Broadheads

[Altitude sickness]

The primary issue I see with expanding BHs is too low total arrow weight for the BH design.

I stopped watching whitetail deer hunting shows long ago. Too boring and couldn’t stand the booya, smackdown BS.

But watching those shows I was always shocked at how many Whitetails ran off with an arrow sticking out of their side, flopping in the breeze.

There isn’t a bone on a whitetail that should stop a broad head or arrow. at any angle. With a modern compound bow. IF you have a proper BH, arrow weight and perfect arrow flight.

 

[archer36]

I agree with some of your points but I’ve seen hundreds of animals taken by bow. You got that part wrong.

I didn't specifically say YOU. Just in general.

 

[Scott CWO]

The two healed bulges in two different ribs on a 300 pound mule deer from a big expandable broadhead hit in November. The broadhead opened up too large and could not penetrate into the cavity through two ribs, let alone the heart. Placement was good - should have been a heart shot. I was an eyewitness. A two-blade fixed broadhead would not have hit two ribs and this deer would be dead.

Same exact deer below in early December, after losing 50 pounds of fat in the rut, taken with rifle. These aren’t 150 pound deer. They are big-bodied, corn and alfalfa fed Plains deer. I’ve weighed carcasses without guts, blood, skin, head or lower legs that weighed 285 pounds.

 

[rookhawk]

I have switched to Iron Will and a few other overbuilt BHs
Too many are not sharp enough or strong enough.

Also, the arrow needs to be flying perfectly straight and no flopping around when it impacts the animal.

if it’s flexing while it’s impacting the animal, you lose a ton of penetration. The nock needs to be perfectly behind the broad head as it penetrates.

I prefer stiffer spine than the charts call for and get my tune in other ways.

Here I did a destructive test on an Iron Will 250 Broadhead that I had already punched through a Cape buffalo.

I shot the same broadhead over and over again through Big Angus femurs.

I shot the same head multiple times and it showed no impact so I started shooting through two bones at a time. Eventually, the Ferrell showed damage, and I saw some minor chipping.

27” arrows, 1028 grains 75 pound Mathews

I have since switched to traditional equipment, so these factors are even more important


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Jay, I love the total arrow weight. I love the insert. I love the broadhead. Why would you rob yourself of FOC and have to contend with dented and work hardened aluminum by using an FMJ? Treat yourself to a Sirius Archery arrow. I haven't used their newer 4mm, but you will get even better penetration with the micro shaft. I'm using I think the Apollo 5mm? Very happy with them. Everything else in my setup matches yours. (although my regular arrow for do-all is 650gr, I don't have a 1000gr buffalo setup built at present)

 

[Altitude sickness]

Rookhawk, I have since switched to the Valkyrie system, which is exactly as you describe. I killed the Eland in the picture posted here with a 49 pound recurve using that Valkyrie system

The FMJ system pictured had high 20% not quite 30% FOC
150 grain brass inserts inside of the shaft behind the broadhead

 

[BSO Dave]

Agree. But, there are countless reports of the effectiveness of these heads. I don't think you are going to find a deer hunter that will use a small cut, two blade broadhead

I would argue that there is a much bigger audience of hunters who have not enjoyed such success with mechanicals...

I know many deer hunters who shoot compact, fixed 2-blade broadheads with great success. They include every traditional and recurve bowhunter I know... Furthermore, I recommend the use of 2-blade, fixed broadheads to most of my clients who shoot bows under 60lbs of draw weight and under 27" of draw length. There are many styles of these heads that can be used to both increase total arrow weight and FOC at the same time by simple screwing on the right weight broadhead that facilitates the best possible tune...

The main problem with fixed heads today is with fast crossbows. Once you get past 400 fps, they tend to go squirrly. So, you are stuck using a mechanical.

Crossbows are a completely different animal than a vertical bow and really shouldn't be a part of the broadhead conversation as it relates to the characteristics of broadheads and arrow flight compared to vertical bows which have many more variables that can affect tune and arrow flight...

But, since you mentioned crossbows, the laws of physics remain the same... Speed of the crossbow bolt is irrelevant if the total bolt weight is not high enough to generate enough momentum. In other words, you may be accurate as hell out to 100 yards with a 400fps+ crossbow, but your penetration will suffer just as significantly if the momentum is not there... Friction loss (in the form of an expandible broadhead) is a momentum killer...

I would not count out mechanicals (good ones) for just about any game except for the biggest ones where penetration is paramount.

I disagree on the general premise compared to so many more consistent options available to bowhunters.

I would also be interested to hear which mechanicals you feel are "good ones" and why?

There are many different types of mechanical heads. Front deploying, rear deploying, locked blades, pivoting blades. Each has their benefits and disadvantages.

Maybe compared to each other but not compared to a well-constructed, fixed blade broadhead...

The only safe, ethical, and effective place I see for mechanicals is with small game, and I do mean small... I took some Swackers to Africa once that one of my sponsors gave me to try out. I only took them to shoot varmints and guinea fowl. I shot a steenbok on that trip straight through the shoulder blade broadside, and the arrow exited the paunch on the opposite side. The broadhead was bent in a 45-degree angle and the blades were badly mangled. If they fail after making contact of a paper-thin shoulder blade on a 30lb animal, there is no way I would ever use them on a larger animal...

In fairness, mechanicals are okay for turkeys and other varmints with very small vitals and small bones... The wide cut can make up for a less than perfect shot placement on these smaller species...

