c903

Xclent points, Paul.

Matching broadhead and fieldpoint weights and weights of mounted arrows:

As I was working on my new set of (fixed) broadheads last night and determined that the 125 gr. broadhead weights varied from 124 grains to 138 grains, I was reminded that matching the weights of broadheads, fieldpoints, and mounted shafts is another commonly ignored tuning method that is often not considered when setting up shafts and shooting in, and troubleshooting bad arrow flight, bad groups, inconsistent accuracy, etc.

It has been my experience that many shooters;

- Do not confirm that the fieldpoints are the weight as stated on the package or by the clerk at the bow shop. - Do not confirm that the fieldpoints they are using to shoot-in closely match the weight of the broadhead they will be using.
- Do not confirm that their broadheads weigh what the package states they weigh, and are closely matched in individual weight. A friend of mine once traced a flight problem to some broadheads he was using that were supposed to be 125-grain but were actually 140-grain heads.
- Do not confirm that the total weight of their mounted shafts closely match each other.

How close is close? I personally do not feel comfortable with any variance over 4-5-grains which includes the bare shaft weight. I have known others who accepted a greater variance in weight. However, being it is not that difficult to apply certain methods to match or closely match weights, I choose to hold to the 4-5-grain limit.

The "Catch 22" of matching weights (scaled) is that the spine of all shafts in a dozen of shafts being the same is never a sure thing. Therefore, it could be that that "flier" is not the result of a bent or warped shaft, or that the broadhead is not mounted straight. Rather, it could be that the spine of the "flier" is marginal and is varied just enough that it will not fly as well with the same weight up front as is on the rest of the shafts.

However, not to make things too complex, I stay with just matching weights. If I get a "flier" and it appears that the problem is a spine issue, I might tinker with it by adding or subtracting weight to see if I can get the shaft to fly true. If trying to get the shaft to fly consistently true starts to become a major undertaking, I put the shaft in the hedge-apple and squirrel-shooting batch.

Is doing all this an overkill? Not from my experience. However, I have known shooters, and still do, that just buy some arrows slap on a broadhead, nock the shaft on a poorly tuned and ill-cared for bow, and get away with it…..for awhile.