Suburban Bowhunting - Broadheads

[longspeak74]

One of my best spots is an urban setting. Big Spitfire fan here.

 

[Long Cut]

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.

It’s always in the back of my mind, but I shot a giant 8pt back in 2019 and had a catastrophic deflection off of a dead twig just below my sight picture (arrow on rest is below the pins) which turned a 12 yard broadside “chip shot” into a 7 day long rodeo.

I was using a Slick Trick Magnum and had a pass through what I believe his back guts then back left ham. He was a “die hard” old buck that we jumped 3x with dogs and eventually ran out of public land, as he ran onto “no access” private land.

Ever since that experience I’ve lost confidence in myself, my equipment and bowhunting in general. It’s hard to come back from something you’ve worked so hard for and came so close.

The arrow as it landed (nearly straight down) and the setup I was using displaying the ~2” gap the twig was that I had completely overlooked (he came in directly behind me).

 

[RC_]

Have shot a handful of deer in suburban environments with probably a 50 / 50 split between fixed and mechs. They kill equally well if you hit them right. I wouldn’t switch what you’re shooting if they hit behind the pin but all things equal, a big cut mech gives more margin for error. If you have enough energy, in my experience you can still punch through a scap, the blades might just shear off and there’s a weak blood trail.

 

[ddowning]

With your set-up I would look at a 3 blade mech 1.75"-2" cut. I have killed a ton of deer with that style head in my life. Bones aren't much of a problem with the amount of energy you have. Most deer hit double lung will die in sight. I would recommend something tough. I've had pretty good luck with a wasp jak hammer. I'm sure there are other heads that will fair well. Fragile heads are going to break with the amount of energy you are running.

 

[Wrench]

A giant simmons leaves a massive gash and will never fail to open.

 

[grfox92]

I have killed over 70 whitetails with expandables in suburban settings. My favorite broadhead was NAP Killzones. Enormous wound channels, great penetration.

Now that Im hunting elk with archery equipment I have switched to Grim Reaper 3 blades. Probably no good reason to have switched. I think the Reapers are tougher "looking" broadhead, and I had killed plenty of whitetails with them back in the day too.

 

[ddowning]

A giant simmons leaves a massive gash and will never fail to open.

I will admit I have not shot any rear deploying mechanicals. I have shot hundreds of animals with good old over the top with blades retained by dental bands or o-rings. I have NEVER had one of those fail to open. The set-up described in the op has more than enough energy to shoot an over the top head with massive cutting diameter and horrible blade angle and still get more than enough penetration. At 300 fps, even QAD Exodus swept are more finicky to tune than other fixed heads. I have not shot the Simmons, but would assume a massive fixed cut would be pretty unforgiving to tuning and form errors. There are absolutely applications where over the top mechanicals are not the best option. In my opinion they fit nicely into this use case without the drawbacks of a big fixed head.

 

[fatlander]

Grim reaper, watch them drop.

SEVRs are the least impressive head I’ve shot. Of the 15ish animals I killed with them, there was never a “wow” blood trail. I also had the most unexplainable deflections of my bow hunting career with a SEVR.

Reapers on the other hand just flat out work. I’ve gone away from them over the years but always find my way back. I’ve killed north of 60 critters with them at this point. Their slogan “watch them drop” has rang overwhelmingly true in my experience.

At your specs I’d shoot the fatal steel 1.5” or 1.375” pro series mech.


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[Predator_SD]

Use whatever you have precision placement with and spine them with a 2” mechanical. Then quickly climb down and put one in the vitals.

I hunted a small private tract that was about 20-30 acres. It had several hundred acres of subdivisions with hundreds of homes on the East and Southern sides deer could reach in about 100 yards or so. I one time had a buck make it to the subdivision to the east, never again. Giant bucks there but spining than finishing them quickly was the ONLY reliable way to anchor those deer on the spot in this scenario.

And to those who disagree? I’d have been right there with you had i never hunted a spot such as this. But have a buck die in someone’s back yard within feet of a kids swing set you’ll change your tune too. Cause if you truly believe you can put a deer down with a bow and consistently keep them on 20-100 acres you’ll be proven dead wrong if you do it long enough.

I actually quit hunting there d/t the hassles. Kids coming on the property to build forts and play, dudes trespassing, and the ever present risk of repeating recovering a deer in a subdivision full of predominantly liberal indoors only people.

 

[grfox92]

Use whatever you have precision placement with and spine them with a 2” mechanical. Then quickly climb down and put one in the vitals.

I hunted a small private tract that was about 20-30 acres. It had several hundred acres of subdivisions with hundreds of homes on the East and Southern sides deer could reach in about 100 yards or so. I one time had a buck make it to the subdivision to the east, never again. Giant bucks there but spining than finishing them quickly was the ONLY reliable way to anchor those deer on the spot in this scenario.

And to those who disagree? I’d have been right there with you had i never hunted a spot such as this. But have a buck die in someone’s back yard within feet of a kids swing set you’ll change your tune too. Cause if you truly believe you can put a deer down with a bow and consistently keep them on 20-100 acres you’ll be proven dead wrong if you do it long enough.

