Broadheads

[BOB VANDRISH]

Just saw this line in an Ohio hunting lodge brochure.

"Expandable broadheads are not allowed. Fixed blades only."

Does anyone know if that applies to the whole state?
We are looking at a possible hunt down there this fall and wanted to be sure what the regulations are.
Any input is welcome.
Thanks.

[rutman]

Their lodge their program. I would never say that fixed blades have an advantage and will NEVER go back to them.

[fuzzy]

...

[BOB VANDRISH]

I have the same reservation about mechanicals,as I did lose a deer last year when the shot hit a bit too far forward in the front shoulder,and did not penetrate properly.
From my experience with fixed blade broadheads,that just would not have happened.
I am now trying to find the best fixed blade option,as most of those that I have tried do not fly the same as my target points.

[rutman]

Their lodge their program. I would never say that fixed blades have an advantage and will NEVER go back to them.

" NEVER" is a long time After you suffer a few failures as all mechanical users will, maybe then you'll see the light

I know of at least 35 deer that were taken with the broadheads I use without fail. Sure there may be a little bone or stone damage on a blade or even a broken blade (RARE). I have all the tagged shafts and broadheads for the ones I've taken with them (about 20) and can't say the word failure for any of them. THEY ROCK! Blood trails are unbelievable.

[crazyfarmer]

i wouldnt say either blade is better than the other.. both are great, both have issues

but 98% of the problem relies in the shooter, shot placement, and angle. If you hit one in the heart perfectly with a fieldtip, it would do the job. I personally switched to rage heads from slicks this season. The slicks did a awesome job, I just wanted a bigger cutting diameter. Both grouped great, the rage maybe .5inches better though. Ive killed deer with both. The one I hit with the rage 3 blade this year was wicked! 30 yards shoulder through shoulder and a golfball sized hole.

[Fred]

For years my brother in-law and I used those little Rocket mini-blasters 85 grains I think they were and you don't get much flimseyer than they are in all the time we used them we failed to recover 3 deer and had 27 kills they put a lot bigger hole in the rib cage than a slicktrick

[wabi]

From Ohio DNR's website:

Allowable Hunting Equipment

Archery Season - Longbow: minimum draw weight 40 lbs. Crossbow: draw weight not less than 75 lbs., nor more than 200 lbs. The arrow tip shall have a minimum of two cutting edges which may be exposed or unexposed. Expandable and mechanical broadheads are legal. Poisoned or explosive arrows are illegal.

There IS a 200# Maximum crossbow limitation in Ohio for deer hunting, but other than that crossbows are legal archery equipment for everything but migratory game birds.

[wabi]

i wouldnt say either blade is better than the other.. both are great, both have issues

but 98% of the problem relies in the shooter, shot placement, and angle. If you hit one in the heart perfectly with a fieldtip, it would do the job. I personally switched to rage heads from slicks this season. The slicks did a awesome job, I just wanted a bigger cutting diameter. Both grouped great, the rage maybe .5inches better though. Ive killed deer with both. The one I hit with the rage 3 blade this year was wicked! 30 yards shoulder through shoulder and a golfball sized hole.

I did put a "field point" through a deer's heart this season and recovered it. I intended to put a broadhead through, but the blades failed to deploy on a Wasp JakHammer mechanical.
Now I'm a believer in it isn't IF a mechanical is going to fail - it's a matter of WHEN!
Those big holes the JakHammer made were awesome, but a good sharp fixed blade will kill them just as dead if you put it in the right place.

[crazyfarmer]

i wouldnt say either blade is better than the other.. both are great, both have issues

but 98% of the problem relies in the shooter, shot placement, and angle. If you hit one in the heart perfectly with a fieldtip, it would do the job. I personally switched to rage heads from slicks this season. The slicks did a awesome job, I just wanted a bigger cutting diameter. Both grouped great, the rage maybe .5inches better though. Ive killed deer with both. The one I hit with the rage 3 blade this year was wicked! 30 yards shoulder through shoulder and a golfball sized hole.

I did put a "field point" through a deer's heart this season and recovered it. I intended to put a broadhead through, but the blades failed to deploy on a Wasp JakHammer mechanical.
Now I'm a believer in it isn't IF a mechanical is going to fail - it's a matter of WHEN!
Those big holes the JakHammer made were awesome, but a good sharp fixed blade will kill them just as dead if you put it in the right place.

the wasp mech was the issue:) try the rage ones;)

if one does fail, im just hoping that the small hole is enough to take him down. I just loved the flight of the rage heads out of mine. So far the best shooting head I have tried out of 10 different ones LOL

[crowe]

Rutman , I may be mistaken but I heard that a couple of the deer you killed this year with the jakhammers did not get full penetration. I am a firm believer in punching two holes in a deer(entry and exit).the jakhammers are a good head but there are many better options.mechanicals are like drunk drivers its not if they will screw up its when they screw up. Just an opinion.

