Choosing a Broadhead

[cnelk]

This is a take-off of Dereks post about BH tuning

When you are choosing [or chose] a broadhead, what qualities are/did you looking for?

Do you research reviews?
Do you want 2 blade? 3 blade ? 4 blade ?
Ability to re-sharpen or replacement blades?


I started out using Muzzy 3 blade BHs.
Killed a pile of animals with them, but they were frustrating to me because they were a beeeatch to re-sharpen.

About 6 years ago I got turned on to Slick Tricks.
They flew very well and MUCH easier to re-sharpen than Muzzy BHs.
They leave a great wound channel also.

But....
Thats just me.

For my recurve, I use Zwickey Eskilite - 135gr 2 blade - non vented.
Easy to resharpen and very durable.

I have shot them in my compound and they fly great too!


So,
What made you choose the BH you shoot?

 

[iccyman001]

The two previous years I shot 100 grain shuttle Ts
This year I will be shooting 100 gr and 125 gr shuttle Ts.


When I first bought them, it was only because of all the reviews I read.
I had planned on trying a few different broad heads to see what I liked best, but it turned out the shuttle Ts were the first I ordered and it\'s been love since them. Fly like darts, extremely tough, and have killed everything that I shoot.


I don\'t plan on changing my mind either. The best part about them is they are on average $5 less than most other packs of broad heads.

 

[cohunter14]

Well, I can tell you that one of my priorities when choosing one is ease of putting them together

I was planning on using Slick Tricks after seeing all of the positive reviews on them. I gave the Wac\'Em\'s a try since they were available for me to shoot. They are such a pain to put together that I will not be using them. I can just see myself up at camp firing an arrow into my target and having to take the head off to pull the arrow out, leaving little pieces everywhere that you can possibly lose. I also think it makes it much easier to potentially cut yourself.

Having said that, I just ordered some Slick Tricks. Too many good reviews from people I trust. Hopefully they will fly well!

 

[bnsafe]

when i started out i used rocky mountain razors, big ole broadheads. they flew fine with the bows we used at the time. but i quit bowhuntng for a few years and when i got back into it the bows had changed dramatically with speed. so, i tried muzzys, i never got one to fly right. not saying they are a bad head or it wasnt my fault with bow not tuning properly, only that they did not fly right for me no matter what i did. i switched to slick tricks and have had no issues with them. cant say i had a great blood trail on my elk, but that happens sometimes.

 

[bnsafe]

oh yea, i forgot, i shot a antelope with rages, he went 30 yds an stood there for a bit then fell over. i didnt have a blood trail on it either. both shots were through the lungs. i still have some rages, and might shoot them at a deer, but prob not.

 

[WW]

I shot Bear Razorheads for more years than a lot of you guys are old. They got harder to find so a couple of years ago I switched to Magnus Stingers. Wish I would have done it years ago.

 

[F M]

Like Bill I used Bear razorheads for many years and killed a lot of animals with them. When they became hard to find I switched to Thunderheads and shot a lot of animals with them all so. When I bought a new faster bow and blazer vanes on my arrows I could not get the Thunderheads to fly well.
I started doing some research on small streamlined heads. I found a article in a bow hunting magazine by Bill Winke about the problem I was having. He listed off some of the smaller heads he tested and the G5 Striker was one he had good results with. I remember the Slick Tricks were another one he recommended. There were more he listed but I don\'t remember them. I went to my archery shop and looked at the heads he listed and I liked the looks of G5 more than the others. Just looked more durable than the others. I bought a 3 pack of them and tried them out. Still using them now and they fly like field tips and are tuff as heck.

 

[mainebrdr]

My progression in broadheads sounds like Brads. Many years ago I too shot Bear razorheads among others such as Satellites. Went to the 3 blade Muzzy when they came out and they were a big improvement over what I had been using. Reluctantly tried some SlickTricks at my sons prodding 5 years ago and see no reason to try anything else at this time. They definitely shoot tighter groups for me than anything I have used.
They come very sharp out of the package and are durable. I\'ve never had one that was unusable after taking an animal with it.
I started with the 100 grain standard but now using the Viper Tricks. Both fly well. Maybe the Vipers look better to me, I guess.
I dont resharpen. I just replace. Someday I\'ll get the dull blades packaged up and sent off to Brad.

edit: Oh, and Dan, We almost never, actually plan on changing our mind. It just happens sometimes when we are confronted with a superior product or Idea! :lol:

 

[bowhunter]

I started with Thunderheads. I resharpen my blades but it was a pain. I have switched to G5 Montec and like the ease of sharpening. I use a diamond stone. No blades to ever mess with. Easily resharpened in the field too.

