Best penetrating broadheads

[GMMAT]

Only reason I asked, guys....is it's always been my impression that when you changed anything....you re-tuned.  I just don't think a bow can be "perfectly tuned" if you're switching things (even if the heads weigh the same).

Just my opinion.  I could be all wrong.

I'll exit....lol.

[IronCreekArcher]

Doubt away my friend...  :rolleyes:

[goblism]

You shot the woodsman last fall correct?  So I am assuming that you were fairly well tuned for the woodsman to start with.

Reading the info on here, Dr. Ashby's reports, and the forum on light-weight bows has really made me think that going the single bevel 2-blade route is the best way to go.  Really tempted to just get some abowyers now, but kind of scared by what elknut said about them bending at the tip, but he wasn't overly concerned over that as well

[IronCreekArcher]

A well made bow of any type is not as sensitive to minor changes as some make them out to be.  My dads bow on the other hand is very sensitive to the slightest changes in anything.  It's just my experience I am relating here...I am not trying to preach the gospel here, but between my dad and I we have 59 years combined experience with traditional bows and equipment.  I would like to think we have somethings figured out by now...  

[IronCreekArcher]

I would buy one Abowyer Brown Bear as they are the closest to the 3:1 ratio you are going to get, match the bevel to your fletching helical and shoot them.  I would put money on the fact that you will not be dissapointed.  It also depends on how much game you shoot at in a given season...do you get to shoot a lot?  If so then maybe the more economical heads would be a better choice if money is a concern.  Talk to David Petersen as well he is a wealth of knowledge and experience.  What is your current head weight?  Yes, my bow was tuned well last year and sadly I still lacked penetration.

[Ringneck]

The Grizzly 160 is actually closer to the 3-1 ratio than the Brown Bear. And since you are on a budget you can get a dozen Grizzly heads for the price of 3 of the others.

[goblism]

the tuskers are right on at the 3-1 ratio as well.  I will be using them on deer, but will probably only shoot 1-3 deer this fall.  I also plan to use them on turkeys this fall and a hog hunt in the next year or so.  

The thing is I trust that I will probably like the abowyers better because there is no spot-welding, but will i really lose much penetration due to the spot-welding on the tuskers in comparison to the abowyers?

I think the worst thing about the tuskers is that they are not presharpened, and like i said i have been talking to some guys about how to sharpen and they have been helpful on how to establish that bevel.  I wish there was more info on this head, but i think i will ask Ron at KME his opionon on these heads and get his thoughts.  Thanks everyone, I am sure any of these heads will be more than enough to do the job, but I like to plan for the worst case scenario so that I can have the best result when that occurs.

[chris K.]

13000 folks, 13000 opinions

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Originally posted by chris K.:
13000 folks, 13000 opinions

 

13000 folks could equal 26000 or more opinions if they were like me: 'cause often I have more than one opinion running simultaneously.

[michaelschwister]

Best 2 blade for the money is the ace standard 160. Great steel. easy to sharpen, fly like field points, look really tradittionl.... It is a double bevel, but it will shoot through any whitetail with your setup.  As for three blades, I have shot file sharpened snuffers through the scapula many, many times on whitetails....using 650-750 grain arrows moving along at 180 fps.  The WW may have bent the tip, which does happen with that head, and when it does a rib will stop it cold (Happened to me last fall) They work fine if you snip the tip and sharpen at a blunt angle.

Mike

[Bonebuster]

Tusker broadheads are quality heads. They are cheaper because they require more from you to get ready to hunt.

The Abowyer heads are top quality heads, and require only a fine touch to get ready to hunt.

If you have the skill to get a Tusker Concorde ready to hunt, and the time to do it, you won`t come out any less expensive than this.

Some of your choice is going to depend on your sharpening skills.

Personally, I use two edge heads. I have never had an issue with lack of blood on the ground.
I just cannot get a three blade as sharp as I can two.

[Littlefeather]

To answer the original question without any other input about multi-blade heads or any other opinions, The Brown Bear would be an awesome choice. The Grizzly is the head I shot more than any other head out there. They are awesome heads as long as you are capable of getting them scalpal sharp. About 90% of the guys I see shooting Grizzly have them far from sharp. I MEAN REALLY SHARP. This is the number 1 factor you should consider when choosing a broadhead. If you can't shave your face when done sharpening then you haven't achieved a hunting edge. The sharpness of the head is also a major factor in blood trails. You never see anyone ask how sharp a broadhead was when comparing blood trails.

The Tusker broadheads aren't even a good comparison when in a sentence with Grizzly and Aboyer. They are much softer steel. The Tusker is an alright head that will kill all game when placed correctly. The problem with softer steel is that you simply cannot get the same level of sparpness. It's like sharpening a Buck knife and sharpening a 99 cent knife from the bowl on the counter of the hardware store. The hardware knife will get sharp but nothing like you can get with the Buck knife.

Blood trails should have a measurement criteria that included some measure of sharpness! If you cut yourself with a three blade butter knife and then cut yourself with a scalpal which will bleed better and bleed more. Which is easier to stop the bleeding. I guess we need to study blood trails a little more too! CK

[overbo]

You guys sound if your hunting cape buffalo.If you are so worried about pentration on WHITETAILS,then hunt them w/ a bow that will give the pentration you want or try to be more efficent w/ the set-up you are shooting now.
There is no magic broadhead that will kill more dead than another but NO ONE here is going to convience me that one needs a 2 blade head over a 3 blade for whitetails.I've killed quiet a few deer w/ 2,4.and 3 blades and have lost deer w/ them.If you hit them to far in front,you wish you had a 2 blade.If you hit them to far back,you wish you had a 3 blade but when you put a sharp 160gr SNUFFER thru the ribcage,well you have to do it the see it.

