Broadhead Accuracy Issues

[MNHunter67]

I made the switch from field points to broadheads (Muzzy MX-3s) in my last practice session to get ready for the season. They were all over the target, whereas I had been very accurate with my field points. They mostly flew far left and low at 20 yards, but a few were high. Nothing resembling a group at all. I bet if I had went back to 30 yards many would have missed the target all together. I'm planning on going to the pro shop to see about paper tuning the bow (I've never done this since owning the bow) Is this the right place to start or is my accuracy issue caused by something else? Any and all advice is appreciated.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

You are heading down the right road. Tuning is likely the problem.

 

[archer wapiti]

Try broadhead tuning. Google it.

Also, is it an inconsistency in your form? Broadheads are a lot less forgiving than field points. Check your hand torque especially.

 

[esracerx]

It could be arrow spine as well. Broadheads take more time to recover and a borderline under spine with a field point could be pushed over the limit with a broadhead. Underspine typically veers to the right however.

You can paper tune yourself really easily if you want. Spares the trip to the pro shop.

What's your draw length and weight and what arrow are you shooting?

Have someone stand behind you to see if you're torquing the bow.

 

[Brad NSW]

My broadheads really respond to my form/technique. If I torque the bow, way off. If I don't break the shot correctly, way off.

Neither happens to my field point. First few broadheads are usually spot on and then I get cocky and they start loosening up a lot.

Some of it could be tuning but they would generally be hitting in the same spot (all left/low or right/high...etc) if tuning was the only problem. Focus on hand torque and follow through.

 

[Clawsar]

I had a similar problem on an old bow and I could never get it paper tuned even with the pro shops help. After looking the bow over, I'm suspect of a leaning cam. However my Hoyt has been very good and simple to tune. If you are heading out in a few days, then the pro shop may be quicker and you may have to resight in to broadheads if you can't get everything tuned and desired well. If so, after the season is over, google "Nuts and Bolts Archery" for a good guide from Archerytalk member on setting up the bow and tuning at home.

Broadheads are much more sensitive to technique issues so that can also be part of it. If you are t sure ask the shop folks to watch you shoot a couple and get their thoughts.

 

[MNHunter67]

Thanks for the advice everyone, I'm going to spend some more time at the range and see if I can shore up any form issues. If that doesn't help satisfactorily I'll talk to the guys at the pro shop. Good thing I still have about a month to figure it out!

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

Do you have a good shop you trust? If not shoot me a PM, I have a few around MN that I would reccomend.

 

[Melman]

do the Muzzy MX3s have a helical twist to their blades? Kinda looks like they do on the website. if so make sure your fletchings and broadheads are twisting the same way, if your fletchings are helical as well.

 

[MNHunter67]

Checking in: really focused on my form the past few days and things have gone much, much better. As a fairly green bow hunter, I obviously underestimated how much impact a little flaw in form could have when shooting broad heads. Looking forward to getting out in the woods this year, especially since I found out today I got drawn to hunt at the St. John's Arboretum here in central Minnesota. It's an anterless only hunt and the arboretum is thick with deer. Perfect spot for a rookie to fill the freezer!

 

[cahunter805]

Form definitely is a big factor. It's very easy to check your arrow through a paper and see if your rest and nock height are good. A simple stand can be made with PVC. Google paper tune and you can see what it should look like through a piece of paper. Once I paper tune and then walk back tune my field points and broadheads are usually spot on.
Congrats on the draw and good luck.

 

[Brendan]

Buy some spray foot powder from the drug store and spray down your entire rest and cables near where the arrow passes and shoot a couple to make sure you're not getting any fletching contact first. That will drive you crazy when trying to broadhead tune a bow.

After that - most likely all of your issues can be solved by rest adjustments by comparing broadhead flight and field point flight. When you move the rest left / right - you can see different results depending on your setup, if one way makes it worse or doesn't help, try the other way. Arrow hitting low - raise the rest or lower nocking point.

 

[Clawsar]

Sounds like you're on the path to improvement. Good luck this year and keep shooting after season closes. That has helped my form be consistent the most.

 

[esracerx]

Good to hear it was something simple. In reality I suppose its not that simple.

 

[North Country]

There are a lot of variables to getting the broadheads to fly accurately. It could be the bow, the arrows, or both. Hence why so many people have switched to expandables!

So close to the season I would take it into a good shop and have them do paper tuning if you are still having issues.

Some easy things you could do on your own would be to check if the arrow is square when the rest is holding it up. Do your nocks pinch on the string? Measure your center shot to see if it is close to what the manufacturer recommends. Check for fletching contact on the strings or rest.

The tuning rabbit hole is deep but it pays to learn.

 

[indiana35]

"the tuning rabbit hole is deep but it pays to learn."... Well stated North Country. I would say paper tuning is very helpful... doing it with a bare shaft tells you a lot. If you take off the steering component, it will tell you a lot what direction the point of the shaft is wanting to go... but again, as North Country says, "rabbit hole is deep..."

 

[805Bowhunter]

Also make sure that your broadhead is lined up perfectly with your fletchings. If the blades don't match up to the fletchings, they can be all over the place. Also try nock tuning your arrows. I was having a mess tuning some fixed blades a couple years ago and as soon as I started moving the nock to different parts of the arrow (still making sure I had good cable/rest clearance) it tightened my groups up a lot. As much as arrow manufacturers say that arrows spine is distributed evenly, a lot of times it isn't and this can be accentuated with a fixed blade on there. I honestly moved to expandables because there was so much tuning with fixed blades. You still have to tinker with expandables but not nearly as much and they work extremely well in my opinion as long as you have the poundage to get them to wreck shop effectively.

 

[BOHNTR]

Also make sure that your broadhead is lined up perfectly with your fletchings. If the blades don't match up to the fletchings, they can be all over the place.

I know some believe this, however, my testing with a Hooter Shooter machine proved this false several years ago. It made absolutely no difference if blades were indexed with fletchings when it comes to accuracy and arrow flight. Think about it.....how does a two-bladed head index? I would say the OP has spine and/or tuning issues. Having said that, SOME broadheads simply fly more consistent than others.........overall design and length have more to do with it than anything else, IMO.

 

[targetpanic]

sTEP 1 Bring the bow to a reputable shop. Have them check cam timing and rest timing (if a dropaway)and cam lean and shoot the bow through paper
Step 2 Make sure you aren't getting and fletching contact
Step 3 Make sure you use the same repeatable grip every shot (the grip may still be a culprit but as long as it is consistent in placement and pressure you should eliminate getting high lefts AND low rights)
Step 4 Make sure your form, anchor, and facial pressure on the string are consistent.

 

[Bigjav]

I know some believe this, however, my testing with a Hooter Shooter machine proved this false several years ago. It made absolutely no difference if blades were indexed with fletchings when it comes to accuracy and arrow flight. Think about it.....how does a two-bladed head index? I would say the OP has spine and/or tuning issues. Having said that, SOME broadheads simply fly more consistent than others.........overall design and length have more to do with it than anything else, IMO.

That could be true, however remember that a hooter shooter is designed to take the human element out of the equation. I myself have found that my groups tighten up when the fletchings and blades are inline, is it the bow, arrow and broad-head setup or just mental..maybe but its definitely measurable