Broadheads for Black Bear

[Beendare]

Numero Uno for lack of penetration is poor arrow flight

OP, thats the first thing you want to check....your BH arrow flight. It could be a form issue too....holding form while shooting from different body positions- like in a hunting situation- is another possible cause of poor flight worth checking.

i'm not a fan of the ST mags....but its not that inefficient of a head to where it should have been a problem. I've had the big 2" mech heads not get full penetration on bears....but they bury to the off side....and leave one heck of a hole that puts them down quick.....and I've had coc heads zip through them so fast they didn't know they were hit....none of the squirming they do with the mech heads.

Checking form and arrow flight is a worthy exercise at any rate.

 

[tipsntails7]

I just wanted to get some opinions on Broadhead selection for black bears. I'm shooting 56 lbs, a 455 grain arrow with 125 Slick Trick magnums. Last week I shot a good sized bear at 20 yards broadside and didn't get a whole lot of penetration, about 10 inches. My buddy who used to guide said it was a giant, so maybe the lack of penetration was due to the thicker hide and bigger bones... I hit him middle of the body about 6 inches behind the shoulder and saw the arrow go in with a nockturnal lighted nock. I was stoked and thought for sure I would find him not too far from where I shot him. After waiting 3 hours to track I found very little blood and sub par penetration. The broadhead broke off inside him and left the remainder of the arrow about 20 feet away. We tracked him 6 hours one day until it got dark and then a bunch of hours the following day. We got very little blood and got a couple hundred yards before the trail went completely cold. I feel like I looked everywhere and just couldn't find him. It was a very dense and you couldn't see more then 10 yards. I do know that bears have porous fat layers and fur that suck up the blood. I just maxed out my bow at 60 lbs and I'm looking for possibly a better Broadhead. I'm thinking Slick Trick Viper Tricks or VPA. Any thoughts on Broadhead selection or what I could have done different would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I didn't read the whole thread, but bears are real soft, and if you hit him where you think you did that is a dead bear unless something funky happened.

I like Shuttle T's, QAD exodus and VPA in that order. But your in California so i would suggest grim reapers as an expandable option, especially on bears, i really like them. Bears don't bleed much, especially with fixed heads so i like the extra cutting expendables provide.

Could you have possibly caught the shoulder?

 

[Blacktailbowhunter]

It definitely hit him middle body 6 inches behind the shoulder. Me and a friend both saw the illuminated nock hit the spot. I think he died quick. The terrain was super dense, it's a bummer we couldn't find him. We tracked him about 200 yards with very little blood. When I got home I did some research and learned about carrying peroxide colored with yellow dye and a black light. The peroxide bubbles when you comes in contact with blood and the blacklight makes it so you can see blood better. We searched for a day and half, but the trail just went cold.

 

[Adam Gibbs]

I've only shot 1 bear so take it for what it's worth. I think what you had was a fluke and that maybe a different head could have had different results, but maybe not. Sometimes some things just happen. Like others said, maybe a rib soaked up a bunch of energy, maybe your form was a bit off resulting in poor arrow flight and penetration. You'll likely never know.

I shot mine with Magnus stingers. They fly great out of my bow once tuned, are easy to sharpen and penetrate well. Dont be afraid to try them if you really want to switch (though I don't think it's necessary).

 

[SLDMTN]

I'm a 100 gr Exodus fan, not fancy or flashy but they work for me. Only pulling 60 lbs out of my Hoyt Charger, again nothing fancy. I've killed an 8' grizzly, 6' black bear, and two moose with this setup. All 100% pass through shots with normally a broken rib or two and a max of 100 yard recovery.

An important, quick side note though, I've never shot beyond 20 yards at an animal.

 

[SunShine]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune on a well placed arrow.

Imho ? Anything below 65 pounds I'd recommend a cut on impact head for big boned animals. Certainly not deer but boar, elk, bear , moose etc.

I think right now since German Kinetics have began manufacturing Their Silver Flames back in Germany , I'd recommend them as # 1 option.

I also like Solids Legends with their bleeders. Bleeders do give more whizzle sound , something to concern on longer shots.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Julius K]

I have killed two bears with rages at 57 lbs 29" draw Hoyt ultratec and 400 grain arrows. Both died in under 60 yards. Neither left much of a blood trail, but I could hear them go down.

 

[GotDraw?]

It would be interesting to see what a chronograph has to say about the actual vs perceived speed difference resulting from dialing your bow up a couple pounds.

 

[Wiscat]

We hunt a lot of bears here in Wisconsin. Two important factors when choosing a broadhead here: temperatures can be warm and bear spoils quickly, and the terrain is swampy and trailing conditions are usually bad. Once you handle a few dead bears you realize how soft they really are. Even a Whitetail has a much sturdier structure. On my money use as large of an expandable as your set up will handle. Also with some of the new expandable designs I think having a bow in tune is much more important then horsepower. Granted I know some states do not allow exspandables. My 2cents.

 

[Trial153]

I killed a few, slightly more then a hand full of black bears bowhunting and honestly ....they are pretty much wimps. They give up the ghost very easy all things considered. Pretty much any reasonable arrow broadhead combo will work well enough.

On the OP's experience. If it was six inches behind the shoulder even with the penetration you described you'd have a dead bear in short order. Most likely the shot was further back then in looked.

 

[Wiscat]

Rereading the OPs post I'm questioning the placement. 6 inches behind the shoulder center should be a pretty dead bear with 10 inches of penetration.