What do you look for in broadheads? A few things come to my mind and that is strength, accuracy, sharpness and effectiveness to name just a few. If you have a head with those attributes, you have a head that will perform to all expected levels of bowhunting. Iron Will has set a high standard with many of their broadheads and I had a chance to try out a new head that they recently introduced.
Iron Will Wide Single Bevel
Introducing the new Wide Single Bevel broadheads from Iron Will. These broadheads are 30% wider than their original and utilize a single bevel design. The main blade is 1 3/8” cut, and they also have ¾” bleeder blade as well. This gives you a total cut of 2 1/8”, which is great for a replaceable blade broadhead. This new wide broadhead was introduced to feed customer demands for a wider cutting head from Iron Will. Many have used the standard heads over the years and the demand for a wider cutting head was on the horizon. The team at Iron Will listened and brought these new, wider cutting heads to the market. The price is a bit scary to most at $129.95 for a pack of three and $254.95 for a pack of six.
Broadhead Features
Let’s look at the features of the head and why they stand out. You can get these wide heads anywhere from 100 to 250 grains, making it possible to fit the desires of many bowhunters in the market—especially those looking for higher grain and FOC arrows. The heads use a .062” thick A2 steel blade and are cryogenically treated and triple tempered to 60 HRC hardness. The ferrules are also hardened to give these heads unparalleled strength.
32-degree single bevel blades will also help spin the arrow after leaving the bow. Be sure to match which bevel direction you need to match the natural spin of your arrow to increase downrange effectiveness. The patented “Tanto tip” has been known to easily split bone and is incorporated on these heads like all other Iron Will heads. This wider, cut-on-contact tip gives the head more strength, which is needed for bone-breaking results.
A Head For Everyone
With a wide range of weights, bevel direction, and thread size, there is no bowhunter that can’t find a head that fits their needs. I have never been a big fan of really heavy arrows and like keeping my total arrow weight to around 450 grains. This gives me plenty of FOC to make a highly accurate arrow with plenty of downrange energy. All this while maintaining a fairly flat shooting arrow as well. I went with a 125-gr head paired with a 10-grain impact collar and 15-grain HIT inserts with a total weight up front of 150 grains.
Deep Six Configuration
Options for deep six-style heads have declined over the years. I shoot micro-diameter shafts, so I was happy to see that Iron Will still offered this option along with HIT inserts. The biggest downfall to shooting a micro-diameter arrow is the weakness in the arrow where the shaft meets the broadhead. Using the impact collar that Iron Will offers makes that concern a thing of the past. In my testing, the arrow remained much stronger than without the impact collar.
Again, Iron Will offers many weight options in the inserts and the impact collars to fit what you are looking for. With my chosen setup, I likely am shooting the strongest arrow I have ever used in the last 36 years of bowhunting! Talk about being excited about this!
But Can They Hunt?
Well, enough of all that engineering and spec talk. What we need to know is how these heads will perform on the hunt. I didn’t receive mine until a month before elk season. That is way closer to the season than I like to revamp my setup, but I was excited to give it all a go and hoped for a checkmark of approval!
Very Sharp
The heads arrived in a very nice waterproof case. I instantly admired the craftsmanship in the heads. It didn’t take any time to notice the scary level of sharpness, and I promptly drew first blood. Besides being sharper than any head I’d tried previously, I had failed to see that the blades were sharpened on the backside as well! They will cut in reverse while in the animal or when someone haphazardly handles them!
Accuracy
The Iron Will Wide Single Bevel heads are advertised to have an accurate flight out to 50 yards without issues. This did concern me a bit as I like to have confidence in my broadheads at much longer yardages. Not that I plan to shoot animals at longer than desired yardages, but I like the confidence in knowing my equipment can do so if needed. That caused a bit of hesitancy on my part, and I started shooting initially at 20-40 yards to get my bow dialed in. I use a PSE Mach 30 DS with 72# draw weight, 28” draw, 28” Easton Axis 300 Match Grade arrow, and three fletch Flex Fletch Silent Knight vanes—total arrow weight of 448 grains.
Broadhead Noise
I did notice a bit of sound coming from the large, vented blades upon the shot and downrange to the target. Some say they are too loud of a head to shoot but I would challenge that statement. Take a look at the study here that was been done by Bill at Iron Will to put you at ease about any noise a broadhead may make on the way to your quarry.
