Ironwill Broadheads for Elk?

[Kevrod3]

I've shot SlickTricks for years and have killed both Elk and Deer with them, but they never seem to bled all that much.
Are the Ironwill worth the price? Do they tune well? Also do you guys prefer the solid or the vented?

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

Can you kill elk with cheap Muzzy's? Absolutely. For me it comes down to how much money/time/effort you spend on an elk hunt- gear, tags, travel, etc. When the moment of truth comes, if you can afford it, why not have the absolute best gear you can, that way you can have complete confidence in your arrow/components and only have to worry about things on your end, like not rushing and sending an arrow a foot over the animals back . They tuned very well for me, shooting Easton Axis 300 with 50grain brass HIT, 100 grain iron wills and broad head collar.

I originally had the vented 100 and hunted a full season with them. I sold them this year and went to solid. The v100 have a loud whistling noise when shot (I was shooting a Halon 5 around 317fps, so whistling might of been more pronounce on my setup and not as big of a deal on a slower bow). There was a lot of arguments about whether it affected anything, think iron will even did some research on it and concluded that it didn't. I shot 2 whitetail with them and both ended up hitting higher than I wanted as both ducked a bit before arrow got there. They were both at 20 yards, shooting a very fast and quiet bow, and never had the issue before. You could argue all day about whether it was string noise, they were already on edge, the broad heads, etc., no way to prove any of it, but if you can take a potential negative variable out of the equation, why not?

 

[Swede]

Bleeding is dependent on the wound an animal has. The factors that determine that are location and depth of the wound. What counts are the arteries/veins severed,. More and/or larger broadhead blades and sharpness help determine the wound. Broadheads kill by causing massive hemorrhaging.
Brand names and high prices do not kill the game.
I bought two dozen ss Slick Trick broadheads this winter for $17 per three pack. That is $136 for two dozen broadheads from MalWart. Personally I can see no reason to spent nearly $800 for the same number of broadheads that do not have as mush blade edge. Like you, I know the Slick Tricks well kill, and do it efficiently. They hold up well too.
My question is why would anyone spend $100 to get a pack of broadheads that will perform no better than a $17 ones? This is just my own opinion. It is your money.

 

[Longshot]

I switched from slick tricks to the solid iron will. They shoot great, they’re quite and they kill. However they will get dinged up on bones. They’re a great head but I probably won’t spend the money again.


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[Roksliding]

I’m a fan of the solid 125. (Never shot the vented never will) There is noise with the solids but it’s not any louder than my blazer vanes already are. As far as “why” - I shot over a bull last year, pulled the blade out of the dirt and it had a broken tip. I emailed IW and they asked for visual proof I sent them a picture and they sent me the new Broadhead. They are sharp as it gets, they fly with my field points. I can sharpen them on my lansky, after practicing and despite the broken tip, they are a top quality head. I can have replacement blades on hand, which is pretty much the broadhead, I’m pretty certain ANY broadhead will do the trick if you can put it in the right spot, worth is your call.

 

[Swede]

Roksliding, I have to wonder if you are paying full price for your IW broadheads. It is one thing if you pay full price and quite another endorsement if you get them free or seriously discounted. Thanks

 

[Roksliding]

Roksliding, I have to wonder if you are paying full price for your IW broadheads. It is one thing if you pay full price and quite another endorsement if you get them free or seriously discounted. Thanks

Nope (I wish!) I pay full price! Have only 6 IW broadheads, no IW T-shirt’s or flat brims or social media posts ranting about them, just stating their just a good quality broadhead, with a no hassle lifetime warranty (for everyone). That I’m happy with.

 

[Swede]

Thanks Roksliding. I appreciate knowing. It is one thing to read where someone endorsing a product is getting them free and quite another if they bought them. Again thanks.

 

[Ag111]

I've decided after my own personal experiences and research that going top-end with high quality components and broadheads is important to me. I'm making the switch this year to IW, Valkyrie, or Day Six. Out of a well tuned bow I can get almost broadhead to eventually fly well, although some are more forgiving than others. But toughness on hard bone impacts and edge retention can only come from better materials such as the A2 steel IW and S7 steel Valkyrie and Bishop use. Some back yard testing will determine if the S30V steel of the new Day Six heads is in the same league as the other heads previously mentioned. Good materials and heat treatments cost money, so naturally these will be more expensive to the consumer. I notice a huge difference in edge retention between the 440B steel of my German Kinetics and a standard 420 run of the mill broadhead. I expect that the premium heads listed above will be another step change improvement over the German Kinetics

 

[HookUp]

I have shot the iron wills and am looking forward to shooting the new day six broad heads.

 

[Tater1973]

Elk, YES. IW 100 gr. vented performed perfectly last year in New Mexico during archery elk. PM if you would like more details. JK

 

[sneaky]

I've decided after my own personal experiences and research that going top-end with high quality components and broadheads is important to me. I'm making the switch this year to IW, Valkyrie, or Day Six. Out of a well tuned bow I can get almost broadhead to eventually fly well, although some are more forgiving than others. But toughness on hard bone impacts and edge retention can only come from better materials such as the A2 steel IW and S7 steel Valkyrie and Bishop use. Some back yard testing will determine if the S30V steel of the new Day Six heads is in the same league as the other heads previously mentioned. Good materials and heat treatments cost money, so naturally these will be more expensive to the consumer. I notice a huge difference in edge retention between the 440B steel of my German Kinetics and a standard 420 run of the mill broadhead. I expect that the premium heads listed above will be another step change improvement over the German Kinetics

S30V has been used for years in the Solid broadheads. It's a proven steel for broadhead use. I'll put the sharpness of a GK up against any of these heads, and I've played around with them all, except for the DaySix heads.

