Swacker problem

[Robfromga]

Testing out some different Broadheads. I've been a ramcat guy for a few years but the grass is always greener...

Any way micro 350 shooting 320fps. Zombie killers. 125gn bh.
Got the practice tip dialed to 40 yds, longest space I have to shoot. 1" or so groups, nothing out of the ordinary. So I want to test the actual Broadhead. These are the 125gn 2.25 cuts, white shrink bands. Shooting from a bench at 20yds, the first shot goes WAY right, missing the target by 3'. Bh is destroyed, arrow is still fine. Screw the practice head onto the same arrow, retest, perfect shot. So I grab another actual BH. Remember, this is all from a rest on a bench, it dives into the dirt before the target and bounce skips into wall again, destroyed. Arrow is still fine. Screw the practice point in, perfect at 20yds. Move to 40yds with the practice tip, again all good.

So what's making the bh shoot all screwy? Spin tested the heads they were all fine. Arrows are known good. Only thing I can think of is the white bands are popping mid flight. Opinions?

[hankenhunter]

Put a piece of paper between you and the target. If the blades are opening it will show on the paper. Or you could try double banding and see what happens. You might have some weak bands.
Hank

[robertyb]

The heads are opening up in flight. The bands you have must be bad. Get some dental bands or cut some bands out of a piece of shrink wrap as that is what the original bands are made of.

[Franklin]

Don't know anything about the practice head, I just use electric tape on broadhead. I use one band and a dental rubber band for hunting. I agree I think they are opening in flight.

[bigbowman]

The Shwacker 125 gn should have yellow bands not white. All of my 125s have yellow shrink bands. Like suggested, double up the bands and check again. Good luck!

This is what I've always used on mine.

http://www.bowhuntingoutlet.com/swhacker-125gr-shrink-bands-200206.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIj7mBwtT23AIVh7jACh3_pAI1EAQYAiABEgLyUfD_BwE

[DuckHunt]

Yep, that's a classic indication of one or more blades opening in flight. I had that happen on a banded Rocket Hammerhead. Through my scope I watched the arrow dive into the dirt at 20 yards right at the feet of a small buck. At least it was a small buck and I didn't wound it. I checked my other broadheads which were a few years old and noticed the bands were dry rotted. You couldn't tell really unless you tried to stretch them. As soon as you tried to stretch them you'd see the cracks appear and they broke easily. Now I use dental bands on all my mechanical heads and I replace the bands with fresh ones every season. In some cases, I even double band them.

Good luck! Let us know if you find success confirming and resolving the issue.

DuckHunt

[gerald strine]

I think I would stick with the Ram Cats you know they will not give you trouble.

[Normous]

Try some fresh out of the package bands, preferably yellow as mentioned above and retest.

Old bands will only lead to frustration if not inspected carefully using magnification. A stretch test is also recommend.

[bigbowman]

I put a new band on and use a Bic lighter to take the stretch out of the bands.

[tomcat]

I put a new band on and use a Bic lighter to take the stretch out of the bands.

[nchunterkw]

I think I would stick with the Ram Cats you know they will not give you trouble.

What you are seeing is why I don't shoot mechanicals. What was the accuracy of your Ramcats? Based on your tests so far, what will your confidence level be in the Swhacker when an actual deer shows up and you are not on a bench with a rest? Will you be tempted to peek over the scope to see if you hit the deer or where the arrow went, or worse will you aim behind the shoulder and hit it in the a$$?

[newbie]

I have never had a swhacker open before it should. Have been shooting them exclusively for 6 yrs now.
make sure you arent cutting the bands slightly when installing them... some of the edges you slide it over are sharp.
i also heat my bands after the install to keep them snug and check to make sure there fully intact.
Great head IMHO.

[papa bear1]

The Shwacker 125 gn should have yellow bands not white. All of my 125s have yellow shrink bands. Like suggested, double up the bands and check again. Good luck!

This is what I've always used on mine.

http://www.bowhuntingoutlet.com/swhacker-125gr-shrink-bands-200206.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIj7mBwtT23AIVh7jACh3_pAI1EAQYAiABEgLyUfD_BwE

My Swacker bands are white also ????????????

Dave

[ch312]

What you are seeing is why I don't shoot mechanicals. What was the accuracy of your Ramcats? Based on your tests so far, what will your confidence level be in the Swhacker when an actual deer shows up and you are not on a bench with a rest? Will you be tempted to peek over the scope to see if you hit the deer or where the arrow went, or worse will you aim behind the shoulder and hit it in the a$$?

I went through this phase where I thought mechanical heads were a better choice. Then I started looking into their failures causing wounded and lost animals and realized there's no point in screwing around with mechanical heads that work most of the time when I can use fixed heads that work every time.

Fixed head = recurve crossbow = less moving parts and more reliable
Mechanical head = compound crossbow = more moving parts and much greater risk of failure

It seems sort of odd that anyone here would choose a mechanical as most have chosen recurve bows for their simplicity and reliability.

[tomcat]

The 125 grain are white...not yellow as previously mentioned.

https://www.swhacker.com/collections/accessories