Solid broadheads worth the money? Other fixed broadheads??

Joined
Dec 28, 2018
Location
Idaho
I am planning a OTC elk/mule deer hunt in Idaho and am currently shooting rage hypodermics. Since Idaho only allows for fixed blade broadheads I am looking for recommendations for good 125 grain fixed broadheads. Are the solid broadheads worth the money that they cost or do you have any other recommendations for some good fixed blades?
 
I would recommend the iron wills 125s or qad exodus heads.The newer version of the solid broadheads are not the same as the originals
 
Check out a vid review I recently made “Premium Fixed Blade Broadhead Battle” on my YouTube Channel. Lusk Archery Adventures.

I tested several of the most expensive Fixed heads on the market in 125 gr. Solid, ATAC, Bishop, Iron Will.

And I also did one for Fixed heads in the “Normal” price range. Exodus always wins those comparisons.


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I killed a lot of animals with soilds, elk, bear, moose, mulies, whitetails. They are good head
Sharp, fly well at longer distances, hold an edge well. Wound channels are amazing. They retake an edge very well also. I like them a lot.
 
Those Solids are a good looking head....wow $43 each.

I've piled up my share of many different species of animals in over 3 decades of bowhunting....my take;

Just about anything with a sharp tip works on thin skinned deer species. When you get up into elk ...or big boars....and larger......then you start to see the difference a strong well constructed BH can make.

BH design and strength matters. It may be only on a small % of shots...but it matters giving you extra penetration.

Design and construction matter more when you get into the bigger tougher animal species.

A strong tapered fixed Cut on Contact design has proven to me time and time again it has many advantages over other designs. One advantage nobody ever talks about is that animals most times don't take off with their tail on fire with these tapered COC heads as they don't realize they have been hit. Not the case IME with mechs or short wide blade angle fixed heads.

I've seen incredible performance on tough elk and big boars from a good head like the VPA 2 and 3 blades. I shot a 160# boar about to charge me (at 15') through the skull splitting the spine down the middle and burying the 29" arrow to the nok in his skull. The head was- surprisingly- still pretty sharp.

The Magnus Stinger and Buzzcuts and can touch up these heads reusing them...lowering the already low cost per head [$9 per head for the Buzzcuts vs the $43 of the Solids] I've got 2 Buzzcuts that have killed 3 animals each [and had some misses- /sigh.... shot into the dirt a couple of times with my recurve!]

So^ its hard for me to justify spending $43 on a head....when the good steel of the heads above [at $9, and $15 each] has been fantastic. If I was going Cape or Water buff hunting again....I might spring for something like these Solids...otherwise no.
 
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I was not the least bit impressed with solids and broke the only head I shot an animal with. They sent me a new head right away but that head breaking exposed what I believe is a design flaw and weak point. The ferrule (which is small diameter anyway) splits 4 ways at the end where the bleeder blade inserts. This leaves 4 little tiny fingers holding your blades in alignment. The head I broke bent two of those fingers over and allowed the main blade and bleeder to rotate around the screw holding the main blade into the ferrule. Good thing it was only a doe and didn’t need a lot of straight line penetration. Sold all my heads after that.
 
I stand by Solids as a bad assss COC Head. I do prefer, for a few more $$$, German Kinetics Silver Flames.

Another head that’s great for crushing bone are WASP Boss 4 blades. They have a lot of hard stainless, fly superb and are super durable in the broadheadrealm. The other 2 are both Cut on contact heads.


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I was responsible for this brand for a short time during some engineering exploits and can speak to them. What you are paying for in terms of Solid price is the blade steel. The blades are made from CPM-S30V which at the time the brand was established was one of the very best (still probably the best $ for $) blade steels available. I am no longer with the company so it may help eliminate some perceived bias I have but I have yet to find a fixed blade that is as accurate as this head. Having said that I have no shot the iron wills or other higher end heads because these have performed so well for me. The biggest downside to these heads is from a design perspective. As other's have talked about they will break do to the strength of the venting. We rarely saw warranty claims on them but when we did it was because the head broke at the internal radius toward the back of the blade. Performance wise the material's used are hard to beat. Blades are S30V and ferrule's are 440C. I shot my bull this year with one at 30yds and am pretty certain that the arrow is in the next state over or possibly still going. He went 70yds and piled up but realistically any good head would have done the same because I center punched his heart. They're a great head, they can get incredibly sharp, each head is hand sharpened and stropped before leaving the factory using the wicked edge sharpening system. (Or atleast this was the case before I left) The only improvements to the head would be turning the main blade into a nonvented version for strength. Good luck in your purchase!
 
I personally think they are great heads. A lot of money for them now but i bought in when they were $75 a pack and have been happy with them. I had some issues with broken bleeders and them not spinning true after killing elk with them. Solid has always replaced those for free for me no questions asked which is great. If they have a little wobble you can loosen the small torxs head screw reset the head and normally they spin great. You couldn't tell the head was even shot this year that i killed my deer with, it passed through the offside arm bone and into the dirt on the other side.

They fly excellent, and have been the best flying heads i have shot out to 80 yards and I have used several including, Shuttle T's, Kudu, QAD's, Innerloc, Slick Tricks and Buzzcuts. I am going to switch to some DeadMeat heads this year to give expendables a try since they made them legal here but i will be keeping the Solids for hunting in ID. I shoot both the 100gr 1/2" bleeders and 100gr 3/4" bleeders and they have the exact same POI for me at 80 yards. Solid stands behind there heads and i think the 9 heads i have will last me as long as i wan't to shoot them.

The steel is also great, i shot at a bull and missed low two years ago, this season while working another bull on the same ridge i found that arrow and head, it still looked like new, i took it home, dissembled and sharpened it and when reassembled it still spins true and you can't even tell which head it was, that is pretty impressive for sitting two entire winter, spring and summers before finding it. I like that i can pull the bleeders and sharpen them up shaving sharp and then reassemble and they still spin true!!

As far as blood trails i have never lost an animal that i have shot with one and have never had one go more than 80 yards, deer or elk.

Another good flying head is the kudu heads, i will have my wife shooting them this season for elk but personally don't shoot them due to the lack of bleeders and i don't really need the penetration advantage like she does
 
I can’t get into the expensive broadheads. I guess it’s due to Slick Tricks and Wasp always getting the job done for me. Those would be my go to on a Idaho elk hunt.


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