Three or four blade broadheads?

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Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jul 8, 2016
Messages
127
Location
Wisconsin
I normally shoot rage hypodermics and have had good success on whitetails with them. I'm doing a bear hunt this fall and am looking for a fixed blade broadhead to use. Is there any pros/ cons to three vs four blade? My main requirements are penetration and tight grouping / easy tuning. Any insight or suggestions appreciated. I also can't afford the iron will broadheads ;)

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You'll get differing opinions. But, if you're looking for a fixed blade that's reasonably forgiving and not too expensive, I like the Wac 'Em 3 Blade. Replaceable blade design, super sharp out of the package, and have been the most forgiving fixed blade I've tried.

Theoretically a 4 blade will give a little more surface area, a little less forgiving, but do a little more damage, and penetrate a little less. Hard to tell how much any of that matters in practice without real detailed testing. I personally would just go with a 3 blade, lots of great 2 blades out there too.

For bear hunting, I'm not an expert. My experience is deer and Elk.
 
Prefer a 4 blade head with a Primary blade and bleeders. Solids, Viper tricks, ,Iron wills are all examples. I find that the slightly longer primary leading blade gives excellent penetration. The size of the bleeders are inverse to the size of the animal i am hunting. I found this to be a conservative approach with very predictable postive results.
 
No major effective difference in my many years of using both 3 and 4 blade heads make sure they are mounted straight and fly good....practice with them. On the other hand I don’t like small fixed two blade heads. I’ve personally had less than stellar results and so have friends.
 
Opinions will vary. If your setup has average modern compound speed you should be fine with most popular 3 or 4 blade heads . I personally use 2 blades and am starting to shoot the single bevel cut throats actually. They are flying great and I really like them ( have not hunted with them yet unfortunately ). I dont think you can get better penetration than a 2 blade or single bevel. I have never understood why the majority of compound shooters use 3-4 blades and trad guys seems to use 2 ? Its as if its some unwritten rule or something . I have always used a compound and mostly used 2 blades with pretty easy tuning and good performance when hunting. Many podcasts and posts on here have covered specific fixed heads and the performance of them that you should be able to find pretty easy. Enjoy.
 
I think Brendan said it well. I have used 3 and 4 blade heads and have not seen an appreciable difference- no advantage.

Personally, I just use a strong fixed tapered COC BH for everything now.....but Bears are soft and a mech head with the right arrow behind it works just fine.
 
I'll put in another plug for a 2 blade single bevel. After shooting 3 and 4 blade BH for years I ultimately made the switch to a heavy 2 blade (abowyer screw in bonehead) and there's no looking back. The difference in penetration is one that you have to experience first hand.... anyways, if this is your first bear hunt, I would strongly suggest going with a heavy 2 blade. A lot of guys that haven't been around bears much, can have a hard time distinguishing where the shoulder blade begins/ends, especially in the spring when they have a long thick coat. If you happen to accidentally clip the shoulder, that heavy 2 blade will penetrate where most 3 or 4 blades won't.... it's not for everyone, but just my 2 cents.
 
I agree it can depend on what animal you're shooting and knowing where to place the arrow.

For most 4 legged animals with horns on their heads, any reputable 3 or 4 blade works. I have killed elk (and deer) with Montecs, VPA's, Slick Trick, and Wac'em. My go to and favorite is the Wac'em.

All were pass throughs except the VPA. That was a slight quartering to and crunched the shoulder on its way in. The head was about to protrude out the opposite shoulder behind the ribs. Elk went 20 yds and piled up from a heart and lung shot.
 
I've had better luck with long profile 4 blades such as a magnus stinger than 3 blades. But that might be because I can get them so sharp they make your eyes bleed, can't seem to do that with 3 blades.
 
I've had better luck with long profile 4 blades such as a magnus stinger than 3 blades. But that might be because I can get them so sharp they make your eyes bleed, can't seem to do that with 3 blades.

And you never will. Blade angle is all wrong for the razor "scary sharp" edge.
 
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