Mechanicals

[TYE]

Hey guys, which mechanicals do ya'll shoot and prefer?

[bj]

Hey guys, which mechanicals do ya'll shoot and prefer?

simply and in all honesty...............none !.........they're great for bird hunting and shooting massive holes in rusty ole' 45 gallon drums...sorry, you asked and i told ya'....

[R.J.]

Got to agree with bj .... fixed blades are the way to go !

[jay73]

Yup, same here. Gimme fixed blades.

[BigUgly]

Have friends that used them on vert bows who then tried them with xbows and they went back to fixed heads in a hurry.

[tomcat]

Spitfires, plain and simple..they are the best flying, truest spinning broadhead on the market.
Most of my rigs are pushing better than 300 fps and these do the job with today's modern rigs which are shoving a lot of KE.
I have found them and 5" feathers have a deadly combo with about 4 degrees of helical on just about any shaft and especially short shafts like Xbow arrows.

I usually stick with fixed blades like Muzzy's or T-heads for anything pushing a 450grain arrow at less than 300fps, I know that many say these are acceptable to shoot out of less powerful bows, but my experience is that the spitfire's large 1.5" cut and blade retention system along with a non cut on contact ferrule require as much juice as possible to be as effective as they can be.

I have found that the 85 grn spitfire has a smaller cut(1.25") or the XP (cut on contact pt) would be a better choice if you want to use these with bows that shoot a 450 grn in the 280-300fps range. Anything less, I believe the rocket steel head or rocky mountain snyper are better choices if you really want a mech and it's flight characteristics.

Fixed blade heads never fail, this is true, and many do shoot very well out of a "tuned" bow, but in many cases, for example out of a crossbow, your best tuning trick is as much helical with feathers and smallest exposed blades possible to gain consistency. I am certain that every arrow can be tuned out of a compound to group with field points....no matter what some believe it's a realistic goal(if you know what you are doing) but in the case of crossbows, there are not very many options to actually tune, beyond the arrow itself.

My advice to anyone who likes fixed blade heads, is YES they are better in some ways, but the tradeoff is flight consistency. I have heard all the ranting about the new fixed blades and have shot them, and without a doubt they do group well, but this is mainly because the blade surface has been minimized to near mechancial head levels, and the manufacturing process controlling trueness has improved.

I want to point out some real world experienced pro's and cons of each, and those who wish to condemn either type, simply lack an open mind and may be denying themselves an oppurtunity to grasp these benefits of either type.

Fixed Blade
-Can fly very true, if mfg'd true, have a small blade surface, and are propelled true out of the bow/Xbow.
-Take less energy to penetrate and increase the likelihood of a pass thru when compared to a mech.
-If the arrow doesn't pass thru, then usually this is because it has lodged in bone, and it probably will remain there, thus minimizing the blood trail, but the blades slice as the animal runs, so again a tradeoff.
-Require broadhead target to practice/tune/sight in.

Mechs
-Fly like darts and group with field points , usually available with practice blades.
-Take more KE to pass thru, do to no cutting edge, and large cut diameter.
-May not pass thru but usually kill quicker due to larger cut.
-If deer runs and the arrow remains in them, it usually falls out because there is no resistance backwards against the huge entrance hole. This ensures a nasty blood trail either way.


My opinion is that Mechs are the best choice for high KE rigs, they shoot better and more consistent, usually kill quicker, leave a better blood trail regardless of a pass thru or not.
Financially they also make sense as they don't require a BH target, reduced costs in fletching/blades etc, because you only have to shoot minimal amounts to realize they group with your FP's.

My experience with fixed blades has also been positive, but I must say that the mechs flight and blood trail, make it hard to beat out of fast rigs.

[diesel]

I LOVE my WASP Jak-Hammer SST 125gr.
Most of my brothers are using them now. Does not matter if they are shooting crossbows or compound bows. One brother gut shot a doe this year. Did not hit the liver, nothing but guts. He new he hit her to far back.
He let the doe go for one hour came back and started tracking she went 60 to 70 yrds. laid down and died.
The doe I shot this year I only hit one lung she went 50 yrds and dropped.
The buck Fred shot dropped on the spot. Got back up and fell 3 more times and only ran 20 yrds. he dubble lunged him.
They put an 1 3/4" hole in the deer. My doe and Freds buck were shot with my Exocet 175 and a 385gr. arrow.
The slick tricks worked well also. The buck I shot this year hit one lung and the liver only went 80 yrds. But was very hard to find any blood. Thank God for the very heavy dew we had that morning.
They all work if they hit the right spot. You just need to find what one you beleive in and hit the sweet spot.

