Arrow Penetration....

[Billy Goat]

Thats another factor. I believe people willing to put in the work and time to get fixed blades to fly correctly probably shoot more than a lot of guys that just throw an expandable on a couple weeks before season expecting them to “fly like a field point”.

But it says right there on the package, flies like a field point....



Problem is if your field point flies like shit, having a broadhead do the same won't help.

 

[Moosehunter]

But it says right there on the package, flies like a field point....



Problem is if your field point flies like shit, having a broadhead do the same won't help.

My fixed heads fly as good as anything to 90 yards
Farther than I have any business shooting. Seems good enough for me
They "flies so good" line always confuses me

 

[yeti12]

My fixed heads fly as good as anything to 90 yards
Farther than I have any business shooting. Seems good enough for me
They "flies so good" line always confuses me

My fixed heads and mechanical heads fly the same. If people are choosing a head based off how it flies they are missing alot of details.

 

[Billy Goat]

My fixed heads fly as good as anything to 90 yards
Farther than I have any business shooting. Seems good enough for me
They "flies so good" line always confuses me

I can get almost any head to fly just fine.


It's the consumer who walks into a shop and picks up a package of broadheads and looks for the line, then assumes everything is good I'm cracking on. Ignorance is bliss til you are trying to figure out why you aren't ever killing stuff.


There's guys that get a scope bore sighted at a shop and go hunting with it too. Or sight in at 100, and just use an app to dial elevation with assumed inputs.

Advertising is aimed at making everything easier than what it really is, it's what sells product.

 

[roadrunner]

Have taken a deer with an expandable. Zipped right through it, went 20 yds and tipped over.

Have taken deer with 1" cut diameter fixed 3-blade. Zipped right through, went 30 or 40 yds and ripped over. Same for elk.

Shot a small cow with the same kind of expandable and it didn't zip through. Went approximately 500 yds and finally piled up.

 

[Moosehunter]

Ya my fixed and expandables fly the same.
Altho I use expandables for almost nothing.
Even archery antelope hunting. My fixed fly so good I just gravitate toward them.
Altho for antelope size game that larger cut and a little less penetration may even out.
I don't tell people not to use expandables. I just think folks should know the limitations of any given setup they chose

I can get almost any head to fly just fine.


It's the consumer who walks into a shop and picks up a package of broadheads and looks for the line, then assumes everything is good I'm cracking on. Ignorance is bliss til you are trying to figure out why you aren't ever killing stuff.


There's guys that get a scope bore sighted at a shop and go hunting with it too. Or sight in at 100, and just use an app to dial elevation with assumed inputs.

Advertising is aimed at making everything easier than what it really is, it's what sells product.

 

[Moosehunter]

I hate the marketing schemes these days. Drives me nuts
Altho I've fallen for the lore plenty

 

[kcm2]

I've had two outfitters recommend expandables, one even suggesting the Schwacker 261, specifically.

 

[Beendare]

My buddy says the BH looked like it must have hit the spine right in front of the hind quarter, but it wasn’t wedged in bone, just floating in muscle.

The bull probably would have recovered as it had to be 5-7 days earlier……a realky bad shot or the bull moved a lot with the arrow in the air.

Good comments….sure mech heads work….and I agree, NO head works without bow tuning, perfect arrow assembly and BH tuning….along with testing them.

 

[GreggB]

I shot through some pumpkins this past weekend as an experiment, Using my 52 lb. Lift with a 400 grain arrow at 250 fps. I used the new Rage Trypan 1.75 and the Magnus Black Hornet 4 blade. I put the pumpkin on a raised platform 4 feet high and measured the distance the arrow traveled before it hit the ground. Both broad heads easily passed thru the pumpkin at 30 yards but the distance the fixed head traveled was significantly farther than the Trypan. I repeated it 4 times and got the same results. On average it was about 10 yards farther with the Black Hornet.

 

[DiabeticKripple]

fixed heads dont fail to expand either.

do they both work? yes
is one better than the other? not necessarily

but if you can get a fixed head to fly great, i dont see the reason to use a mechanical at all. less variables and better penetration a majority of the time

 

[fatlander]

Mechanicals hit behind the pin more often than fixed heads. Not hitting behind the pin is the fastest way to lose critters. If you’ve got the energy, and you can tune your bow, I just fail to see the upsides to a fixed blade.


Edit: most people, even professionals, can’t perfectly hold it together in hunting situations. That translates to fixed heads not hitting behind the pin where a mechanical would have.

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[ResearchinStuff]

Mechanicals hit behind the pin more often than fixed heads. Not hitting behind the pin is the fastest way to lose critters. If you’ve got the energy, and you can tune your bow, I just fail to see the upsides to a fixed blade.


Edit: most people, even professionals, can’t perfectly hold it together in hunting situations. That translates to fixed heads not hitting behind the pin where a mechanical would have.

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this has been my experience too. my shot placement with mech heads on game is better, even though my bow is perfectly broadhead tuned.

