Broadheads?

Crossbow Hunting

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-StinkBait-
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Broadheads?

Post by -StinkBait- »

Hey yall. I know a million different conversations have been held over every kind of broadhead on the market. I guess I just want real opinions from real people. I'm kinda being torn about which broadhead I should go with. Boltcutters or the X-acts. I would like to be as fast as possible but in the end, accuracy is king. I use 20" firebolts with my Axiom. I do want to keep it in the excal family. Thunder chicken season opens next month so any thoughts, feelings or concerns would help. Thank ya! Andy.
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Re: Broadheads?

Post by georgiaboy »

If you want to be as fast as possible go with the x-acts...your accuracy will be superb with both. 8)
My excals like the spitfires in mechanical & slick trick mags in fixed blade. :wink:
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roly
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Re: Broadheads?

Post by roly »

Excal broad heads are a good quality BH
either head will get the job done

I prefer expandables myself, for the larger
cutting blades
badredbird
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Re: Broadheads?

Post by badredbird »

i like the bolt cutters also , now many companies are coming out with xbow broadheads , tried some in 170 grain like spitfires they work well
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Re: Broadheads?

Post by muskyman454 »

i like the boltcutters and thats what i shoot but i would like a little wider cut on turkeys i live in the mountains and if you don't break a wing or spine they will sail off a ridge and be lost.(lesson learned).i broke the wing on the first bird and it still went about 150 yards on a strip mine and i was trying for the spine on the second one but hit just to the right.lighted nock's do help :D and you can not blood trail trough the air. :lol:
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Re: Broadheads?

Post by nchunterkw »

I have not personally shot the Excal BHs, but have heard nothing but good things.
My opinion is that a fixed blade that hits where you are aiming means you have a very well tuned arrow, and as such will maximize energy at impact (penetration). You will get good accuracy out of mechanicals, but your arrow might not be tuned perfectly. I have had 2 bad experiences with mechanicals - at very close range - where penetration was not very good.
Recently I have worked very hard at getting better arrow flight with fixed blades, and feel pretty confident that I can stabilize about anything with some trial and error and have my fixed blade hit my field point hole.

For turkeys, you won't need to worry about penetration. I have wanted to try the Gobbler Guillotine out of my Excal but have not had a chance yet. No worries about a bird flying away with that BH. Here is a link to their web site vids. In the "Guillotine Video" it looks like she used an Excal

http://www.arrowds.com/guillotine/guillotine_videos.htm
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Hester0305
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Re: Broadheads?

Post by Hester0305 »

I've heard the Excal broadheads are great I'm currently shooting good groups with Rage broadheads and fixed blade Slick Trick 100 gr. Magnums out of my Vortex. Good Luck.
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Re: Broadheads?

Post by Bullzeye »

I have not even shot my x-bow yet, but I purchased the X-Acts because I read that the POI is close to the field points.
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-StinkBait-
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Re: Broadheads?

Post by -StinkBait- »

Thanks for all the replys. I guess good ol' trial and error is going to be the way to find this out. Stick with what ya like. I'm goin to pick up both today and see which one works out for me. Plus, you can never have too many lay'n around the house.
sumner4991
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Re: Broadheads?

Post by sumner4991 »

Trial and error is always the fun way.

I can get just about any broadhead to fly "just like field points". Most of today's broadheads are built to tolerances that allow for good flight, mainly because of the high speeds of todays bows.

Most of the mechanicals work just like they are suppose to work.

I took the simple approach. Which broadhead will kill a deer faster when all other variables are the same? Well, it's the one with the most cutting surface. Makes sense, right?

I like the big cutting mechanicals. I've had no problems with them.


Image

Here's a Hammerhead, a Spitfire and a Slick Trick. The Slick Trick has just about as much cutting surface as the Hammerhead because of the four blade design. So, don't think that just because a broadhead has a 1.25" cut that it's a small cut.

The mechanicals will always have a slight advantage in accuracy in hunting conditions. The fixed blades will always have more durable blades. They both work just fine.
I'd rather wear out than rust out.
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axiluc
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Re: Broadheads?