 

[elky McElkerson]

I like slicks because they were cheap back then and they flew great. Still do. Easy to transport in pieces. Tough and blades are replaceable.

I swapped to montecs. No assembly. Cake to sharpen. Fly great. I love the practice head. I almost cut myself bad yanking a slick out of a target. Ruined my jeans. Thank God it didn\'t get me. A practice head is important to me.


Sent via Jedi mind trick.

 

[mandrroofing]

I have been using helix 100s.they are a two blad and a single bevel blade.i killed my elk and whitetale buck with it last year.i dont know how thick they are but they are thick,thicker than the average i have shot.they can be reused over and over again.i love how the single blade causes the arrow to continues to rotate after entering the body and better arrow flight.when pulling the arrow from my target you can feel it spin back through the channel it created.i have shot them accurately out to 70 yards.the only thing negative so far is it took 2 months to get them after ordering?!i dont think that happens all the time though?lots of good choices out there but i love a single bevel. ..

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

 

[bowhunter]

[attachment=0]<!-- ia0 -->0320161320a.jpg<!-- ia0 -->[/attachment]Oh the choices.................. :think:

 

[Bowfreak]

I wish there was a perfect broadhead but there is not. I still am looking for it and I can\'t even find my favorite much less a perfect one.

Here is a list of my favorites. They all have their strong points and areas where they come up short.

Steelforce Phathead-Great head. Pros: Ultra sharp, Super accurate (maybe the best I have shot), Super stout main blade (0.080). Cons: Dinky disposable bleeders, small cut and Nik lock system is hard to work with.

Steelforce American Musclehead. Pros: Super accurate, thick full sized 4 blade. I honestly thought this was going to be a keeper for me but the main Con with this head is the titanium blades. They suck for edge retention and aren\'t sharp enough IMHO. It is very hard to get one to shave.

Muzzy 4 blade-Pros: Cheap, Dependable, fairly easy to sharpen, tried and true design. Cons: Ferrules are Al and bend easy (however it has never cost me an animal), flight is ok to good.

Magnus Stinger 4 or 2 blade Pros: Easy to resharpen. Excellent flight and penetration. Lifetime warrantry. Cons: They ding up pretty easy. The 4 blade has a weaker ferrule due to it being split to accept the bleeder.

Shuttle T- Pros: Awesome flight, super tough design. Seem to do a lot of damage. Con: The swept blades are tough to resharpen for me and they are not the easiest blades to remove. Overall IMHO....this head is toward the top of the pack.

VPA 3 blade- Pros: Tough as nails, good flight and sharpens very easy on a flat stone. Con: A little more expensive than heads with a similar design. The only real con to me is that they don\'t do anything special for me. Just a really really good 3 blade head.

Magnus Black Hornet- Pros: Awesome flight, large cut and extremely sharp. Very easy to resharpen. Lifetime warranty. Con: I am not 100% sold on the bleeder design yet and the blade angle is a little aggressive. The main blade is large enough that I am always conscious of their orientation (contact possible). This is the head I am currently shooting.

Vortex Pro Mag Extreme- Pro: Great flight, HUGE 2.75\" cut, tough spring steel blades. No frills design with o-ring. Con: Long aluminum ferrule can be weak. Blades rattle in ferrule and they are out of business. This head is an absolute turkey terror.

Vortex 2\" steel- Pro: Great Flight, 2\" cut. Spring steel blade and steel ferrule. Con: Blades rattle in ferrule and they are out of business. This is probably the most underrated head I have ever shot.

Spitfire- Pro: Great design and blade retention. Sharp, Nice cut, great flight. Cons: None other than the typical concern with a mechanical head of robbing energy to open.


There are a few I have shot. I will try to add more later as I like to shoot broadheads and have experience with many different types.