Single Bevel Options?

[Hunter74]

Alright gang, I’m looking for new heads to try out and looking at the broad head hole thread has really got me exited!

So I am partial to single bevel heads and what I’ve tried so far are the Helix, hated sharpening them. The Eclipse Where Wolf, I don’t like the aluminum ferrule and none of them spun perfectly true. Finally the Abowyer 200 grain screw in, I like these however my buddy and I have had 3 heads that snapped off the front third upon hitting bone or tree. I’m not knocking any of these heads but don’t have 100% faith in any of them and want to try others.

Anyway the head hole thread had mentioned a few times a single bevel with a 1 1/4” cut, that would be right up my ally if anyone could tell me who makes one?
Finally any and all single bevel head suggestions are welcome and even a pitch or two for some 3 blades would be ok cus I’m thinking about experimenting with some of them too.

Thanks in advance for the help gang!

[JamesD]

The Grizzly Kodiak has a 1 3/16" cut diameter. These are the 200 and 235 grain (glue on ) broadheads.

[Maclean]

And the standard Grizzly has a 1 1/8" cut with 125, 155, & 185 grain options.

Keep em sharp!

[Michael Guran]

I’ve killed several animals with Cutthroat 160 and 190 gr heads. They are very easy to get shaving sharp on a paper wheel and seem to be nearly indestructible.  And most of the time the animals have fallen in sight, however when they don’t fall in sight, I have had very poor blood trails.  I don’t think it has anything to do with the brand, because I’ve had the same issue with Grizzly heads, but just the fact that they are narrow 2 blades makes sense that they won’t put as much blood on the ground.  I’ve switched mostly to 3 and 4 blades and have been happier with the blood trails so far…

[trad_bowhunter1965]

X3 on the Grizzly Broadheads

[Josh H]

Cutthroats are great options...screw in or glue on depending on what you want to do.

Iron Wills are pricey, but are high quality heads.

VPA has a great single bevel you might want to try.

While you are looking at VPA, they are famous for their 3 blade heads...nearly indestructible.

Thanks,
Josh

[KAZ]

Hunter 74,
Which Abowyer Model did you have breakage with?

They have lots of models to choose from and have always been very responsive to me. For example the I tried the Brown Bear Screw-In Carbon Steel years ago and though razor sharp, I experienced tip curl on ribs and typical chest cavity hits. Killed all the deer but was alarming. Talked to Abowyer and we discussed stainless but that could be brittle, nothing I wanted to deal with… They recommended 1-1/4” Boneheads and I was really impressed with the performance of those. Can’t imagine breaking one and they are razor sharp…

I’ve also used Iron Will Single Bevels and they perform really well but are pricey and not as wide as I’d prefer(they have a 3/4” Single Bevel Bleeder you can add) for Whitetail unless a person has a lower energy setup, then they would be a fantastic choice if budget wasn’t the issue. On that same theme, the Iron Will Wide Solids, with or without bleeders are really a good fit too but pricey. Believe they are 1-3/8” Main blade, 3/4” bleeder but they are double bevel. Wicked sharp and great edge retention. Super good blood tails.

VPA Heads are awesome and they have nearly all the variations and in fact are the machining, manufacturing behind lots of well known heads… I use their 3 Blade 250 Grain, 1-1/4” cut screw-ins as my base line.

Just some thoughts. The others have mentioned great options for lower cost as well. Just making note that many variables, metal type, hardness, ferrule length vs overall length, thickness, bevel angle all contribute to the end performance satisfaction based on goals…

[Hunter74]

KAZ, the Abowyer head I use is the 200 grain Bonehead screw in carbon steel. My buddy was using the 250 grain Brown Bear in carbon steel. I want to say I’m not at all knocking the Abowyer heads and the owner has always been great to talk to plus he hooks me up by grinding the heads I buy with a 30* bevel instead of the standard 25* because I feel it’s a better and stronger edge though a touch more fussy to sharpen. We also stick to the carbon steel because it should be stronger then stainless especially in an impact type of use.

Anyway the 200 grain heads do hold up better then the 250 but I still did have one pass through a deer and snap the tip off. Not blaming the head for this cus I have no clue what it may have encountered in the dirt.

My buddy with the 250 grain heads had two snap off the front third of the head. One was stuck in a deer that flopped a bit so it could of rolled and snapped the blade off and again I wouldn’t hold that against a head. The second head he broke he accidentally centered a young maple tree. The arrow was stuck in the tree and when we pulled it out the front third stayed in the tree. This break bothered us a bit, maple is soft and the arrow centered the tree, no glancing blow or twisting, torquing forces to snap the head off. Just hit wood and broke in two.

I should also add that I run big boy bows at 65-70 pounds with a 30” draw so if I put an arrow in the ground I don’t expect it to come out ok. However my buddy runs a more modest setup at 50 pounds and 28.5 draw and like I said he snapped 2 off clean.

