BroadHeads for Elk hunting

[johnw]

Did the vented fly the same as the solids???

Pretty much - a small difference (could be attributed to my shooting also). The vented are a little larger profile

 

[Swede]

My Slick Tricks have stainless steel ferrules. I have never broke one. I have never seen or touched an I.W., but stronger can't be that big of a selling point.
Broadheads with an aluminum ferrule will break, but it has been my experience that they break after they have completed all of their forward movement and lodged in something. Some broadheads, like the Rocky Mountain Titanium, had blades that would come off when they came to a stop in an animal. The rear part of the blades was not as secure as I would like. They worked fine at killing animals, but who likes to go looking for missing blades in a carcass? Broadheads like the Flying Arrow Cyclones are devastating if they hit right, but I am skeptical of their penetration, especially if they hit any bone. I killed an elk with one of those and I was flabbergasted at the devastation and quick kill. The broadhead went deep enough as I hit no bone, but I had to wonder why it did not go farther in.

 

[Beendare]

I have the vented and non Vented 3 blade VPA's...no difference in flight out to 50 yds- zero....and I would assume the same with an IW of the same design.

Now I should qualify that^ comment.

I shoot them in a tuned Compound [and recurve]- and shoot a fairly heavy 500gr 300 spine arrow in the compound- [definitely not under spined] .....so that setup is very forgiving of any 150gr BH. I also shoot 2 blades to the same POI.

A guy shooting a much faster, lighter arrow of weaker spine will find that setup more critical of the BH choice....those setups can be very picky on what shoots well and what doesn't.

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[Gila]

Have not had the pleasure to stick an elk yet. Been using thunderheads on deer for decades. Thought about switching to hell razors for bear, but went back to thunderheads. If I draw an elk tag I will use thunderheads. The way I see it, If it ain't broke why fix it.

 

[Swede]

A guy shooting a much faster, lighter arrow of weaker spine will find that setup more critical of the BH choice....those setups can be very picky on what shoots well and what doesn't. Beendare

Good thought. On a fast shooting setup, a large blade broadhead is harder to get to fly consistent, and to hit at the same point as a field tip. The blades on the broadhead cause erratic arrow flight. In that situation I would recommend a short ferrule broadhead like the Slick Trick. I have no experience with mechanical broadheads, as they were illegal in our State until last season, but they may be a good alternative.
When shooting broadheads, it has been my observation that you want to always use a good helical or offset fletch or vane. It helps to deal with the effect of the broadhead blades.

 

[MN Hunter]

When your name is MN Hunter you may not have put a broadhead through an elk before, that's probably why he's asking.

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I've taken 3 Bulls (1 CO and 2 in Wy) in 5 years of chasing the beast.

 

[MN Hunter]

I like the Iron Wills and would recommend the S Series...I have killed elk with both the v100 and s100. The vented definitely have a whistle to them as they are going down range, I switched to the solid to lose the whistling sound. They stay sharpe and don't dull quickly after a few shots into foam. The consensus is they are more expensive because they are built with better materials (A2 Tool Steel) than cheaper broadheads and can hold up in applications that would cause other broadheads to fail.

Born and Raised did a few videos on youtube testing a variety of broadheads that would be worth watching - they give their opinion on the most accurate, toughest, most consistent, sharpest, etc...there are also a few decent podcasts on the topic.

IWs are certainly not something that you NEED, if it doesnt fit your budget, save the money and go with a cheaper broadhead. If you have the money, they are a good option.

Thanks for the info John, I'll check out the Born and Rasied video.

 

[CakeEater]

Thanks to MN Hunter for the thread and JohnW for the Iron Will input. Anybody run the Iron Will Wides to add to the options? Thanks in advance from an FNG who plans to hunt as much as possible in retirement from the Corps.


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[Billy Goat]

I have helped packed out well past 20 elk killed with a spitfire mechanical. I have seen a few broken blades, but the only ones hit and unrecovered were poor shot placement. I have switched to a fixed cut on contact, just to keep things simple, and to know my bow is tuned. I think any quality broadhead will do the trick just fine. Shoot what you have confidence in and what you can put behind your pin everytime.

 

[406unltd]

You gotta shoot what you are confident in. If you buy the iron will it will likely be a very accurate head once you are tuned. That instills confidence which equals a higher probability that the animals will die. Then on bad hits, it is very possible it will shine and show you why it’s cost is justifiable. Bottom line is that if you can afford a top of the line head.......shoot em.

 

[acebasinman]

I like the SEVR. They fly exactly like my fieldpoints. I don't expect them to penetrate an elk's shoulder, and I don't expect to hit the shoulder. I expect them to fly well, and I don't take iffy shots. They kill quickly with a lot of blood to follow. No tuning, no sharpening, just practice with field points, screw on the SEVRs and only take shots where I'm confident I can put it through the lungs.

 

[C.payne]

I like the Iron Wills and would recommend the S Series...I have killed elk with both the v100 and s100. The vented definitely have a whistle to them as they are going down range, I switched to the solid to lose the whistling sound. They stay sharpe and don't dull quickly after a few shots into foam. The consensus is they are more expensive because they are built with better materials (A2 Tool Steel) than cheaper broadheads and can hold up in applications that would cause other broadheads to fail.

Born and Raised did a few videos on youtube testing a variety of broadheads that would be worth watching - they give their opinion on the most accurate, toughest, most consistent, sharpest, etc...there are also a few decent podcasts on the topic.

IWs are certainly not something that you NEED, if it doesnt fit your budget, save the money and go with a cheaper broadhead. If you have the money, they are a good option.

