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Folks, I'm in the final stages of broadhead selection for a Maine Black Bear hunt... My arrow selection is an aluminum footed Beman MFX Classic 340 cut to 29" with the standard 16grain insert. This will be launched out of a 54" Black Widow KB that is 53lbs @28", my draw is 27.5"...
Let me know what you all think regarding the choice between the VPA Terminator 250Grain 3-Blade AND the Abowyer Brown Bear 260Grain 2-Blade Single Bevel on Maine Black Bear...
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Either one will do the job if you do yours.
-------------------- Member Compton Traditional Bowhunters Bowhunting Council of Oklahoma Oklahoma Selfbow Society Oklahoma Longbowmen Posts: 1389 | From: Log cabin in Osage county Oklahoma | Registered: Nov 2010
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I would pick the one I can get the sharpest. I can get 2 blades (single or double bevel) scary sharp. I can barely get 3 blades sharp enough to shave hair so I shoot 2 blades. Blood trails are more dependent on what organs and blood vessels you hit and how sharp your broadhead is than the number of blades on it.
-------------------- James Kerr Posts: 3086 | From: LA | Registered: Feb 2011
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I'm going to use Beman MFX Classic 400's with a 100 grain brass insert and 200 grain VPA. 636 grain arrow out of a Morrison ILF longbow 52@27. That 340 sounds a little stiff to me. The 400's shoot very well and the weight is nice and heavy.
Posts: 611 | From: Wichita, Kansas | Registered: Jun 2007
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Thanks guys! No doubt, either broadhead put in the boiler room will end up with a dead bear... Was just trying to sort out the specific nature of bears and the benefit of the 3-Blade wound channel vs. potential penetration benefits with the 2-Blade Single bevel should I encounter heavier bone... I've heard about issues with the long hair / fur impeding blood trails, and I've also heard about shoulder bones being extremely difficult to penetrate... Trying to make the best composite choice I can.
BowMike - I'm not sure how long of arrows you're shooting, but your set-up sounds weak to me :-) I've bareshaft tuned and I also use the STU Dynamic Spine Calculator with real good success across several different arrow types & configurations. I do know that things are a little trickier with the Hidden Inserts and their length. For example the 100 Grain Inserts are quite a bit longer which produces a higher dynamic spine, and of course the 100 grain weight produces a weakening effect but not to the degree that it would if the the standard 16 grain insert & 100 grain insert were the same length... My 260 Grains is further toward the tip and I have more length of flexible shaft with this set-up. Plus I have about a 15 grain aluminum footing on the tip which slightly weakens the dynamic spine. I do have a MFX Classic 400 solution right now as well that is solid. MFX Classic 400 Cut to 29" w/50Grain Insert, small aluminum footing, & 175 Grain VPA Terminators or Simmons Tiger Sharks...
Thanks again guys, keep the advice coming I'm all ears as this will be my first bear hunt! Plenty of Whitetail & Turkey experience but no bears....
Posts: 159 | From: Iowa | Registered: Jun 2010
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I helped run a black bear bow camp each season for over 14 years and have tracked too many bears through the darkness to count. My experiences revealed the following; black bears aren't that difficult to totally penetrate using mid-weight equipment and cut on impact broadheads. Broadside to quartering shots through their ribs do not present any problems and their hide is surprisingly thin. That being said entrance and exit wounds can sometimes clog up due to excess fat layers. While a well hit bear (double lung) won't go far at all, often not as distant as a similar hit whitetail,I still like the added insurance of blood on the ground produced by a low exit wound and channel shaped like a hole rather than a slit. Considering your equipment and the animal hunted I would go with the 3 blade VPA.
-------------------- Gary Logsdon Posts: 1581 | From: Kentucky | Registered: Aug 2006
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In my lifetime I have probably had 1,000 dead bears go through my hands in some way or other... and of course, that's not counting those I never found.
3 blade... period.
-------------------- May your next adventure lighten your heart, test your spirit, and nourish your soul. Posts: 594 | From: Waskaganish, Quebec, Canada | Registered: Jul 2007
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quote:Originally posted by Ken Taylor: In my lifetime I have probably had 1,000 dead bears go through my hands in some way or other... and of course, that's not counting those I never found.
3 blade... period.
Id say that about sums it up
Now 1 1/4" or 1 1/8" Posts: 419 | From: Eastern Iowa | Registered: Jan 2009
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Folks, Thanks for all the advice! I will be leading with VPA 250 grain 1-1/4" Diameter Cut 3-Bladers backed up with Abowyer 260 Grain 2-Blade Single Bevels...... Hope to have pics in a couple of weeks! :-)
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Both going to work but, as for my Maine trip (Squa Pan, week 2 with my son) I'll be shooting my tried and true ABS Ashby 315gr left bevel....in the boiler room, they'll all work !
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JMSmithy, I'm in week #1, hope to have an autopsy report you can see when you arrive! Posts: 159 | From: Iowa | Registered: Jun 2010
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