Best penetrating broadheads

[goblism]

Just wondering what everyone thinks are some of the better penetrating broadheads, especially when you hit bone and such.  I am currently most interested in the grizzly and tusker broadheads because I would rather pay $20-30 for 6 than pay $90 for 3 of the ashby's or the silver flames.  So pretty much what are the best penetrating budget broadheads?

[30coupe]

What do you intend to hunt? The two you mentioned are both good. I have shot through whitetails with both snuffers and woodsman broadheads. None of them work well if you hit the wrong spot. If you do, the two you mentioned might get the job done...or not.

[IronCreekArcher]

If you are looking at a great single bevel take a hard look at the Abowyer Brown Bears.  They are $39.99 for three but I just put one through a doubled up license plate today repeatedly with no ill effects and great penetration!  Your arrow diameter and weight will also play a huge role in penetration.  Also, I have done months of research on various single bevel heads while trying to meet a low budget and the Abowyers fit my bill.  PM me if you want to talk more in depth about them.

[goblism]

Well I kind of want to avoid 3 blade broadheads, plus those are a lot more expensive than the 2-blades i have been looking at.  But I have been thinking about the woodsman, just not sure on that 3-blade.

Do you usually get pass-throughs with the woodsman out of your bows?  I just know that Dr. Ashby said the number of blades didn't really make a huge difference on the blood trails because if a 3 or 4 blade didn't leave a exit wound than you were going to get less blood anyway

[30coupe]

So far I've had blood trails Ray Charles could have followed. Instead of a slit, I have a gaping hole in the off side...huge splashes of blood. It's like following the white lines on a highway.

Mind you, I am talking whitetails. I have no experience with larger critters, so you will have to wait for some of the elk and moose hunters to weigh in on that.

[goblism]

how do the snuffers and woodsman perform when you hit bone?

Sorry for all the questions, just want to greatly increase my odds of harvesting an animal once i release that arrow.

[IronCreekArcher]

I have had the Woodsmans stop completely on the shoulder blade of a doe last season that resulted in me not finding her.  Thus my switch to the single bevel.  I also sent you a PM.

[goblism]

Got the pm, thats my biggest worry with those 3 blades, you need to break a bone in different directions to get through, whereas a 2-blade only has to break it in 1 spot and a single bevel will have the spinning motion besides.

Now I just need to figure out if I want to pitch out the money for some abowyers, or go the cheaper route with the grizzlys or tuskers, or maybe some other mid to low priced broadhead

[Doc Nock]

Super Sharp whatever you choose.

Money helps buy sharper, but KME is sellin the single bevel in various heads that aren't requiring a king's ranson--and they'll be equally sharp! Call him. He's a sponsor.

[tiur]

A bad hit with a heavy head usually works out ok,
but a lightweight head does not carry enough momentum to do the job. 3 blades = better blood trials .
ASL

[Red Boar]

Originally posted by Doc Nock:
Super Sharp whatever you choose.

Money helps buy sharper, but KME is sellin the single bevel in various heads that aren't requiring a king's ranson--and they'll be equally sharp! Call him. He's a sponsor.

This is the first I've heard that he makes his own broadhead...any more details?

[IronCreekArcher]

In reading the Ashby reports he says that three blades does not neccesarily mean more blood on the ground.  The single bevel rotates through the target thus contacting and disrupting the same amount or more vessels than the three blade.  The entry and exit holes with the single bevel are also not just slits they are more like an L shape which facilitates blood on the ground.  Those reports are a great read...

[goblism]

I have read the same IronCreek.  That is why i want to know if everyone is very consistantly getting passthroughs with the 3 blades.  I would think that 2 holes that are slits are better for blood than 1 hole that is a little bigger from a 3-blade that couldn't make it all the way through.

Ron doesn't make his own heads, he sells Tuskers and Grizzlys I believe for $50 per 6 sharpened to your door.  
Ron is one class act guy, highly recommend you talk to him about sharpening sometime.  Another awesome guy on here is Buddy, he knows his sharpening stuff very well as well.

[GMMAT]

Best?

The largest, heaviest head on the heaviest tuned arrow that's being pushed by the most draw weight the archer can muster.

That's about the skinny on it.

Way too many variables to call one (even one style) the "best".

I'm not trying to be smart.  It's just physics.

[tiur]

Rotate a 2 blade head -1" dia still 1" cut.
3 blade 1,5" cut ? Use what you are confident with
keep them sharp.
ASL

[IronCreekArcher]

I am going to buy one of Ron's knife sharpeners at the urging of Dan at Abowyer.  He says they get his heads "Scalpel Sharp" and I quote.  Dr. Ashby says to practice for the perfect shot but make your set-up able to handle the worst case scenario.  The worst case scenario in my opinion is the shoulder shot.  A 3-blade head out of my bow will never penetrate the shoulder of a deer thus my choice of the Abowyer.  On the same note no amount of blades will make a difference on a gut shot in my opinion.

[IronCreekArcher]

This is my writing from a different thread:

Your thread prompted me to conduct my own very "unscientific" test on penetration of different heads today. Note I said heads not arrow weight. I doubled over a vehicle license plate and proceeded to shoot it with my set-up. I figured the aluminum plate would be harder to penetrate than bone on a whitetail seeing as though it is more malleable than "brittle" bone. My set up is a Black Widow PMA 62" recurve pulling 49 lbs at 28". My arrows are Easton Axis N-Fused 500's with a 100 grain brass inserts and 200 grain tip for a total arrow weight of 525 grains and 10.71 grains per pound. My arrows were also bare shaft tuned and shooting bullet holes through paper.

The first head I tried was the Abowyer Brown Bear. I stepped back to 20 yards and shot the arrow three times and averaged the results. The arrow penetrated the plate an into my Block target consistently 4.5". The next head I tried was an Eclipse double bevel 2-blade. This head never fully penetrated the plate and only managed 1/2" of penetration. The third head I tried was the Magnus II double bevel head. This head also failed to penetrate the plate fully and averaged 3/4" of penetration. The fourth and last head I tested was the Woodsman. This head failed to penetrate the plate fully as well and averaged 1.5" of penetration. The one thing with the Abowyers I noticed was the distinct rotating cut in the plate as it should.

Take it for what it is guys and I hope this helps in some way. This testing did tell me one thing for sure...Abowyers will be in my quiver this fall!

Best,
Dan

[GMMAT]

Let me ask a silly question (possibly).

Can a bow REALLY be tuned to shoot all of those different heads....even if they are the same weight?

[IronCreekArcher]

Yes...it has taken me three months on and off shooting but I eventually got it figured out.  My dads bow is not as well tuned as mine and he did the same shooting as I did today with much less penetration of all four heads as a result.  Like Ashby says broadhead design is nothing without proper tuning first.

[goblism]

i doubt that bow can be that well tuned, but i do believe his test results to be somewhat valid.  Even if the bow isn't perfectly tuned you should still be able to get a decent idea since in his experiment he was only penetrating 4.5" past the plates