Post by axiluc »

-StinkBait- wrote:Hey yall. I know a million different conversations have been held over every kind of broadhead on the market. I guess I just want real opinions from real people. I'm kinda being torn about which broadhead I should go with. Boltcutters or the X-acts. I would like to be as fast as possible but in the end, accuracy is king. I use 20" firebolts with my Axiom. I do want to keep it in the excal family. Thunder chicken season opens next month so any thoughts, feelings or concerns would help. Thank ya! Andy.
just got mine from cabelas and i to have an axiom i went with the boltcutters havent tried them yet but they are recommended by excal so will see. :D
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Re: Broadheads?

Post by nchunterkw »

sumner4991 wrote:Trial and error is always the fun way.

I can get just about any broadhead to fly "just like field points". Most of today's broadheads are built to tolerances that allow for good flight, mainly because of the high speeds of todays bows.

Most of the mechanicals work just like they are suppose to work.

I took the simple approach. Which broadhead will kill a deer faster when all other variables are the same? Well, it's the one with the most cutting surface. Makes sense, right?

I like the big cutting mechanicals. I've had no problems with them.


Image

Here's a Hammerhead, a Spitfire and a Slick Trick. The Slick Trick has just about as much cutting surface as the Hammerhead because of the four blade design. So, don't think that just because a broadhead has a 1.25" cut that it's a small cut.

The mechanicals will always have a slight advantage in accuracy in hunting conditions. The fixed blades will always have more durable blades. They both work just fine.

If mechanicals have an accuracy advantage it is because the arrow is not perfectly tuned. If that is the case, then firing that arrow at a deer with an "over the top" opening BH on it can result in poor penetration - even at close range. There is a tremendous amount of energy wasted on opening those blades. Lots of times guys will only try out mechanicals and think their arrows are flying perfectly, all the while not realizing that they could screw on a fixed blade and completely miss the target at 30 or 40 yards. Even with a mechanical on that arrow, the poor tuning could result in a wounded animal, or a non-pass through and a lost animal. Sumner...since you said you can get about anything to fly like FPs, you obviously have well tuned arrows and the issue I describe above does not apply.
I like fixed blades because:
1) they give me a higher probability of a pass through (no energy wasted on moving blades)
2) if you happen to hit an unseen twig, you have a good chance of just cutting it off and still hitting where you are aiming. With a mechanical (Rage for instance) it could cause a blade to open prematurely and then your arrow goes whose knows where.
3) no chance of a blade opening prematurely because of the initial speed of the bow.

Just my 2 cents.
Keith
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and walk in it and find rest for your souls. - Jer 6:16

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sumner4991
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Re: Broadheads?

Post by sumner4991 »

nchunterkw wrote:

I like fixed blades because:
1) they give me a higher probability of a pass through (no energy wasted on moving blades)
2) if you happen to hit an unseen twig, you have a good chance of just cutting it off and still hitting where you are aiming. With a mechanical (Rage for instance) it could cause a blade to open prematurely and then your arrow goes whose knows where.
3) no chance of a blade opening prematurely because of the initial speed of the bow.

Just my 2 cents.
Keith,

There are pros and cons to just about everything we do to our archery equipment. Broadheads are not an exception.

Having straight shafts are a must. I also make sure the broadhead/arrow combination passes a spin test. This includes making sure the tip of the broadhead isn't cut off center. Simply spin the arrow and make sure there is no wobble. If that's what you mean when you mention tuning the arrow, then, yes, they are tuned. If not, then please explain what tuning an arrow means.

1. Getting a pass through isn't my only objective. I hunt from the ground, so, I also want my arrow to stop within the same county in which I am hunting. Took me a little trial and error, but, I figured out exactly how much my arrow needed to weigh in order to get a complete pass through and the arrow stops about 10-20 yards on the other side of the deer. We are shooting very powerful bows . . .they have way more power than required to push a mechanical through a deer.

2. If you hit an unseen twig, then chances of hitting your intended POI are not real good. I'd be willing to guess that there is more of a likihood that the mechanical broadhead would miss the twig altogether because the blades are not sticking out there.

3. I use rubber elastics . . .the high grade elastics used in dental braces on all my mechanicals. They have not failed me.

