HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT GRAIN OF BROAD HEAD TO USE.
 

JUST WONDERING.

RE: HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT GRAIN OF BROAD HEAD TO USE.
 

FOC and Finished arrow length/weight goal, primarily.

RE: HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT GRAIN OF BROAD HEAD TO USE.
 

I SHOOT A PSE FIREFLITE LC.70# PEAK WITH A CARBON EXPRESS TERMINATOR 60-75 4" HELICALS WITH A 100GRAIN SHOCKWAVE. I HAVE DONE GOOD JUST WONDERING IF I WAS OPTIMIZING MY POTENTIAL

RE: HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT GRAIN OF BROAD HEAD TO USE.
 

I mainly look at arrow weight and FOC. My finished arrow is around 440 gr with an FOC of 9.7. This gives me very good BH flight. Just play around and you will find what works. I also wanted a bit heavier weight for hunting, so I went with the 125 gr head, Magnus Stinger to be exact.

JMAC

RE: HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT GRAIN OF BROAD HEAD TO USE.
 

I determine mine by the spine the bow needs. I change point weight and change the pondage until i get as close as possible (bare shafts tells you how to adjust the bow to the arrows). IF YOU CHANGE THE POINT WEIGHT YOUR BOW NEEDS TO BE RETUNED. I always check FOC but have never been outside of 10-15%. i always retune to all point sizes and see which groups the best.

RE: HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT GRAIN OF BROAD HEAD TO USE.
 

Will a heavier tip penetrate better?

RE: HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT GRAIN OF BROAD HEAD TO USE.
 

Yes, but it will cause very little increase in pentration from 100 to 125 grains. I worry more about accuracy because i used fixed head broadheads that penetrate very well.

RE: HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT GRAIN OF BROAD HEAD TO USE.
 

Those terminators are a relatively heavy carbon arrow. Depending on spine issues you may want to give the 125 grain points a try to see how it impacts accuracy, group size, etc... You may be able to "optimize" a bit more with the heavier point weight.

RE: HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT GRAIN OF BROAD HEAD TO USE.
 

BowJackson

This site is great for figuring out the details of your arrow design.

RE: HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT GRAIN OF BROAD HEAD TO USE.
 

I HAVE USED THAT SITE BEFORE. THEY HAVE ALOT OF GOOD INFORMATION

RE: HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT GRAIN OF BROAD HEAD TO USE.
 

THANKS PAB, I HAVE THOUGHT OF SHOOTING A HEAVIER POINT BUT I HAVE BEEN SHOOTING SO GOOD LATELY I DIDNT WANT TO FIX WHAT AINT BROKE

RE: HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT GRAIN OF BROAD HEAD TO USE.
 

there are charts out there for selecting broadheads, but it also depends on your fletching and fps, going to a pro shop that really knows what they are doing is probably the best way to do it. Make sure you find a shop that will give what is right for you, even if it is the cheapest one there. I have learned that the more expensive new broadheads are not necessarily any better than the old standby. Once you get a broadhead style you like just play a little with the weights ntil you find what fits you best. I have played around a lot with broadhead styles going from 2 to 3 blade broadheads to various mechanical broadheads and finally came back to 2 blade fixed broadheads. Accuracy and not size is the key because if you hit a deer in the liver with a 1.5" mech. broadhead it will take much longer to die, if at all than a 1" broadhead through both lungs. Consistncy is the key and for my that is 100 gr. First Cut 2-blade fixed broadheads. You can narrow it down, but it eventually gets down to just some guess and check.

RE: HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT GRAIN OF BROAD HEAD TO USE.
 

there are charts out there for selecting broadheads, but it also depends on your fletching and fps, going to a pro shop that really knows what they are doing is probably the best way to do it. Make sure you find a shop that will give what is right for you, even if it is the cheapest one there. I have learned that the more expensive new broadheads are not necessarily any better than the old standby. Once you get a broadhead style you like just play a little with the weights ntil you find what fits you best. I have played around a lot with broadhead styles going from 2 to 3 blade broadheads to various mechanical broadheads and finally came back to 2 blade fixed broadheads. Accuracy and not size is the key because if you hit a deer in the liver with a 1.5" mech. broadhead it will take much longer to die, if at all than a 1" broadhead through both lungs. Consistncy is the key and for my that is 100 gr. First Cut 2-blade fixed broadheads. You can narrow it down, but it eventually gets down to just some guess and check.

RE: HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT GRAIN OF BROAD HEAD TO USE.
 

True, but then again we are only talking about picking up a half dozen 125 grain field points and screwing them into your arrows....temporarily if the results don't justify a change. :)

RE: HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT GRAIN OF BROAD HEAD TO USE.
 

I'm guessing that you are "shooting so good" using the broadheads that you hunt with. If not, then it's a whole new ballgame when using broadheads. Fixed blad broadheads fly straightest with heavy tips on arrows that are spined correctly, or a bit stiff. The only reason most don't want an FOC over 15% is that the arrow trajectory tends to fall off too rapidly on very high FOC arrows. The heavier tip, tends to pull the arrow on line, resisting side forces. Lots of drag, (read: 5" helical feather), helps to let the tip direct the arrow. When using a fixed blade broadhead, which will have the tendancy to plane off line, higher FOCs can be very helpful.

RE: HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT GRAIN OF BROAD HEAD TO USE.
 

I agree with straightarrow if you have a broadhead on the tip it helps a lot to put some drag on the back end to stabilize the arrow. I shot with regular plastic fletching then switched to synthetic feathers and noticed a huge jump in my broadhead accuracy. I would definitely recommend synthetic feathers to resist damage from weather. I have shot them in snow, rain, heat and extreme cold and the synthetic feathers have always worked very well for me in all conditions with broadheads.

RE: HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT GRAIN OF BROAD HEAD TO USE.
 

I like to shoot for a certain FOC - 10-13%. As such I have found that on most carbon arrows a 125 grain broadhead with 4 - 4" vanes falls right into that range.