Stirring the pot...Broadhead opinion

[ChrisK]

I have used several different broadheads over the years. All have been used with a compound and not a crossbow. This will be my first year that I will be using a crossbow only. I have taken a crossbow out but never shot a deer with one.
I plan to use Grim Reapers and Slick Tricks. I think I will be using dental bands on my Grim Reapers because I fear early opening after the shot. I had a thread about this before but it didn’t get much response. I would love to hear more experience with these heads from people who have real experience.
Again I am a new crossbow user.

[tomcat]

Rocket Steelheads....guessing 35-50 head of Ohio Whitetails taken and a handful of Turkeys. All were Pass-Thru's with exception of one.That particular harvest was a 63yd shot from a 45# wheeled compound and the arrow was broken off at the vanes when the deer fell over 5 yds after being hit.
Farthest running deer made it about 150 yds on an angled shot as deer turned where only one lung was hit. I took the shot at 45 yards while he and a doe he was following were stopped. Upon the shot the doe was startled and he turned to follow her. He drowned on his own blood after laying down.

All others over last 20+ years have been dead usually between 0 and 50 yards with a couple having enough air to get to almost make it to 100 yds.
Nature of lung shots...they run proportional to the amount of air they have before they are deflated and unable to inflate....

Of course I'shot several deer behind shoulder when in close with heart shots and had them drop where they stood, but thats maybe 25% of them. Most of my shots are always double lung and I have consistent results. I've had a couple shots hit shoulder blades/bones and all have either deflected or smashed through and still passed through.

Other than the Broadheads I've lost, I still have and use them all with 1 particular head I know which has been through (now up to)9 deer and 2 Turkeys.
I never used to keep track of this until the one became known as my "lucky one" and I reserve it's use for my "lucky" bow which is my Vortex I bought in 2005.

Have used Spitfires and Swhackers quite a bit as well... All Deer were dead within Feet of where hit except lung hits and of course they ran a bit some made it to 50 yds. Both of these Broadheads work great but they are disposable after striking a deer. No sense in replacing blades because ferrule will not be true after its use in all but pure lucky cases. You can get a brand new broadhead for slightly more than price of replacement blades so again why bother. Nature of the beast with Aluminum Ferrules. Steel Ferrules hold up better, but replacement blades are about $12-15 a pack so unless you are going through a lot of Broadheads the difference in cost isnt all that significant.

Just shoot what you like. I like all three of these proven heads, but I might buy a pack of the Ram Cats to try this fall...for curiousity.

Rages are not for me. Ive personally witnessed the blades break on way in through ribs on a couple deer and IMHO I believe the reason was the blades were over-tempered. I've proven this to my friends by taking pliers and snapping them off when attempting to bend a blade. Swhackers and Spitfires will bend before they break..and thats what you want....
Maybe Rage has improved their blade mfg process IDK...But thats how things were about 5 years ago when we played with them enough to conclude they weren't for us despite all the "Rage".. I guess if I was intending upon gut shooting deer....I'd reach for the Rages, but f there is any bones to be encountered I'll pass on them...LOL

[jody5252]

I am "old school" Nothing but fixed blades for this guy. Nothing against mechanicals. I am not going to whine and moan about the pros and cons of them. They are just not for me! I need to know that my heads are shaving sharp, and reliable. No matter what! Bear Razors - 145gr. and 125gr The 145 gr. you can still find, but I preferred the 125gr. Good luck on finding any of these. I have 2 left. Collectors item, if you will. - Magnus stingers. good head. stays fairly sharp. Not as tough as the Bear heads - Now I exclusively use Dirt Nap heads. 125gr. Tough, sharp, and easily re-sharpened. Removable collar, so you can have a 100gr., if you want. Same with the 145gr. Lifetime "no questions asked" guarantee!

[Franklin]

I think 90% of broadheads will do their job. I've used 125 grain swhackers on about a dozen whitetails, all but one fell within sight and I heard the other one crash. I believe in shooting every arrow, broadhead combo before I put it in my quiver. I tape the swhacker with electric tape to test them, can get the blades to a shaving edge with a lansky sharpener and they normally are on sale in the off season.
That said if I had exodus, slick tricks, magnus, or some of the other expandable broadhead in my quiver they would kill deer.
Elk, I would use a fixed head, because I do believe they are stronger.

