BHs dippin' and divin'
 

I would first like to thank, in advance, any and all who can help me with my tuning issues. Getting pretty antsy with bow season starting in 24 days, 18 hours, 16 minutes and change and still not having much luck tuning in my broadheads. Here's what I got:

Shooting a Reflex Grizzly at 65 lbs @ 29".
WB rest, Beman ICS Hunter 340s at 29" and would like to stick with the Muzzy Phantom 100s 4-Blade. Finger release.

First problem was warping of vanes that came installed on the ICSs. So tried blazers with and had some horrible flight. Switched 3" VaneTec SuperSpines and FPs have been outstanding. I shoot instinctively and was shooting 3-5 inch groups at 30+ yds. Broadheads a different story altogether.

Paper tuned at 5 yds w/ FPs and everything looks swell. Shooting a BH at 18 yds looks pretty good too. But at the 30 yds, arrows seem to come out fine, and get about 8 feet from target and dive HARD down and sometimes left. Just dloaded the East tuning guide and will be reading thoroughly, but could use any suggestions ya'll might have. E-mailed VaneTec just yesterday and they e-mailed back today already and suggested a smaller bladed head such as the Shuttle T's or Wacems. Before I spend more $$ would like to try a little DIY.
Thanks and Good Hunting

RE: BHs dippin' and divin'
 

thats kinda hard to say since your shooting instinctive and with fingers. i know its possible...but im sure its pretty tough to master..exspecially 30yds. your arrows should be fine so we can narrow that down if they are 28-29 inches long. if your getting the same impact as your FPs closer i dont know of any reason for them to dive. i went through the broadhead tuning and my broadheads were hitting a bit low at 15yds compared to my FPs. i played with the nock and got them to shoot together. slamming shafts at 35yds. though i am almost certain that i had one dive at 35yds as you did..i thought i was dead on target..released and the BH hit way low..but i shot again..same BH arrow and same FP arrow. both cut the bullseye and slammed together. and i did that a few more times to make sure, though i ran out of daylight so i didnt get to keep shooting and see if i am ok or not. maybe someone knows if some BHs will dive like that? i have no idea and dont know how to help shooting instinctive. id say follow eastons Broadhead tuning section. shoot a group with the FPs then throw a BH at the same bullseye and see where it hits. good luck....hopefully someone knows about the diving. longer ranges show errors in tuning like a magnifying glass..exspecially with BHs.

RE: BHs dippin' and divin'
 

Finger shooters benifit from the advantages feathers offer , mostly forgiveness

RE: BHs dippin' and divin'
 

With that set up, and those big BH's, I'm first gonna remind you to ensure your bow is paper tuned perfectly. After that, I'm gonna recommend 5" feathers. With those BH's, yer gonna need the added stability. Blazers I don't think are gonna get that done. But possibly....What is your finished arrow weight?

And, to be honest, at the speed you are shooting, you just may never get them to fly good. Those heads aren't designed for fast shooting compounds....But again, try the feathers and see if that doesn't help.

RE: BHs dippin' and divin'
 

I would have to argree with others who said get some feathers on those arrows, or at the very least, some aggressive helical 4-5" vanes. I shoot 3" vanetecs, but that is with a realease and drop away rest. I was shooting a Whisker Biscuit last year, and had problems similar to what you are describing, though they were off some at 20 too. When I was test shooting broadheads to check tune last year, the Phantoms were twice as far away from my field pts. at all ranges, maybe more at 40 yds. than Slick Tricks and regular Muzzys. You can get them to fly well, but the bow needs to be tuned very well, and a little more fletch control is going to be a big help. Also, my experience with the Whisker Biscuit is that if it is off by a little, you won't get the best flight, especially with broadheads. You can get low arrows when your rest is too low (nock point too high), but also when the rest is too high, as greater drag seems to cause the arrow point to be pulled down as the fletch end of the arrow goes through the bristles. It can be a very fine line between these two extremes where the flight with broadheads is really good. Also, if the biscuit is not parallel to the string, bu leans slightly forward, it can cause broadheads to shoot low. Sorry I can't help more. I did shoot a little with fingers and the WB, but I didn't stay at it for too long.

RE: BHs dippin' and divin'
 

You need to loose the WB if you're shooting with fingers.

RE: BHs dippin' and divin'
 

Sweet! Being new to the HuntingNet, it's pretty cool to me to have suggestions and help coming from people I don't know but share my passion. Thanks Again. Now down to business...

Yea, it's a challenge shooting fingers+instinct+WB. Especially instinctive with the WB as instinct is all relationship of arrow to target. However, last year I felt more than comfortable shooting 40 yds at a whitetail. Last year with newly fletched arrows BH flight was not an issue until the vanes got warped then groups spread pretty drastically. That was my reason for switching to a stiffer vane like the Blazer or VaneTec SSs.

I am paper tuned and will, if the Mrs. let's me sneak out for a few hours, bare shaft tune tonight and perhaps BH tune as Easton suggests. May try and experiment with draw wt. too. Cranked it up a few lbs since last year. First gonna pick up some smaller heads and try that as well and probably even try Duravane's Savage vanes as they are described as being whisker biscuit compatible and are the same size as original vanes. Guess i'll be spending more $$. Thanks for the help, let ya know how it turns out.