Does it matter if your broadhead spins true?

[a3dhunter]

What do you think?
Does it matter?
Does it affect accuracy?

I am in a conversation over email with a person from G5 who has stated that it does not matter if the broadhead is up to 1/8" out of alignment as long as the arrows are correctly spined for the bow set up.

 

[JG358]

I have some that spin like crap and still shoot good out to 50 or so yds.

That being said, the BHs in my quiver for hunting spin true. If they dont spin good, they go in the practice pile.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

Ya know, I have never tested to see if it matters or not. I have always been told that they need to spin true so I have always made sure they did.
Interested to hear the replies.

 

[swat8888]

Good timing on this topic. I have never spun my arrows until the last batch I just made up for an upcoming hunt. I shoot Beman MFX Bone collectors which have a .003 straightness tolerance. I also used the pine ridge arrow spinner. Every single arrow I put on that thing with a broadhead on it wobbled a little bit....not a single one in 10 spun 100% true. No idea how that is possible, I wish I would have spun just a bareshaft with a broadhead on it before I stuck any vanes on it. Any how this of course stressed me out and I thought my arrows were going to be hit or miss. Well with both field points and broadheads I am having no issues....seriously considering selling the arrow spinner thing....if it wobbles yet still shoots find out to 70 yds I don't see the usefulness of the tool.

Also keep in mind I am super anal about squaring off both the nock end and the insert end of my shafts, and my vanes for the most part are consistent...every now and then I have the front or back peel up a bit and take a tad extra dab of glue that keeps them on just fine, and they still shoot the same.

I fletch my arrows with 4x blazers so maybe this stabilizes more....I'd be curious if anyone has any experience with 3x vane arrows that wobble on the spinner yet fly true.

 

[JG358]

I'd be curious if anyone has any experience with 3x vane arrows that wobble on the spinner yet fly true.

Yes, with both 3x blazers, 3x QS speed hunters and 3x mini blazers. I think people put far too much emphasis on fletching. At one time I had 5 or 6 differnt fletching configurations in my quiver and they all shot to the same POI at 60yds.

 

[Titaniumman]

One thing I have come to learn about the hunting "industry" is that there always seems to be something that comes along that we "have to do" or we might as well quit and hunt at the neighborhood grocery store. There is always the next thing out there that is bigger, badder, better than the last next thing. Is a .003 any more accurate than a .006? Not out of my bow when I'm the one shooting it. Shoot your arrows. Shoot them outside. Shoot them in the wind. If they fly true and hit what your aiming at then be happy! No offense to anyone reading this, but businessmen have to create and writers have to write if they want to keep food on the table. That doesn't always mean it is something we have to do.

 

[pronghorn]

It only matters if you like hitting what you're aiming at. If they don't spin, they don't go into my quiver, period.

 

[Ross]

I spin them and then shoot them for the piece of mind....i learned this one the hard way back in the 80's I ditto, " It only matters if you like hitting what you're aiming at. If they don't spin, they don't go into my quiver, period"!

 

[swat8888]

How bad is a bad wobble on the spinner then? mine just oscillate at both ends of the arrow.

 

[OR Archer]

broadheads that wobble are never a good thing. if they don't spin true they're going to be really hard to tune. i agree that spine needs to be correct but that's a given. think of a football. a nice tightly thrown spiral will always go farther and more accurate than a wobbly pass.

 

[jamaro]

My gut feeling is that this might be some sort of layover from the old days when we were shooting super big non vented fixed blades and when manufacturing wasn't as consistent... hitting where you aim them is the point, not flight..

 

[swat8888]

Okay so I found my bare shafts I keep laying around for tuning/re-tuning. Spun them too....they wobble slightly as well. So my broadheads are not causing any wobble, it is inherent in my shaft. The only variables exisiting that could explain the wobble are...something to do with the insert....or that arrow spinner thing is a piece of crap. Maybe I just got a bad one or something...whatever the case all of my arrows wobble and it has not affected my shooting.

 

[RosinBag]

Swat the insert could not be square causing broadhead to not sit square. The make squaring devices for this. I don't even check, if my arrows group, I shoot them. If I have one that continually misses I will check things to figure out why.

 

[rhendrix]

Dumb question, but where do you place the arrow on one of those spinners to check to see if the nock is wobbling? I ask because I have an arrow that was porpoising bad and when I laid it on the coffee table it didn't lay on there flat. Going to pick up some new arrows at my local pro shop and had planned on testing it when I got there this afternoon.

 

[swat8888]

Yeah I have the ASD as well, square off nock and broadhead ends, doesn't seem to make a difference....still wobbles on the spinner.

 

[RUTTIN]

My gut feeling is that this might be some sort of layover from the old days when we were shooting super big non vented fixed blades and when manufacturing wasn't as consistent... hitting where you aim them is the point, not flight..

I agree to an extent. I want my arrow to hit where I aim, but I also want it to hit that spot straight so I am getting the most out of my arrow for penetration. If it wobbles it doesn't go in my hunt batch.

 

[Rent Outdoor Gear]

In my experience, fixed blade broadheads that don't spin well do not group as well. This is magnified with larger broadheads, smaller fletchings, higher velocity arrows, and of course with tuning issues. If you're shooting a 4" helical with a smallish broadhead on a well tuned bow you won't see a noticeable accuracy problem with a slight wobble. However, if you start pushing the envelope with smaller vanes, speeds over 290 fps, underspined arrows, or a larger broadhead. It's will definitely be an issue.

I always square my arrows and I prefer the hidden insert systems as they seem to provide better broadhead alignment. I don't hunt with wobblers, but may use them for practice if they shoot well enough, but they never see the mountains or get pointed at an animal.

Coop

 

[Rent Outdoor Gear]

Yeah I have the ASD as well, square off nock and broadhead ends, doesn't seem to make a difference....still wobbles on the spinner.

You may have a concentricity issue... meaning the inside diameter does not have the same center point as the outside diameter. This was more common with older pultruded carbon shafts. In this case, it should have little effect on accuracy if the arrow is squared off with the ASD and the insert is squared also.

Coop

 

[Rent Outdoor Gear]

I am in a conversation over email with a person from G5 who has stated that it does not matter if the broadhead is up to 1/8" out of alignment as long as the arrows are correctly spined for the bow set up.

If the head is out by an 1/8"!!!!!!!!!! That's ridiculous... that's not out of alignment, that's BENT! No way a broadhead that jacked up would shoot consistently out of any bow. Usually a wobble is a measured as few thousandths of an inch... .003 - .010", not .125"

Maybe they were stretching it just a L I T T L E bit.

G5's usually spin really well - surprised to hear this come out of their camp.

 

[bowuntr]

Yes... add a little rudder to an airplane and see if it flys straight... Ed F