Suburban Bowhunting - Broadheads

[Long Cut]

Myself and several co-workers were drawn for an employee only archery hunt.
The tract is 350 acres that is surrounding by highways, subdivisions & private businesses. Hunting is from Jan 1-30th

Right now I’m shooting 28” at 70# with Easton Sonic 6’s & Sever Titanium 1.5’s
- TAW is right at 400 grains at maybe 8-9% FOC going approximately 300 FPS

* I’ve tried 650 grain & 20% FOC with fixed blades, it’s not for me*

That being said, for the guys that bow hunt Urban/Suburban settings, what broadheads have y’all had the most success with?

 

[realunlucky]

I think animals react less to cut on contact heads vs expandables, likely to make a difference in far animals go after the shot. That said I'd just use your current system if it's been working good for you

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[5MilesBack]

I would use something like a Grim Reaper 3-blade 1.5" cut. With good shot placement, they won't go far. I haven't had an animal go more than 40 yards with them. A couple didn't make it 5 yards.

 

[Eastonsgrandpa]

Never done anything like that but we do have a program here for urban neighborhoods when the deer population gets out of control. Problem is that you have to be basically a pro archer to get picked, and they will NEVER pick me.

I personally would go as big as possible to eliminate an animal getting very far. Probably the Megameat. My thinking is to dump blood as fast as possible and get them down within the property and before little Susie sees it outside her bedroom window.

 

[voltage]

I don't think this is much different than anywhere else. I like deer dying fast outside of the city too. Stick with your Sevrs.

P.S. Are y'all hiring?

 

[Long Cut]

I think animals react less to cut on contact heads vs expandables, likely to make a difference in far animals go after the shot. That said I'd just use your current system if it's been working good for you

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That’s been my experience as well seeing guys shoot single bevels, deer seemingly don’t know what happened. That’s why I was on the fence between a small SB vs Large Mech.

The trade-off is marginal blood trails and a poor shot on a deer means a long tracking job.
I’m dealing with cagey Southern deer that will come unglued if a stick falls from a tree, let alone being shot at. Many times they duck the string and change the intended POI.

That’s kind of why I’m leaning larger cut mech over smaller SB, but I’m hoping guys that hunt suburban areas a lot will chime in with their experience.

 

[Jlin45]

I would just use what you believe to be the most effective and consistent broadhead. I understand your question, but I've never once thought "Let me use what I believe to be a less effective broadhead because I am hunting non-suburban areas". It's still a deer and shot placement is the most important above everything else!

Now, what's the best broadhead? There's hundreds of threads on that...

Personally, I shoot the Day Six Evo's with the Extra wide bleeders.

 

[Beendare]

I'm in the @realunlucky camp

 

[MallardSX2]

I have shot a lot of deer with my 4-blade muzzy's and they take a few jumps and they are dead. I know a lot of guys who say the same of single bevels.

 

[brentr9]

I’m a big fan of 150gr 3” swhackers. We’ve killed a pile of deer, pigs, and a couple elk with them. Deer seem to consistently die inside 40-60 yards even on poor shot placement

 

[180ls1]

I hunt out west but have used the heads with a huge cut like the Grim Reaper Whitetail Extreme. They are crushing (you can hear the damage) and the animal knows its in trouble from contact. That said, they don't make it far, even on a death run.

Generally, the smaller two blades do leave em more "calm."

You may be chasing your tail on this one a bit by switching and I would probably leave it alone if it shoots well.

 

[wildwilderness]

I would go 2” for sure if you stick to a 2 blade like the sevr.



I have have seen lots of good things especially with marginal shots having that extra cutting- guts can’t stay in I have used the rage 2” on quite a few

I have also used a lot of grim reaper with success like the mini mag or fatal steel as a do it all head.

For whitetail the carni-four and whitetail special work well but I stay off the shoulder and away from bone on those.

 

[coy17]

I've had more standout blood trails with mechanicals, but more deer have gone down in sight with viper-tricks

 

[Speaks]

I use hydes for everything

 

[Billy Goat]

I think its a toss up. If you hit the opposite shoulder with a smaller, sharp, cut on contact they are likely to bolt more from the impact than if it just slips through ribs.

A big mechanical usually hits them pretty hard, triggering a pretty good death run. One of my best blood trails was also one of my longest, so it's not always an indicator of how far something will travel, each animal is different. If they haul ass til they fall over, they can cover a lot of ground.

I'd plan to not hunt within 150 yards or so of where you don't want an animal to end up, pick your shots, I'd shoot them with head up over head down to help with movement. I'm big on having a pretty quiet in-flight arrow too.

 

[Maverick1]

Spoiler: Why does the broadhead…..

need to be any different for urban vs “regular” hunting?

 

[Long Cut]

At the end of the day, it goes without saying we all agree Shot Placement is King. No denying this, so the question becomes which broadhead system is the most forgiving for poor shots, moving deer, deflections etc…

Personally I’m still leaning towards Mechanicals, but I’m always open for criticism and debate.

Due to the hunt being this week, I’m not changing broadheads but it’s something for the 26-27 season I’d be interested in revisiting.

 

[Billy Goat]

No denying this, so the question becomes which broadhead system is the most forgiving for poor shots, moving deer, deflections etc…

I think thats too variable too.

Guts, liver, or the real screw up and hope for a miracle femoral artery, probably a mechanical.

But if was quartering to more than you thought, or spun a little more and you are down around the humorous, probably a fixed coc.

Different shots afterwards you might look back thinking something else would be better. Tho it's not that easy, every situation is different.

I think just having something you are confident in, then focus on other factors. Murphy can always show up, but shoot a confident shot is usually your best bet.

 

[Burney Mac]

G5 Mega Meat or G5 T2

 

[Skerhunter]

At the end of the day, it goes without saying we all agree Shot Placement is King. No denying this, so the question becomes which broadhead system is the most forgiving for poor shots, moving deer, deflections etc…

Personally I’m still leaning towards Mechanicals, but I’m always open for criticism and debate.

Due to the hunt being this week, I’m not changing broadheads but it’s something for the 26-27 season I’d be interested in revisiting.

I was/am leaning towards mechanicals as “the most forgiving”. On paper they make the most sense if deer are moving on the shot (wider cut). However, I had a horrible deflection this year that now has me leaning back the other way.

Either way if you are shooting doe I wouldn’t put a ton of thought into it. I’ve used single bevels, standard 3/4 blade heads, and few different mechanicals and they all kill in about the same amount of time/short distance. It’s boring but the standard 3/4 blade heads are probably the best option as a comprise between the two.

I put mature bucks in a different category. They tend to travel much further/live longer. I would shy away from a small single bevel on them just for increases odds of a better blood trail, especially on smaller properties.