Mechanical or fixed blades on Black Bear?

[jm1607]

I've been reading alot of conflicting information..

I mainly hunt deer and started with mechanicals, switch to fixed, now I'm back on mechanicals..

Will mechanicals penetrate well on Bear? I'm using 1 3/4" 3-blade Grim Reapers currently

Not sure what my Kinetic Energy is at.. Shooting a Spyder Turbo 28"/63# 440ish grain arrow..

 

[Craig Van Arsdale]

Yes they will work and I have killed a bear with a 1.5" mechanical but my last two have been with fixed heads. Anymore I just want 100% reliability and I don't think mechanicals can offer that.

 

[Nick Muche]

Yep, keep it behind the shoulder and it will work just fine.

 

[SDHNTR]

There is a very prominent AK hunter that many may know (he has more P&Y Sitka bucks than anyone alive) who has been running a tally of black bear recoveries in his camp. He has seen better results with Mechs. I'm a fixed guy, so I'd have a hard time going with a mech, but you can't argue with his results. If it were me, I'd just shoot a BIG fixed head. Like a 1 1/4" VPA. Best of both worlds.

 

[JNDEER]

my brother has a 27"/72#. He had trouble with penetration on deer using a mech. I switched him to a fix blade and the penetration issue, so far, has not been a problem.

at 28"/63# I would think your numbers could be close to his and if you are able to shoot to shoot a fixed blade with the confidence of a mech, I would choose fixed.

 

[WyoBowhunter21]

I used Rage on my bear last year. The first broadhead deployed only 2/3 blades. The second arrow I had to put in him deployed all of the blades. I do attribute having to use a second arrow on this bear to the Brodhead not deploying correctly. Both heads were brand new and functional before I shot the bear. My shot was a little high behind the front shoulder but fatal if I had full deployment. I have since switched to fixed blade. I don't like mechanical failure, while it doesn't happen often, when it does, it can be catastrophic.

 

[MattB]

You should be fine with that head.

 

[69ChrisCraft]

Shot one with a Grim Reaper last fall, got 1 lung and liver and recovered him in less than 200 yards but the blood trail was lacking. I would think shots should be relatively close so I would personally go with a big fixed blade and make sure you get in closer to the shoulder. I was worried I'd catch a shoulder directly and would get poor results with a mech so I went overboard and nearly center punched him. Their hide and fat will plug a hole pretty well.

 

[60x]

Black bears die easy. I wouldn't hesitate to use a mechanical. Shot placement and shot angle should always be considered with any archery gear.

 

[Nick Muche]

You guys should see how far back my wife has shot her last two bears... Much further back than most would consider, I think combined they've went a total of 50 yards.

I give the man who tracks a bear 200 yards and finds it all the credit in the world, a well placed shot will put any bear down MUCH closer than that...

 

[69ChrisCraft]

You guys should see how far back my wife has shot her last two bears... Much further back than most would consider, I think combined they've went a total of 50 yards.

I give the man who tracks a bear 200 yards and finds it all the credit in the world, a well placed shot will put any bear down MUCH closer than that...

So very true. Only reason I found him was he was running over a bed of freshly dropped oak leaves probably 5 inches deep. Whenever he hit a steep spot he would slide down and leave a nice butt slide. He was dead within minutes but still went way too far.