[Riggs]

What are your thoughts on mechanical broadheads. I remember when they first came out, I thought they were just another gimick, and avoided them like the plague. Now that they've been around for some time, they seem to work really well. Give us some feedback please.

 

[Fish_Killer]

I don't use a mechanical broadhead, i use a fixed blade broadhead. I have seen both good and bad results with mechanicals, large wound channels and such, but also very little penetration. It takes alot of kinetic energy to open a mechanical broadhead, and most of it is spent on the entrance. Also if you hit the shoulder you will get even less penetration. It is fine for higher poundage bows, but i would reccomend using a fixed blade head if shooting lower poundage bows.

 

[Riggs]

Two blade with inserts, or three?

 

[Fish_Killer]

I've used muzzy 100gr. 3 blades and Steelforce phatheads 100gr. The phatheads are 2 blade with smaller bleeder blades. I love the chisle point of the muzzy broadheads, put it too the test when i hit a buck in the head, right between this left antler and his ear. Didn't intend to hit him there, but i did....dead on the spot!

 

[brasso]

Not a big fan of expendables at all (being nice) even though I killed game with them (twice)
The heads I use are the 3, 4 fixed blade heads, I need all the help I can get on marginal shots (like this shoulder blade shot moose I killed last year) ....I think I would've lost the animal had I used a mechanical head, but this way only went 20 yards.

Entry hole:

.....and on the other side still broke the rib

 

[Riggs]

Nice job!

 

[clawj]

I used grim reaper expandables for years with a low 50's draw weight, the holes they made were impressive. Broke through shoulders and bone with no problem. I switched to fixed heads but to be honest I may go back to mechanicals, in my experience they fly like field points and inflict massive damage. But put any Broadhead in the right spot and it'll work just fine

 

[ldb3]

I'm shooting 100 grain G5 T3 mechanical broadheads this year and am a big fan of them. Clean pass through, breaking ribs on both deer and bear this year. I am shooting 70lbs with a 28.5" draw, and neither animal went very far.

 

[Riggs]

That's impressive>

 

[Patty]

The same as anything else, shot placement is crucial... The first one i took witha bow was with a muzzy Phantom, Then 2 with MX3 muzzy's, one with eastman fixed blade (they are terrible) and now shooting 100gr Rage 2 blade expandables... Machanicals tend to be more accurate so as soon as i switched to a faster longer range bow i went to expandables... With proper tuning fixed blade heads will fly just as accuratly...

If i were hunting moose or elk I would be using fixed bladed heads due to their greater strength, but for deer I don't feel like i need that strength providing I take high percentage shots... Just like using a rifle you should match your broadhead to the game...

There are some incredible head out there now and tuning arrows becoming easier with the design of newer heads... All that said I still think for an all around general use broadhead a fixed blade will never let you down, The blades won't ever pop open coming to full draw, you'll never be looking for little O-rings, and you never have to worry about "deflection" on target impact and penetration is less of an issue... The biggest advantage to mechanical is the massive wound channel and that can lead to some pretty easy tracking!!!

IMO

 

[Riggs]

[offtopic:1gfvb82g]When I first started bow hunting, the only broadhead available was the Fred Bear fixed blade, with the 2 little inserts. We've come a long way since then.[/offtopic:1gfvb82g]

 

[brasso]

[offtopic:3bnj00hr]When I first started bow hunting, the only broadhead available was the Fred Bear fixed blade, with the 2 little inserts. We've come a long way since then.[/offtopic:3bnj00hr]

...and that was more like bowhunting, you had to know your stuff better, that era bread better archers and bowhunters ,little yet important things you had to know like how to tune your bows and arrows.
Now, any Joe sixpack goes buys a ready to hunt "package" shoots 10 min. at a range, screws in an expandable and go look to kill deer, meanwhile the word "centershot" this instant bowhunters think it means hitting the center of a target. :roll:....."things" got watered down quiet a bit, in the last 10-12 years in my observation.

 

[oaktree]

Taken two bear and two deer with 100gr NAP Bloodrunners all dead within 100yrds 3 of the four fell within sight.
Used Thunderheads, sonics,steel force and a few others Knock on wood never had any broadhead failers.

