A few questions regarding replaceable blades

[madmaxthc]

Hey, TradGangers,

I was going through some random gear a friend passed me a few years ago, and I found some broadheads with replaceable blades. I am tempted to try them out, and have a few questions about it:

1) After shooting, is it worth resharpening them, provided they are not damaged?

2) After assembling them, how do you make sure they are properly mounted, and therefore fly straight? Do you shoot them into a target? Then they might need resharpening (see above)

3) Anything else I should be aware of?

Thank you for the kind attention   

[ESP]

I have used a muzzy 125 3 blade the last 3 years.  My observations are as follows:  for deer they work not sure I would use them on elk but several stick bow shooters have and liked them. I never rotated the blades to match my feathers. I shoot 4 5” feathers.  My bows have been between 51-55 lbs at my 31.5” draw.   I did file the trocar tips and they sharpened up nice.  For replacement blades they are so cheap that I just replaced the damaged blades.

I was given some VPA 1 1/4” broadheads and will probably use them out of my new bow.

[madmaxthc]

Thank you, ESP,  that is quite informative. Do you try them out after assembling them? Or there is no need to do that?

[ESP]

An example I would by 2 six packs of the 125. I would dedicate 3 for practice the rest I would keep for hunting. I would spin all my arrows to make sure everything was aligned.  About a month before hunting season all I would shoot is the practice broadheads.

[madmaxthc]

Thank you. So basically you spin them to make sure they are aligned. That is what I was looking for, that's great.

Best,
Max

[Huntschool]

Might help to see a picture of the BH you are talking about.

There was a time I was shooting Thunderheads (replaceable blades, Trocar Points ).  They shot well and I used them on compound and recurve.  They came with small plastic "tubes" of extra blades and a wrench to hold the head when unscrewing the head from the arrow shaft and installing blades.  I did as ESP said above and kept two heads to practice with and held the rest to hunt with.

The only problem I had with them is they seemed to load with hair on impact and the blades seemed pretty fragile as several broke on deer so I stopped using them.  The Trocar points were great and I really wish the blades would have held up.  I liked the design.

[madmaxthc]

Might help to see a picture of the BH you are talking about.

There was a time I was shooting Thunderheads (replaceable blades, Trocar Points ).  They shot well and I used them on compound and recurve.  They came with small plastic "tubes" of extra blades and a wrench to hold the head when unscrewing the head from the arrow shaft and installing blades.  I did as ESP said above and kept two heads to practice with and held the rest to hunt with.
The only problem I had with them is they seemed to load with hair on impact and the blades seemed pretty fragile as several broke on deer so I stopped using them.  The Trocar points were great and I really wish the blades would have held up.  I liked the design.

Thank you for your input, Huntschool. They seem to be some old Wasp cam/lok. The company seems to be still active, although I think that particular model has been discontinued.

I am helping a friend with his set up for hunting, I am almost tempted to let him try replaceable blades. Probably muzzy though, but I will do more research on the performance of these Wasps.

Best,
Max

[GCook]

I've killed a lot of deer with replaceable blade heads out of modern bows and shot some with traditional bows.  However the Thunderheads of yesteryear aren't here anymore.  I've ruined several on shoulders and even punching through ribs.  Bent ferrells and popping out blades became normal so I quit using them.  Muzzy heads never seemed to spin very true for me.  Always one or two in a pack that was useless. 
You can kill with them and resharpening the blades takes some creativity, I used small needle nosed vice grips to hold them, but is a real possibility if you have the right tools and skill.
However there are better choices out there.

[madmaxthc]

I've killed a lot of deer with replaceable blade heads out of modern bows and shot some with traditional bows.  However the Thunderheads of yesteryear aren't here anymore.  I've ruined several on shoulders and even punching through ribs.  Bent ferrells and popping out blades became normal so I quit using them.  Muzzy heads never seemed to spin very true for me.  Always one or two in a pack that was useless. 
You can kill with them and resharpening the blades takes some creativity, I used small needle nosed vice grips to hold them, but is a real possibility if you have the right tools and skill.
However there are better choices out there.

That's good to know, thank you. I'll look around some more. What do you mean by better options? Could you please point me to some decent replaceables brand?

[Huntschool]

Mr. Cook did an excellent job of heralding my comments and made an astute observation that the Thunderheads of the past are no longer available. 

I would add, at this point, that it may be a good idea for you to point your friend in the direction of some different broad heads.  My experience from the number of years I have been doing this is that a two edge BH is about as good as one can get.  Forget the replaceable blades and go with a good two edge BH.  There are a ton of them out there at various weights and price points.

Just some thoughts....

[madmaxthc]

OK, I will. I use two-edge BHs myself, it's just that he's new to this and I was trying not to put the sharpening (or re-sharpening) part on him for now. But I agree, a good two-edge broadhead is possibly as robust as it gets.

I appreciate the insight, thanks again.

Best,
Max

[Alexander Traditional]

I have a lansky and it's really easy to get a two blade double bevel sharp.

[ESP]

I would look at Magnus products.   There stinger/buzzcuts.

[GCook]

Well teaching him how to sharpen is just another chance to be his mentor.  Something this world can use more of.  Good on you for helping.

[madmaxthc]

All good points 

Well, hope we're going to have one more bowhunter soon 

[Wudstix]

My only experience is with the Satellite heads of yore.  They worked but were rarely reusable.  I migrated to original Snuffer heads.  Since have shot several two blade heads with good results.  Currently am using Grizzly Instinct and VPA terminator both in 190 grains.
 

[GCook]

My only experience is with the Satellite heads of yore.  They worked but were rarely reusable.  I migrated to original Snuffer heads.  Since have shot several two blade heads with good results.  Currently am using Grizzly Instinct and VPA terminator both in 100 grains.
 

I shot Satellite mag 125s for a few seasons.  I had decent luck with them but when I switched to Thunderheads I found them an improvement. 
Back then the bows were different but still slow.  That said my preference is a wide two blade head.

[madmaxthc]

My only experience is with the Satellite heads of yore.  They worked but were rarely reusable.  I migrated to original Snuffer heads.  Since have shot several two blade heads with good results.  Currently am using Grizzly Instinct and VPA terminator both in 100 grains.
 

Both 100 grains? I was looking at Grizzlys, have only found them in 200 grains and up. Are the 100gr an older model?

[madmaxthc]

That said my preference is a wide two blade head.

I like this 

[Wudstix]

Sorry, adjusted my typo should read “190 grains “ original run.  175 and 200 now.

Two blade are good but I prefer 3 blade heads.