Mechanical broadheads

[fatlander]

When I'm on I shoot quite well. I'm not as consistent as I'd like to be but most days an 18" block will get me out to 160. I'm not good enough to go pro, not do I have the desire.

That block would get you to 260 if your bow was tuned


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kscowboy01]

Inch higher, deader than hell. Inch back, deader than hell. 10 yard shot with a 2” Hypodermic. Thank God for the 70 yard stop and look back for a follow-up shot. Minimal penetration and a little nick of 1 lung is all the first hole did on him. As he stood there, I could see the red spot but no blood pumping out and put another arrow in him.

It looks like a perfect shot but it wasn’t. It caught a little piece of the shoulder. It would be very easy to blame the broadhead but this was operator error.

Next archery elk, if I went mechanical, I’d go Trypan. My reasoning for a mechanical is I hunt solo and if I stick myself, I’m in a world of hurt. I’d like to think the mechanical is a bit safer for me. I’ll probably have Iron Wills and Trypans in the quiver next archery elk hunt.

 

[mylsuhat]

I've gone back and forth but I am sticking with my Rage 2 blade for elk this season. I've had incredible success with these and just have to stick with it until it proves me wrong

 

[mattwill00]

I know this is a whole can of worms, but what’s everyones favorite way to broadlead tune?

Shoot bullets through paper, swap to broadheads and move rest until FP’s hit where BH’s do? As long as you are still relatively close to center shot that is. I feel like that’s the “poor mans” way to do it. I don’t trust mechanicals and just bought a new bow, trying to get more involved in the tuning process of my own equipment...

 

[Raghornkiller]

I'm shooting rage trypans this year and not looking back. I fought with this question myself for years and have come to peace with my decision to shoot mechs for elk. There is plenty of data on every broadhead on the market and more opinions than that. Shoot what you are comfortable with and don't look back.

I'm switching to trypans too,I shot my last couple bulls with g5 strikers and so did my girlfriend.I have yet to see a great blood trail even with complete passthroughs and in the thick timber we hunt finding an elk without a good blood trail is pretty much impossible.I hate gridding for a bull I know is dead and I've seen enough mechanicals used on elk by family and friends to convince me to switch.

 

[5MilesBack]

I know this is a whole can of worms, but what’s everyones favorite way to broadlead tune?

When I have my fixed BH's hitting the same spot as my FP's at 60 yards consistently, I'm good. This was from 60 a couple weeks ago, and I wasn't satisfied.


And this was from 30 with three arrows with different fletchings, which is fine for grouping........but.........


.........I still didn't like the feel of the bow.......just didn't feel right, and it had very little valley and let-off. It just wasn't right. So I started completely over and added several twists to the cables and then started fine tuning my draw length and hold, by twisting the string. Now it's real close to where I want it for feel, valley, let-off, and draw length. I had tried 31.5" and even 32" draw and my shooting was horrible. Went back to 32.5" and it instantly got better, but felt a little long still. Put it on the draw board and it was longer than 32.5", so........hence the string twisting to shorten the draw length.

That's how I BH tune.........if it's not perfect, rip it apart and start over. LOL. I haven't shot any BH's since the changes, but bare shafts are looking good at 20 and 30 touching fletched and parallel, so I'm confident they'll be close to where I want them. By the time I get this bow perfect, it will be time to replace the strings and start over again. Sigh. And then when it's all perfect, I throw on mechanical heads, sacrifice one to verify at 60, and then go kill an elk.

 

[trophyhill]

And the debate rambles on im sticking with fixed heads that fly like darts at all distances. There's no doubt what or whom is to blame if I screw it up

 

[Catahoula]

Mechanicals.

