Mounting Broadheads
If you don't like this regimented/form orientated shooting, you don't need to comment. DON'T DO IT BECAUSE I DO IT, DO IT BECAUSE IT MAKES SENSE TO YOU.
This is pretty important and although a simple task, there are many little pitfalls and I'd say a very major one for broadhead accuracy at longer distances and better penetration. YOU OWE THIS TO THE ANIMAL YOU'RE STICKING AN ARROW INTO!!!!
Let's start with getting the point on the arrow, although not the order I go with, but we'll get to that order later. You'll need an adapter of course, the broadhead, glue, and if you choose to use hot glue – heat (which we'll use for the discussion). In addition have some acetone, a pliers, and q-tips handy. Plus I use a Point Brush from a company called Traditional Archery Products.
Start by screwing the adapter into the insert. Dip a q-tip in acetone and brush the adapter with it 360. Next, I like to score the inside of the broadhead and here's where I use that Point Brush or a brass rifle cleaning brush will also get the job done. Nothing works as slick as the Point Brush. Then dip the q-tip again and clean out the inside of the broadhead. I have never found a brand that doesn't leave some oil residue on the inside. Some brands are filthy and I'll use both sides or even two q-tips.
(By the way, the same thing should be done when putting on the insert. Score the insert and the inside of the arrow, then clean with a q-tip)
Next, put the hot glue on the heat source and spread a glob on the adapter. Heat the ferrule of the broadhead from the outside (no flame on the inside or you'll leave a residue) . Put the heated broadhead on the adaptor and turn it a number of times to smooth out that gob of glue to make the arrow spin true.
All very simple. Anyone fall into any pitfalls? I'm betting a lot did, but I can assure you that anyone who does it the way I suggested, knows the reasons for every step. If you have a question about a step, have at it.
Next, most will put the broadhead on a hard surface and spin it at the nock end to see if there's any wobble at the point. Do that to a doz broadhead arrows to your satisfaction and then send them to me and I'll mark the ones that are not true. If I had to guess I'd say that a little over half will be off? That process is good enough for 17.3 yard accuracy, but it's not good enough to consistently get a broadhead perfectly true. Again you owe it to the animal to be perfectly true.
This is the major pitfall I mention above. You need some sort of spinner to see a point spinning true. A good spine tester can also work. OR you can buy a comercial spinner for 50ish bucks. Or build your own for $0.00 or a more permanent one for the cost of a scrap 2X4 and four nails.
Let me describe the 0 dollar spin tester. Get a shoe box and on the short sides cut a 'V' in the middle of the sides and a half inch deep to an inch deep. The arrow will ride in those two 'V's'. Your just about done. You'll also need a piece of paper and a pencil. With the broadhead mounted arrow in the V's of the shoe box, put the paper up to the broadhead (bottom edge of the paper resting on the bench) and with the pencil draw a dot on the paper, right where the broadhead points.
Now rotate the arrow, if the point of the broadhead goes around the pencil dot it's not true. If you can rotate the arrow 360 and the point continually points to the dot it's true.
So here's my order of steps.
1) screw in the adapter to the arrow 2) Spin it 3) twist on the broadhead 4) spin ti 5) take off the broadhead 6) clean adapter with acetone and follow the steps as mentioned above.
The reason for 1 to 4 above is that you can see if the adapter and the broadhead are true, before you put on the glue. If you don't you could waste a lot of time trying to even glue and that's not the problem.
You might say, 'why not just get a screw in broadhead'. This process probably takes me 15 minutes to do a half dozen arrows. AND I can adjust the point weight for tuning with the adapter. Six cheap screw in broadheads are going to cost you 40 bucks, but really closer to 100 or more. You bought 125 grain heads because that's what you tuned to. Two years later you find you need 200 grain point, because you changed something. Well, NOW are you going to buy glue on or screw on???
AND you might say I've been spinning a broadhead on a the point for 30 years and blah, blah, blah. I've done things wrong for 30 years. I think you owe it to the animals your sticking an arrow into, to shoot the most perfectly tuned arrow you can shoot.
AND you might say, “Bowmania I'm sick of you telling me how to shoot”. In that case I'd refer you to read the first paragraph AND you won't have to read any more until late Dec. or early Jan. It's time for me to put these things in practice. Best of luck to everyone, but most of all have a safe season.
Bowmania
