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Fixed Broadheads

boonerz

boonerz

Member
Hey Guys, I realize the amount of opinions and focus on broadheads today. Lots to think about no doubt. I think there are a lot of knowledgeable people on this forum so wanted to hear some thoughts on something I've been pondering lately around fixed blades.

I've bowhunted for about 17 years of my life now, basically since I could pull a bow back and ethically kill a deer. I started out using Thunderheads which never let me down. Great heads. I got into the Rage hype back in 2007 and for a few years they never let me down until 2010 when I hit a buck at 12 yards right in the boiler room. Hardly any blood and couldn't find him. Had me baffled for months...still does. My guess is it never opened. So I decided to give slick tricks a try in 2011 which I do like and have been successful with. Obviously all kills through the years were not fast and perfect as we all hope they will be but have only lost one deer while using a rage.

Anyway, I shot a Halloween buck with my slick trick this year so I do as I always do, analyze things to death. I missed a double lung shot by less than a half inch (very steep angle) but got me thinking if I used a bigger blade if that would decrease my chances of that not happening again. So I started going through broadheads again. While doing so, I started thinking about the ol' Thunderheads I used to use and copmared that to my slick trick. It is very noticeable the size difference in length of the blades but the cutting diameter is only 1/16th different. So this leaves me to question what are your thoughts or opinions with shooting fixed blades with longer blades vs shorter compact blades? Is there a difference? My thought would be that there wouldn't be a huge difference since cutting diameter is the same but I do remember some of the holes the thunderheads left and they seemed to be better than the slick tricks from that perspective. Anyway, wondered what advice people had on this. I couldn't find much from the Google search.

Thanks
 
Fixed blade:​
Pros: Guaranteed to work. (Not dependent on a mechanical device to function properly)​
Far less likely to deflect on a rib on a quartering shot​
Much better chance of penetrating a shoulder on a misplaced shot​
Replaceable blades​
Less expensive​
​
Cons: smaller cutting diameter​
At times can be harder to pattern and match field points (another subject all together)​
​
Mechanical:​
Pros: Larger cutting diameter (ie if a deer was gut shot I would much rather it be a 2" hole)​
Flies like a field point​
Cons: susceptible to deflect on quartering shots​
Mechanism has to work (had an experience similar to yours)​
$$$​
One time use​
Hit a deer in shoulder and you have no chance.​
​
​
My personal choice is a 100 grain Muzzy when everything is weighed.​
 
This is my first year with a mechanical (killzone) and the doe I shot didn't go far at all- left a gaping hole in her- before this year I ONLY used muzzy 100 gr fixed broad heads and I loved them. To be honest I am not sure why I went away this year- I think the lure of having a much larger cutting diameter. IMO you cant go wrong shooting a fixed broadhead- pros outweigh the cons and we will see if I go back after this year.
 
My personal choice is a 1 3/4" cut or larger mechanical because I am not perfect. Back when mechanicals started catching on the group of hunters I hunted with recovery rates skyrocketed as we started using them. As with any broadheads and especially fixed blades make sure they fly true for you and tune if not.
 
I agree with all your thoughts. Great points for sure. Without doubt, shot placement is the most important. My original question maybe better stated, if you have a marginal shot and using a FIXED blade broadhead, do you think it matters having a longer blade? Does it cause more damage? For example, look at a thunderhead and slick trick side by side the thunderhead blades are more than double the length of the slick trick yet they have almost the same cutting diameter. Do you think there is any difference in a situation like that?
 
