Single Bevel Broadhead Penetration

[bpshirk]

Here is my thought, since a single bevel head is supposed to cause rotation through dense flesh, wouldn't that actually be causing the arrow to loose energy that would be driving the arrow through the deer in that rotation? And also wouldn't you loose some energy at the initial contact since a tanto tip is not as sharp as a double beveled tip? I am also suspicious of the rotation supposedly causing the bone to split more than any other cut on contact tip since I don't think the rotation is powerful enough to do anything. As of right now I am considering switching to the Day 6 evo.

Recently I shot a quartering away buck @ 20 yards with a 550 grain arrow with a 150 grain cutthroat broadhead sharpened with 2000 grit sandpaper. I did not get a pass through, and the blood trail was lackluster. I did not recover the deer and I'm trying to figure out what happened. I also shot a deer last year at a severe quartering away position, I did get a complete pass through, but I could not find a drop of blood. I watched that deer go down so it was no big deal. As of right now I am considering switching to the Day 6 evo.

 

[Wrench]

If you're switching in hopes of better blood trails....you need to cut more stuff that bleeds. The broadhead has less to do with the blood trail than does the location of the hit.

Tanto is certainly going to require a bit more to get penetration, BUT...if you roll a tip, the momentum lost by trying to push it straight when it wants to drive in a circle is a much higher price. Bleeders will help make a potentially better trail, but will eat up some of the penetration.

Every head you mentioned is a good product. It sounds like your arrow build is solid.

You can buy whatever you want, don't expect a huge difference.

 

[Stalker69]

I have shot several single bevel heads, and have not noticed one iola of difference as far as killing better then a double bevel. The only difference is many single bevel heads are one piece and the better ones are thicker steel. Making them more durable then many double, or multi blade heads. So resharpening, and reusing them multiple times is a benefit. The thing I don’t like about them is they are normally a pretty narrow cutting head. And I have found bigger ( wider) holes help me recover animals in a much shorter and easier tracking job. And the majority of the heads are more then durable enough, and many can be reused also.

 

[loganwayne]

I’m switching broadheads from cutthroats to some other cut on contact three blade most likely. The last 6 deer I’ve shot have had NO blood trail. 3 double lung shots, one heart shot, another shot that should have been double lung but never recovered deer and the one I shot Thursday night that wasn’t a great shot (liver) but hard to find a deer that you can’t figure out which way it went in the cutover. The first 4 deer fell within 50 yard.

 

[Billy Goat]

An arrow is rotating as it goes thru the air, so a single bevel head doesn't start the rotation, it just helps it continue the rotation thru your quarry.

If that helps??


Don't know, don't see how it hurts.


I'm big fan of bleeder blades, they help to open up the wound and let it bleed, but it's only going to bleed if you hit stuff that bleeds a lot.

 

[Stalker69]

Even a double bevel will rotate through an animal. I have looked at the blade orientation on the entrance of the hide and the exit, and almost never are they the same. Rotation I don’t feel is of any benefit, unless it just happens that the rotation causes it to miss a bone, or cut an artery that would not have been cut other wise. But in the same note, that rotation could just as easily have caused it to contact bone, or miss an artery. Kinda like the lottery, you have no control over that. A wider cutting head, helps with the chance of cutting something important, at the same time may cause bone contact, drag. But there is soooooo much more soft tissue( blood and body fluids, lubrications) then bone in the area the arrow should be going through I like my chances of putting two big holes through them. Then worrying about it might hit solid bone. Which I have done with both single and double bevel and the out come is never consistent, or predictable. But 99% of the time bone ( other then ribs, or the off side shoulder) is not encountered. And when the off side shoulder is encountered, it’s 50 50, with either single or double bevel whether you get two holes. And the internal damage has been done by that time. This is just my experience, over the years shooting various archery equipment.

 

[Beendare]

Delete

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[Mighty Mouse]

Unless the arrow is fletched straight (no offset/helical), it will already be rotating before it makes contact with the animal. A single bevel head will help keep the arrow rotating as it travels through the animal and help preserve whatever rotational energy it had prior to making contact (assuming the bevel direction matches the fletching direction). But an arrow's rotational energy is so small compared to its linear kinetic energy that I don't think rotation (more, less, or none) will have any appreciable effect on penetration.

My guess is you hit some big bone on the offside shoulder and your arrow did what any arrow would do...it stopped.

 

[Don Qui Puncher]

I think I’m going to the cutthroat single bevel or 3 blades. I tried the day six evos and while practicing I forgot to dial my tape back and hit the frame of the target a soft old 4x4 the arrow bounced back and when I got close I saw it snapped at the ferrule the threads stayed in arrow and the blade stuck in wood so I was skeptical. I went against my better judgment and the rest ended up in my quiver, I had a 35 yard broadside shot settled on the pocket, let it fly and she ran off. I found the arrow about 80 yards from shot location with the blades sheared off, very little blood and she was never recovered. I don’t think it hit the knuckle bone I thought I saw it hit higher shoulder though the blade. The arrow ended up passing completely through with good blood on the vanes. Last blood was bb size 250 yards from shot

 

[bigbuckdj]

I know this is anecdotal because it’s only two deer but I killed a pretty big buck and a doe with some iron will sb125s. Neither ran more than 30 yards and both just dumped blood until they went down. The arrows zipped through and stuck deep in the dirt. Maybe the bleeders on the iron wills do make a big difference?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[FLATHEAD]

Simmons Broadheads.

