Better Broadhead Tuning
By Mark Melotik
A big part of preparing the bow-and-arrow combination you’ve shot all summer for hunting season is tuning that rig to your broadhead of choice. Unfortunately, broadhead tuning continues to be one of the last things on most bowhunters’ minds, but it’s a critical step to better in-the-field accuracy. As opening days approach, now is the time.
Broadhead tuning is a rather straightforward affair. The process begins with a well-tuned bow. After you’ve achieved that feat as proven with your field-point-tipped arrows, it’s time to screw on a broadhead and shoot that combo beginning at 20 yards.
Take three to six separate shots at that distance with your broadhead-tipped arrow, and then compare that group to a field point group. If there are consistent differences, move your rest a bit using standard tuning guidelines that you can find online. Then it’s time to step back and confirm your broadhead accuracy at all the distances you will expect to shoot at game in the field.
As a longtime tester of bows and broadheads, I know all too well that not all gear is created equal. I’ve also learned that several broadheads on the market offer some nice tuning advantages. One great example is the lineup of SEVR mechanical heads.
No other broadhead company makes the tuning process easier, or more cost-effective, than SEVR. How, you ask? By simply inserting a tiny (included) set screw into the unique lineup of SEVR mechanical heads, you instantly turn a lethal broadhead into a practice head. The set screw locks the blades into the head in such a way that they cannot be damaged by being shot into foam targets. Then once you’ve tuned the head, simply remove the set screw, and you’re once again ready for bowhunting.
SEVR has not only ensured your practice heads will always fly exactly like your broadheads, this ingenious company has also eliminated the need to buy additional heads (field points or broadheads) simply for practice.
You say you’re a fixed head fan? Most replaceable-blade fixed-head users know they can simply shoot one or two of their heads into foam targets as they tune, and then simply replace the blades for their next hunt.
But a few companies, including G5 Outdoors with its ingenious one-piece molded Montec series, completely eliminate the need to buy extra blades. Simply shoot one or two of these rugged three-blade heads to ensure they are tuned, then resharpen on a flat diamond stone or file. After a few passes, this equally ingenious design should once again be ready for hunting.
Whether you shoot mechanicals, fixed heads or hybrids of the two, now is the time to tune them up for hunting.