what broadhead?

[jd4223]

I agree with Flinthead on wishing for a 150 grain mechanical from Excalibur.Not really finding a 150 grain mechanical has pretty much kept me shooting the 150 grain fixed blade Bolt Cutters on my aluminum arrows.Every time I shop in person at the local big box stores,all I can find are mechanicals in the 125 grain weight maximum.Same thing when it comes to fixed blades,125 grain maximum.I understand that 125 grain is more than enough for a clean kill and pass through providing a proper placed shot was taken,however I like the added penetration of a 150 grain fixed blade if for some reason I didn't make the perfect kill shot.Just my personal preference.

[Talltines]

For ME I love my swhackers but like you said they do put a ding in your insert and arrow. They are supposed to be fixed for this year but I still have a bunch in my box and will just use a dremel to take some material off so no contact is made with the arrow on deployment.

Another BH that I trust whole heartedly is the FOC. In a word they are devastating. Biggest and shortest blood trails I have ever seen. I learned of them from SEW and I decided to try them out. We'll after a couple deer and being able to see them fall with the damage they do is remarkable.

I love to tinker and try BH's out for testing and these two are my tops for hunting. I have used fixed BH's before and they are not for me. Yes they work every time but I want more damage and better blood trials and shorter tracking jobs. Which is why I choose the ones I do.

Like others have said we all have and shoot the ones we like. I just find the ones I choose gives me 100% confidence that when I squeeze the trigger that deer is dead in about 3 seconds or so.

I would hate to pick between the 2 heads that are my favorite but if someone made me choose it would be the FOC. It's just that good of a head.

Best of luck in trying them out and have fun.

Brian

[Scotty_X2]

I have used the Excalibur Exact mechanicals with my Phoenix. They work great on Turkeys...

[Deaf jeff]

I prefer something the same weight as my target tips that flies like a target tip so I don't need to tweak anything when I'm ready to hunt.

JMO
Ron.

my thinking exactly

for what it's worth: I did shoot toxic's this spring and shot same hole as the target tip @ 25yards off a bench, was pleasantly surprised

[amythntr]

I prefer something the same weight as my target tips that flies like a target tip so I don't need to tweak anything when I'm ready to hunt.

JMO
Ron.

my thinking exactly

for what it's worth: I did shoot toxic's this spring and shot same hole as the target tip @ 25yards off a bench, was pleasantly surprised

....yea baby

Anthony

[SEW]

Rage Broadheads. The year they came out, my son and I used them: me - 3 blade, him - 2-blade. I had a spectacular kill: a bloodbath. Then, a terrible experience and a many hour tracking job resulting in a nice deer that wasn't dead yet. Shot him again. My son had multiple losses(slow learner) with Rages. Went back to Spitfires: no losses. Tried The newest Rages this year: 2 more losses. He's a very slow learner!
It's sad when people judge Expandables by Rages. We don't judge all fixed blade broadheads by just one broadhead, then why do the same with expandables?

Read about all the failures with FOCs? I haven't either.

[xbowrook]

yeah I heard about the FOC''s, they are supposed to be devastating.. same as the schwackers.. man, there are so many bh's out there and honestly a lot of them are great.. I don't know.. I have a few 100 grain muzzy 3 blades in my box, might just use them.. I know they work great too...forgot I even had them, my buddy gave them to me last fall and have never been used...

[paulaboutform]

I know Normous and Rackingupoints both swear by the FOC's and those are two opinions I greatly respect. I would love to hear about the results and penetration of them on a 300+ lbs boar hog because they truly are the greatest test of penetration of any animal we have in North America. I would also love to see them offer a four blade version with the same blade length in 100-125gr.. Just curious. For now I'll be sticking with my toxics as my longest recovery has been 50-60yards in nine animals taken.