 

[Dylan Sluis]

I don't like the idea of a 2 blade broadhead with no bleeders double or single bevel. If I ever shoot a 2 blade broadhead it will have bleeder blades for sure. Right now I am shooting the QAD Exodus. I like a 3 blade better, just because you have one more cutting surface. And a triangle hole will bleed out faster than a line like a 2 blade makes.

 

[MattB]

Don’t overthink things. While the single bevel rotation and tanto tip likely reduce penetration, I highly doubt that it is by much.

As stated, the quality of blood trail is primarily influenced by shot placement and not equipment, so no silver bullets there.

 

[bpshirk]

There are plenty of variables that could have caused me to lose the deer, my main issue with the broadhead in this situation is that I built an arrow to pass through a deer, it failed and the penetration almost seemed like it wasn't enough to reach the bone on the opposite shoulder. The whole purpose of shooting a heavy arrow with a heavy fixed blade high foc is that if something happens that causes a mis hit the higher chance of a full pass through will help compensate. I could have hit a limb but Im pretty sure I had a clean window, I was also sitting in a kayak, I was thinking maybe my strings hit my bino harness, but I recreated the shot and drew back in my kayak and the strings would have been clear, I also was at full draw for a very, very long time, so I thought maybe I wasn't at full draw when I shot, but with my arms that fatigued you would think that would snap the bow back to neutral. It's just frustrating the arrow I built to pass through failed when I feel it should have easily succeeded

 

[Billy Goat]

There are plenty of variables that could have caused me to lose the deer, my main issue with the broadhead in this situation is that I built an arrow to pass through a deer, it failed and the penetration almost seemed like it wasn't enough to reach the bone on the opposite shoulder. The whole purpose of shooting a heavy arrow with a heavy fixed blade high foc is that if something happens that causes a mis hit the higher chance of a full pass through will help compensate. I could have hit a limb but Im pretty sure I had a clean window, I was also sitting in a kayak, I was thinking maybe my strings hit my bino harness, but I recreated the shot and drew back in my kayak and the strings would have been clear, I also was at full draw for a very, very long time, so I thought maybe I wasn't at full draw when I shot, but with my arms that fatigued you would think that would snap the bow back to neutral. It's just frustrating the arrow I built to pass through failed when I feel it should have easily succeeded

I think you are getting an education in the fact that nothing is guaranteed. In the shot where the animal was quartering away hard, if he reacted to the shot and started to move forward, you now have a target that already has forward movement, which is going to make it harder to break bone.

When I'm saying forward movement, I mean it could have been heading in a direction very similar to the path of the arrow, allowing it to absorb energy.


There's no guarantees, you can build heavier arrows that increase your chances of breaking bone, but you are shooting at a dynamic target and things change. I think you understand this, but that's just what sucks about the guys who chase these heavyweight arrows, it's still no guarantee, and nobody shooting a bow should be taking a shot where you are saying, it's ok, I got enough arrow to blow thru that....

Doesn't matter if it's brush or heavy bone.

 

[Beendare]

Del
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[bpshirk]

If you're switching in hopes of better blood trails....you need to cut more stuff that bleeds. The broadhead has less to do with the blood trail than does the location of the hit.

Tanto is certainly going to require a bit more to get penetration, BUT...if you roll a tip, the momentum lost by trying to push it straight when it wants to drive in a circle is a much higher price. Bleeders will help make a potentially better trail, but will eat up some of the penetration.

Every head you mentioned is a good product. It sounds like your arrow build is solid.

You can buy whatever you want, don't expect a huge difference.

I am switching in hopes of a better blood trail, I understand a full pass through and what you hit is the main variable that matters, but I feel like the bleeders will help when things don't go as planned. And wouldn't a hole shaped like an "X" take longer to stop bleeding than a straight line?

Pretty easy to have had a form error causing poor arrow flight or a less than ideal shot location in the position you described…hey, it happens.
…

I didn't even think of my form giving me poor aero flight, that's probably exactly what happened

 

[JjamesIII]

I think I’m going to the cutthroat single bevel or 3 blades. I tried the day six evos and while practicing I forgot to dial my tape back and hit the frame of the target a soft old 4x4 the arrow bounced back and when I got close I saw it snapped at the ferrule the threads stayed in arrow and the blade stuck in wood so I was skeptical. I went against my better judgment and the rest ended up in my quiver, I had a 35 yard broadside shot settled on the pocket, let it fly and she ran off. I found the arrow about 80 yards from shot location with the blades sheared off, very little blood and she was never recovered. I don’t think it hit the knuckle bone I thought I saw it hit higher shoulder though the blade. The arrow ended up passing completely through with good blood on the vanes. Last blood was bb size 250 yards from shot
View attachment 346484

Hit a lower part of a vertebrae of the spine, possibly? It rides lower from the back line than most guys think.

 

[Seeknelk]

Bleeders on 2 blades with a wider cut and 3 blade broadheads are your friend for bloodtrails. It's all about trade offs tho. Wider the blades, the tougher to achieve perfect flight for longer.