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Fixed vs mechanical - one simple “new” question

Ishi said:
Most on here know I’m a fixed broadhead guy cause I like the piece of mind that it will never fail to open.
If I was to switch to a mechanical this would be the one :cool:

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What is that? Engineering minds never stop astonishing!! Sometimes the simplicity of something new & great is wild. Like “why didn’t anyone else think of that before?!?”
 
Any given day, you will most likely find fixed and mechanical in my quiver. I have no preference. The only time I've been let down was when I didn't put the arrow where it needed to go, nothing short of a explosive tip would have made a difference.

I had a Wasp Jakhammer break a blade off that wouldn't open because I didn't clean it well enough after a kill and one blade was "froze" shut. It was the second arrow I got into the buck, grabbed it out of the quiver in a hurry, still got 8-10 inches of penetration into the chest cavity. Between the two arrows, he went about 100 yards.
 
Sligh1 said:
I’m NOT a gear expert. Far from it!!! I do love high quality gear and always strive to have a set up I feel is lethal, top tier, high end, etc etc.
We’ve all heard the mechanical vs fixed debate FOREVER.
I want to ask one question I think is really simple though….

SCENARIO: I shoot a 1.5” cut 3 blade ramcat. It’s a fixed blade. It shoots as close to a field tip as I’ve ever seen. Flies amazing. Cuts are devasting…. Huge holes, massive blood trails and penetration is insane. Let’s use my example but we also could repeat it with a lot of wide cutting broadheads that also fly great & have big cuts- many examples. Don’t wanna get caught on just my head.

So here’s my QUESTION….. if u have a 1.5” cut 3 blade fixed that flies excellent & the same big cut area of a mechanical …. For this example, let’s compare to any mechanical that’s a 3 blade with a 1.5” cut…. Is there ANY advantage to a mechanical at all?? Or say a BH like the “wide iron will” vs the same wide cutting mechanical of equal cutting area. Basically any fixed vs any mechanical of same cut area.

We know it’s a power loss with mechanical & there’s chance of failure, deflection, etc. But- when comparing the 2: I can’t come up with any reason to use a mechanical based on that logic & question. IF THE FIXED FLIES EXCELLENT (which I know for some BH’s or guys that won’t tune, not the case).

There’s a real downside we all know exists with mechanicals - many are ok with it but trying to make this simple logic. I’m not saying i have this right or thinking of all angles here. Thoughts? Am I missing anything? This isn’t a normal debate on mech vs fixed …. Genuine ? where I feel like I came to an easy common sense conclusion BUT I still want to have an open mind. THOUGHTS?


***my side 2nd BH ?…. I’ll throw it out there…. Since you can’t kill a deer “too dead”…. Why don’t more folks shoot the exact same set ups they use on elk? Penetration, sharp cut, etc etc. I hear folks say “it’s ONLY a whitetail” & after 30 years now- they still astound me at how hard they are to kill & how many folks lose them due to penetration issues.
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Too many focus on broadhead diameter and the size of the hole/cut it makes but I feel misses bigger picture. To put an animal quickly and humanely a pass through shot, largely due from the angles associated with shooting from a tree stand, is necessary. The bottom hole, many times with broken ribs and a secondary organ damage, provides a blood trail even with liver and/or gut shots. Mechanicals, regardless of style, loose energy due to their designs with moving parts. Actually, broadheads with removable blades due the same but at a lesser degree. A fixed blade broadhead machined from a single piece of steel, properly tuned to the shooter and arrow, is far superior and causes bone breaking pass throughs shots. Since many real world hunting scenarios result in a less than stellar shot one variable you can remove from the equation is equipment! If your shooting fixed blades well don’t change a thing! Hope this helps, WSK.
 
Sligh1 said:
I’m NOT a gear expert. Far from it!!! I do love high quality gear and always strive to have a set up I feel is lethal, top tier, high end, etc etc.
We’ve all heard the mechanical vs fixed debate FOREVER.
I want to ask one question I think is really simple though….

SCENARIO: I shoot a 1.5” cut 3 blade ramcat. It’s a fixed blade. It shoots as close to a field tip as I’ve ever seen. Flies amazing. Cuts are devasting…. Huge holes, massive blood trails and penetration is insane. Let’s use my example but we also could repeat it with a lot of wide cutting broadheads that also fly great & have big cuts- many examples. Don’t wanna get caught on just my head.

