Glue-on Broadheads: what is the best weight for survival kits?

**hunter63** · 09-13-2012, 02:19 PM

Originally Posted by pgvoutdoors

NAP QuickFletch "Twister Vanes"

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http://www.amazon.com/New-Archery-Pr...d_sim_sbs_sg_1

Last week I purchased a package of these vanes to try out. My thinking is that they may work good in a survival kit. You slipped the plastic sleeve, with the vanes attached, over the arrow shaft and then dip the end of the arrow into boiling water to shrink it down tight. It's quick and easy. I bought mine from Gander Mountain for $19.95/6pk, a little expensive but if they work I believe they are worth it. Amazon has them for less money.

Questions:

The vanes are shorter than the ones I normally use (4 inch), these are only 2 inch. How does the length of the vanes effect the flight of the arrow?
Will the spin created by these "Twister" vanes work well with two-blade arrowheads?

These are cool, didn't know about them....thanks.

**1Underground** · 09-13-2012, 09:34 PM

The previous article is correct in many ways but is somewhat flawed. Arrow spine is important on modern bows as well. I will explain the best I can. The article speaks of nock travel, but fails to describe what it is or that there are 2 different types of nock travel, (vertical and horizontal). With traditional bows there is very minimal vertical nock travel due to the string being anchored on both ends to a fixed point, and a lot horizontal travel, due to the string moving sideways across the tips of your fingers at release.
Recently there has been a lot of focus on horizontal nock travel in the archery industry, when considering compound bows. Without going into too much "tech" stuff, lets just say that even with a release aid there is a lot of horizontal travel on most modern compound bows.
Back to the issue of discussion. The article does a fair job of explaining spine, but fails to discuss why it is truely important, even on compound bows. First consideration is "centershot" this is where the front of the arrow is when the bow is at full draw. The ideal placement is to have it directly in line (left to right) with the path the string will travel when it is released. This will transfer the most energy to the tip of the arrow and have the cleanest flight. Achieving perfect centershot is almost impossible due to the fact that we are human and shoot a little differently every time. A spine that is too stiff will not bend enough and exagerate any error in centershot. With correct spine the arrow will flex before the tip goes into motion and allow some "forgiveness" in the flight. The second consideration for arrow flight is nock height. This in the point where the back of your arrow makes contact with the string. Setting your nock height so that the arrow is perfectly level may also exagetate any inconsistencies in your shooting (grip, anchor point, ect). Setting your nock height about 1/16 - 1/8 inch high will creat some forgiveness by loading the arrow shaft in a bit of a downward direction, during release. This will help create consistency from shot to shot. If your spine is too weak or too stiff, flaws will be exagerated. Using wood to make arrow shafts will be much weaker than modern carbon fiber, or aluminum arrows.
The heavier your point is the more resistance it will have to being placed into motion when you release the string, and it will cause the shaft to bend more (breaking down the spine). The more weight you have up front, the better penetration and flight you will have over distance. but to much weight can kill energy transfer and forgiveness. And honestly arrows that are too stiff fly better than arrows that are too weak.

**1Underground** · 09-13-2012, 09:46 PM

Those Quickflectch vanes work great on compounds but will be destroyed fairly quick in a stickbow. Feathers are better for traditional style bows because they can lay down when they come into contact with the shelf.

If you do use them on a compound bow they will probably work better than your 4 inch vanes. You may see a slight increase in speed. Remember that the purpose of your vanes is to create drag. this is to keep your arrow shaft directly behind the point. Depending on how you had your arrows fletched before, they may also create more spin which stabilizes the arrow faster.
I do not know how they will work with a 2 blade fixed broadhead. I use slick trick broadheads because they fly exactly like my field points. Most fixed blade broadheads will not fly the same as field points.
Slick Tricks are also the most durable I have found. I have shot them into concrete blocks @310 feet per second with almost no damage.

**Farley** · 12-31-2012, 12:13 PM

As already mentioned, the inconsistancy or arrow and/or bow materials found at hand will more or less negate a "proper" broadhead weight.

Anyone who has tuned a new setup will know that even with set tolerances, there is still a trial and error period untill tuned. Considering the the situation these would be used in and god knows what materials at hand when it happens, any weight of broadhead would do. Too many variables for BH weight to make a critical difference.

I'd say grab a couple of 2 blade heads ( like Zwickey or Magnus) and throw them in your BOB.

My 2 cents anyways