The perfect buffalo broadhead??

[tradtusker]

Coming back to this thread Ill give you some info from the field

Last year I did quite a bit of testing on buffalo, both live and on the ground. Did some with clients and some on my own.
Also over the last few years guiding Buffalo Safari's I get to see a lot arrows hitting Buffalo First hand.

So here are a few things which may be of interest.

Firstly there are a lot of heads that work well, some no doubt better then others.

Ok the Water Buff ribs do not truly overlap, you can slip one through if you get very lucky, 90 of the time you will be hitting a rib though.

 

[tradtusker]

The Photo above is of the 3 ribs that cover the "sweet" Spot.

On the topic of broadheads We'v had a bunch of heads used over the last few years outside of what i have tested.
 
Some worked well, some did not, some failed as a result of a poor hit, some just got unlucky, and some directly as a result of the broadhead failing upon impact.

There are 2 main failure's i see in broadheads.
Both are from poor structural integrity be it due to the design or the material of the head or both.
 
Of the 2 failure's the worst is the head actually breaking, this usually happens within the front third of the head near the tip, usually right in front of where the ferrule taper ends and it just becomes the blade. Its is a hinge point, where the heads that are to brittle and hard to bend so just break.  

Im am in two minds as to actually Name the heads iv seen break and bend "consistently", I am only putting this information up to help other hunters and can think of nothing worse then someone booking a hunt of the lifetime and having the head they choose Fail them. So I think if you want to know Just PM me.

The Second failure which is quite common is the head bending this is also most common near the tip of the head. But iv seen the head bend through the ferrule and at the insert.

Either way if the head bends or breaks upon hitting a bone, its going seriously hider penetration and your in trouble.

The next most common failure is the head bending at the Insert or the insert breaking out of the shaft or splitting it.  And is the main reason i Foot "all my arrows" no mater what i hunt. Why risk that when there is a way to fix it.

There are quite a few specialist big game heads out now if i can call them that. But they are not all made the same, in fact there have been some serious issues with some. And just because a head may cost $30 or $40 each...does not mean it is the best!

[tradtusker]

There where a few heads that did well last year, Zwickey for a age old is worth a mention...seen a lot of buff go down to one.

That Tuff head is looking good, will see that in action this year.

Quite surprisingly this head last year Topped them "ALL", I knew it would be good but did not realize just how good.

And Yes it is a 3 Blade...

 
300gr VPA

Not only did it hands down beat all the others in testing and matched some of the highest dollar single bevel 2blades for Penetration, Hands down the best structural Integrity. Best anti deflection on angled impacts.
Its was also the only head i have seen go clean through a Buffalo and into the ground on the other Side.

[pdk25]

Anyone try the VPA penetrators yet, Andy?  I have some of those, too.  I don't know how many Buff you are gonna have to get me in front of to do all of the testing I want too, lol.

[tradtusker]

Yes Iv used the VPA Penetrators and know a couple other guys that have already killed Buffalo with them, they are a Top choice, Id say the Strongest 2 blade head on the market, and would be my first choice for a 2 blade.

Bring a couple extra of each and we'l put them through their passes.

[Ben Maher]

Those 3 blade 300gns look the bomb. I have two at home and they are beautifully constructed .

If I shot enough poundage [ plus 65# ] I wouldn't hesitate to shoot them at any critter In Oz ...

[187BOWHUNTER]

I got my Widowmaker 215g dangerous game bh's in the mail today, I have to say, these are without a doubt the sharpest bh's I have ever owned! Just looking at them I think there is NOTHING in the U.S. that these badboys cant take down! These things are SICK!!! I am blown away with the quality and cant wait to blast through some hogs with them. Some bh's you might look at and be a little sceptical about using them, not these, Im ready to hunt water buffalo! THANKS Trophy Bowhunts Australia !!!

[Don_G]

Perfect? Nothing's perfect. But I think these are very, very good.

             

             
   


The heads weigh 273 grains, the custom Stainless Steel insert weighs 111 grains. A typical 2.5" external footer will add 20-25 grains to that. The heads are 2.45" long and 1.125" wide. The max ferrule diameter is .375", just like the traditional Grizzly Grande, and the ABS Ashby broadheads.  The internal ferrule design means the ferrule will never bend or break.

I have pics of them going through 2.4" of bone -
 

[Andy Cooper]

Heyyyy, I've seen those heads before on a certain African hunting site. If you have too many, I'll be happy to take the excess off your hands!   :D  

Andy aka ACRecurve

[Don_G]

Sorry, Andy. Not many left and two ahead of you.

[Andy Cooper]

Any chance of another run, Don?

[BUFF]

that is a great looking head

[Don_G]

Thanks for the compliments.

I'm not planning another run. VPA has all the rights for production if there's ever enough demand.  I'd really be proud if they catch on, but I realize there's not many buff/elephant/rhino/hippo or giraffe hunters out there.

Contact Ray at VPArchery if interested.

[Andy Cooper]

Thanks, Don...will do. I'd be interested in 6 or 12 of them, unless they cost $100 each or something! I'll contact him.

[damascusdave]

I have been shooting the VPA Penetrators in both 175 and 200 grain sizes. I have a feeling that the 250 grain version would be all the broadhead anyone could ask for at a very reasonable price. The smaller ones just appear to be a bit steep on the cutting angle. Gonna shoot a couple of bears with them soon and I will let you know how they perform.

DDave

[tradtusker]

Ya the 250 and 300gr VPA 2 blades are hands down the Strongest and best quality 2 blade heads iv ever seen.

I have a few of the new VPA off-set Single bevel heads coming to test out on Buffalo this season. They finish up at 325gr. Ill have a full report on them at the end of the season.

Don...when is your hunt?

[Don_G]

Andy,

My hunt is a Cape Buff in Tanzania in early July.

Don

[tradtusker]

Lucky Bugger! all the best, some wild country out there. How many days you got out there?

If you get a chance please could you post a pic of the Insert you have for that head. un installed.

[Don_G]

Andy,

The buff hunt is 10 days, I'll be in country a little over two weeks. Hunting Mt. Loosimingur with Rainer Josch. Spot and stalk on dagga boys.        

     

Here's a pic of the adapter. You can make an adapter for any .204 ID shaft out of a threerivers brass 100 grain HIT insert, or any other HIT insert and a half-inch 8-32 setscrew or allthread. But they might not be as tough.

The shaft has to be 5/16 OD exactly, so any 20xx or anything footed with a 20xx will work.

[Andy Cooper]

Don, I emailed Ray. He says we'd probably need to have an order for ~100 pieces to do another run. He's going to give me a price in a couple of days. Is it ok if I use your BH pics to work on getting the order together?

Thanks,

Andy