Bolt Cutter Broad Head

[bow hunter]

I'm looking at changing my setup to the Excalibur firebolts and the 150 gr fixed blade bolt cutters. These broadheads seem to have a pretty small cutting diameter. Has anybody had any problems with them getting lethal shots on a shot that seems reasonably well place?

[willhunting]

Do they fly like your field tips ???

I haven't tried them but have had good luck with the old Wasp broadheads .


Will

[Galgo]

2 for two for me so far....

[birddog10]

I'm glad to hear the responses here. I currently use Thunderhead 125's and am 2 for 2 with them, with two pass throughs and about 40 to 50 yard recovery. I always felt the boltcutters looked a bit small myself and since I already had the Thunderheads I didn't bother to change. If I ever need to change I'd give the boltcutters a "shot".

[PABOWDUDE60]

8 of 9 for me. The one shot was a little high. A friend saw the buck 2 weeks later, fully recovered. They may be small, but they are deadly! 6 out of the 8 kill shots died within sight of my stands.

[bow hunter]

I'm glad to hear the responses here. I currently use Thunderhead 125's and am 2 for 2 with them, with two pass throughs and about 40 to 50 yard recovery. I always felt the boltcutters looked a bit small myself and since I already had the Thunderheads I didn't bother to change. If I ever need to change I'd give the boltcutters a "shot".

I have used Thunderhead 125's for years but recently changed strings with my bow. I bought the bow (exomag) used from a buddy. The string that it came with was not a regular exacalibur string. After changing strings I wasn't able to get any kind of groups with my setup, which was firebolt carbon shafts and thunderhead 125's. One of the members of this forum suggested that if did not want to change broadheads that I could move to aluminum 2119 shafts. That worked. I assume increasing the arrow weight slowed things down enough that the broadheads were not affecting accuracy as much.

Since then I bought some 150 gr. fixed blade boltcutters and am planning to shoot them with firebolts. Assuming I can get decent groupings I was planning to try them hunting this coming season but I have been somewhat concerned with the cutting diameter as it seems a lot smaller than the thunderheads.

[Ont_Excal]

The Boltcutter is 1 and 1/16 inch in diameter.
The Thunderhead is 1 and 3/16 inch in diameter.

You won't be giving up very much in cutting diameter and you will gain accuracy.

[Nighthunter]

After reading this review, I'd appreciate comments from Axiom owners on what's the best bolt / broadhead combination for hunting because I'll soon be buying a dozen custom made bolts with firenocks installed. Thanks for your help, NH

Review Statements:
The arrow combination that it preferred the most was a Gold Tip Laser II arrow with the brass inserts with a 100 grain field point or broadhead. I could hit nocks out to 40 yards with this combination. It got expensive real quick!

Shooting the Axiom
Shooting the Excalibur Axiom was a delight. For the price of the ready-to-go kit, I certainly did not expect the kind of accuracy that I received. I started shooting the Excalibur Firebolts that came with the crossbow. They shot extremely well with the included 150 grain field points.

But it wasn’t until I tried some Excalibur Aluminum Crossbow bolts in the 2216 size that the groups shrank considerably. In fact, it got to a point where I could not aim at the same dot on the target in fear of Robin Hooding an arrow! And this was at 30, 40 and 50 yards!

It goes without saying that if you do your part, the Axiom is more than capable of delivering very tight groups with the right arrow!

[mooboy]

I've been doing Forum searching looking for similar answers. I have the 150gr Boltcutters right now, but I recently had a hunting/fishing store owner tell me that the Axiom was too slow to be shooting 150gr broadheads with the stock Firebolts.

I'm going to play around with other broadheads next year, but I think I'll stick to the Boltcutters for this season.

[rayman]

but I recently had a hunting/fishing store owner tell me that the Axiom was too slow to be shooting 150gr broadheads with the stock Firebolts.

Too slow for what? I don't understand the statement. See, that's why I don't go to local shops much.

[roly]

The Axiom with the ready to shoot kit may not
be the fastest of the Excal lineup

But I would not say their slow.

[NEPAbowhunter]

For what its worth, I just shot 150 grain Xbow Tricks from Slick trick. They are four blade heads, and I am very pleased with the way they flew out to forty yards. I wil be hunting this fall with the Vortex and Firebolt arrows and 150 grain Xbow tricks. I have no doubt they will do the job as long as I do mine.

[mooboy]

The Axiom with the ready to shoot kit may not
be the fastest of the Excal lineup

But I would not say their slow.

Too slow for what? I don't understand the statement. See, that's why I don't go to local shops much.

He explained that 150gr broadheads were meant for faster crossbows shooting way over 300 fps and that the heaviest broadhead you should shoot on a sub 300 crossbow (like the Axiom) was 125gr. 100gr broadheads were even better. Heavier than 125 and the bolt is too slow/drops too quickly.

[lvt01]

The Axiom with the ready to shoot kit may not
be the fastest of the Excal lineup

But I would not say their slow.

Too slow for what? I don't understand the statement. See, that's why I don't go to local shops much.

He explained that 150gr broadheads were meant for faster crossbows shooting way over 300 fps and that the heaviest broadhead you should shoot on a sub 300 crossbow (like the Axiom) was 125gr. 100gr broadheads were even better. Heavier than 125 and the bolt is too slow/drops too quickly.

Hate to disagree with the person you talked to, but I will. I've shot the boltcutter from a Vixen II, Ibex, Vortex and a Y25 Relayer. I've had excellent groupings from all 4. The faster the bow the flatter your trajectory will be, but the 150gr boltcutter will do just fine from your cb. You may need to tweek your scope just a tad when going from a 150fr fieldpoint to the 150gr boltcutter, but probably 2 clicks up and you'll be dead on again. I like them and have had great results with them. My 2 cents! Larry

[rayman]

Mooboy, Ivt01 is right. Sounds like the guy was telling you that a lighter broadhead would result in less drop and that the drop would be too excessive with 150 gr boltcutters shot from the axiom. I shoot an axiom and 150 grain broadheads and I can assure you that excessive drop is not a problem.