3 blade broadhead recommendations

[ledflight]

My VPA 175s gave me a pass through where the little buck didn't even react.
This was with the 1 1/8" design. I will use the 1 1/4" design as well now (no results yet).
I think the 3 blade design is underrated in terms of penetration.
A lot of 2 blades have a tanto tip that puts up more resistance than the 3 blade tip IMO.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

I'm testing the QAD exodus with my longbow this season. 500 gr arrows moving around 180fps. Took the chisel tips and honed them and blades to stupid sharp levels in 5 minutes with a diamond stone and strop.

 

[bowhuntercoop]

I'm testing the QAD exodus with my longbow this season. 500 gr arrows moving around 180fps. Took the chisel tips and honed them and blades to stupid sharp levels in 5 minutes with a diamond stone and strop.

I have 2 close buddies that combined have over 200 kills with 125 exodus. Mostly deer with a bunch of pigs, about a dozen elk and a dozen African critters. It’s their go to head. The only reason I haven’t shot them is the blade angle is crazy steep vs a 3-1 ratio head like a vpa.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

I have 2 close buddies that combined have over 200 kills with 125 exodus. Mostly deer with a bunch of pigs, about a dozen elk and a dozen African critters. It’s their go to head. The only reason I haven’t shot them is the blade angle is crazy steep vs a 3-1 ratio head like a vpa.

I stopped buying the blade angle argument after listening to Snyder and Lusk talk penetration being correlated to friction, not angle of attack. Basically short blades have less friction in any medium because there's less surface area. I believe @Bill V of Iron Will saw similar results in his design process, but I could be wrong.

 

[bowhuntercoop]

I stopped buying the blade angle argument after listening to Snyder and Lusk talk penetration being correlated to friction, not angle of attack. Basically short blades have less friction in any medium because there's less surface area. I believe @Bill V of Iron Will saw similar results in his design process, but I could be wrong.

Maybe for compounds. I know one of my buddies i mentioned tried them outta a lower poundage trad bow, 40lbs at 28. Granted he was shooting a lighter arrow, 425, but that’s still over 10pgg. His draw is around 28-28.5. He shot 4-5 deer and was 50/50 for pass throughs. 3 pigs and zero pass throughs. That alone was enough for me to never touch them for the sticks.

The last 25 animals I have shot I’ve gotten a pass through with a vpa 3 blade or their single bevel in 250 grain. Blade angle is a real thing imo.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

Could be the 1/8" difference in cutting diameter as well...

 

[bowhuntercoop]

Could be the 1/8" difference in cutting diameter as well...

It could be. But I’ve shot a pile of pigs and deer with a 1 1/4 vpa and got pass throughs. Not apples to oranges at all though since they were 600 grain arrows. If they made a qad in a 250 grain I would try one in a heartbeat!

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

It could be. But I’ve shot a pile of pigs and deer with a 1 1/4 vpa and got pass throughs. Not apples to oranges at all though since they were 600 grain arrows. If they made a qad in a 250 grain I would try one in a heartbeat!

You made me real curious, so I did a push test through some leather I had lying around... Iron Will Wide vs a VPA 1 1/4" with a slightly chiseled tip, vs a hand sharpened QAD Straight out of my quiver.

1st off, the Iron Will is stupid easy to push through leather, way easier than the QAD.

2nd, the QAD was much easier to push through leather than the VPA. I need to see if I can get the VPA sharper and try it again.

 

[bowhuntercoop]

You made me real curious, so I did a push test through some leather I had lying around... Iron Will Wide vs a VPA 1 1/4" with a slightly chiseled tip, vs a hand sharpened QAD Straight out of my quiver.

1st off, the Iron Will is stupid easy to push through leather, way easier than the QAD.

2nd, the QAD was much easier to push through leather than the VPA. I need to see if I can get the VPA sharper and try it again.

All i use on mine anymore is 12 mil bastard file if they are chewed up which is rare. A hand held 6 inch fine bastard is what I normally use, then just strop them. Will shave hair and blade retention is awesome.

My only complaint with the iron wills was field sharpening is harder, and the 250 grain version all the weight is behind the blade in the ferrle. Makes it stick out on the tip of the arrow and prone to breaking shafts even with a footer.
I ended up selling them and moving on. If bill ever fixes that issue I would use them again. They are crazy sharp.

 

[Ozarkansas]

The whole “blade angle” argument is overblown in my opinion. There’s no evidence that a 3:1 is better than a 3.5:1 or 2.5:1. The specific blade angle you can get away with depends on the quality of steel in your blades and your arrow’s tune- longer blade angles have a lot more force exerted on the tip of the broadhead, particularly if the arrow isn’t impacting perfectly in line.

The “3:1 broadheads make a more effecient wedge” argument doesn’t really work because the wedge that is ACTUALLY doing the work is the blade edge- so a sharper, shallower bevel angle is making a more effecient cut than a fuller, steeper angle regardless of the blade ratio. But again, there’s a tradeoff in metal quality where you’ll run into rolling or chipping if you get into cheaper steels.

The 3:1 conventional wisdom exists because it works well and many influential people have advocated for it, but I have never seen anything that makes me think a 3:1 is going to out-penetrate a 2:1 broadhead by any significant amount. I’ve used 150 grain 1 1/8 and 175 grain 1 1/4 VPAs and they penetrate so well (even with my light setup) that I don’t see any need to go heavier or worry about blade ratio at all.

 

[Bump79]

The whole “blade angle” argument is overblown in my opinion. There’s no evidence that a 3:1 is better than a 3.5:1 or 2.5:1. The specific blade angle you can get away with depends on the quality of steel in your blades and your arrow’s tune- longer blade angles have a lot more force exerted on the tip of the broadhead, particularly if the arrow isn’t impacting perfectly in line.

The “3:1 broadheads make a more effecient wedge” argument doesn’t really work because the wedge that is ACTUALLY doing the work is the blade edge- so a sharper, shallower bevel angle is making a more effecient cut than a fuller, steeper angle regardless of the blade ratio. But again, there’s a tradeoff in metal quality where you’ll run into rolling or chipping if you get into cheaper steels.

The 3:1 conventional wisdom exists because it works well and many influential people have advocated for it, but I have never seen anything that makes me think a 3:1 is going to out-penetrate a 2:1 broadhead by any significant amount. I’ve used 150 grain 1 1/8 and 175 grain 1 1/4 VPAs and they penetrate so well (even with my light setup) that I don’t see any need to go heavier or worry about blade ratio at all.

Great points. I do think there are benefits to a longer head when it comes to bone impact - but the sacrifice is far too great in my opinion. Ashby says arrow flight is number one then says to put an enormous broadhead with tons of surface area, thick blades for drag and all in a poor choice for flight forgiveness.

I shoot compound - so for me the evidence suggests to shoot as light as you can without sacrificing durability and flight. Then top with pointy object matching your specs.