Paul

[LongCarbine]

Always a hot topic. I went to an expandable for hunting out west, for spot and stalk .The chances of cutting my sting from loading and unloading all the time is a lot less. Also it seams to be always windy out there and fixed broadheads catch more wind. If you look hard enough you would find that some one had troubles with every head out there . Heck back in the day I had a Snuffer snap in two on a doe shot with a long bow . Find a head that you like and use it .But don't buy to many because if you are like the rest of us , you will want to try another brand next year

[xcaliber]

Now that would be a good topic. How many different heads have you tried over the years. I would bet most of us are near, if not in the double digits!

[Big D]

I have harvested 70 deer with mechanical broadheads. First 15 with buckblasters next 25 with spitfires and the last 30 with rages. I know a lot members do not like rages but they are my favorite head especially the new crossbow-x. I have lost deer in the past; however, I personally think it has to do with other factors like shot placement and not the broadhead. I think most hunters like to blame equipment for lost deer instead of blaming themselves.

Big D

[galamb]

Yes, you have nailed one of the issues - operator error, and yes, it's always easier to blame gear.

The caveat for me here however, is, that some broadheads will give you a little more leeway if your shot turns out to be less than perfect.

Even if I do everything right a gust of wind, a last minute noise that causes some "target movement", a twig that was too small to see, whatever, can cause that perfect shot to deflect or be blown a inch or so from where I was aiming.

No big deal on a full broadside, but if you have some slight quartering that can take what was a totally ethical shot and turn it into an "iffy one".

ALL broadheads on the market would ethically drop a Deer with a full broadside 25 yards shot, and broadheads A thru P might do the job on a quartering shot with no "outside influence".

But I am continually on the quest for the somewhat more limited number of broadheads that will be totally effective if a few things "go wrong" after you have pulled the trigger, despite your "doing your part".

Then when I find the limited few that can survive and effectively penetrate at extreme angles, meet with/glance off of bone etc etc, they also must to fly exactly like the field point and be durable because I don't want to have to dispose of a 15 or 20 buck broadhead after a single use.

So while a great many may meet two of my (personal) three requirements, there is very few that meet all three. And in my case the Rage has good company in my "failed" box. They are in there with Trophy Ridge Meat Seekers and G5 T3's to name a couple of other "top shelf" mechanicals (at least if you believe reviews, glossy ad's, the price of the product etc).

[BobbyR]

I think a lot of people think they hit the lungs, but in reality, a lot of shots out of treestands go under the spine, but above the vitals. I have personally helped track a deer that only had one lung destroyed, and it went at least a half mile before we found it. A lot of folks would have quit when the blood trail disappeared, but we kept going, making big sweeping circles, and we finally hit a blood trail again. It was not a big buck, but it too deserved every effort that we could give it. By the way, it was not the Muzzy broadhead's fault, just a bad angled shot.

[xbowrook]

well, I thought and thought and really was unsure of what broadhead I would use.. so many out there, and so many with good reviews.. I like the idea of the mechanical.. had good luck with them before and with the advancements, thought I would try them again.. I ended up going with the 100 grain rage crossbow X .. really good reviews and I love the large cutting diameter.. will get my crossbow out ( once the darned weather cooperates) and get it dialed in, then take some shots with the practice head and get used to shooting them to determine what the POI is compared to my field tips..

[paulaboutform]

well, I thought and thought and really was unsure of what broadhead I would use.. so many out there, and so many with good reviews.. I like the idea of the mechanical.. had good luck with them before and with the advancements, thought I would try them again.. I ended up going with the 100 grain rage crossbow X .. really good reviews and I love the large cutting diameter.. will get my crossbow out ( once the darned weather cooperates) and get it dialed in, then take some shots with the practice head and get used to shooting them to determine what the POI is compared to my field tips..

I strongly recommend that you buy some replacement blades for your broadheads or just sacrifice one and actually test shoot the actual broadheads you'll hunt with. DO NOT trust that practice blades will fly the same as the hunting blades. Some may, but some absolutely won't.

Paul