Trends with those who shoot mechanical broad heads

[MattB]

Not to start a shitstorm, but what about hybrids? Best of both worlds? Worst of both worlds?

Not best of both worlds as they have a fixed blade and will generally be less forgiving than a straight MBH. They will likely provide a better entrance hole and would do better in the event the Mech blades do not deploy (very remote risk IMO), but that is about it.

 

[cjdewese]

I always find this argument fascinating, and I can see both sides for sure. As a very new archer myself I have the mindset that until something fails me in some way I am going to keep hunting with what I have. I decided to shoot a fixed blade to start because I felt that a passthrough should be the goal and I don't think anyone can argue that penetration with a fixed head is better. I also didn't like the fact that mechanicals seemed to fail more even though it was rare. The thought of losing an animal because of something I may have been able to tilt in my favor sucked.

So far I have shot 1 deer, it was a complete pass through where I was able to recover the deer. To me that is a success so I will use a fixed blade broadhead next year and keep doing so until I lose an animal to a flaw or defect in the head to where I want to look for and find something better.

 

[Laramie]

I am on year 27 with mechanicals after roughly 5 years of fixed blades hunting... I won't use a fixed blade again unless I go traditional. Nothing wrong with them but they are not as forgiving. I have had zero failures with over 100 big game kills with mechanicals. Imo, most of the "failures" you hear about are likely hunter error. That said, I am a firm believer that a fixed blade will out penetrate a mechanical in most instances. I shoot over 90lbs of ke so don't stress the slight loss of penetration. If I was shooting a shorter draw length and lower poundage bow with <70lbs KE, I would be shooting a fixed.

 

[5MilesBack]

I shoot over 90lbs of ke so don't stress the slight loss of penetration. If I was shooting a shorter draw length and lower poundage bow with <70lbs KE, I would be shooting a fixed.

And that's the difference for most guys. For guys like us getting 90+ of KE and gobs of momentum from our setups, there really isn't an issue. But then I see some of those TV guys shooting elk and hitting nothing but ribs, yet over half their arrow is still sticking out of the elk. Then I start to wonder just what the heck their specs are.

 

[180splitg3]

I always find this argument fascinating, and I can see both sides for sure. As a very new archer myself I have the mindset that until something fails me in some way I am going to keep hunting with what I have. I decided to shoot a fixed blade to start because I felt that a passthrough should be the goal and I don't think anyone can argue that penetration with a fixed head is better. I also didn't like the fact that mechanicals seemed to fail more even though it was rare. The thought of losing an animal because of something I may have been able to tilt in my favor sucked.

So far I have shot 1 deer, it was a complete pass through where I was able to recover the deer. To me that is a success so I will use a fixed blade broadhead next year and keep doing so until I lose an animal to a flaw or defect in the head to where I want to look for and find something better.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with fixed heads. As you hunt longer and take more game you will most likely have shots that end up either too far back or too far forward. Mechanicals can really help on shots that are into the liver or guts - I have seen some mechanicals take down deer quickly that were not shot through the lungs. This has not been my experience with fixed heads but everyone has their preference. Further forward is a completely different story...

 

[406unltd]

For me it’s pretty simple. My go to for most times I nock an arrow will be my fixed head. But there’s a reason for that. I aim forward. I’ll carry three fixed, one mech, one small game head. If you are a person that stays tight to the front end then I’d suggest a fixed head. If you like to stay behind the crease and or further back then I’d suggest a mech. But if you don’t have a setup with enough lead in its pencil, then I’d stay away from mechs altogether. Example being, if you have a setup tipped with a mech that doesn’t allow you to pass through a whitetail on a clean broadside shot, I’d stick with a fixed option. Wind is definitely another factor but if you don’t have the hp to get into the goodies with a mech then it doesn’t much matter. For me the wind moves my damn bow so much that I’d rather have a fixed head attached because my bow is blowing all over the place. Lots of people have a lot of success with mechs though so I always say shoot what you have confidence in.

 

[Beendare]

Who says you can just screw on mech heads without any tuning or testing?

Thats simply not true in many cases.....