 

[carcus]

Damn mechanicals, have made me poor due to a high taxidermy bill! Seriously, mechanical haves made me a more successful hunter, I naturally torque the bow, I have a hell of a time tuning, but can get fixed blades tuned to the same point of impact as the field points, but in hunting situations with adrenolin flowing my form suffers, and fixed blades have lost me animals, since I started using mech's my arrows hit where I aim. I have not had a single failure with my brand of mech's, and have 30+ kills with them! But I do have to mention that I have not killed a elk or a moose with them, only deer and bear, but I did shot a bear last fall, with a 76 pound elite bow, a fmj arrow, the bear was quartering towards me and I hit the front shoulder, the only thing that stopped the arrow from passing through was the blazer veins and they were pealed back on the shaft, the fmj arrows was mushroomed but the broadhead was still intact! I don't recommend a quartering shot but the bear had half of its head blown off and I had to put it out of its missery.

 

[brasso]

I would use them on whitetails no problem, only on bigger thicker boned animals I'm a little more skeptic. I'm sure they would kill, but too many things has to fall perfectly in place for them too do their job.
On a little sharper quartering away moose or elk or even deer for instance a fixed blade is I think it's better.....or marginal shots in general.

 

[canadian-ice]

Damn mechanicals, have made me poor due to a high taxidermy bill! Seriously, mechanical haves made me a more successful hunter, I naturally torque the bow, I have a hell of a time tuning, but can get fixed blades tuned to the same point of impact as the field points, but in hunting situations with adrenolin flowing my form suffers, and fixed blades have lost me animals, since I started using mech's my arrows hit where I aim. I have not had a single failure with my brand of mech's, and have 30+ kills with them! But I do have to mention that I have not killed a elk or a moose with them, only deer and bear, but I did shot a bear last fall, with a 76 pound elite bow, a fmj arrow, the bear was quartering towards me and I hit the front shoulder, the only thing that stopped the arrow from passing through was the blazer veins and they were pealed back on the shaft, the fmj arrows was mushroomed but the broadhead was still intact! I don't recommend a quartering shot but the bear had half of its head blown off and I had to put it out of its missery.

What brand of mechanical broadhead do you use? Also what's the story behind the bear with half of his head blown off?

 

[Patty]

I would use them on whitetails no problem, only on bigger thicker boned animals I'm a little more skeptic. I'm sure they would kill, but too many things has to fall perfectly in place for them too do their job.
On a little sharper quartering away moose or elk or even deer for instance a fixed blade is I think it's better.....or marginal shots in general.

I did some work a few years ago in Fernie B.C. while the archery elk season was on... Mechanicals are a swear word out there!!! The one that i seen shortly after the kill was with a shuttle T lock i believe, shot a little high and drove through the lower portion of the spine... The guy said "and thats why we don't use mechanicals, never woulda killed it"...

Like you said Brasso i'm sure they would work but there would be very small margin of error... I would Imagine that a 400" elk or 70" moose would cause a wee bit of shakiness making shot placement even more critical...

 

[carcus]

Damn mechanicals, have made me poor due to a high taxidermy bill! Seriously, mechanical haves made me a more successful hunter, I naturally torque the bow, I have a hell of a time tuning, but can get fixed blades tuned to the same point of impact as the field points, but in hunting situations with adrenolin flowing my form suffers, and fixed blades have lost me animals, since I started using mech's my arrows hit where I aim. I have not had a single failure with my brand of mech's, and have 30+ kills with them! But I do have to mention that I have not killed a elk or a moose with them, only deer and bear, but I did shot a bear last fall, with a 76 pound elite bow, a fmj arrow, the bear was quartering towards me and I hit the front shoulder, the only thing that stopped the arrow from passing through was the blazer veins and they were pealed back on the shaft, the fmj arrows was mushroomed but the broadhead was still intact! I don't recommend a quartering shot but the bear had half of its head blown off and I had to put it out of its missery.

What brand of mechanical broadhead do you use? Also what's the story behind the bear with half of his head blown off?

I use Rocky Mountain snypers, they sold out to rage, basic same head but much better blade angle, 1 5/8 cut and they used rubber bands to hold the blades shut.

Story with the bear is I was hunting the edge of a oat field over a bait in the fall, there was at least a dozen dead bears in the field shot off the road, guess these cowboys where going for head shots(anybody out there shooting for the head shouldn't be aloud to carry a weapon!) Anyways this poor animal came in, was sick, wheezing, face infected, so I put him out of his misery. Here is a picture from the video I took.

 

[highlandglen guide]

Good thing some people have a brain! Good job on the mercy kill carcus

 

[Patty]

Yeah no doubt, You sure did the right thing!!! Its a shame what some people will do for fun...