[Fishn-Hunter]

I agree, it is only a matter of WHEN they fail. I lost 1 and nearly lost a 2nd of 3 I arrowed with mechanicals, one with a jackhammer and one with a spitfire 3 blade 100grns. The one I nearly lost was on a quartering away shot, the bolt did not pass through and the jackhammer did not open and the rear of the bolt swung forward on impact causing the bolt to penetrate backwards and resulted in a gut shot. I gave this buck 3 or 4 hours before following up and luckily came up on him and was able to get another bolt in him to put him out of misery. Upon later examining the entrals of the deer I discovered no evidence of blade slices but rather a jagged hole in the stomach and intestine. The one I lost was with the spitfire again on a slightly quarted away shot and again it also did not open however it did pass through so this is how I knew it did not open, it was frozen shut from the wet snow that had fallen earlier in the afternoon and had gotten very cold a couple hours later I did not recover the deer as there was only a faint blood trail that had dwindled to nothing after about 50 yards, we looked for hours and covered hundreds of yards and never found anymore blood never mind the deer. So no one will ever convince me to go back to mechanicals, I have switched to lower profile fixed blades and am getting great accuracy and small groups that anyone would be happy with and no longer worry about the broad head doing its job. I can now only blame myself for making a bad shot.
Fishn-Hunter

[rutman]

Rutman , I may be mistaken but I heard that a couple of the deer you killed this year with the jakhammers did not get full penetration. I am a firm believer in punching two holes in a deer(entry and exit).the jakhammers are a good head but there are many better options.mechanicals are like drunk drivers its not if they will screw up its when they screw up. Just an opinion.

The only deer I shot this year that didn't get a pass through was a lot farther away than most would recommend shooting at. I zippered the hide for about a foot along the ribs because of the angle and then it entered taking part of one lung and the top of the heart then logged in the neck inside the opposite shoulder. If any broadheads should be criticised or banned it's those bumble bee sized cut on contact "blade minimum" fixed blades.
I would never compromise cutting diameter for mild accuracy improvements improvements.

[sumner4991]

The advantages of mechanical broadheads, in my opinion, far out weigh the risk of their failure to open. The wider cut, far better accuracy, and simplicity of use make a mechanical broadhead a wiser choice. I would have never written these lines three years ago.

However, the higher speeds at which these projectiles are being launched make it harder to tune a fixed blade broadhead. The speed also allows for plenty of penetration, even with a 2 1/2 inch cut.

In the field, I have had two does get away after what looked like double lung shots with fixed blade broadheads. . .one was with a Wasp and the other a Slick Trick. In my opinion, the cut is too small. Especially if you hunt near a swamp or heavy thicket.

After switching to a 2" cut mechanical . . .I have only taken two deer. One dropped in it's tracks from a lung shot and the other went 20 yards from a gut shot. Yes, if you put a broadhead in the right place, it will do the job. Well, what if you don't put them in the "right" place? I've shot deer in the gut with my .270 and they go much further. I was amazed that the 2" mechancial brought down that deer so fast . . .and I'm not talking too weak to get up, I'm talking dead in less than 3 minutes.

Anyone out there that has lost a blood trail with their fixed blade broadheads . . .and I know there are several . . .that's the same result as a mechanical failing. I firmly believe there are more lost blood trails with a fixed blade broadhead than there are mechanical broadheads failing. Again, just my limited experience talking.

Anyway, I'm stuck on large cut mechanicals until something better is invented. If I wasn't shooting an Exomax or faster bow, then I may have a different opinion too.

[crazyfarmer]

sumner, well said.. of coarse we all like different things so that is what makes the selection so interesting. One comes out with a better head everyyear also:) I was stuck on wasp, then I tried muzzy.. stuck with them for a year and then tried the spitfires. Didnt like them.. tried slicks and loved them. Then tried the new rage and switched to them. I see some worry about penetration. Well I trouble breaking through both sides with my slicks for some reason. The rage blew a massive exit hole. Granted you never know what bone the head hit or etc on a shot. Its to many variables that factor in when shooting a deer. Bones, shoulders, angles, distance. It only takes one bad angle shot on a bone to make something seem like it was the bheads issue:)