 

[Beendare]

I have had a few situations where the added penetration of a strong 2 blade has put the critter down.

I wonder if that would have been the case here? I have a buddy that shot one in almost that exact spot whe it turned and the 2 blade with bleeder broke into the spine paralyzing the bull. He had to shoot it again but he recovered it.

In any case, I prefer to err on the side of penetration...I've just seen too many case where the big wide cut heads failed to penetrate much.

Then there is the ease of testing with the tapered fixed design heads....and they are easier to get to spin perfect over some of those long ferrule mech designs. Plus I don't have to worry about a blade coming loose and wrecking the arrows flight...which could explain such a bad shot here.

I prefer to keep it simple.

 

[fatlander]

I have had a few situations where the added penetration of a strong 2 blade has put the critter down.

I wonder if that would have been the case here? I have a buddy that shot one in almost that exact spot whe it turned and the 2 blade with bleeder broke into the spine paralyzing the bull. He had to shoot it again but he recovered it.

In any case, I prefer to err on the side of penetration...I've just seen too many case where the big wide cut heads failed to penetrate much.

Then there is the ease of testing with the tapered fixed design heads....and they are easier to get to spin perfect over some of those long ferrule mech designs. Plus I don't have to worry about a blade coming loose and wrecking the arrows flight...which could explain such a bad shot here.

I prefer to keep it simple.

The flip side to that is there a plenty of instances where a bigger hole with more cutting surface would have resulted in finding animals.

No one is going through an elks shoulder knuckle, definitely not with any regularity. I’ve had a really heavy arrow from a fast bow, longish draw length, 74# DW, with a CoC head all but bounce off a mature whitetail’s shoulder knuckle.

Put one back in the liver/gut and a bigger hole is welcomed. Put one in heavy bone and it’s a crappy day, period. There’s a lot more liver/gut than heavy bone on game animals. Ultimately, hitting what you’re aiming at is the goal. Mechs hit behind the pin more often than fixed heads.


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[Okie-hunter]

Put one back in the liver/gut and a bigger hole is welcomed. Put one in heavy bone and it’s a crappy day, period. There’s a lot more liver/gut than heavy bone on game animals. Ultimately, hitting what you’re aiming at is the goal. Mechs hit behind the pin more often than fixed heads.

A gut shot animal dies 100% of the time. A shoulder shot animal only dies if you get through the bone into vitals.
A good fixed head has been proven more effective at getting through bone. Yes a bigger cut is definitely helpful in a gut shot but the end result is the same.
Thats just my logic behind shooting a fixed head. Also nothing against mechanicals but I want to give myself the best chance for a pass through as well.

 

[fatbacks]

I shot a moose yesterday morning with a Swacker mechanical at 39 yds. Went all the way through and poked a hole in the off side. Moose went 30 yds and died. Died quicker than a lot of moose I have seen taken with a rifle. Not sure if I just got lucky, but it didn't hit any bone. Would not want to try and test the results with the same broad head into a shoulder bone.

 

[Beendare]

The flip side to that is there a plenty of instances where a bigger hole with more cutting surface would have resulted in finding animals.

In my experience, thats rationalizing and not the case at all. Big wide heads are designed to impress hunters.....strong tapered COC heads are designed to put animals on the ground quickly.

I will take the extra penetration through bone and the more devastating 2 holes over a little bit wider wound channel.

 

[fatlander]

A gut shot animal dies 100% of the time. A shoulder shot animal only dies if you get through the bone into vitals.
A good fixed head has been proven more effective at getting through bone. Yes a bigger cut is definitely helpful in a gut shot but the end result is the same.
Thats just my logic behind shooting a fixed head. Also nothing against mechanicals but I want to give myself the best chance for a pass through as well.

Of course they die, but finding them is the issue. Tiny holes with gut shot critters doesn’t bode well to finding them. Big holes do.

28+” of draw length, 65+ pounds, 425+ grain arrow coming out of a tuned bow there’s just no compelling argument to shoot a fixed head over a well designed mechanical. Penetration is a non issue. It’s going to hit behind the pin more often. It’s going to increase your likelihood of finding a gut/liver shot animal.

You weren’t going through a shoulder knuckle with anything, so don’t hit it.


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[fatlander]

In my experience, thats rationalizing and not the case at all. Big wide heads are designed to impress hunters.....strong tapered COC heads are designed to put animals on the ground quickly.

I will take the extra penetration through bone and the more devastating 2 holes over a little bit wider wound channel.

You’re rationalizing why a small COC head is better. I’ve killed about 100 critters with bow and arrow and been a part of helping to find just as many. Hitting them in the lungs kills them, in short order. Well designed mechs hit behind the pin more often than anything fixed. Nothing gets through shoulder knuckles with any regularity. Well designed mechs give you a higher likelihood of finding gut shot critters.

If a guy has the energy for mechs and his bow is tuned, it’s foolish to shoot a fixed head in my experience. You’re only hindering yourself if you’ve got the energy and your bow is tuned.


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