Blood trail 2 blade SB vs 3 blade woodsman

[SlowBowinMO]

While I can not prove it, I am of the suspicion that single bevel 2 blade heads leave better trails than double bevel two blades.  It might be the rotational nature of the wound, it might be because I can personally get single bevels sharper than anything else...or I might just be flat out wrong...but that has been my personal observation thus far.  Time will tell I hope.

If your only criteria for selection between the two heads you mentioned is blood on the ground, I'd suggest the Woodsman.

Several have suggested two blade w/bleeder style heads and I concur they'd be a great option, likely outpenetrating the Woodsman while still generally putting more blood on the ground than a two blade.

All that said, I am still firmly a believer in shot placement and broadhead sharpness trumping everything else in regards to blood trails.  Like most anyone who has bowhunted any amount of time, I've experienced gusher trails to no blood till recovery with just about every style of head.

[lpcjon2]

If your red and green deficient maybe you should luminal or some of the spray's like it it turns the blood luminescent blue with certain lights.or I hate say it use Grim reaper razor tip expandables they are devastating!!

[Earl Jeff]

Tim here's a little tip for ya I carry spray bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide if you see something wet and are in doubt if it is blood spray it with HP and if it is blood it will foam up white. works great.

[Landshark160]

I'm colorblind like you.  I shoot the biggest broadhead I can consistently get out the other side, which for me is a 2" Treeshark.  I need super-heavy blood trails (and I usually get them).

[waknstak IL]

Getting 2 holes and hitting the vitals at a good angle are the key, especially from a treestand. With your setup you should be able to shoot through deer with any broadhead as long as its truly shaving sharp. I am shooting a setup very similar to you and have been very pleased with Muzzy Phantom 4 blades. They fly true and leave great bloodtrails. I think every style head has its pros and cons. I use the one I can get the sharpest.

[dino]

RC gave the smartest advise on broadheads... he shoots a Magnus because he can sharpen them the easiest.   I choose the broadhead I shoot for the same reason.   I've seen good and bad blood trails with 2,3 and 4 blades, most if not all were determined by the shot angle, shot placement and sharpness of the head not the number of blades on the head.

Bill,
That is a great observation too.  Same way I was taught when I was young. dino

[SuperK]

I love this one!  Why? Because I too struggle with this same question all the time        . In over 30 years of bowhunting deer, I have shot 'em with 2,3,4 and 5 blade broadheads.  I have gotten nonexistent to great bloodtrails with all.  With broadheads that exit, I normally have enough blood to find 'em.  Broadheads that don't exit, well; bloodtrails can be spotty at best.        I shoot about 45-46 lbs. and hunt from treestands.  The areas I hunt have heavy cover so I'm always trying to balance pentration with blood on the ground.  If I shoot a deer with a 2 blade and have a marginal hit resulting in little blood on the ground I beat myself up thinking that I should used a 3 or 4 blade.  If on the other hand I hit one and don't get a pass-through, why didn't I use a 2 blade?    :confused:    I have a love/hate relationship with Woodsman broadheads. They are one of the best flying, easily sharpened broadhead I have ever used.  I have used them on and off for several years. Some bloodtrails were great, others not. Some times I thought I should have gotten more penetration.  Other times they blew through.  Unfortunately, the biggest buck I have ever dropped a string on was hit with a Woodsman.  I thought I had heart shot him but I must have hit the leg bone. Trailed him for a long, long ways before the bloodtrail petered out. If I had been using a 2 blade would I have gotten him? I have used some single bevel broadheads too.  I had problems sharpening them.  I have killed some deer with them though. Bloodtrails?  Some good some not-so-good. Shot a doe last week and got a liver hit.  I was using a Zwickey 4-blade Eskimo.  The arrow blew through her (15 yards) and stuck deep in the dirt. Before I got on the bloodtrail a light misty rain set in. I my mind if I had been using a 2 blade, she might have been a meal for the 'yotes.  I think that the Zwickey 4 blade Eskimo is looking like its going to be my go-to-broadhead.  I finally got a system down that I can get'em and the bleeders real sharp.  The hydrogen peroxide is a great idea.  It works on dried blood too.  
Which broadhead should you use?  Don't ask me..I'm still working on that one myself.

[Bill Tell]

If you want more blood then you need a sharper cutting surface.

 We all know that everyone says your head needs to be scary sharp.  Most think that this is for penetration purposes and to some extent this is true.  However that is only part of the story.

The bigger reason is lethality.  When a body receives an injury to a blood vessel the body knows this and the tissue factor pathway kicks in.  If the cut is rough, shredded, and torn there are more cells that yell "fire" then if the cut was just slipped through.

This is from Wikipiedia:
"The main role of the tissue factor pathway is to generate a "thrombin burst," a process by which thrombin, the most important constituent of the coagulation cascade in terms of its feedback activation roles, is released instantaneously."

Huh you say, well thrombin is the chemical that signals your body to make clots.  The screaming cells makes this chemical active and it is what makes your blood turn fibrous at the injury site so you can stop bleeding.  

So bottom line If less cells know they are hurt then there is a smaller burst and you bleed longer.  The sharper the edge... the fewer cells hurt... the longer you bleed.

[Guru]

Originally posted by Bill Tell:
So bottom line If less cells know they are hurt then there is a smaller burst and you bleed longer.  The sharper the edge... the fewer cells hurt... the longer you bleed.

In my opinion, it's not about "how long", but more about "how much" over a given distance.

If and animal is hit so as not to be immediately fatal(heart,lungs, or major artery), the body will know that something is wrong before too long. I'll count on the bigger wound to give me more blood to follow over a longer distance.

Given that the sharpness is the same, hit location is the same, the more tissue you cut, the more something is going to bleed...right?

