I have watched and read this thread several times; trying to understand how so many folks can have opposite view points and results. One camp says standard width 1 1/8" heads are awful (and maybe shouldn't be in the woods) others says they have killed over a 100 with the same type of heads without issues. Like Maclean said everybody has an opinion about broadheads.
While I can't say I ever owned a grizzly head (not a fan of the tip design and single bevel), I think it needs to be kept in mind that Eskimo's, Stingers, Razorheads (1 1/16"), Grizzly's and tons of other heads are 1 1/8" wide. Some may be somewhat short/stubby and others.... long and narrow...but 1 1/8" is 1/1/8" as long as it sharpens and flies well.... and has enough steel for the game you intend to hunt. I wouldn't hunt a Rhino with a Razorhead. It might work but I don't want to try it.
I've kept a journal since my first deer and I just looked at it for confirmation and I have killed 137 deer, bear, caribou, antelope, elk, mule deer, pigs, and javelinas with those 1 1/8" width two blade style heads. I never even think about a blood trail as if I hit pretty close to the lethal zone; I have enough blood on the ground to take me to the animal. Like somebody else said, at least half the time I hear them fall and thrash down in the woods. I also recovered a few anatomical miracles along the way with those 'narrow' heads.
So maybe that's the real difference. I shoot broadheads that are as sharp as a surgeons scalpel and never worry about the blood trail. I'm a good enough tracker that it doesn't impede my ability to recover the animal if the hit is lethal. However, if I thought I needed a broadhead that would create a 3" wide trail of blood to make me happy....then I very well might have made a different selection way back there. I can see the logic in why others choose bigger broadheads. I'm not saying others should shoot what I do. I'm just saying those standard width broadheads work for me.
I did shoot my first recurve deer with a razor sharp 160 grain Snuffer out of a 72# Brackenbury and had that magical blood trail that everyone expects. I have to be honest and say it was pretty awesome to look up the trail and see blood for the next 50 yards. Yet, my broadhead barely achieve an off shoulder pass through. I thought at the time I was playing with fire with penetration and made a switch to a two blade Black Diamond....and never have looked back.
I think it's entirely possible that both opposite views are correct. It just depends on your desired expectations.
Topic: Grizzly Broadheads (Read 9399 times)