So here’s my QUESTION….. if u have a 1.5” cut 3 blade fixed that flies excellent & the same big cut area of a mechanical …. For this example, let’s compare to any mechanical that’s a 3 blade with a 1.5” cut…. Is there ANY advantage to a mechanical at all?? Or say a BH like the “wide iron will” vs the same wide cutting mechanical of equal cutting area. Basically any fixed vs any mechanical of same cut area.

We know it’s a power loss with mechanical & there’s chance of failure, deflection, etc. But- when comparing the 2: I can’t come up with any reason to use a mechanical based on that logic & question. IF THE FIXED FLIES EXCELLENT (which I know for some BH’s or guys that won’t tune, not the case).

There’s a real downside we all know exists with mechanicals - many are ok with it but trying to make this simple logic. I’m not saying i have this right or thinking of all angles here. Thoughts? Am I missing anything? This isn’t a normal debate on mech vs fixed …. Genuine ? where I feel like I came to an easy common sense conclusion BUT I still want to have an open mind. THOUGHTS?


***my side 2nd BH ?…. I’ll throw it out there…. Since you can’t kill a deer “too dead”…. Why don’t more folks shoot the exact same set ups they use on elk? Penetration, sharp cut, etc etc. I hear folks say “it’s ONLY a whitetail” & after 30 years now- they still astound me at how hard they are to kill & how many folks lose them due to penetration issues.
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Sligh1 said:
I’m NOT a gear expert. Far from it!!! I do love high quality gear and always strive to have a set up I feel is lethal, top tier, high end, etc etc.
We’ve all heard the mechanical vs fixed debate FOREVER.
I want to ask one question I think is really simple though….

SCENARIO: I shoot a 1.5” cut 3 blade ramcat. It’s a fixed blade. It shoots as close to a field tip as I’ve ever seen. Flies amazing. Cuts are devasting…. Huge holes, massive blood trails and penetration is insane. Let’s use my example but we also could repeat it with a lot of wide cutting broadheads that also fly great & have big cuts- many examples. Don’t wanna get caught on just my head.

So here’s my QUESTION….. if u have a 1.5” cut 3 blade fixed that flies excellent & the same big cut area of a mechanical …. For this example, let’s compare to any mechanical that’s a 3 blade with a 1.5” cut…. Is there ANY advantage to a mechanical at all?? Or say a BH like the “wide iron will” vs the same wide cutting mechanical of equal cutting area. Basically any fixed vs any mechanical of same cut area.

We know it’s a power loss with mechanical & there’s chance of failure, deflection, etc. But- when comparing the 2: I can’t come up with any reason to use a mechanical based on that logic & question. IF THE FIXED FLIES EXCELLENT (which I know for some BH’s or guys that won’t tune, not the case).

There’s a real downside we all know exists with mechanicals - many are ok with it but trying to make this simple logic. I’m not saying i have this right or thinking of all angles here. Thoughts? Am I missing anything? This isn’t a normal debate on mech vs fixed …. Genuine ? where I feel like I came to an easy common sense conclusion BUT I still want to have an open mind. THOUGHTS?


***my side 2nd BH ?…. I’ll throw it out there…. Since you can’t kill a deer “too dead”…. Why don’t more folks shoot the exact same set ups they use on elk? Penetration, sharp cut, etc etc. I hear folks say “it’s ONLY a whitetail” & after 30 years now- they still astound me at how hard they are to kill & how many folks lose them due to penetration issues.
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I've been shooting plain old Muzzy heads for 25+ years. They've never let me down.
Replacement blades are cheap.
I WILL NOT allow ANY mech head in bear camp ever again!.
I want 2 holes!
Been there/seen that!.
And there is nothing anyone can say to sway that.
 
Successful bowhunting is all about making sure things work. Mechanical things can fail, period.
Why take the chance. Invest in high quality fixed heads that fly the same as field points.
German Kinetic, another example, of a top notch fixed head, that flys true.
 
