I just ordered a dozen of the 250 grain 2 blade heads and a half dozen of the 250 grain 3 blade heads. I will order the 300 grain 2 blade heads when they are available. All the broadheads look fantastic.
I have shot most of the expensive, heavy broadheads designed for really big game, and these look like some of the best. I am not a huge fan of vented broadheads, but the Silver Flames in the past have been of excellent quality, although expensive. The ABS Ashbys are excellent, and so far have been my favorites for the monster animals out there, even though they are also expensive. Based on what I have seen with the VPA 3 blade broadheads, including the 300 grain heads that Andy has been killing buffalo with in Oz, the design, metallurgy and craftsmanship of the VPA heads seems to be of the highest quality, which is why I am so excited about the new 2 blade heads. I prefer 2 blades to 3 blades for the biggest game, despite Andy's great success with the 300 grain Terminators. I have shot the 300 Xtreem 3 blade heads for some time now and think they are generally of equivalent quality to the 300 grain Terminators, but the Terminators cost less and are readily available. I can say that some of the two blade broadheads I have used that I thought would be hell-for-stout have failed at very inopportune times on heavy game, so I am hoping that the new VPA models will not have that problem. I doubt they will from what I see of their design and build, along with the experiences associated with the 3 blade VPAs.
Gary, what I have seen that seems to be the most common failure mode of the two blade heads is hitting a hard object (i.e., bone) at a 30-45 degree angle and having the forward part of the broadhead bend or break. With some shafts such an impact can even break the arrow. Would you be amenable to conducting that kind of angled strike test shooting at some unyielding material to see how the broadhead survives? It would be best if the broadhead would strike the target with the blades in a vertical position to put the maximum load on the head in its weakest orientation. I would be glad to conduct those tests, but I hate to tear up a head just to see how well it fares. Maybe the guys at VPA have already done that kind of testing, which in my opinion ought to be a requirement before marketing a broadhead of this type. I know they are expensive to manufacture, but doing destructive testing on a few of them to see whether they will hold up to their intended use is something that the manufacturer should do as opposed to having the hunter do it in the field where all sorts of bad things can result from a failure. I have had those failures before, and fortunately have not had any terrible outcomes, such as the loss of human life, but I have lost game when a broadhead failed, which could easily have been avoided by prior testing. I don't expect a broadhead to withstand every possible impact. I do expect it to withstand the vast majority of impacts that the manufacturer could reasonably expect it to be subjected to when hunting the animals that the broadhead is designed to kill. If there are potential problems, I sure want to know ahead of time so I can choose a different broadhead. I can say that past experiences with failure in some broadheads is what has caused me to purchase the 2 blade VPAs with the expectation that it will live up to the reputation and experiences of the 3 blade VPA Terminators.
Allan
Topic: New VPA 2 Blades on the Way! (Read 943 times)