I 100% agree! If you can afford them, you won’t be disappointed. If you can’t, then there are other good options available.

 

[nphunter]

Whether or not the IW or any other high-end heads are worth the money is really only something you can answer, if you have money to play with and you want to spend it on cool equipment then IW heads are pretty darn cool.

The very best flying fixed heads are well built, small profile, two blade heads such as Solid, Iron Will, D6 and other similar heads Kudu is also a great flying head but doesn't have bleaders. The Slick Trick, Exodus, Trophy taker heads do not fly as well, they have more surface area which equals more drag. Mechanical heads typically fly the best of them all due to their small size.

I've found that the higher end heads normally fly better, probably due to tighter tolerances and more consistent materials and why they cost more. I like to shoot as accurately as possible and I shoot my broadheads out to 80 yards and shoot whatever groups the best. Most broadheads really start opening up at 50+ yards and a lot don't fly worth a crap past 60. For most realistic hunting scenarios it really doesn't matter how something flys past 50 but accuracy is accuracy IMO. If your OK with a head that flys acceptable out to 50 yards a huge selection of heads will work.

I really like Solid Legends, I used them for over 5 years and have killed several deer and elk with them and they work really well and fly great. I use to shoot deep-six stuff but upgraded my arrows to a 5mm last year and decided to try something different, I ordered a half dozen IW S100's and several different brands of mechanicals. I tuned with the IW's and ended up elk hunting with the mechanicals since they are legal here in OR. I also hunt in ID so i needed a good sharp fixed head too. I lost a Solid one time when I missed a bull and couldn't find it, two years later I found it and was able to wipe it off, sharpen it with my bench made field sharpener and put it in my quiver, it still looked like new after I cleaned it off, spun true and shaved hair after sharpening. The IW got surface rust on it just having it in my quiver and shooting it around the yard, I was able to clean it with steel wool and put oil on it and they don't rust that way, but I think if you lost one in the woods and found it later it would be useless.

I do plan on keeping the IW's and hunting with them in ID and feel like they will be a great head, but they do take a little more maintenance. I hunt in the rain and snow a lot so I'm a little worried I may end up with over $200 worth of rusty broadheads in my quiver after a week of late-season deer hunting.

Even after spending hours and hours practicing all year and shooting a ton of long-range shooting most of my elk have been shot under 30 yards. I have shot some further and most of my mule deer shots are closer to 50 yards. I could honestly be successful with most heads on the market today and so could anyone else, expensive heads are 100% not necessary and I'm sure more animals die each year from Muzzy's than any other head.

 

[Billy Goat]

The IW got surface rust on it just having it in my quiver and shooting it around the yard, I was able to clean it with steel wool and put oil on it and they don't rust that way, but I think if you lost one in the woods and found it later it would be useless.

I lost an IW this year on a pass thru, found it probably 2.5 months later. I was surprised how good of shape it was in, I cleaned it up and use it as a practice head now. Definitely discolored, but it's not terrible. I have a buddy who lost one 6+ months, he still hunts with it. The rust doesn't seem to ruin them, just discolor the surface.

 

[Beendare]

All of these "Which BH" threads...and in my experience....they all work but the problems we hear of regarding this or that BH.....is a lack of bow tuning or poor arrow assembly.

I have hunted and guided some guys that screw on their BH's and trust that they "Fly like FP's' ....BIG MISTAKE...they didn't ......costing them an animal. Bad arrow flight. I've probably seen this 10 times over 4 decades. "Oh...but mine do".....they might....but you don't know unless you test them.

Even the quality steel IW's will need to be assembled and test fired.

I've seen arrows that appeared to spin pretty good....but were off when checked on a jig.

Back in the day, I tested this...shooting some BH arrows that were .004" out and some that were .002" or better. All looked to spin well on a hard surface. I checked them with a micrometer I rigged with a fine L shaped wire.

No surprise, The .004" arrows were double the group size.

So sure, pick your BH carefully...but assemble your arrows even more carefully.

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[Brian71]

I'm thinking about changing broadheads for the upcoming elk season. I want to try the Iron Will broadheads. My question is are they worth the money and if so which series should I try?

Thanks.

Check out Valkyrie. I’ve shot both and prefer Valkyrie. Both are spends, but you can resharpen the Valkyrie very easily.

 

[Coveyleader]

"Worth the money" in my opinion no, but it's your money. Way too many guys pumping expensive broadheads for whatever reason.

I've killed them with about 10 different broadheads and none of them were any deader than the previous.

 

[wardl_3]

Any1 used Bone Broadheads? Interested in a 2 blade single bevel and these look decent.

 

[sneaky]

I have not shot these through an elk so take what I say and with a big grain of salt, but there are several good options that aren't nearly as expensive for really solid durable cut on contact heads. The Cutthroat from Rocky Mountain Specialty Gear and the VPA 2 or 3 blade come to mind. You can find plenty of info here and elsewhere from people who HAVE sent them through elk.

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Those Cutthroats are over $20 apiece now, not a cheap option

FWIW I've killed a bull with a Cutthroat

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[Coveyleader]

I have helped packed out well past 20 elk killed with a spitfire mechanical. I have seen a few broken blades, but the only ones hit and unrecovered were poor shot placement. I have switched to a fixed cut on contact, just to keep things simple, and to know my bow is tuned. I think any quality broadhead will do the trick just fine. Shoot what you have confidence in and what you can put behind your pin everytime.

I don't shoot them, but I too have been on the labor end of spitfire elk kills. I do believe they have changed the BH a bit, and some say they're harder to open now but they are a great head.