Shot for shot, a "hole" will spill more blood than a "slit" of the same size don't ya think?


I think you'll be better off with the Woodsman if you can get them very sharp    

[Shinken]

Both 2- and 3-blade BHs, if sharpened correctly and the shot is properly placed, will provide great blood trails.

If this is a confidence issue that you are struggling with, and you are hunting from a stand or blind, you might consider using a string tracker.  Many have used string trackers successfully and they could give you useful information on their application.

Shoot straight, Shinken

[Bill Tell]

Originally posted by Guru:
 

Originally posted by Bill Tell:
So bottom line If less cells know they are hurt then there is a smaller burst and you bleed longer.  The sharper the edge... the fewer cells hurt... the longer you bleed.

In my opinion, it's not about "how long", but more about "how much" over a given distance.

If and animal is hit so as not to be immediately fatal(heart,lungs, or major artery), the body will know that something is wrong before too long. I'll count on the bigger wound to give me more blood to follow over a longer distance.

Given that the sharpness is the same, hit location is the same, the more tissue you cut, the more something is going to bleed...right?

Shot for shot, a "hole" will spill more blood than a "slit" of the same size don't ya think?


I think you'll be better off with the Woodsman if you can get them very sharp      [/b]

I completely agree with all you said.  I am not advocating a wound like a slit.  I am not saying that a 2 blade is better then a 3 or 4.

What I am advocating is a very clean cut versus a tear.  A very precise cut from a very very sharp blade will bleed more and longer.  A dull blade tears the tissue.  A cut from a dull blade will bleed less in volume and will stop bleeding sooner.

When you cut yourself shaving you typically don't even feel it and it will bleed for a long time.

[Steel]

I have become a fan of the big boy two blades the ones packing 1.5 + inches of cut. I sharpen them razor sharp and shoot them out of bows around 50 to 52 lbs at 27" draw. I have had no issues on blood trails and recovering game on deer/wild hogs.

[TimRadke]

Lots of good opinions here, so thanks!  I should have been more specific... I've used 3 blade broadheads with my pulley popper and had good success, as well as with a very large popular 2 blade.  I'm switching over (back) to traditional, and am not sure what I'm going to use...

Although, I am now considering the Magnus 4 blade 150 gr, with a 100 grain brass insert for 250 gr up front on an approx 550 grain arrow.

I guess that's part of the fun is playing around and trying things...

Keep the advice coming!

-Tim

[Stone Knife]

You left out a four blade, those little bleeders will keep the wound open giving great blood trails with little effect on penetration. I shoot 45# my arrows are weighing 460 grains and I routinely get a pass through on deer.

[James on laptop]

Well if everything is the same size I would vote for more blades.More cuts makes more blood.If you shoot enough weight bigger is always better no matter if it is a two blade or any other head.When I am looking lots of blood (hogs) I use a treeshark myself.For deer hunting since I shoot light weight bows and my arrows are not that heavy I use a small multibled head like the VPA or stinger 4 blade.They won't bleed like a treeshark but I am not color blind and usually see deer fall anyway.

[amicus]

I think SlowboMo said it best

"All that said, I am still firmly a believer in shot placement and broadhead sharpness trumping everything else in regards to blood trails. Like most anyone who has bowhunted any amount of time, I've experienced gusher trails to no blood till recovery with just about every style of head."

I started out using the Zwickey Eskimo, killed my first Black bear with one. Now Im using Grizzly El Grandes. With both broadheads I have never seen a "slit" just elongated holes
Gilbert

[Doc Nock]

I've had 5 recent bow kills where the shaft was snapped off as the off-side shoulder came back as the arrow was "passing through", snapping off the broad head and leaving the shaft sticking in the deer.

2 blade or WWoodies, I had dismal blood trails when the shaft plugged the hole.

Speaking to Ed Ashby on the topic, he pointed out some "sharp" heads are indeed, sharp going in but not so much so going out.

Now I sharpen with a 25* bevel instead of a 20* and with diligence (and KME equip) I get much, much sharper 2 blades.

On that note, I've read and heard all the "scary sharp" for 3 blade, but some I've seen weren't...and those that might be, I know I can't do it myself...so I go for blades that I can get super sharp,---that is a durable edge 2 blade.

Doesn't stop the issue where instant reaction on the off-side leg snaps the shaft and it remains inside the deer, plugging the hole... but I've had most deer die within 60 yards and either saw or heard them fall.

As Rc noted, pass throughs, where it didn't get snapped off...deer just mozied off and dropped over or jumped a few jumps and keeled over.

I think blood trails are related to fat layers too. Several years in a row, deer had so much fat on them, the low pass through hole was clogged with fat when retrieved.

Indeed...many variables.  I'd say "shoot what YOU can get sharpest!"

[Bill Kissner]

The 2 blade vs 4 blade blood trail thing will always debated. Take two plastic bags and fill them with water. Puncture one with a 2 blade and the other with a 3 or 4 blade and see which empties the quickest. I wanna bet on the multi-blade bag!

[Guru]

Very good analogy Bill    

[Pat B.]

I've had extremely good luck with 2 blade heads over the years. They were literally razor sharp.
Good blood trails are expected but occassionaly a trail isn't so great, depends on placement.
   For whatever reason my experience with 3 blade heads hasn't been as good. Just within the last 2 years I've learned to get 3 blade heads sharp, shaving sharp.. Still, based on my experiences I'll stay with 2 blade heads, more confidnece in them..
    This year I've used Abowyers only. The steel and temper in them is excellent allowing a degree of sharpness rarely seen.. And they hold their edge while penetrating.. Certainly among the best out there..
       Good placement equals good blood trails!