Ive posted this before, 2010 i wounded the only deer of my career. 72 lb bow shooting a 560ish grain arrow tipped with a 125 grain magnus stinger buzzcut. Nearly zero penetration and the deer was just fine and lived a few more years.
I had killed alot of deer with the stingers and had full confidence in them.
Id shot some deer with expandable and never had a problem either...
Last yr and this year im shooting rage hypodermics on a 445 grain arrow and im loving it.
My theory in this is that its going to take a shotgun slug to penetrate the shoulder knuckle and no broadhead is going to get through it and give you a complete passthrough.
The shoulder is small, small chance of hitting it. But the rest of the deer is soft and if i goof up a shot and it ends up high or back my theory is that a much larger cut will help out alot more.
I just avoid the shoulder completely amd if i do make a bad hit i know i have 2"+ that may hit something vital compared to a small fixed blade.
Either way a deer shot through both lungs will die in short order no matter what's on the end of your arrow.
Prepare for the worst and hope for the best
 
One of the best ways I've ever heard any one sum up thoughts on a broadhead

Rich77 said:
Ive posted this before, 2010 i wounded the only deer of my career. 72 lb bow shooting a 560ish grain arrow tipped with a 125 grain magnus stinger buzzcut. Nearly zero penetration and the deer was just fine and lived a few more years.
I had killed alot of deer with the stingers and had full confidence in them.
Id shot some deer with expandable and never had a problem either...
Last yr and this year im shooting rage hypodermics on a 445 grain arrow and im loving it.
My theory in this is that its going to take a shotgun slug to penetrate the shoulder knuckle and no broadhead is going to get through it and give you a complete passthrough.
The shoulder is small, small chance of hitting it. But the rest of the deer is soft and if i goof up a shot and it ends up high or back my theory is that a much larger cut will help out alot more.
I just avoid the shoulder completely amd if i do make a bad hit i know i have 2"+ that may hit something vital compared to a small fixed blade.
Either way a deer shot through both lungs will die in short order no matter what's on the end of your arrow.
Prepare for the worst and hope for the best
Click to expand...
 
boonerz said:
I agree with all your thoughts. Great points for sure. Without doubt, shot placement is the most important. My original question maybe better stated, if you have a marginal shot and using a FIXED blade broadhead, do you think it matters having a longer blade? Does it cause more damage? For example, look at a thunderhead and slick trick side by side the thunderhead blades are more than double the length of the slick trick yet they have almost the same cutting diameter. Do you think there is any difference in a situation like that?
Click to expand...

I don't have any first hand knowledge to answer that question, but I'll take a shot at what makes sense in my mind. The amount of cutting that the longer blade does should be minimal if any. The diameter is what is going to cut more material, not the length. The main benefit of the longer blade that I could see is penetration. Although they are both cut on contact and both have the same diameter, the longer blade is less blunt. Imagine sticking a very well sharpened pencil (long tip) into an apple vs. a sharp, but shorter tip pencil into the same apple. Same diameter, but I guarantee that longer tip will go in easier. With all that being said, I would imagine the benefit of the better penetration is so minimal you could barely tell a difference.
 
I have used rage 2 blades for the last 7 or 8 years, and smashed some deer with them. Never had one deflect, or not open(not saying its not possible, so I will knock on wood).
I like that they fly like a field point, get deep penetration(pass throughs), and the gaping hole they leave is sick!
 
I've always had good luck with fixed blade Montecs. Well placed shots kill deer and poor ones don't. I'm guilty of both but I never blamed the broad head, my theory on mechanicals is that anything with moving parts is prone to failure at some point and with a fixed blade that's one less thing to worry about. I practice with and sight my bow in with the Montecs practice point and don't have any problems with accuracy.
 
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Up until this year I had my best luck with slick trick heads. I switched to a traditional bow and now shoot woodsman fixed heads. Honestly never shot rage but also good luck with spitfire mechanicals. Seems like a lot of bad shots are justified by malfunctioning heads.
 
Been using Rage since they came up. But decided to go to Montecs and honestly can't see myself going back. These things are razor sharp and tough. Shattered a Doe's shoulder earlier this season.
 
Too many people seem to be shooting lighter arrows. I went back to Full Metal jackets with Steel force or Magnus broad heads and it broke through both shoulder on a buck last year. I give up a little speed but thats ok inside of my 25 yard comfort zone. I like them nice and tight. Longer that 25 or 30 yards and my full metal jackets fall off quickly. Good luck to all still hunting.
 
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