_

 

[Z71&Gun]

There is the age old debate about mech vs fixed. We’ve all beat that into the ground. A different idea I was pondering was the trends of those who seem to be shooting mechanical heads. No need to drop names from the industry but i can’t help but notice that a lot of these guys that have a target archery background are shooting mech heads and swear by them for all the game that they hunt. Seems like the trend between them is that their set up is more “forgiving” with a mech head. I don’t know if this is something that I’m looking to much into but just got me thinking and was wondering what y’all thought. I have strictly shot fixed heads but will not rule out mechs if they will improve my forgiveness of arrow flight, wind drift etc. What do you think?

I’m no expert here, but I spend a ton of time at the bow range and only get one deer tag per year. I have shot both fixed and mechanical for hunting. Without a big backyard or a nice private shooting spot, it’s a huge pain in the ass to tune fixed blades to hit with field points since ranges don’t allow broad heads. Since I target shoot a lot, I shoot small targets out to 100 yards. The confidence that comes from throwing on a swhacker practice head and stabbing a 90 yard Canada goose target at any point during the year is why I shoot swhackers. If I can hit a goose on the first try at 90 in the mid season with no adjustments, I should be able to kill a mule deer at closer range when I get the chance. It eliminates a lot of stress as the season closes in and other preparations need to be made. It’s one less thing. I haven’t been able to get anything close to that performance from fixed blades.

 

[Billy Goat]

Who says you can just screw on mech heads without any tuning or testing?

Thats simply not true in many cases.....

_

Every broadhead package. Read the back.

The flies like a field point is mandatory on a broadhead now, won't sell any without that. They just omit the important part s of that, something like tuning required to...

It's not limited to mechanical packages.

 

[Billy Goat]

I’m no expert here, but I spend a ton of time at the bow range and only get one deer tag per year. I have shot both fixed and mechanical for hunting. Without a big backyard or a nice private shooting spot, it’s a huge pain in the ass to tune fixed blades to hit with field points since ranges don’t allow broad heads. Since I target shoot a lot, I shoot small targets out to 100 yards. The confidence that comes from throwing on a swhacker practice head and stabbing a 90 yard Canada goose target at any point during the year is why I shoot swhackers. If I can hit a goose on the first try at 90 in the mid season with no adjustments, I should be able to kill a mule deer at closer range when I get the chance. It eliminates a lot of stress as the season closes in and other preparations need to be made. It’s one less thing. I haven’t been able to get anything close to that performance from fixed blades.

Just make certain those practice heads fly the same as the real ones. I have seen some differences, can't explain it, but it exists.

I do think schwackers have the set screw now to prevent blade deployment, on some heads anyways. Seems like a good method to practice.

 

[5MilesBack]

Every broadhead package. Read the back.

The flies like a field point is mandatory on a broadhead now, won't sell any without that.

I'm betting that they've never shot bare shafts with their heads to see if they really do fly like FP's.

 

[Z71&Gun]

Just make certain those practice heads fly the same as the real ones. I have seen some differences, can't explain it, but it exists.

I do think schwackers have the set screw now to prevent blade deployment, on some heads anyways. Seems like a good method to practice.

There is a slight difference in weight since the practice heads are solid with no cut in the tip for the inner blades. You’re absolutely right about tightening the set screw. I did that to compare points of impact once. It was close enough that I just use the practice ones now. Also, the practice heads are great for grouse because they have blades that kill birds but don’t burry up to the blades in trees. So you can pull them with plyers without breaking shafts or ruining good blades.

 

[CodeMonkey]

Not to hijack the thread, but...

450 grain arrow
278-280 FPS

Enough energy for clean passthrough using a SEVR 1.5 on an elk?

 

[5MilesBack]

Not to hijack the thread, but...

450 grain arrow
278-280 FPS

Enough energy for clean passthrough using a SEVR 1.5 on an elk?

Just make sure it's a double lung shot. Penetration wasn't the issue. I had a quartering away shot on the right side so got liver and probably only one lung with the old Ulmer Edge 1.5 that blew right through the offside humerus, and lost that bull until much later. We lost the trail in the dark and he eventually laid down and left both liver and lung blood in his bed, but not a single drop after he got up and left. If I ever use a 2-blade head again it will be at least 2". But I'll probably never use one again.