Testing Broadheads

 

Let me just preface this by saying, I don't get anything from any archery companies so what I'm going to write it strictly based on my experience and I'm not trying to sell you anything. It's also a bit limited so take it with a grain of salt. I don't have the time or the money to test all the different broadheads that are out there.

 

A couple years ago I upgraded my bow to a Hoyt. It's fast as hell and I wound up shooting a bull at 62 yards. I was using fixed blade broadheads at the time that were left over from the last bunch I had bought before upgrading. I just assumed that if they were good enough for that bow; they should work just fine with the new one. I did, however, buy the appropriate arrows for the new bow with the right vein strength and weight. 

 

The arrow passed through that bull piercing both lungs. The bull went about 40 yards and bedded down. I never had to track him and it was a good thing because there was little to no blood trail. It did take a considerable amount of time for him to die though as I waited and watched for about ten minutes. It's because of the lack of blood and the amount of time it took to die that I decided to go to a mechanical tip.

 

After talking to my brother, I went with a three-bladed Rage and last year, shot a cow elk at about 45 yards. I shot that elk in almost the exact spot as the bull and again, the arrow passed through catching both lungs. That elk went about 75 yards and piled up only this time, you couldn't miss the blood trail. The elk died in literally a matter of about 30 seconds. There was such a difference in the wound that I'd never go back to the fixed blades I was using. It's way more humane and much easier to recover game although it does look much more morbid. But that's not the whole story.

 

A lot of folks use mechanicals because they are more accurate. I never really looked at the part of the equation until this year. I did my own little test on the fixed blades I was shooting and the Rage tip I am now and was blown away.

 

I first shot a field point at twenty yards and put it right on the bull's eye. The second shot was the mechanical and sunk the arrow within an inch of the first. The third was the fixed blade and as I let the arrow go and tracked it to the target, I watched it rise and I hit the target about ten inches high. I couldn't believe it so I did it again and again, got the same results. Both broadheads are 100 grain and on the same arrow shooting out of the same bow but completely different flights.

 

Now, the fixed blades were probably fine for my old bow. I shot three elk with them and a number of deer so I know they worked. However, with the increased speed and energy with my new bow, they just don't perform the same so what I would encourage everyone to do, if they haven't already, is shoot your broadheads a few times so you know they are performing just like your practice tips.

 

The other glaring thing about this is that I shot a bull at 62 yards with the fixed broadhead and although it may very well have leveled off and came back to true at some distance just like a bullet out of a high powered rifle will do, who knows? Just another lucky aspect of a wave I've been riding now for about seven years I guess. I hope that wave continues this weekend.

 

Keep 'em where they live...