Best penetrating broadheads

[Guru]

ICA, I don't know of any such pix...but this animated digram is very accurate...

Just give it a few seconds to run through.....

 

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by Bert Frelink:
For what it's worth, here is my $0.02,
The best penetrating broadhead is on the end of the arrow that gets the best arrow flight.
Regards, Bert.

Yes Sir!....and if folks could get that out of their equipment....and work more on learning to shoot  ACCURATELY and WHERE than worrying about a magic head, arrow, or bow they would be much farther down the road.  Heads are like tools, some work better for different applications.  One that 'penetrates the most' aint always the most lethal on a given shot placement. Oh, and the heart of a deer or a hog is NOT behind the shouldler bone/blade.

If your equipment is tuned, your bhead sharp, and you can shoot.....that's all the magic you really need.  I for one would like to see more folks worried about becoming more accurate than chasing bandwagons.

[Doc Nock]

Tarz,

You make the most valid of points in your most recent post above. Thank you for that perspective.

Only thing I'd add as possible encouragement is that all this chatter about single bevel, EFOC, smaller feathers for quieter arrows, etc. is that, we're finally realizing, slowly for some, that stick bows have a lot of potential for tuning.

All the older folks I knew who've been in the "biz" of trad archery just kinda assume and promote that "it is what it is" and refuse to even consider there might be ways to get more out of their equipment.

What I find interesting, and motivating, is that the more I learn about tuning, arrow flight, paradox, etc, etc, the MORE I have realized they are all integrated into how well I shoot a particular bow and set up....

...and that, Tarz, helps me want to "be the best I can be" and has translated into my becoming a much better shot, more accurate and consistent shot, because I'm chasin that "bandwagon" to learn all I can about how my bow-arrow-BH combo works.  

Some of that learning has helped me elevate my shooting because I was just "accepting" mediocre performance as "what it is".

Make any sense? Kinda early for an ole fart!  

[SteveB]

I for one would like to see more folks worried about becoming more accurate than chasing bandwagons.
 

 

Steve

[IronCreekArcher]

Can't argue with ignorance I guess...

[Mo. Huntin]

I have shot 2 deer in the shoulder in my life one with a 62 pound compound and I did not recover that deer and the second was opening day last season with my 45 pound longbow and I got same as no penetration and did not find that deer either.  I just asked a buddy and he has shot one in the shoulder in his life with a 60 pound compound and did not recover it either.  So I think you should fear the shoulder.

[JimB]

Those are some great anatomy diagrams.We do have to keep in mind that they are of a standing deer and the observer is on a level with the vitals.

When a deer has his head down,feeding or drinking,the elbow is often up higher and the upper leg bone can be horizontal.This puts the upper leg bone right across the center of the lungs and the elbow is almost at the rear of the lungs.

When a deer is walking or standing with that front leg to the rear,the scapula rotates into a vertical position.The wide,upper portion of it stays close to where it is in the standing position and the head of the scapula rotates 4-6 inches to the rear.This changes the dynamics quite a bit.

Now,when the front leg is stretched way forward,the scapula can go close to horizontal and the rear corner of it would be lower,covering more of the upper lung,especially if you are viewing from a steep,elevated position.

My only point is,that there is a wide range of positions for the elbow,humerus,shoulder joint and scapula and the way they cover or don't cover the heart lung area.

When I am getting ready to make a shot,I try to visualize those bones and their exact position.This is not too hard to do and the diagrams help a lot in that regard.

It is easy to see the elbow and shoulder joint and if you draw a line from one to the other,that will tell you the approximate position of the humerus.

It isn't too hard to visualize the scapula and it's position even though it is covered with muscle and hide.The shape is there and on short haired deer,you may even see a crease which is the spine of the scapula.

I wonder if anyone has done an animation of these parts in motion and or,from different angles?

[James Wrenn]

The soft spots are pretty easy to shoot through with any sharp broadhead.When it comes to deer and hogs all the hard spots are not in places you need to be shooting anyway.Sorry but I will never understand setting up equipment for screw-ups.Just learn to shoot,when to shoot and where to shoot on the animal you are hunting and stick to the program.   :confused:    Just because you have some super-dooper setup does not mean a  low percentage shot is not still going to be low percentage. My 2cents worth.    

BTW. The reason bad shots are usually too far back instead of forward is because 99% of the time when the animal moves at the shot it is the way he is pointing.  :D

[Guru]

James    

[bduran]

I'm new to Archery but wanted to chime in my from my perspective.  I'm new and really enjoying myself and I love shooting, but there is only so much time I should spending shooting (I've been told 30 minutes a day is plenty and more can encourage bad habits to develop).   I also spend time reading about setups, tuning, and form, but there is only so much time I can devote to that stuff.  So what do I do with the rest of my time?  I read things like the Ashby reports (who clearly states that proper arrow flight is #1) in order to maximize my setup.  I'm really enjoying reading about all the aspects of archery and don't think there's anything wrong with trying to setup things up just in case things go wrong, especially since I'm new and will likely have more bad shots than many of you since i've never hunted with a bow before.

The only reason I'm writing this is because sometimes reading posts on here it seems like people are trying to disuade people like me from even trying this kind of stuff.  Believe me, I am working hard to improve my arrow flight and accuracy, but i'm going to hedge my bets as best as possible. Just my .02 cents.  Love this site.

[Mo. Huntin]

Every one on here just wants to help.  Some have probably seen bad blood trails with 2 blades for whatever reason and some have probably not got the penetration they expected a few times.  It is very disheartening to loose an animal so people form strong opinions about their equiptment.  These are just opinions.  It seems like when you think well this is the way somebody comes along and says not so according to there tests.  Read it, test it, and go with what works for you.  Good luck

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by bduran:
but i'm going to hedge my bets as best as possible. .

