Whats up with broadheads anyway?

[LookMomNoSights]

Answer me this.....or at least tell me what you think:  I love the Woodsman head.  I get them  sharrrrrp!  I use the 125 glue ons out of my 45# bow.  Now heres the thing.....the glue ons only come in 125. (I only shoot wood,  as of now)  If I want to go heavier for my heavier bows,  I have to go with the Woodsman Elites.  Now, no doubt those are great,  but twice as costly!  I get 6 woodsmans for the price of 3 Elites.   Why do broadhead makers do this type of thing?  Im not convinced its all for money.  Why have Woodsmans and Woodsman Elites?  Are the Elites that much better?  If so,  why not stop making the Woodsman and only make Elites and sell them by the six pack in a wide weight range?  Or better yet,  call them all Woodsmans and forget about the "Elite" part....making them all as good as the Elites,  in a vast weight range.  There are other heads too,  that I have to wonder....why in the heck do they make such a limited weight range (the "No Mercy" for example) ,  when you know they could make that model head heavier and offer the consumer more variety?  Anyone else find this type of thing wierd?  Am I wierd?  Im ranting.....sorry folks.        

[arrowslinger22]

Can't answer your question about why mfgs do what they do, but there are other ways to up the weight on the front end of your wood arrows.  I know some of the sponsors here sell Woody Weights.  They glue on like a field point and you glue your broadheads on to the taper.  Works slick and comes in a wide variety of weights.  Bought mine at a shoot in Iowa last year.

[arrowslinger22]

Took a quick look, you can get them from Kustom King and 3 Rivers.

[pdk25]

I'm just glad that I don't have to knap my own.

[chopx2]

I've used bird shot I've melted in small lead ladle like they sell for making bullets and poored it into the narrow part of the ferrule that the hollow if you don't taper all the way to a point. 1 #6 shot pellet weighs exactly 2grains.

[Tim Finley]

I think they are perfect just the way they are, I wouldnt want any other weight ....Tim

[LookMomNoSights]

You are 100% right about those 125's Tim....I love them.  They fly like darts for me.   And I can manage to put a serious edge on them.  I like that lead shot idea chopx2 ....interesting,  and seems it would work nicely.

[LookMomNoSights]

Ive seen the woody weights,  but never thought about using them.  Maybe I should check them out.

[Fletcher]

I won't offer reasons or excuses about what mgf's do, but if there was enuf demand to make it worthwhile, someone would be making them.  I agree that the Woodsmans are a great BH, but the new Elites/Terminators are much better.  It's up to you to decide if they are worth the extra $'s.  I dropped the coin on a pack of 190 gr Treminators and don't regret it one bit.

[Ben Maher]

I'm just glad that I don't have to knap my own.  

hehehe  

[Bjorn]

With all the high priced broadheads around these days it is no wonder they intro'd the 'elite'.
Gotta' pay the bills-right. I think they are both great 3 blade heads.

[Earthdog]

Maybe,,,anything machined will cost more.

Other than that,good cheap heads kill just as well as good expensive heads,,,so I buy the good cheap ones.

[LookMomNoSights]

All  good points people and thank you ....just wanted to see what some of your thoughts were.  Tim I sent you a PM.

[Bill Carlsen]

The manufacturing process for the Elites is very different from the original. That is the basic reason they cost more....and apparently there are plenty of bowhunters willing to pay the new price for the Elites.

[Earl E. Nov...mber]

From a manufacturing point of view, it's really hard to make a heavier head without making new tooling which is very expensive.  If they start heavy they can trim in a secondary operation to reduce weight.
That being said, have you looked at Snuffers, another very good 3 blade and with more weight options. Last time I looked price for basic glue-on's was very comparable.

[Sharpster]

The original woodsmans and the woodsman elites are made by two different companies.

Ron

[Ryan Rothhaar]

As someone who used to be involved in the manufacture of broadheads here is a little perspective for you......

Everybody wants something different.  You want a 150 gr (or whatever) Woodsman, the guy next to you would prefer a 175 gr etc etc etc.  Making different wt heads correctly is VERY expensive - and I GUARANTEE you aren't going to buy enough of your preferred wt or whatever to support the manufacturer putting tens of thousands of dollars into tooling just to make what you want.  Now if there are enough people to support the change, as a couple folks mentioned, the market will dictate the need and the manufacturer will be able to afford to make that change.

In the final analysis, if you really believe you NEED a 150 gr (or whatever) Woodsman you can either 1. customize it yourself - adding/taking wt off of a few heads is drop dead easy for a do-it-yourselfer and there are plenty of ways discussed on Tradgang for that or 2. You'll find a different head that fits your wants/needs.


Ryan

[Bobby Urban]

No need to go to the trouble of melting the lead bird shot to increase the weight in a broadhead.  Just drop a few(what ever you need) shot pellets into the tip of the head and glue it onto the arrow.  The glue will hold the BB's in place and you save the time, trouble and possible toxicity of melting lead.  

To answer your other question: "Capitalism"  If you can make a buck with those heads I can make 2 with mine.  Some succeed - some fail.  Mostly this is determined by marketing and not quality.  Just the law of the land.  

I like the Woodsman originals myself.

Bob Urban

[Biggie Hoffman]

When we first built the Woodsman, we spent $30,000 in tooling for the head. And that's not counting the ferrule tool which would have been another $100k. Packaging, artwork, advertising.

Then you have to price them for wholesalers which are 30% below retail, dealers which are 20% below retail and finally retail. We were making less than $3 per 6 pack with a $35,000 investment!

[LookMomNoSights]

Well thanks everyone,  I was thinking out loud when I started the thread....everyones got great view points and facts, as usual!  Never would have thought it would cost that much to set up the tooling and such.....really,  its facinating.  Everytime I talk with the people at Trad Gang,  I learn so much.  Thank you for that!  And thanks for the Woodsman and I say again....I love them!  Ive only ever really tried 3 different heads.  I dont have to look past the Woodsman .....the best for me!