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This is an interesting rabbit hole. But to answer the question people don't like to tinker. Most people take their bow out a week or so before season with that same string that came with the bow back in '95 shoot it 3 times and think they are good to go. Which is also why there is a high loss rate from from animals shot with a bow.

I have shot rage since the first year they came out. I have had zero issues with them. They have always flown great and made devastating holes and my track jobs have always been short. This year I switched to a single bevel Iron Will. My reasoning is I never want there to be a shot I cant take. Quartering to, away, frontal...I'm taking the shot.

You will hear a lot of arguments out there about "Its all about shot placement"....well no kidding!!! BUT you have to plan for the bad shots. Good shots with a field point will expire a whitetail in a timely manner but its the bad shots we need to worry about.

I have dove pretty hard into the arrow setups and FOC this year and from all the research I have done(which has been a lot) the most important thing when it comes to shooting is making sure your bow is in tune, end of story 100%. For reference I am shooting a 525 grain total arrow weight at 15% FOC. When I built these arrows I had a different outlook and to be honest if I could go back I would be trying to have a 475-480 grain total arrow with the same 15% FOC.

So tune your bow and pick whatever broadhead you want and it will all be ok.
 
IMO, after trying several different broadheads, I came to love the simplicity of the Montec G5 fixed 3 blade. I've had mechanicals fail and razor type blades break off of both fixed and mechanical broadheads. G5's are easy to sharpen and have very strong blades. They fly true. Shafts can sometimes be straightened if they're a little off after usage. I've never had one not fly true, out of the box. Worst case scenario is I embed one too deep into a tree and lose it, or damage one badly on a rock or something on the ground. I've love the full passthrough of a well placed shot. Plenty of blood to track, but they rarely go far. Most of the time, my arrow may be destroyed, but my broadhead can be reused. As long as they keep making this head, I'll keep using it. I have all the confidence in the world that it will never fail. As long as I've inspected and sharpened it well, I and the rest of my equipment are the weakest link in my ability to harvest an animal. Not my broadhead.

Ever tried walking miles through the timber and brush still hunting / spot and stalking with a mechanical broadhead on a knocked arrow? I can all but guarantee that mechanical head will not be in shooting condition when a golden shot opportunity presents itself to you, and you'll want to wrap your bow around a tree when you duff the shot due to the head not working right.
 
A lot of good points from everyone's experiences. I have shot fixed heads for 55 years, tried many from Bear, Thunderhead, Rother Snuffer, Steel Force and a few in between. The downside is the blood trails can be tuff to follow. I've lost a couple buck that were shoulder hit but if you hit the 10 ring they don't go far. Been shooting Steel Force Fat Heads for many years and no complaints. I thought I'd try Grim Reaper 2 blade mechanicals last year to see what the hype is about. They fly great and made for a short tracking job last year but I'm more comfortable with fixed blades. I might try the G5's since here's a lot of you who like them.
 
I’m not a fan on the Montecs.. they don’t come very sharp out of the box and they are hard to get sharp. They say the new carbon steel ones are better but not so much. I don’t think the blade angles help the broadhead itself out either.


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Obsessed said:
IMO, after trying several different broadheads, I came to love the simplicity of the Montec G5 fixed 3 blade. I've had mechanicals fail and razor type blades break off of both fixed and mechanical broadheads. G5's are easy to sharpen and have very strong blades. They fly true. Shafts can sometimes be straightened if they're a little off after usage. I've never had one not fly true, out of the box. Worst case scenario is I embed one too deep into a tree and lose it, or damage one badly on a rock or something on the ground. I've love the full passthrough of a well placed shot. Plenty of blood to track, but they rarely go far. Most of the time, my arrow may be destroyed, but my broadhead can be reused. As long as they keep making this head, I'll keep using it. I have all the confidence in the world that it will never fail. As long as I've inspected and sharpened it well, I and the rest of my equipment are the weakest link in my ability to harvest an animal. Not my broadhead.

Ever tried walking miles through the timber and brush still hunting / spot and stalking with a mechanical broadhead on a knocked arrow? I can all but guarantee that mechanical head will not be in shooting condition when a golden shot opportunity presents itself to you, and you'll want to wrap your bow around a tree when you duff the shot due to the head not working right.
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VPA’s one pice broadheads machined from a single piece of high grade steel are the bomb!
 
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