[Hunter74]

I wanna add that I think I’ve shot 5 deer now with the Abowyer with only the one coming out unusable so I don’t think they’re bad but wanna continue my search for something stronger and be nice for a wider head too.

I appreciate the suggestions so far and I do have my eye on the VPA single bevel for sure. I just wish I could get they’re head in a 1 1/4”-1 1/2” cutting with. Or a Tuff head with a bigger cut would be cool too. As far as the Iron Will I’m not afraid of the price but I’m leery of any head that the ferrule is a separate piece most I have seen will only have 1 out of 3 spin true.

[Kyle85]

Try Razor Broadheads.  A2 steel and plenty wide: https://www.razorbroadheads.com/product-page/razor-200-grain-screw-in

[Gun]

I use glue on Cutthroat 190 gr broadheads. I had a real good, steady Blood trail on the first Moose I shot. This years Bull was coughing out blood after the first jump and died in sight as well as 3 other Whitetails so far.

I thought I knew how to sharpen until I watched a video from Ranch Fairy on YouTube.

[JohnV]

I have killed a lot of stuff using the Abowyer Wapiti head.  No problems with anything breaking or bending.

[KAZ]

Hunter74,
I use the Abowyer 145 Grain 1-1/4” Bonehead carbon steel glue on  then added an insert to get to 270 grain but if you look at that head vs the screw-in bonehead you’ll see a significant difference in the dimensions, thickness, ferrule length, and what I believe to be more structural integrity. May not be what you’re after, but just wanted to clarify the differences. Can’t speak from experience on the Razors but have heard some decent reports. Absolutely no negativity taken, there’s compromise somewhere on all these as you don’t get something for nothing…

I too would be happy to see a larger cutting diameter single bevel from VPA, and I’m certain it will come but may be in the higher weights which is fine by me.

[Ryan Rothhaar]

You mentioned three blades so I'll go down that path....of course I am partial to a big 3 blade head 

With the horsepower you are shooting I don't know why you'd mess around with narrow 2 blade heads on north American game animals unless you just like seeing your arrows skip down through the woods after going thru a critter.

I've shot the biggest animals in North America with big Snuffers out of equipment in the similar range as yours (60-65 lbs, 29 inch draw, arrows 650-700 grains) and penetration is not a concern to me. This includes a couple of moose, a muskox, and a handful of elk as far as bigger stuff goes.

If I was in your shoes I'd track down some Big Jim big 3 blades (the inch and a half ones) or some old 1.5 inch Snuffers. If you want something in current production the VPA 1 1/4 inch 3 blades are really good heads. You have the horsepower....push a BIG hole thru!

R

[J. Holden]

I've shot the Grizzly and the Cutthroat as well.  I've shot one deer and a black bear with Grizzly and one deer with a Cutthroat.  I've had less than exciting results with the Grizzly regarding blood trails.  But like you mentioned I saw both/heard both animals fall.  This year I made a shot on a doe that I instantly regretted but had a good ending.  It was almost straight down and entered her right side.  The arrow took out her right side lung and went through her heart.  I did not get an exit.

However, the blood trail was amazing.  Blood three, four feet sprayed up tree trunks.  I say all that to say it's what the broad head cuts, not the broad head, that gives us the blood trail.  Regardless, I'll be sticking with the cutthroats on my carbons and I'll use 3 blade VPA's on my woodies simply because I already have them.  Good luck on your search!

-Jeremy

[David McLendon]

I use Big Snuffers most of the time with the 160's on a 75-grain brass adaptor, but if I use a two-blade single bevel it's a Cutthroat 160 glue-on with a 75-grain brass adaptor and have had good results with those.

[Hunter74]

Thanks a ton for all the replies gang!

I’m definitely gonna pick up some big 3 blades to test out cus they have my curiosity! I just hope I can get them scary sharp this time around…I have some old Wensel Woodsman laying around somewhere but I never used them on deer cus I couldn’t get them as sharp as I wanted them. Hopefully my sharpening prowess has come along as much as I think it has 

I’m still a believer in single bevel though. Big thing my buddy and I have witnessed over and over the last several years is deer just don’t seem to react and run so we watch most of them fall over. Maybe just coincidence but I think there’s something to the single bevel slipping through the animal with such efficiency that they don’t realize they’re hit. It’s also nice being able to blow through shoulder if one gets in the way!

[Chuck Jones]

My last three bucks with a 225 grain Tuff Head on a heavy wood arrow, have gone down in seconds, in sight. As you said; they don’t react as panicky, and stop to try and understand what happened, then tip over.

Tuff Heads come sharp, and are easy to sharpen. They are made of knife grade 400 series stainless steel and hold an edge really well. The ferrule goes almost to the tip for strength. I’ve shot completely through large boar hogs with shields  with a 45# longbow.

[Ratatat]

I had good results with the 225 Vandieman heads. They are 1 1/4” wide.

[Ratatat]

Blood trail was easy to follow. No head damage.