The right broadhead

[Masboy]

I put a lot of time shooting trying to get the best shooting arrows I can get for accuracy from my bow an I want a great broadhead also. I look for these things in a broadhead.

Accuracy
Penetration
Tuff as nails
Large cut
Sharp

I like heads I can practice with all the time without breaking blades or getting bent ferals an prefer steel ferals .
I haven,t found a head yet that I could not sharpen the blades razer sharp myself so out of the pack sharpness is nice but not a must for me.
The larger the cut most time in my testing you give up a little a penetration an accuracy . ( expandable heads accurate at any size cut)
I have found a few that fit my needs an passed all my test an for nice large holes I had to pick .

1 Ramcat
2 grizztrick 2
These are my best tested so far for my needs.

[Limbs and Sticks]

Got some of those cats on order, may be the right heads and the best price out there right now. Thanks man

Wes

[W.Miguire]

I have found that the Bolt cutter is the most accurate one for the average guy they fly good built like a tank you can't destroy them and they have killed buffalos to deer . they don't make a big hole in the skin but they make a nice hole in the vitals. big is not the answer. good luck with your experiment.

[Hunt it]

What bow you shooting and what shaft/length?

[Masboy]

I shoot all kinds from vixen - equinox an all kind of 60-73lb verticals . Black eagle executioners 20 inch in our crossbows with brass inserts an blazers. Mostly Magnus stingers from my vixen so far but it will get some ramcats this season also. I like lots of small heads like slicktricks an others but just looking for a larger cut ,tuff broadhead that does everything well an found some great ones.

When I walk behind my quarry belt that I test broadheads on by shooting thru an see the size of the cuts from different heads it really impresses me looking at the larger cut heads hole size. Big time

[rt2bowhunter]

The cats are a great flying head. I hunted with them and shot several deer.
But I like the grizztrick2's better.

[Bullzeye]

I remember not to long ago everyone raving about Swhackers. So yesterday I was in the US and saw a three pack with bonus practicehead of 100gr. 1.75 "for a decent price and picked them up.

I do not get on here very much these days so I miss out on many threads, but this morning I do a search and see many people now complaining about Swhackers, dull blades, blades damaging shafts, made in China, etc...

I have not opened them yet, should I be returning them ??

[nchunterkw]

Bullzeye
I got a pack 2 years ago and took a few deer with them. It had some extra blades as well. 1 blade did not go through the sharpening process at the factory. Looked like a practice blade or something. No edge at all. That ended my time with Swhacker, as I am like Masboy, and don't want to waste money on low quality "throw away" heads. I still have one and will probably use it one day. As for performance, the ones that I shot flew well, stayed closed and opened on impact. One deer I hit in the spine so no trailing, the other as a pass through with a good enough blood trail. Like any other head, put it where it counts and it should perform. How's that for not answereing your question.?

[Hunt it]

For anything slower than 380 Matrix the 150gr boltcutter was best flying choice I could find. From my 380 the G5 Striker flys minute of angle out to 90yrds and holds up dang well.

I have shot lots of Tuff Heads, Silver Flames, 300 Extremes etc. Those big heads sure do leave a hole but would not fly well at 380 speeds. If it is a big hole your looking for find yourself some Simmons Landsharks - you'll not find a bigger hole.

[Bullzeye]

LOL Thanks nchunterkw.

I have only shot one deer with my xbow and it was with an Excal X-Act and like you was a spine shot and the deer only made it 20ft. So I have no idea how well they work on a heart/lung shot and no one here seems to use them and are crazy expensive around here which is why I was thinking of trying something else.

I like that the X-Acts have the same POI as my field tips, and they do not need elastic bands, but at almost $60 with tax for 3 they are too pricey for me.

[884savage]

I'm looking forward to trying my 125 grain X-bow Rage heads. My compound shoots them like darts. I agree with everyone when they say that any head will kill a deer every time when placed right. The reality is that we can shoot 1 inch groups all day in the backyard, and then somehow magically make marginal and sometimes even horrible shots in the field. That's when I love Rage heads. I've shot 13 deer over the last 4 seasons with them, and I've recovered all 13. Only 1 made it out of sight. 2 of those shots were pathetic hits to say the least. Those 2 deer still only went 45-55 yards. They've made me a believer, and I'm sure someone here can counter that and tell you why they suck. Hopefully the X-bow version works just as well. If they do, I'll never shoot another head. Having said all that, I do replace the blades instead of trying to re-sharpen them, and I never once have shot a head more than once. Once it flies at a deer, the blades are replaced. If I shoot it at a target, the blades are replaced before hunting. I've not found an effective way to re-sharpen them. I'll happily take suggestions on that. I've also never had a blade break or for that matter even bend when I've shot a deer, but I've also never hit the shoulder. Good luck on your quest.

[Masboy]

I,m glad the rage work for you an I like the size of there cut. They just don,t hold up very good in my test an lack penetration for me but like you said new blades an your good to go. My sons an I shoot more than we should but enjoy doing it I have my slicktrick 100gr. magnums that are three years old an been shot thru targets,deer , grass,dirt,quarry belts an still have the original blades that are a little dull but spin like a top an with a sharpening good to go hunting with.

also had some 125gr. Done the same with an my son lost two shooting thru deer. If I get heads with a larger cut an half as tuff as my slicks I will be a happy camper. My son got some muzzy trocar heads cheap an great looking steel feral an a good shooting broadhead. Liked it better after we put the ramcat blades in the muzzy feral an shot great

I know on good arrows lots of broadheads have about same poi as fieldpoints but I find you better do everything right during the launch an especially with fixed heads out of a vertical bow. Expandables are a lot less critical an more forgiving for me like shooting fieldpoints. JMO

[nchunterkw]

I'm not a Rage fan (or really any mechanical) when shooting a crossbow. A crossbow arrow acts a bit different than a longer vert bow arrow and takes longer to stabilize. At close range (20yds and under) the arrow is still stabilizing which means some energy is lost at impact because the arrow is still "wiggling" if you will. Mech heads take alot of energy to open the blades. Generally with a xbow you have the energy to spare, but there are cases when that doesn't happen. I've lost deer because of it and have decided not to use them anymore. There are many quality fixed heads, that fly great (on a good arrow) so I choose that route. IMO if a fixed head does not fly great but a FP or a Mech head do fly great on an arrow, then you have issues that need to be addressed with that arrow.

As for the large cut vs small cut, this thread has a link to over 500 data points showing how far deer travel after being shot.

http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/phpBB2 ... =1&t=53704

I tried to break this data down every way I could think, and there is simply no correlation between BH used and distance travelled. Fixed vs Mech, number of blades, total tissue cut, cut dia. nothing. It shows 90% of all deer shot with any BH make it less than 100 yds.

So given that, my criteria is like Masboy's.

Fixed head (don't want to waste energy opening blades - even if I have it )
Flies True
Strong - not affected by passing through deer (even bone)
Reuseable - for the $$ you should not need to replace blades/head after every shot.

Just my opinion.

[Starvin' Hillbilly]

Sound wisdom nchunterkw!

[HorizontalArchr]

I've had good luck with bolt cutters shooting straight and killing deer. But after this past season got to see my friends results from a magnum slick trick. Wow, talk about a blood trail. Just got the new 150 grn xbow tricks sighted in on my matrix 380. They shoot great and group just like field points to 50 Yrds. With my bolt cutters a had to adjust my scope just a little (1-2 clicks) bc 40-50 Yrds were slightly off. Can't wait to try them out in the field. I used a lansky to sharpen the blades after practice and they are just as sharp or sharper then when they were delivered.