[IronNoggin]

125 grain NAP Spitfires.
All I use.
Fly like my field points to all ranges.
Huge wounds both sides lead to great, and short blood trails.

I see no reason to switch.

Cheers,
Nog

[BrotherRon]

Nap Killzone 100 grain, Nap Spitfire 125 grain, and Ramcat 125 grain for me.
They all fly like field points and leave a short but awesome blood trail.

[DuckHunt]

I shoot mostly expandables for the large cut and accuracy, but have harvested a couple with the dinky 1" or 1-1/8" fixed heads. If used correctly, I've found just about every head will do the job. The trick is to use them right (sharp, new bands/retainers, square to the shaft, etc). I personally prefer the 2" cut of Spitfire Maxx or XXX and love the Rocket Hammerhead when I can get my hands on them. The 1.5" Rocket Sidewinder always has a place in my quiver as well because they work better on high angles and are on the lower end of the cost spectrum for those of us who typically empty a quiver or two per season.

DuckHunt

[xcaliber]

I am "old school" Nothing but fixed blades for this guy. Nothing against mechanicals. I am not going to whine and moan about the pros and cons of them. They are just not for me! I need to know that my heads are shaving sharp, and reliable. No matter what! Bear Razors - 145gr. and 125gr The 145 gr. you can still find, but I preferred the 125gr. Good luck on finding any of these. I have 2 left. Collectors item, if you will. - Magnus stingers. good head. stays fairly sharp. Not as tough as the Bear heads - Now I exclusively use Dirt Nap heads. 125gr. Tough, sharp, and easily re-sharpened. Removable collar, so you can have a 100gr., if you want. Same with the 145gr. Lifetime "no questions asked" guarantee!

I keep coming back to basics & wonder why I just don't stick with the fixed heads, they WORK! These days there are many choices, and as some have said, when you like one, and it delivers the result you want, why switch? I'm committing to Muzzy Trokar Fixed 125 grain heads until they fail me.

[Phillyarcher]

My broadhead of choice is NAP Spitfire Max 125 grain. Shot a lot of Deer over the last few years and recovered all of them. They fly real good and leave great blood trails. The most important thing is shot placement and about picking a broadhead that you feel confident with the broadhead either mechanic or fixed. Good luck with your decision.

[PublicLandHunter1]

I used Afflictor broadheads last year- 150grain swine. This year I am buying the 125 grain K2 hybrid 1 3/4 cut. They are mechanical but opened four for four last year. They opened up and left a good blood trail each shot but the blood trail did not start until 20 or so yards after the shot on each one. They did not withstand impacting rocks after passing through the deer so they are a one time use only broadhead.

[vixenmaster]

I must have 9 or 10 diff B'heads i have killed tick toters wid. Some seem to be more accurate than others, but they all seem to kill

[884savage]

I have used Rage since 2009. In that time period I've harvested 33 deer and lost only 1. The one I lost surprised me. I thought I had made a double lung hit. Blood was fantastic for 200 yards, and then immediately nothing. I don't know if I hit high and caught 1 lung or just couldn't find her or what. I can only recall 2 of those others making it out of sight. I still look around every year, but I've always done really well with Rage. The crossbow extremes are even better.

[scope422]

If I had to pick the one broadhead I've shot the most deer with, by far it would be Thunderheads, 85 and 100gr. This was mostly with a compound bow. Jeez, I'm so old I've used Bear razorheads, old orange Wasps, and even Satellites with the paper thin blades, lol. Been mixing it up with the crossbow. I've used Rage, Spitfires and Rocket expandables but have mixed feelings about them. Had a Rage stop on a shoulder blade once where a fixed blade would have punched through but when you hit them right, Rage makes a huge hole. Had Rockets not open on me twice and also had one deflect on an angled shot. Stopped using those long ago. Been sticking to fixed blade heads last few years with the crossbow, some Muzzy but Montec G5 style mostly.