things I would recommend you consider. If you want to go with a single bevel, heavy broadhead, the iron will's are likely the way to go. I've heard great things and will probably be moving over to them for next season. Also, if you are going to significantly change your setup, now is the time to do it as the arrow building and tuning process can always take a lot longer than anticipated.

1. Arrow building: Decide on your broadheads, get an appropriate arrow spine. I'd recommend micro diameter arrows. With your draw length and weight, I'd look at something between 450 - 500 grains total build weight. That should hopefully find a nice balance of arrow speed and weight. I would also go for a 125 grain broadhead over 150. Easier to find field points, small game tips, and other broadheads in a 125 grain.

2. Get a good bow tune (Jim Bows does a good job) and get your bow set back to factory recommended spec. This should include cam timing, cam lean, and arrow rest adjusted to factory specs. If you need new strings, this is an ideal time to get some new premium strings built and installed.

3. Paper tune and/or bare shaft tune. You can really go down the rabbit hole with tuning at this point, but well worth it.

Helical vs straight: Regardless of how the arrow is fletched, the vanes would never be installed "straight" rather they would be set at an angle using a straight arrow jig so that arrow still spins. You really just need to make sure that the direction of spin matches your single bevel broadhead.

Fairy Ranch: Lots of good tips, but in general I'd steer away from crazy heavy arrows. I also would not recommend the buying the arrow head/spine testing kit. Your arrow build should be purposefully built for your intended hunting usage and then your bow tuned specifically for that arrow. Otherwise you'll probably find that shooting a heavy arrow with a super heavy head flies fairly good, but will be horribly slow and your arrow drop will significant.

Hope this helps. Compound bows are very dynamic machines where one small change can have a trickle down effect. I would highly recommend going through the tuning process as you'll gain a lot of knowledge and end up with a much more accurate bow setup.

[Prairiekid]

Originally Posted by KrisRD

Here is my approach to broadheads/arrows/tuning and an outline of the key things I would recommend you consider. If you want to go with a single bevel, heavy broadhead, the iron will's are likely the way to go. I've heard great things and will probably be moving over to them for next season. Also, if you are going to significantly change your setup, now is the time to do it as the arrow building and tuning process can always take a lot longer than anticipated.

1. Arrow building: Decide on your broadheads, get an appropriate arrow spine. I'd recommend micro diameter arrows. With your draw length and weight, I'd look at something between 450 - 500 grains total build weight. That should hopefully find a nice balance of arrow speed and weight. I would also go for a 125 grain broadhead over 150. Easier to find field points, small game tips, and other broadheads in a 125 grain.

2. Get a good bow tune (Jim Bows does a good job) and get your bow set back to factory recommended spec. This should include cam timing, cam lean, and arrow rest adjusted to factory specs. If you need new strings, this is an ideal time to get some new premium strings built and installed.

3. Paper tune and/or bare shaft tune. You can really go down the rabbit hole with tuning at this point, but well worth it.

Helical vs straight: Regardless of how the arrow is fletched, the vanes would never be installed "straight" rather they would be set at an angle using a straight arrow jig so that arrow still spins. You really just need to make sure that the direction of spin matches your single bevel broadhead.

Fairy Ranch: Lots of good tips, but in general I'd steer away from crazy heavy arrows. I also would not recommend the buying the arrow head/spine testing kit. Your arrow build should be purposefully built for your intended hunting usage and then your bow tuned specifically for that arrow. Otherwise you'll probably find that shooting a heavy arrow with a super heavy head flies fairly good, but will be horribly slow and your arrow drop will significant.

Hope this helps. Compound bows are very dynamic machines where one small change can have a trickle down effect. I would highly recommend going through the tuning process as you'll gain a lot of knowledge and end up with a much more accurate bow setup.

Thanks guy. All the advice helps and will help get the ball rolling. I found a podcast the other day from Nock On with Iron Will as the guest, it provided some good food for thought on not going crazy on FOC.

[DirtShooter]

Honestly Troy recommends about 550grs as an average weight. He's not telling everyone to go out with 700grs of arrow. That's partially why Dudley trashed him on their podcast together. John was butthurt about all these archers showing up to TAC with heavy arrows shooting like poo and basically blamed Troy for it.

450-550grains and you're good.

[Markl11]

Lots of great info

Learn to tune your bow and you'll be able to shoot most broadheads. depending on the bow it can be a bit tedious. Flight can be effected by form as well.

If you like reloading you should like building arrows, its not difficult and you get the same pride as reloading. I've used most styles of fletching jigs and they all work, just some better than others. My favorite is the Blitz. I got into lathe cresting my arrows last year and its fun too.

With a well tuned bow fletching doesn't really matter unless its contacting your bow negatively or a few other factors. I shoot helical in everything just because I like how they look. I mostly shoot 2-3" feathers with my long bow and recurve and 2" on my compound. But with single bevel you need to match the bevel to the fletch rotation.

I just use the calculators and charts for shafting then tune from there.

I switched to 150 IW SB last year for my recurve and they fly great, and my practice head has around 30 shots into foam, 2 tree hits and 2 into dirt with no damage and still sharp. I didn't get a shot at an animal but I cant see them under performing.

[Prairiekid]

I guess I should update. After much discussion with some seriously experienced archers I decided to go with Gold Tip Force FOC with and 100gr Sevr 1.75” mechanical broadheads. I guess we will see but I’m definitely already set up better than last year.