Mechanicals have a slight advantage in the accuracy arena due to not having open blades that catch wind and plane off target. They also have a slight advantage in the speed arena due to the same reason, the blades create drag and slow the arrow down . . .this is a very slight advantage. The big advantage with mechanicals is those big blades . . .we kill via blood loss, those long blades have a much better chance of cutting something that bleeds a lot.

Fixed bladed broadheads have the toughness advantage. They are more durable. The blades can be resharpened on most fixed blades. There is also an advantage with the cut on contact aspect . . .but, that's a slight advantage too when compared to a good mechanical. Fixed blades are less likely to deflect at steep angles . . .but, there are mechanicals that claim the same thing.

Anyway . . .that's the way I see it. Whatever your preference is fine. Just keep shooting.
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Re: Broadheads?

Post by Boo »

sumner4991 wrote:Anyway . . .that's the way I see it. Whatever your preference is fine. Just keep shooting.
Well said Scott.
If your broadhead doesn't hit the twig the fletching will. The only exception is with feathers.
I used 1.5" G5 Strikers on 4 pigs so far and 3 of them were heart shots. They left gaping wounds and you could see a great quantity of blood spurt out on impact (maybe 1/2 cup). Strikers fly well!
I will agree 100% that if your equipment isn't really well tuned (bow, arrow and broadhead) mechanicals are the way to go. Add to that high FOC and or lots of vane offset.
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Re: Broadheads?

Post by nchunterkw »

[quote="sumner4991
Having straight shafts are a must. I also make sure the broadhead/arrow combination passes a spin test. This includes making sure the tip of the broadhead isn't cut off center. Simply spin the arrow and make sure there is no wobble. If that's what you mean when you mention tuning the arrow, then, yes, they are tuned. If not, then please explain what tuning an arrow means.

[/quote]

I tune like you do, I then put the arrow in a variable speed drill and essentially do another spin test at high speed - that is pretty revealing sometimes. I also put a rubber O ring on the thread end of the BH (like what used to come with a Thunderhead BH) so I can adjust the blades to be in line with the fletching (usually) or whereever that arrows wants them. Then it's out to the target to make sure the BH tipped arrow hits where the FP one does. If that doesn't happen, that arrow does not go hunting with me.

I have been conducting experiments shooting into ballistics gel with some carbon arrows I have - and have shown better penetration at 30 yards than at 20 yards even though the arrow has more energy at 20 yards. My thought was that crossbow arrows take longer to stabilize than traditional arrows because they are shorter - and because of this you can actually get worse penetration close in because the arrow tip does not hit "square" to the line of flight because it is still flexing. I showed this using two identical arrows and FPs, but I had QuickSpin vanes on one (better/quicker stabilization) and the factory 4.5" vanes on the other. At 20 yards the QS vanes gave me about 3" more penetration into the gel, but at 30 yards everything was equal because by that time the 4.5" vanes completely stabilized the arrow. To really nut this I need some high speed photography - but I'm not sure that will happen.

So that is where I am coming from. We all know that if you put a fixed blade on an arrow that is not quite right = disaster. And if you only shoot mechanicals you won't know if your arrow is really good and could end up with an "accurate" shot that does not penetrate. That exact scenario happened to me in OH a few years ago. Big bodied buck at 8 - 10 yards. I also shoot from the ground. Hit right behind the shoulder with a Rage 2 blade. Bolt went in about 8 inches (one lung). The arrow weighed about 417gr and was moving around 277fps. Even if I hit a rib dead on, at that distance with that energy it should have not been a problem. He stood there for about 15 minutes bleeding then ran away and I never could find him. Looked for 3 days. If I can help one guy avoid that situation - that will be a good thing.

Since that sad day, I have learned alot about arrow flight trying to figure out what happened. One other thing was that I called Rage to get their thoughts. They told me that even with that energy, with a crossbow to try the "40 KE" version because it takes "a ton" of energy to open those 2" blades. This was before the new "crossbow" versions of everything came out.

Great conversation! I learn something new every time I get on here. Sounds like you have done alot of experimentation too and have a great setup going. Good hunting!
Keith
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and walk in it and find rest for your souls. - Jer 6:16

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