Practice arrows and Hunting arrows
 

I have arrows set aside for practice and I have 3 broadheads set aside for practice.But I just put my brand new broadheads on my hunting arrows,and got to thinking,should I shoot my hunting arrows with my new broadheads on them to make sure they shoot the same? They are both the same,same arrow same fletching and same muzzy 100gr 3blade broadhead.Should I shoot them 1 time each to make sure they hit where they are supposed to? Or will it dull the blades? Or should I put my practice blades on my hunting arrows and take a shot or to. Or, Or am I just thinking about it too much? LOL:patriot:

wouldnt hurt to try it, if your worried sharpen them after you test fire them just to ease your mind but unless you are shooting at a hard surface(tree) i dont see the blades getting dull from one shot.

If it would give you peace of mind and more confidence in your setup then by all means shoot them. Just touch em up afterwards.

I shoot all of my arrows quite a few times but use practice BH's that I've spin tested. I set aside a few brand new heads that I will screw on to my best shooting arrows. If they pass the spin test after installation I'll put em directly into my quiver without shooting them again. I have confidence in my system. It's all about feeling confident in your setup.

Dan

Do you think shooting the broadheads 1 time into a foam target will dull them?

There is no such thing as practice arrows and hunting arrows. You should always practice with the same exact arrows that you are going to be hunting with.

I kinda agree. hunt with same arrows you practice with.
what i do is i set aside 12 practice arrows. and 2 months before season i whip out 5 new arrows and practice with those as well. then pick the best 6 arrows and take those hunting.

No matter what arrows you do most of your practicing with, when it comes down to the ones that you will shoot at a deer, you best make sure they are flying where you want them to. Always make sure your blades are sharp and you are good to go...

I do the exact same thing. I practice with my 100gr Muzzy 3 blade practice heads ONLY, I don't shoot field points at all. All of my arrows are EXACTLY the same in every respect, so when I put a hunting arrow (spin tested) on my string I know it's going to fly/impact just like my practice arrows.

You should always practice with arrows you are going to hunt with.

As the others said, shoot your hunting arrows to make sure. Will the foam dull the blades? You bet, but I guess that's why they make replacement blades. Change them out and keep those "dull" ones for practice next year.

One thing, arrows loose spine the more you shoot em. I found this out with my aluminums shooting traditionals. I would practice all year with a set of 6 and then got strange flight with brand new ones. Sure enough spine changed.

Now, I shoot em all. Each arrow gets it fair share.

Dull blades/broadhead practice etc. is the reason I went to G5 Montecs. Their design allows you to practice with them all year in foam and then easily sharpen them for the real deal. Other BH's like NAP Hellfire Magnus SS Snuffer's allow for the same kind of resharping on a flat stone. Furthermore, those Montec's are ONE PIECE cut-on-contact spin AND weight tested +/- ...it doesn't get any more simple than that. Somethin' to think about I guess.:)

OK, I have a question about this. I've been involved in archery for 36+ years. I've shot field, outdoor target, indoor target, 3D, and have been an avid hunter. I don't shoot as much as I once did, but still manage to pound about 8000 shots a year through a bow. Many times 50 or more shots a day 5 days a week.

Now my question is; why in the world would you shoot broadheads all year long? I know guys do this, but I fail to see the logic unless you're hunting all year long.

I shoot all year long with target/field points. I know how to tune a bow to the nth degree so when hunting season nears I install broadheads or already have them made up. I shoot them for a little bit of practice. Either they shoot or they don't. If need be I tune or retune to get perfect flight and hitting with my target points. I then change blades for the real deal and set them aside.

Shooting broadheads has to dull them or even damage them. The cost of broadheads alone makes me shiver these days so why use them for practice? I don't get it.

this is why i like muzzy or other easily replacible blade system...


i will give each shaft its own broadhead...i will shot it and make sure it flies true...i keep a pile of "practice blades"(good blades but ones that been in the quiver all season or whatever..i buy fresh blades yearly)

this way there is NO question that any arrow i grab is flying where it aughta fly...

ive had trouble with my muzzys the last 2 seasons...i dont know what it is but certain shafts will not shoot certain heads...i head to work through the combos..but finally got a bunch to shoot right...had 1 or 2 out of a dozen just refuse to shoot...could be the arrows or inserts or ferrule on the head etc...

flight difference usually wasnt GREAT..but im picky about that...

I agree with tho others. Hunt with what you practice. For hunting season, I have a dozen arrows, and six fixed broadheads. I mark them 1-12, and the broadheads 1-6. I shoot each broadhead on all 12 arrows, that way you'll find any arrow inconsistancies, or broadhead diffifiencies. I rarely have to ditch an arrow, but it seems always find one flier out of the broadheads if all six are new. Sharpen or replace the blades after practicing with them

I don't own a practice arrow I shoot all my arrows with 100gr.Muzzys and while practicing I will throw out any that don't perform well! Just because you spin test your broadheads don't mean they will fly good you may have one or two arrows that have a weaker spine or more or less foc so toss out any that don't perform then before hunting I pick out the best fleched arrows and replace the blades and re spin test and then use them for hunting

Also even though I will not shoot at a deer at more then 30 yards I shoot all my arrows at 50 and 60 yards I've found that you will find out more about your form and your equipment by shooting at longer range you will also learn to aim better and that will help at any range!

My Muzzies with the practice blades fly the same as with the hunting blades.

A word to all the shooters that use a pratice head!! Use the head you are going to shoot at animals, they deserve nothing less. I know that sounds as though that defeats the purpose but far too many times both don't fly the same. If you do use pratice heads paint them white,yellow, gold, pink, any color that is bright and different from your actual bhs. Someone came in and told me he just shot an 8pt and no blood, found his arrow and found a practice tip!

I shot a doe last year w/ the same BH that had been through 2 other deer and 2 coyotes......she ran about 50yds, and looked around as if I'd missed her, to this day no one could convince me that she ever knew what happened before she died. In less than 10 seconds, probably nearly half of that she stood in place looking around, she was dead. IF you're BH's aren't that good, then you need a NEW BRAND!!! Try a 3 pack of Slick Tricks, and you'll NEVER go back..... I've shot MANY of the broadheads I have well over 100 times, and a little re-edging, and they're as good as new.....


Use a GOOD BH, and you won't be putting arrow aside....:D Muzzy is so inconsistent, that I'll never buy them again. I had better luck w/ the CHEAP stuff at Wal-Mart than w/ the last pack of Muzzy's I bought!!!

always practice with what your hunting with..if you are not shooting the same broad head and arrow in practice, then yes you need to spend 1 on practicing, and ya got 2 left

I understand the logic of this, I really do, and I think there's wisdom in practicing ONLY with your exact hunting setup. However, the point is, you're probably only going to get one shot at an animal with a bow. I think you can practice with any number of arrows as long as when you're in the woods you have confidence that the arrow you have nocked is going to fly exactly right. Right now I have 8 arrows of basically the same make. I practice all summer with all 8 arrows and field tips. When it's time to switch to broadheads, I'll pick the 3 arrows that fly the best, and only shoot those three until hunting is over.

And yes, shooting into foam will dull your blades. I think you want to make sure you replace the blades so they are as sharp as possible before you hunt.

The point about confidence is legit. If you won't feel comfortable unless you shoot your broadhead into foam, then, by all means, shoot it until you have confidence that you can make the shot when it really counts. Not having confidence is the worst of all evils. You can replace or resharpen blades, so it's probably worth it to shoot those heads into the target.