I actually quit hunting there d/t the hassles. Kids coming on the property to build forts and play, dudes trespassing, and the ever present risk of repeating recovering a deer in a subdivision full of predominantly liberal indoors only people.

What you are describing is my entire lifetime of hunting before moving to WY. 20+ years of exclusively bowhunting the suburbs of NYC and dealing with dog walkers, other hunters ect. I was fortunate enough to never have one die in someone's yard. How? I have no idea.

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[Predator_SD]

What you are describing is my entire lifetime of hunting before moving to WY. 20+ years of exclusively bowhunting the suburbs of NYC and dealing with dog walkers, other hunters ect. I was fortunate enough to never have one die in someone's yard. How? I have no idea.

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Yep, the problem for me was there were some truly giant bucks around there. But in the end i just got tired of dealing with all those people. I much prefer to hunt unmolested.

And that one time for me that buck made it to that persons yard was NOT fun AT ALL

 

[SDHNTR]

Just limit yourself to closer, higher percentage, shots. The broadhead is not the question.

 

[Wrench]

I will admit I have not shot any rear deploying mechanicals. I have shot hundreds of animals with good old over the top with blades retained by dental bands or o-rings. I have NEVER had one of those fail to open. The set-up described in the op has more than enough energy to shoot an over the top head with massive cutting diameter and horrible blade angle and still get more than enough penetration. At 300 fps, even QAD Exodus swept are more finicky to tune than other fixed heads. I have not shot the Simmons, but would assume a massive fixed cut would be pretty unforgiving to tuning and form errors. There are absolutely applications where over the top mechanicals are not the best option. In my opinion they fit nicely into this use case without the drawbacks of a big fixed head.

Agreed....but what I'm envisioning for this hunt isn't 80 yard shots across a canyon. I'm thinking 40 yards and in with serious egg on my face if I make a mistake or have an equipment failure.

The big broadheads like to slow down for sure to fly well. I seem to recall Snyder or Cody Greenwood saying 270ish fps was where things got less stable.

I can say that a 500gr arrow going 180fps that doesn’t hit the humerus will sail through deer and usually elk.

 

[ddowning]

Agreed....but what I'm envisioning for this hunt isn't 80 yard shots across a canyon. I'm thinking 40 yards and in with serious egg on my face if I make a mistake or have an equipment failure.

The big broadheads like to slow down for sure to fly well. I seem to recall Snyder or Cody Greenwood saying 270ish fps was where things got less stable.

I can say that a 500gr arrow going 180fps that doesn’t hit the humerus will sail through deer and usually elk.

That's plenty of arrow and speed to get it done and then some. My youngest daughter made 2 holes in her first deer at 19 yards with a 288 grain arrow with an insanely sharp magnus stinger with bleeders on the front. The arrow speed was 161 fps generating a whopping 16.6 ft/lb of ke. Sharp cut on contract heads don't take much energy to get crazy good penetration.

I feel like the 2 best ways to watch em die are big energy and giant cuts, or a very sharp coc where they don't even realize they're hit.

 

[CB4]

Evolution Outdoors Whitetail Fury

Just shot a whitetail last night with one and it had at least a 5" exit hole. I have used sevr hybrid 1.5, beast 2.3, iron will, rage hypodermic, micro hades, and others. None left a hole like the Whitetail Fury. I will be using them exclusively going forward for shots of 45 yards or less and a beast for longer shots.

 

[wildwilderness]

I have only sho

It’s always in the back of my mind, but I shot a giant 8pt back in 2019 and had a catastrophic deflection off of a dead twig just below my sight picture (arrow on rest is below the pins) which turned a 12 yard broadside “chip shot” into a 7 day long rodeo.

I was using a Slick Trick Magnum and had a pass through what I believe his back guts then back left ham. He was a “die hard” old buck that we jumped 3x with dogs and eventually ran out of public land, as he ran onto “no access” private land.

Ever since that experience I’ve lost confidence in myself, my equipment and bowhunting in general. It’s hard to come back from something you’ve worked so hard for and came so close.

The arrow as it landed (nearly straight down) and the setup I was using displaying the ~2” gap the twig was that I had completely overlooked (he came in directly behind me).
View attachment 994914

It’s always in the back of my mind, but I shot a giant 8pt back in 2019 and had a catastrophic deflection off of a dead twig just below my sight picture (arrow on rest is below the pins) which turned a 12 yard broadside “chip shot” into a 7 day long rodeo.

I was using a Slick Trick Magnum and had a pass through what I believe his back guts then back left ham. He was a “die hard” old buck that we jumped 3x with dogs and eventually ran out of public land, as he ran onto “no access” private land.

Ever since that experience I’ve lost confidence in myself, my equipment and bowhunting in general. It’s hard to come back from something you’ve worked so hard for and came so close.

The arrow as it landed (nearly straight down) and the setup I was using displaying the ~2” gap the twig was that I had completely overlooked (he came in directly behind me).

a small cut in the guts is super risky. Thats why I said you should at least get the 2" sevr or similiar. As long as a 2" gash is cut the guts will push out and they wont move far at all. Not ideal but I bet you would have found that buck with a bigger cut even if it didn't penetrate as deep