The animal hears the bow go off and likely never the arrow coming towards them. Don’t overthink it! If it bothers you too much, look at the heavier, non-vented heads. But I haven’t seen much change in how the animal reacts to noise caused by a broadhead, arrow, or fletching. Most reactions are caused by the noise of the bow going off and not by the actual noise of the projectile during flight.
Broadheads VS Field Tips
The flight of these broadheads remained close to my field tips, but I noticed a discrepancy when getting to ranges past 40 yards. I talked it over with Bill at Iron Will, and I went back to the drawing board to check if my bow was fully tuned. Upon initial investigation, I noticed my timing was a bit off, and after adjusting this, my POI for the field tips, the standard Iron Will heads, and the Wide Single Bevel heads were all hitting right together. I had to stop shooting the same spot on the target because I was sure to ruin an arrow in a hurry!
Seeing them hit all the same at ranges out to 50 yards eased my mind. The one thing about the Wide Heads is that they will let you know if your bow is not in tune. You will have best results at longer distances if your bow is properly and fully tuned—the way it should be with any head!
Stretching The Distance
I then began to back out to farther yardages and was very impressed with the outcome. I am happy to say I could shoot the Wide Single Bevel heads out to 90 yards with extreme accuracy, and they will likely perform farther than that! That is outstanding for a wide-style head, and I was so excited about it! Penetration in the target seemed to be a bit better than past broadheads I have used as well. I was now headed into the elk woods with great confidence in my setup! After hundreds of shots into my Power Stop Foam target, the heads remained scary sharp and ready to hunt.
Elk Hunting
The moment of truth came when I had a big bull screaming in my face at 10 yards on the 11th day of season in South Dakota. I was at full draw for several minutes before the bull tried to slip back to his hideout. I stopped him at 40 yards with a cow call. Less than a second later, my arrow connected on the quartering-away shot. The bull went ran out of sight, but I was pretty sure I heard him pile up.
I walked to where I had shot him and found blood instantly; the blood trail was very visible for the next 50 yards, where I found him deader than a Thanksgiving Butterball turkey! The Iron Will Wide had entered the near side at the back of the rib cage and lodged behind the far shoulder.
Performance
As I took care of the meat, I examined the wound channel and was happy with the results. The broadhead broke a rib on the near and far side of the bull. The blades were straight with minor damage to the edges that could be resharpened. The impact collar did a great job with no breakage in that high stress area where the shaft meets the broadhead. The ferrule, impact collar and insert where still 100% straight.
With my experience with this same shot in the past, the arrow would be damaged at this weak point in the arrow set-up. The broadhead was always bent or broken in this location as well, but now that concern is gone! With heads in the past that I have used, I usually also had broken blades especially when breaking two ribs dead center!
A month later, I found myself above a big-bodied, bedded muley buck at only 10 yards. The Wide broadhead was ready to eat again! Of course, it performed beautifully, entering near the spine and exiting out of the brisket and stuck into the sandy soil. The deer went a short distance with an insane blood trail unlike I have seen! Picking up the bloody arrow, I couldn’t even tell this broadhead had been shot! Still super sharp!
Iron Will Team
The team at Iron Will has been very helpful in this process and they go beyond when it comes to customer service. They work with customers and answer any questions and squash any issues if they arise. The team listens to the customer’s needs and wants and turn out products that the customer wants. They have a great warranty system in place for replacing damaged blades on these heads as well. I have used their warranty service, and my heads are all ready for the next hunt with a pocket full of confidence in the heads. Be sure to oil them slightly after season as the blades are steel and can tarnish or rust if exposed to moisture.
These heads checked all the boxes for me; they are strong, accurate, sharp and very effective and have earned a place in my arsenal for future hunts without question. Also take a look at the penetration test that was performed in the lab that can be found here: Penetration Test Lab Results here. Pretty hard to argue against this test.
Conclusion
If you are on the fence about the Wide Single Bevel heads, I wouldn’t hesitate to put them in your quiver for a future hunt if the price doesn’t scare you away. Even with the prices of the heads, you get a great warranty and likely some of the strongest broadheads on the market. However, it may cause you to look for lost arrows a bit harder in the future!
Comment or ask Jared questions here.
*Iron Will is a Rokslide advertiser.