 

[805Bowhunter]

+ on the trypans. Mechanicals are not what they were a long time ago. I do carry one fixed blade in the quiver. I spend several months working on my setup in advance to make sure everything is hitting exactly where it is supposed to. I killed a bull with a trypan last year and it was devastating. For every person that says "you should never shoot a bull with a mechanical" I feel like there is also a person who says, "I had a full pass through with my fixed blade but we never recovered the bull because blood trail ran out." Both have plusses, Both have minuses. I feel like the odds are in my favor (shooting a 510gr arrow at 71lbs with a 29'' draw length) with a mechanical. I will get the penatration and in the event of a not so great shot, a mechanical can inflict major blood loss. I do carry a fixed just in case as mentioned above. The debate could go on for ever and ever but it is what I am comfortable and confident with. Shoot what you feel most lethal in (doesnt matter fixed or mechanical) and stick with it. The best shooting setup is the one you believe in. ITS ALMOST SEPTEMBER!

 

[5MilesBack]

And the debate rambles on im sticking with fixed heads that fly like darts at all distances. There's no doubt what or whom is to blame if I screw it up

We are always to blame regardless what happens. We are the ones that choose to use the equipment we use, and we are the ones that release the arrow........regardless what it does, where it hits, or how it performs. If a fixed head doesn't leave a good blood trail, we chose that. If a bad mechanical breaks......we chose that. Test your equipment, and then test it again. If anything goes wrong, it's our fault. And if it goes right, it's also our fault.

 

[justin davis]

I’m a fixed blade guy myself. I have a shorter draw (27 inch) and have been Leary on using mechanicals for elk. Elk are big and tough. But Everyone one I’ve hit with a fixed blade has dropped within seconds.

I have tried mechanicals on smaller animals and I’ve had a few fails one with a rage and one with a ulmer edge (deer, javalena) and it makes me worried and less confidence in them after those experiences

 

[Nuke Man]

Switched from Wac Ems to Rage Trypan this year. They look like they will do some serious damage!

 

[Beendare]

The fact is; Mech heads work...but they work better on the right arrow system. So much emotion towards BH's.

A mech head has typically more resistance, thus it makes the mech heads more efficient to run them on a heavier arrow.

I'm a fixed head guy myself...for a few reasons. Just screwing any BH on is asking for a problem on what might be the shot of a lifetime. The mech head guys doing this are just guessing....assuming that arrow will fly correctly.

I use a system where I tune for BH's, then shoot each arrow to insure they fly to POA- no guessing....and no rolling the dice.

I confirm perfect arrow flight with a strong fixed blade COC head....then touch it up and into the quiver.

Its nice to know my arrow doesn't have problems with; Spine inconsistency, crooked assembly, BH opening in flight.... or any other problem factors- its been tested and confirmed.

....

 

[trophyhill]

We are always to blame regardless what happens. We are the ones that choose to use the equipment we use, and we are the ones that release the arrow........regardless what it does, where it hits, or how it performs. If a fixed head doesn't leave a good blood trail, we chose that. If a bad mechanical breaks......we chose that. Test your equipment, and then test it again. If anything goes wrong, it's our fault. And if it goes right, it's also our fault.

Funny, the only time I used a mechanical while elk hunting, it failed. Only 1 blade opened. The other funny thing is, a great shot "can" overcome a mechanical failure

 

[5MilesBack]

Funny, the only time I used a mechanical while elk hunting, it failed. Only 1 blade opened. The other funny thing is, a great shot "can" overcome a mechanical failure

Even a field point through both lungs will kill an elk.........it's just a matter of whether you'll find him or not.

 

[bowtech3dhunter]

Funny, the only time I used a mechanical while elk hunting, it failed. Only 1 blade opened. The other funny thing is, a great shot "can" overcome a mechanical failure

How can you tell if a blade opened or didn’t open after the fact?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Rob5589]

How can you tell if a blade opened or didn’t open after the fact?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The wound will tell the story.

 

[trophyhill]

How can you tell if a blade opened or didn’t open after the fact?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No pass thru so with the broadhead on the end of the arrow was easy to examine sticking out of the other side. And only 1 blade was deployed. The pattern of the cut thru the meat on both sides was also the proof of only 1 blade deploying. The double lung shot dropped him 30 yards later. It was a G5 mechanical