[Littlefeather]

Oh yea, The other things to consider is how sharp the broadhead is when it comes out the "exit wound". Softer steels also roll edges when contacting bone, not to mention the fact that them immediately dull once contacting flesh and bone.

Bonebusters, brown bears, and Grizzlies are all very hard steel that won't dull easily.

BTW, I've killed three hogs with the Ashby head and it still shaves. Can't say that for many broadheads.

A hunter I had in camp said something the other day that made lots of sence. He said " I paid $900 for this bow, $150 for arrows, quiver, glove, camo, etc..... I'm not gonna skimp on price when it comes to ammo(broadheads). Made sence to me that we as Archers seem to skimp on the one thing that is the whole key to killing. Something to think about! CK

[Littlefeather]

over, You are absolutely correct in your statement. I suppose the question is "what will work in every situation?

I've killed two hogs with shots through the hips. I can assure you that I had no intention to hit them there but luckily I was shooting single bevel heads that split the bones into pieces and bled profusely. Would a three blade head do that? I couldn't tell you because it would take thousands of shots to even come close to figuring out all the variables that go into each shot. Most guys simply kill two of three dozen "deer" and make absolute statments like " this head is best because I killed three dozen deer with it. Never does anything get measured, documented, etc. It's just simple statments that no one can ever go back and study to see why something worked. That's the neat thing about studies that actually document so that you can go back after thousands of shots(on flesh and bone) and calculate mathmatically why and how things worked. We as Achrers tend to hit areas that we don't intend to hit. This is what I design an arrow for. ANY broadhead will kill dead when you place it where it was intended to go. So, I guess the next thing we need to discuss is what is the acceptable loss on wounded game? Deer simply aren't even close to a good test animal. I do think deer could be killed with blunts. They are simply the softest big game animal North America has to offer. CK

[IronCreekArcher]

Littlefeather,

I agree 100% on everything you have said.  ANY head will kill a deer when placed properly, its that dreaded shoulder shot that scares me, even more so than the paunch hit.  My father has harvested many more animals than I and we figured his wound loss ratio on shoulder hits at 75% and in the ballpark of 25% on paunch hits.  Thats a huge disparity.  I have designed my setup to help bring that shoulder loss percentage down as best I can.  Don't scrimp on the heads they are what our whole setup is designed to deliver...in my opinion its THE most important piece of gear one has.

[Guru]

ICA, I have to ask how many he's hit in the shoulder as compared to how many he's hit to far back(paunch).....

[Pat B.]

Curt,
       I've been lucky enough to have killed a few more deer than 2 or 3 dozen in my life. At the moment I don't recall ever hitting one in the shoulder bone that stopped the arrow. Curious, huh ??

[Littlefeather]

In days of old everyone shy'd away from the shoulder. We've got to remember that the performance difference in the old wood bows and wood arrows wasn't near what todays glass bows, carbon arrows, FOC, and incredible broadheads.

As an outfitter I get to see all equipment performance on real flesh. I saw so many hogs lost over the years due to shooting behind the shoulder that I started telling guys to shoot to break the shoulder bone. Remember that a hogs heart lies behind the bone. Since I started shooting the shoulder bone I have had exactly zero shots fail to break the shoulder bone. I've only seen one clients arrow stopped by bone in the last 4 years. I blame a light arrow and a poorly tuned, wobbling arrow, for that failure. Every shoulder bone hit I've ever made on a hog(heavier bone than deer) has resulted in very short blood trails. I quit worrying about hitting bone several years ago. I've also killed two deer with intentional bone breaking shoulder shots shooting 160 grain, 3 blade snuffers    . I shoot 48# bows and foc carbon arrows on all these shots. I also shoot from 580 to 630 gpp. I've only had bone stop broadheads on a couple of occasions. One while testing a new three blade last year. This may have had more to do with a bad release/wobbly flight too(I have a sloppy release). There is just way too many variables on most occasions to draw conclusions without thousands and thousands of shots measured and documanted. Without the documantation there is simply no way to accuarately determine any true and accurate result.  

Back to the point, I almost never have bone stop an arrow on any of the North American game I shoot. Capitalize on the energy, momentum, rotation that is already present and you'll never have a bone problem. CK

[Littlefeather]

Curt, I see your point. Most guys miss too far back instead of too far forward. I believe this is because of guys teaching for years and years to NOT hit bone because it will stop an arrow. I believe this has unconsciously led to guys to fear the shoulder. Fear of the shoulder has guys gut shooting animals. If a guys equipment had no problem with bone then therotically he wouldn't be gut shooting for fear of bone. Think about it, why is too far back such an issue that it runs rampant to a fault among todays archers? If a guy is gonna miss he misses too far back more often than too far forward. I think we all need to work on the mental aspect of things instead of equipment. Quit fearing bone! If you fear it, shoot something that goes through it.

If I'm gonna gut shoot game I'd certainly shoot the biggest 6-10 blade broadhead I could get. The point is to hit heart/lungs. If you fear bone then it's hard to get yourself to shoot forward. I try and break the shoulder bone every time. No more worries because I always seem to make it through. Of course I shoot both 3 blade snuffers for some game and two blade bone breakers for others. When bone isn't an issue I go for big holes. When when bone is an issue I leave big holes at home. CK