[tomcat]

Well put! You have to be able to hit the right spot, and in most cases Mechs have the advantage there.

[terry-1]

I have shot spitfire 85gr and 100gr time to time out of my 175lb Exocet over the years with great luck on deer,hogs,and turkeys,. I shoot fixed blades 90% of the time as the fly great out of my Exocet so why go mech-head unless you are haveing a accuracy problem unless for turkey where the huge 1.5-2" cut can be a real big plus on downing a turkey before he flies off after being arrowed.

[Hoss]

yep fixed blades for me...........ONE time is all it takes..mechs work and work well ifn the hit is were the mechs like it..BUT one bad hit and one lost buck ( it happened to me ) and I knew if i had a fixed blade it would have been different and you will not use mechs again..

Dame those mechs........

[TYE]

I just asked out of curiousity.... I'm thinking about switching from my Wasp Boss's to NAP Thunderheads.

[kodiak]

I use 100 Grain Spitfires, with no problems.

[wabi]

I've tried a lot of mechanicals & fixed blades and am using fixed blades for my deer hunting. After watching a mechanical open in flight (Wasp JakHammer) and go off target enough to strike a buck right in the shoulder with the blades open so it only stuck in the bone. A nice buck running off with almost the whole shaft protruding from it's shoulder is not a calming sight! Tracked him for hours before the scant bleeding stopped, found the shaft snapped off right behind the insert. A friend saw the buck a few days later and said he looked healthy, but was definitely moving slowly. I'm sure the broadhead is embedded in his shoulder, so survival is possible, but not guaranteed. If the joint is damaged he probably won't last long, and even though nothing goes to waste in nature I know I'm responsible for his suffering. Not what any hunter wants on his conscience! I'm almost certain the mechanical opened in flight. It hit several inches from where I was aiming, and it didn't penetrate far. It was the broadhead's failure that caused the wounding & loss, but it was ME that pulled the trigger!
No more mechanicals for me!!!!!!!!!! A good sharp fixed-blade will kill just as quickly if it goes in the right place, and if you can't be sure it's going in the right place you shouldn't be shooting it!
BTW - Wasp came out with a new 1 1/4" JakHammer and I tried one to see if it would be less likely to fail. The second shot opened in flight! At 10 yards it missed the aiming point by about 3" and the blade cut was full width on the target face!

[Tom]

Hey guys, which mechanicals do ya'll shoot and prefer?

simply and in all honesty...............none !.........they're great for bird hunting and shooting massive holes in rusty ole' 45 gallon drums...sorry, you asked and i told ya'....

Sorry BJ & RJ but if you want the larger cutting diameter heads, then mechanicals are the way to go. If you are happy with cutting dia. of around 1 1/8 - 1 3/16 then fixed blades are the way to go.

Now in saying that, with both fixed blades and mechanicals all heads are different just like you would not compare a pontiac subird to a porche, do not assume all mechanicals opperate the same.

With mechanicals, you do get better accuracy with larger cutting dia's but there are a few more steps of maintance required. With heads that use o-rings or rubber bands to hold closed, you need to inspect to make sure they have not weathered (rubber cracking or checking). Failing to do this can cause failure or these bands causing the blades to open earlier then you want. With the heads that use retaining clips like the spitfire does, you sould never use then after 5 shots, replace the clips. I personally do not use anything but brand new blades and clips for hunting in my spitfires. Again using wornout clips can cause the early opening of the blades.

Now as to what you want, either fixed blades or mechanicals is a choice you will have to make. IS the extra maintance worth the extra accuracy with the larger cutting dia, then you know your choice. For me it is well worth it with the higher end mechanicals like the Spitfire.

Hope this helps.

[Hoss]

The mechs may leave a bigger entrance hole but as its been said alot of times they dont go completly thru..(My experience) so if your in a tree and the entrance is high which is normal you have one hole high! that means no exit wound to bleed out for blood trail..and the biggest part of the blood that otherwise would be on the ground is in the deer..If you hunt real thick ares you need that blood trail NOW..cut on impact seems more likely to pass thru giving you a exit wound that tells where the deer is heading NOW...how big a hole does one need anyway....I would rather have 2 in and out, instead of just one..just mho.........