As do I....for the most percentage of the time the arrow will be off....which is rearward.  And most of the time it is because the animal takes a step at release or in flight.  The farther back the less chance of hitting heavy bone....and better chance of complete pass throughs.

Therefore, with the odds strongly in favor of a reward hit if not perfect...I wan't to run as much hardware through it as possible.  I want to lacerate the liver/diaphram with a substantial head, not nick it with a narrow one.  Since its easier to pass through in that area...I want a wide slice or hole from a wide head or multiblade head.

[Guru]

Originally posted by Terry Green:
Therefore, with the odds strongly in favor of a reaward hit if not perfect...I wan't to run as much hardware through it as possible.

   

[30coupe]

Originally posted by Terry Green:

As do I....for the most percentage of the time the arrow will be off....which is rearward.  And most of the time it is because the animal takes a step at release or in flight.  The farther back the less chance of hitting heavy bone....and better chance of complete pass throughs.

Therefore, with the odds strongly in favor of a reward hit if not perfect...I wan't to run as much hardware through it as possible.  I want to lacerate the liver/diaphram with a substantial head, not nick it with a narrow one.  Since its easier to pass through in that area...I want a wide slice or hole from a wide head or multiblade head. [/QB][/QUOTE]

Me too!    

[bduran]

Terry,

Great post, thanks!  

[swampbuck]

"The only reason I'm writing this is because sometimes reading posts on here it seems like people are trying to disuade people like me from even trying this kind of stuff."

Not sure anybody is actually trying to disuade anybody,some just find the latest trend of single bevel 2 blade heads being all that to be a bit over the top for most.Nothing against them or the work the doc has done at all just that for most of us most of the time it's a matter of personal preferance.

Quite frankly the aiming methods we sometimes use or lack there of is more of a problem than the BH's we shoot but thats a whole nother discission all together LOL Lets not go there

to answer the ?? asked in the beginning not that it really matters I'd hafta agree with the Doc since he's done the most testing but for me I don't worry about which head so much as how sharp and where it goes...shoulder knuckles with most of our setups single bevel included will have poor and most likely insuficient (IMO) penatration.I've seen it stop an 80# compound on a whitetail deer and I,m betting most don't have that much KE or momentum from our sticks

[Terry Green]

Guess I need to make my statements clear.  If I were to hunt big game....like Doc tested, I'd use a different head that what I choose for whitetails and hogs.  Not sure how many whitetails Doc tested on the hoof live, but I've tested my fair share and I gotta dance with the one that brung me.

I think some folks don't give their equipment the credit that it deserves....and the lethality of it.  Any decent hunting weight bow and arrow will blow slap through a whitetail with a SHARP multiblade head.  

I'm not trying to be a smart butt...but if we are that worried about getting through the chest of a whitetail with regular hunting equipment, maybe we should be using guns instead.

Are we really that borderline????  Nope.  I sure don't think so.  Seen way to many arrows sailing 20-30 yards after passing through, and 3 and 4 inches in the dirt.  It took the earth to stop most of my multiblade kill shots.    

[Ray Hammond]

On the other hand, when you hunt where I do most of my hunting, it's not possible to know what the next critter is going to be- a 90 lb whitetail or a 450 lb hog.

Having one broadhead in your quiver for this and another for something else just doesn't seem practical to me. Successful bowhunting is the elimination of mistakes. Having different broadheads in your quiver? Somethign else to go wrong.

I've seen plenty of passthroughs on deer....not many on hogs over 200 lbs. And what with having to aim FORWARD on a hog, the likelihood of hitting bone is very real.

A "back" hit on a deer, or a pig, whether two blade or more blades can only kill quickly when it gets through the liver. I've seen a doe opened up like a suitcase by a car, everything hanging out of her except heart and lungs, reportedly sitting on a golf course fairway for two days waiting to die.

I don't think three blades going through intestines will kill any quicker than two.

I've seen some hogs shot through the guts take between three and five days to die...I left on Sunday not finding them, and come back Friday and they were laying there, still warm, but dead.

We're hunting stuff that has a very strong will to live, often.

So use what gives YOU confidence, bottom line. If you make a great shot, it's gonna be fine. If you don't, well...those are the ones that live in your dreams...your bad dreams.

[Guru]

To each there own I guess Ray....

When I'm hunting deer and hogs(TX)I have two different bh's in my quiver and have been very successful with that system. Use my big Snuffers for deer and have actually switched arrows to a WW twice when hogs showed up...two shots, two hogs...one big thick shielded boar and one young boar.

And maybe it's just me...but if I'm gonna mess up and hit something too far back thru the paunch....I'm gonna be real glad it's a Snuffer or WW(or other multi blade head or big wide 2 blade also)....and not a narrow 2 blade....there's some vessels back there that if cut will give you a much better chance of quicker death and recovery....for that reason it's always best to cut as much as possible with that type of hit......

[IronCreekArcher]

Terry...not that we are borderline I think people are re-evaluating their broadhead choices based on the most recent information available and trying to make their set-ups better in their eyes.  Like most I have killed deer with all sorts of heads...multibladed...2 blade etc, but for me personally I feel that the single bevel heads would be a better choice in most situations of a bad hit either forward or aft.  I think the rotation factor of the head causes it to create hemorrage similar to that of a multiblade and penetrates like a good two blade.  I have yet to harvest anything with a single bevel yet but I will for sure post some results this fall (hopefully) for everyone to read.  Not trying to change any minds here just adding more to the pot...