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[sneaky]

Bleeding is dependent on the wound an animal has. The factors that determine that are location and depth of the wound. What counts are the arteries/veins severed,. More and/or larger broadhead blades and sharpness help determine the wound. Broadheads kill by causing massive hemorrhaging.
Brand names and high prices do not kill the game.
I bought two dozen ss Slick Trick broadheads this winter for $17 per three pack. That is $136 for two dozen broadheads from MalWart. Personally I can see no reason to spent nearly $800 for the same number of broadheads that do not have as mush blade edge. Like you, I know the Slick Tricks well kill, and do it efficiently. They hold up well too.
My question is why would anyone spend $100 to get a pack of broadheads that will perform no better than a $17 ones? This is just my own opinion. It is your money.

The Slick Tricks are some of the noisiest heads I've ever shot. Are they effective? Yes. Are they in the same league as some of these new heads? Absolutely not. Trying to justify on price alone is futile, it leaves out too many other factors. Thankfully there are a million heads on the market now that guys can argue over, but also, it means there's a million choices that can be made.

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[ElkNut1]

I too have shot countless heads over the years including the German Kinetic Silver Flames, I've taken both Elk & Deer with them. My Son & I have taken elk with well over a dozen different heads (probably closer to two dozen) out of compounds & trad gear. The Iron Will heads are a very good head & tough, yes they can have a chip or slight bend but so do all other heads. It's a matter of preference when choosing heads, when put where an animal lives he will die.

With that said we will be toting the Iron Will heads again this year, they're that good! I've not heard any whistling or any noise from our vented 100 grain versions so not bothered with that at all.

Here's two bulls from last year that fell to the Iron Wills!

ElkNut/Paul

 

[Ag111]

ElkNut1... those are some STELLAR animals. WOW!

 

[Ag111]

S30V has been used for years in the Solid broadheads. It's a proven steel for broadhead use. I'll put the sharpness of a GK up against any of these heads, and I've played around with them all, except for the DaySix heads.

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I agree, the German Kinetics have a great blade on them in terms of edge retention. My KME makes those things surgically sharp. It cuts phone books like my spyderco knives. Unfortunately the 440B SS is not overly tough on hard impacts (Lusk tests on Youtube).

 

[92xj]

I shot IW 150Solids last year for elk and plan to this year as well.
My experience was very positive.
I was actually tree stand hunting and had an elk at 27 yards face me for 13 minutes. It would not turn broadside and was getting real nervous. I decided that I was going to take the shot as soon as it would quarter any amount, knowing fully I was going to have to go through the front shoulder. Before the hunt, I spent 6 months testing arrows, broad heads and tuning of the bow. The Ironwills plus my testing and number crunching throughout the year gave me the confidence I needed to make the shot. The elk turned, placed the pin where I needed it and let er rip. The arrow hit the shoulder blade and proceeded 19.25" through the shoulder. I did not get an exit hole, didn't expect to knowing what I was having to go through. The elk went 60 yards in 7 Mississippi's and fell over dead. The broadhead tip had a ding/rollover in it from the should blade but still did it's job perfectly. I didn't send in any picture or evidence for the warranty as I chalked it up to that's what happens when you shoot through bone on purpose, maybe I should have? I just thought the warranty would be used for unexpected failures and not necessarily dings and rounded points from hunting situations. I could be wrong here and that's exactly what the warranty is for?
Anyhow, I was very pleased with the performance of the head and will be shooting the 150 solids again this year.

 

[Swede]

I see a lot of discussion here about broadhead noise. I have shot a lot of elk over the years with fixed blade broadheads. Some were so nervous that they seemed to be spring loaded. Three I remember not getting. One jumped when a squirrel started chattering. Two bolted when they heads a slight squeak when I stared to draw the bow. Not one has ever showed any sign of being aware of broadhead sound, and I must have used 8 or 9 different types of broadheads in the time I have been hunting. I have not noticed Slick Tricks being noisy at all. For what it is worth.
I did a little calculating to see how significant BH noise might be. With my bow setup the arrow arrives at the elk standing 30 yards away right at 0.25 seconds after the sound of the bow gets there. The sound of the arrow and the bh itself are going to arrive even closer to the same time. Broadhead sound has never been a problem and I doubt is will be with a vented IW bh or a Slick Trick.

 

[07jkjeeper]

I keep hearing about vented whistle noise on these but it seems like bow string slap would be an equal or worse co concern. I'm planning on shooting 100 gr vented this year on elk. Guess I will find out.

 

[fiskeri1]

I see a lot of discussion here about broadhead noise. I have shot a lot of elk over the years with fixed blade broadheads. Some were so nervous that they seemed to be spring loaded. Three I remember not getting. One jumped when a squirrel started chattering. Two bolted when they heads a slight squeak when I stared to draw the bow. Not one has ever showed any sign of being aware of broadhead sound, and I must have used 8 or 9 different types of broadheads in the time I have been hunting. I have not noticed Slick Tricks being noisy at all. For what it is worth.
I did a little calculating to see how significant BH noise might be. With my bow setup the arrow arrives at the elk standing 30 yards away right at 0.25 seconds after the sound of the bow gets there. The sound of the arrow and the bh itself are going to arrive even closer to the same time. Broadhead sound has never been a problem and I doubt is will be with a vented IW bh or a Slick Trick.

Please watch the last minute of this video:

Granted the shot distance was longer than most but the bull clearly does not react to the noise of the bow and does start to flinch at the arrow noise.

Broadhead is a Shuttle T and vanes are Blazers.

Will the arrow noise always matter? Of course not. Could it matter in certain situations? Absolutely.