Would be curious to get some opinions on the effect of a longer Broadhead (ie. a Wensel) on arrow flight (stiffen / weaken) compared to a much shorter Field Point of the same weight.
I would expect the arrow with the 'longer' broadhead to be weaker, at least theoretically.
Bareshaft tuning obviously won't do me much good here since I can't very well screw a Broadhead onto a bareshaft---not without getting my neighbor's attention, anyway :D
I think it technically may weaken the arrow but I doubt if it is enough to notice.The part of the broadhead that is longer(the point end) is also the lightest part of the head.I shoot Grizzly's and can't say I've been able to see any difference but not saying there couldn't be a small amount.
I think you'd have to shoot one heck of a lot better than me to notice a difference, if there is any. I have shot Woodsman, Snuffer (125 and 160 grain), Grizzly El Grande, Bear Razorhead, and Zwickey Deltas and as long as the arrow is tuned to the bow, they all fly great. Perhaps part of the reason is that my bow is cut to center, so it is not as picky with spine as some.
I don't think you will see a practical difference.
It will make it weaker but I promise not even most olympic archers could tell the difference.
thanks fellers
Yeah, spine refers to the dynamic portion of the arrow. The broadhead is not really dynamic except in a purely theoretical sense. But the practical application of the length of broadhead on the spine of the arrow is essentially zero.
In my practical experience I have noticed that I often can tune the arrow and bow combination for prefect flight and grouping with a certain field point, yet when I put a broadhead on the same arrow it will weaken the reaction. Over the years I've seen this reaction exacerbated by increasing the planning surface of the broadhead. However I also believe that this phenomenon is directly proportional to the arrow speed.
I might be wrong but i would think that the dynamic spine can only be influenced by an addition or subtraction of weight up front or in back of the arrow and addition or subtration of the flexable lenght of the shaft. Adding 1.5 to 2" of non flexable point while keeping the same weight you would think would not effect the dynimic spine.
Just thinking, but that has been known to get me in trouble sometimes.
Have you ever heard someone say... ABC BH flies like a dart but I could never get XYZ to fly at all..
Consider for a moment what the difference might be.. given that the same care was used with each when aligning the BH to the shaft..