 

[archer36]

I would argue that there is a much bigger audience of hunters who have not enjoyed such success with mechanicals...

I know many deer hunters who shoot compact, fixed 2-blade broadheads with great success. They include every traditional and recurve bowhunter I know... Furthermore, I recommend the use of 2-blade, fixed broadheads to most of my clients who shoot bows under 60lbs of draw weight and under 27" of draw length. There are many styles of these heads that can be used to both increase total arrow weight and FOC at the same time by simple screwing on the right weight broadhead that facilitates the best possible tune...



Crossbows are a completely different animal than a vertical bow and really shouldn't be a part of the broadhead conversation as it relates to the characteristics of broadheads and arrow flight compared to vertical bows which have many more variables that can affect tune and arrow flight...

But, since you mentioned crossbows, the laws of physics remain the same... Speed of the crossbow bolt is irrelevant if the total bolt weight is not high enough to generate enough momentum. In other words, you may be accurate as hell out to 100 yards with a 400fps+ crossbow, but your penetration will suffer just as significantly if the momentum is not there... Friction loss (in the form of an expandible broadhead) is a momentum killer...



I disagree on the general premise compared to so many more consistent options available to bowhunters.

I would also be interested to hear which mechanicals you feel are "good ones" and why?



Maybe compared to each other but not compared to a well-constructed, fixed blade broadhead...

The only safe, ethical, and effective place I see for mechanicals is with small game, and I do mean small... I took some Swackers to Africa once that one of my sponsors gave me to try out. I only took them to shoot varmints and guinea fowl. I shot a steenbok on that trip straight through the shoulder blade broadside, and the arrow exited the paunch on the opposite side. The broadhead was bent in a 45-degree angle and the blades were badly mangled. If they fail after making contact of a paper-thin shoulder blade on a 30lb animal, there is no way I would ever use them on a larger animal...

In fairness, mechanicals are okay for turkeys and other varmints with very small vitals and small bones... The wide cut can make up for a less than perfect shot placement on these smaller species...

Well, where do I begin to reply? I won't bother since you have not comprehended most of my posts. If you go back and read them again in their entirety, instead of taking things out of context , the answers will be already there. I am not going to post on this topic ad nauseam. We are all somewhat correct and all somewhat incorrect. There are no absolutes.

 

[BSO Dave]

Well, where do I begin to reply? I won't bother since you have not comprehended most of my posts. If you go back and read them again in their entirety, instead of taking things out of context , the answers will be already there. I am not going to post on this topic ad nauseam. We are all somewhat correct and all somewhat incorrect. There are no absolutes.

You can begin a reply wherever you like...

I believe that I absolutely do comprehend your posts in their full context, and simply have a different opinion to some of yours... It's okay to have different opinions.

The caveat with my opinions is that I base them on personal experience. I form them from real results which I have witnessed or experienced for myself.... Not from clever, hyperbolic marketing ads or hearsay from bowhunters not known to me... And, while I would agree with you that there are no absolutes, I would also argue vehemently that there are definitely recognizable patterns based on the simplest scientific principle of observation along with the inarguable laws of physics... Both of which trend toward my overall opinion that mechanical broadheads in general have a very limited effective use and have far more negatives than positives...

I would still sincerely like to know which mechanicals are the good ones and why...?

 

[archer36]

You can begin a reply wherever you like...

I believe that I absolutely do comprehend your posts in their full context, and simply have a different opinion to some of yours... It's okay to have different opinions.

The caveat with my opinions is that I base them on personal experience. I form them from real results which I have witnessed or experienced for myself.... Not from clever, hyperbolic marketing ads or hearsay from bowhunters not known to me... And, while I would agree with you that there are no absolutes, I would also argue vehemently that there are definitely recognizable patterns based on the simplest scientific principle of observation along with the inarguable laws of physics... Both of which trend toward my overall opinion that mechanical broadheads in general have a very limited effective use and have far more negatives than positives...

I would still sincerely like to know which mechanicals are the good ones and why...?

This will be my last post on this matter. You can find very good broadhead tests on YouTube. Look up Lusk Archery. The latest heads getting accolades on Lusk tests and crossbow forums for their durability are Sevr and Swat.

 

[BSO Dave]

This will be my last post on this matter. You can find very good broadhead tests on YouTube. Look up Lusk Archery. The latest heads getting accolades on Lusk tests and crossbow forums for their durability are Sevr and Swat.

I was actually interested in your opinion of the "good mechanicals" based on your own practical field experience with them... I am very familiar with John Lusk's broadhead tests on YouTube... In fact, I think they are all also posted on this forum... Even if I was forming an opinion based solely on those test results, I'm really not sure any of what I saw from the Sevr, Swat, or any of the other mechanicals he tested would change my opinion on their overall performance when compared on multiple metrics to the best of the fixed blades on the market.

The only unique aspect of the Sevr I can see which I believe goes beyond a gimmick is the ability of the blades to pivot when the meet resistance. That may actually help the broadhead maneuver around bone avoiding some of the friction loss and blade damage. However, by doing so, the broadhead also loses half of its cutting diameter when contact occurs kind of defeating the purpose of what a big expandable broadhead is intended for in the first place... I do like the fact that both ferrule and blades are all steel, and the blades are a heavier gauge steel than most of the others on the market... To be fair, I would be interested to see some more live tissue results before I toss it into the ever-growing heap of the failed mechanical designs...