Learned something new today

[*zap*]

Guy at public range told me he was switching to mechanical bh's because they were way more accurate than fixed. Seems everyone online says so.....or so he says.

Told him that was not true. He said just look online so here I am.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

I would tend to agree with that guy...directionally at least, not sure I would say "way more" though. Less exposed blade area means less drag on the front end to potentially steer the arrow off course. That's not to say fixed blade heads can't be shot accurately, but mechanical heads will generally perform better accuracy-wise.

 

[Billy Goat]

Fixed are less forgiving.

Makes them easier to be shot more accurately.

A good fixed blade and a good mechanical will have similar accuracy, a good fixed blade will have better accuracy than a crappy mech, and vice versa.


Have a single blade come open at the shot with a mech and see just how accurate it is....

Edited to fix damn autocorrect.... crazy should have been crappy

 

[elkguide]

With a well-tuned bow, either will be equally accurate.

A mechanical is more forgiving for a poorly tuned bow.

I use fixed blades for all game animals that I hunt but only use mechanicals for turkeys.

 

[ddd-shooter]

To his point, it’s hard to imagine attaching larger planes to the front of a projectile and making it more accurate than smaller planes…

 

[bohntr]

The hooter shooter machine (removes human error) with a properly tuned bow installed said otherwise when I did tests a few years back with different broad heads. With today’s new shorter and compact designed replaceable blade heads and also shorter traditional style heads, most archers will not see a difference in grouping or performance. Now, some of the older style/ longer and bigger diameter heads produced in mass some years back, yes, they did not group as well as a mechanical. However, that all changed when shorter compact heads hit the market. JMO

 

[bojangles808]

To his point, it’s hard to imagine attaching larger planes to the front of a projectile and making it more accurate than smaller planes…

correct, less surface area planing through the air so yes mechanicals will be more accurate and more forgiving. It's why a lot of the best pro archers in the world like Gillingham, Morgan, Douglas, Hannah, McCarthy all shoot mechanicals. Once you get to certain yardages regardless of how well your bow is tuned it's pretty much impossible for your fixed and field points to hit the same because the extra surface area on the fixed will cause it to lose speed quicker and hit lower than field points

 

[Wapiti1]

I'm reporting you to Al Gore and Elon Musk. How dare you question the wisdom of the Internet!

You probably don't even care what Instagram celebrity hunters do every couple of hours, either. How do you know the best way to do anything? What gear do you choose? How will you fuel your clearly uninformed and unbelieving body while exerting maximum effort in the field packing 7 miles into the backcountry only to find out you crossed two easily accessible roads on the trek in?

Call yourself a hunter? You're nothing but a flannel wearing hack. You probably even think jeans are acceptable hunting attire. Do you even own a 6.5 Creedmoor?

On a slightly more serious note, it depends on your setup. A tuned bow will shoot either the same within reason. Bohntr makes a good case for the newer broadheads. They're pretty forgiving. An untuned bow will prefer mechs, though. That doesn't even get into inconsistent form or hand torque on the bow. We also haven't touched on speed. At 280fps things may work out, but take that to 300 and errors magnify.

That said, the internet said so, isn't a very good justification.

Jeremy

 

[Jethro]

If a fixed blade broadhead hits where you are aiming, how much more accurate can you get?

 

[*zap*]

^....The winner....^

 

[Mighty Mouse]

The hooter shooter machine (removes human error) with a properly tuned bow installed said otherwise when I did tests a few years back with different broad heads. With today’s new shorter and compact designed replaceable blade heads and also shorter traditional style heads, most archers will not see a difference in grouping or performance. Now, some of the older style/ longer and bigger diameter heads produced in mass some years back, yes, they did not group as well as a mechanical. However, that all changed when shorter compact heads hit the market. JMO

If 100 average joes were to shoot a 3D course with fixed heads then shoot the same course again with mechanicals, I would place money on the average score being higher during the mechanical round (even with perfectly tuned bows). The theoretical difference in accuracy might be negligible, but I'd bet you would see a difference in practice with error prone humans holding the bow instead of a hooter shooter.

 

[Billy Goat]

If 100 average joes were to shoot a 3D course with fixed heads then shoot the same course again with mechanicals, I would place money on the average score being higher during the mechanical round (even with perfectly tuned bows). The theoretical difference in accuracy might be negligible, but I'd bet you would see a difference in practice with error prone humans holding the bow instead of a hooter shooter.

Doesn't need to be average Joe's, most of the Pros will have a breakdown in form for a shot on a 3d course.

 

[MattB]

correct, less surface area planing through the air so yes mechanicals will be more accurate and more forgiving. It's why a lot of the best pro archers in the world like Gillingham, Morgan, Douglas, Hannah, McCarthy all shoot mechanicals. Once you get to certain yardages regardless of how well your bow is tuned it's pretty much impossible for your fixed and field points to hit the same because the extra surface area on the fixed will cause it to lose speed quicker and hit lower than field points

This. It’s physics.

 

[bohntr]

If 100 average joes were to shoot a 3D course with fixed heads then shoot the same course again with mechanicals, I would place money on the average score being higher during the mechanical round (even with perfectly tuned bows). The theoretical difference in accuracy might be negligible, but I'd bet you would see a difference in practice with error prone humans holding the bow instead of a hooter shooter.

Have you ever competed at a 3D Broadhead tournament? I have….many times. Just a hint, mechanicals we’re never at the top spot on the podium.

 

[MattB]

Have you ever competed at a 3D Broadhead tournament? I have….many times. Just a hint, mechanicals we’re never at the top spot on the podium.

Respectfully, neither were average Joe’s.

 

[bohntr]

This. It’s

Respectfully, neither were average Joe’s.

Average Joe’s or poor shooters? Please explain.

 

[*zap*]

Most 3D shoots are for average Joe's.

 

[bohntr]

^^^exactly.

 

[MattB]

Average Joe’s or poor shooters? Please explain.

I presumed your “podium” comment to be in reference to tournament winners. My point was that not many average shooters win tournaments, so making a comment about the best in an attempt to negate a comment about the average is a nonsequitur.

The poorer the form, the more likely there is to be a benefit for the lesser surface area generally provided by MBH’s.

 

[Billy Goat]

What broadhead shoot allows mechanical?

Everything I see always has a 7/8" minimum.