2, 3 or 4 blade?

[anatone hunter]

Howdy,
Not trying to be too trivial but just curious. In a perfect world it probably makes no difference, but in more "normal" circumstances with all other things being equal, do you think a 2, 3 or 4 blade broadhead is the most stable in flight? Am not talking, speed, penetration abilities or brands etc, but just number of blades and if one goes better where it is pointed..
Ha, perhaps this is a better question to ask of a rocket scientist or aeronautical engineeer instead of traditional archers but I just gotta try..

[Zradix]

A well tuned arrow with a straight head will fly straight..no matter what the size of the head/blades.

BUT..it can be more critical to have wider and or longer heads mounted perfectly straight....the longer it is the more it exaggerates otherwise tiny errors.

I personally find a solid 3 blade head with about 1 inch dia like the 190 grain or so VPA heads to be a great combination of total cutting from 3 smaller blades, not much to wind plane, strength, very quiet (no vents) and easy sharpening.

A 1" dia 3 blade has as much cutting surface as a 1.5" 2 blade head without having as tall of "wings" to wind plane.

MANY other designs work great for sure.
..but that is what I like and why.

[acedoc]

3 blade or a single bevel matched with your fletching. I have often heard of broadheads- flies like a fieldpoint but only found that true of woodsman wensels. Next was a single bevel hill style. I had worst flight with all other two blades but that also had to do with bow tuning.

[anatone hunter]

Interesting cause that is just what I thought myself. It just seems that a proper ratio and length and width of a three blade is more stable.
(or at least less vulnerable to other things like wind, poor tuning etc.)
Thanks guys for the feedback..

[Friend]

My hunting shafts are well tuned.

Haven't observed any differences out to 35 yards.

[katman]

As stated well tuned and straight mounted should not make a difference. Large two blade would magnify any deficiencies. I also prefer the 3 blade VPA.

[Gdpolk]

Given perfect tuning and all other things being equal, the head with the smallest amount of surface area will in theory be the most stable as it should have the least friction/interference against the wind and air as it's shot.  By this logic it would seem that 2-blades will in general be most stable.

That said, the aerodynamics of how things fly can vary greatly with different angles, thicknesses of blades, length vs width, etc so the only real way to test would be to analyze heads side by side.  I wouldn't be surprised to see some really well designed heads with 3-4 blades surpass some crummy 2 blade designs.  

Also, just as a matter of reality with our equipment so very limited on speed and distance that we can hunt at, I would wager that the flight stability variances between broad head designs would make little to no measurable difference in accuracy, lethality, or penetration for any of us that aren't Olympic athletes, Byron Furguson, or the like.  I choose to shoot heads that maintain my accuracy, are easy to sharpen, are durable, and that gets the job done.  For me that's Grizzly single bevels.  I've shot others in the past but my needs and preferences have changed a bit over the years as I've altered my arrow builds and gained more experience and knowledge.  I can't say that I've ever shot a "bad" broadhead of the bunch that I've owned, I've just had some that tuned and worked better than others.

[Orion]

Probably depends more on shape than number of blades.  Long and narrow generally flies better then short and wide. I shoot a half dozen different broadheads, two-, three- and four-blades (STOS, Zwickey, Hill, Abowyer, Woodsmans) , and hey all shoot just fine.

[SuperK]

2nd what Orion said.

[Sam McMichael]

At hunting distances, I don't think it makes much difference as long as our equipment is well tuned. Its sort of like using a compass. If you are off one degree and walk only a quarter of a mile, the inaccuracy is negligible, but over a 10 mile trek, it makes a great difference. Essentially, it would seem that the greater the surface area of the head, the more the wind effect would be. As long as it performs well at a given shooter's hinting distance, it still comes down to personal preference.

[NY Yankee]

"A well tuned arrow with a straight head will fly straight..no matter what the size of the head/blades."

That's what I was going to say.

[Doug S]

Shoot them out of a machine and see for sure.

[Terry Green]

I've never had a problem getting any Broadhead to fly off a,tuned arrow never....never.

[Zradix]

Me either...once I got the head on straight...lol

...well there was one batch of heads I got (Not going to mention the brand as they have fixed the problem..and I've seen proof)
The 2 blade head actually had a warp to the blade...literally a little curved and the blade section wasn't mounted to the ferrule quite right.

Even those after scratching my head for I while I was able to get flying ok for 15 yds and under...after 20 I couldn't hold em tight enough for me.

[stujay]

I like the flight of a VPA 3 blade with my longbow.

[Stumpkiller]

2, 3 or 4 for flight stability?

Different question.

I think the four would be the most stable IF the blades were identical.  But would have the most drag in flight an meat.  Followed by the three.  Though a badly mounted four or three would be much worse then a well mounted and tuned two.  

I like two blades, and for any bow under 50# would consider them the most appropriate.  Just last year I tried a three blade in a 51# bow (I draw it to a little more).  Worked very well.  But I did not get full penetration; which is not an issue when you can see the deer pile up.

More experimentation next year.