Arrow Penetration....

[roosiebull]

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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There is certainly truth to that

Both have their place, and certain setups or scenarios call for one over the other

This whole topic reminds me a lot of hunting with match bullets vs “hunting” bullets, or maybe that topic has changed my perspective a little on broadhead choices, and how many misconceptions are attached to each

I have become a little mechanicalcurious #allbroadheadsmatter

 

[kcm2]

For all we know, the broadhead in the original picture may have come from an arrow that deflected after hitting a branch, and entered off-kilter. I don't place much stock in something like this.

 

[Bump79]

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.

Yes and no. I do pick a head based on how they fly - they aren't all created equal that's for sure. I don't get a lot of shots on game but I love to test out different broadheads. Probably 50+ at this point with a lot of shots each. I buy and sell them just for giggles.

What I've learned is that if you're tuned and they spin well pretty much anything will group fine at 40. Step out past that and things start getting weird with some heads. It's extremely predictable though.

• More surface area = worse flight on average
• Larger blade size & more blades = worse flight on average.

​

My mechanicals and solid fixed group together most of the time BUT the when I don't do my job perfectly the mechanical is significantly more forgiving. In the tune of inches at 50.

I'm pretty much saying what you're saying. Just that some heads seem to hit behind the pin much more on average. The heads that make it into my quiver are the ones where they seem to go where I want even when my form fell apart or I pulled it, etc. The reality is that my worst shot in the yard would likely be my best shot in the field and I treat it as such.

 

[fatlander]

Yes and no. I do pick a head based on how they fly - they aren't all created equal that's for sure. I don't get a lot of shots on game but I love to test out different broadheads. Probably 50+ at this point with a lot of shots each. I buy and sell them just for giggles.

What I've learned is that if you're tuned and they spin well pretty much anything will group fine at 40. Step out past that and things start getting weird with some heads. It's extremely predictable though.

• More surface area = worse flight on average
• Larger blade size & more blades = worse flight on average.

​

My mechanicals and solid fixed group together most of the time BUT the when I don't do my job perfectly the mechanical is significantly more forgiving. In the tune of inches at 50.

I'm pretty much saying what you're saying. Just that some heads seem to hit behind the pin much more on average. The heads that make it into my quiver are the ones where they seem to go where I want even when my form fell apart or I pulled it, etc. The reality is that my worst shot in the yard would likely be my best shot in the field and I treat it as such.

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner. This is the right answer, and it’s the answer that most people would come to if they were honest with themselves. Stacking broadheads in shorts and a t shirt on flat ground with a heart rate below 80 isn’t how you’re going to perform in the field.


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[Bump79]

What you're describing is just poor form. Yes, it's hard to replicate perfect form in the field, and yes, a fixed head will be less forgiving, but I don't see the point in choosing a broadhead based on inevitable form breakdown. Again, my fixed heads hit just fine out to the distances I hunt.

I respect your opinion but I completely disagree with this. It really depends on your hunting conditions. I hunt elk, mule deer or antelope annually but anymore I'm mostly limited to whitetail out of a tree.

In nearly any of my hunting conditions it's almost guaranteed my form will be vastly different that standing in my yard tuning. Especially in steep country or out of a tree. A weak side out out of a tree is a mother trucker and after practicing extensively I'm at least 1" more accurate at 30 yards with a compact or vented fixed or a mechanical.

If I've got say an 8" vitals on a whitetail = 1/8 = 12.5% more likely to hit what I intended. I'll take that increased odds all day every day.

Or even just try drawing your bow and holding it for as long as possible then seeing which broadhead groups the best. These increasingly more common solid designs with a lot of surface area just don't group as well in actual conditions. Do they group well enough at short ranges? Absolutely. Get to 30 yd plus and things get more interesting.

 

[5MilesBack]

It's a beautiful thing when a critter just stands after being hit....looking around like, "What just happened"...then they fall over

No mech head guy can tell you what that feeling is like because they run like their tail is on fire.....

I've never shot an animal with a BH with a tiny cutting diameter (1" or less) so have no experience with that. But every animal I've shot with a fixed head has run immediately. However, I've had three animals just stand there after getting shot with a 3-blade over the top mechanical 1.5" cut, and two others that ran (one 80 yards and the other 37 yards) and piled up.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Likewise, the only animal that didn't run after I shot it with a fixed head was the buck I spined.

 

[fatlander]

Lord willing, I’ll likely shoot about a dozen whitetails over the next couple months with big mechs. I’ll report back to this thread on penetration, blood trailing, distance from shot to death.

Based off past experiences I’m going to say average recovery distance will be 60 yards, red carpet blood trails, and pass throughs, with arrows buried in the dirt, on everything except quartered away shots that bury in the offside shoulder knuckle.


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[S.Clancy]

I have both fixed and mechanical heads in my quiver. The only time I am pulling a fixed head is if I am in close, brush, and the high likelihood of a quartering to or frontal shot. Everything else I am pulling out the SEVR.