Elk Broadheads

[The Hawk]

Trying to decide on a broadhead for the fall hunt.  I am trying to decide between Magnus 4 blades, Snuffers, Muzzy Phantoms  or maybe even the Montec.  Elk tend to be hard on my broadheads so I thought the Snuffers or Montec would be the strongest and maybe offer the best penetration.  I like the fact that the ferrule on the Phantom runs almost to the point of the blade.  I have heard complaints that some cut to the tip broadheads can fold over on elk ribs (have not seen it personally). What about the angle of the Montec vrs the cutting angle of the snuffer.  I am planning to use a 32"Gold tip traditional shaft, with a weight tube and a 125g broadhead for a total arrow weight around 565g.  I pull about 62lbs@29 1/2" and the arrow speed is around 195 fps. So... what do you think?

[cacciatore]

I would prefere to shorten the arrow lenght to have a much heavier point and take off the weight tube.so you could have a 30" with an arrow wheight around 650g.

[Richie Nell]

Cacciatore, that is precisely what I would have said.. but I didn't.

Hawk, I hope whatever you rig up will blow through an elk this fall.

[beachbowhunter]

Hawk, I would suggest the Magnus Stinger 4 bld. The main blade is very thick (seems thicker than the Phantom) and they fly great. I used a 150gr one on my elk in 2008 and got a passthrough (total arrow weight of 620).  I know Elknut1 uses a 3 blade head (Snuffer SS I think) with arrows that weigh right at 500 grains with great success too.

I also would drop the weight tube and make it up by using a heaver point weight (high FOC).

[Ragnarok Forge]

Same deal here, drop the weight tube, use a heavier head and make sure the steel is tough.  Don't hesitate to grind that sharp tip back to a tanto tip to prevent tip roll over.  I would also run the weight up closr or past 600 grains for that weight bow.

[The Hawk]

Thanks for the imput.  Do you guys not like weight tubes in general or do you just think I need to move the CG forward?

[Richie Nell]

Some people do like weight tubes to distribute the weight. Another option is more weight forward to help in steering similar to a front wheel drive car.

[KentuckyWolf]

Stingers! 2 or 4 blade.

[Doug in MN]

Of the last 3 Elk; 2 where harvested with STOS BH's and one with a Snuffer. The end result was the same, none of the bulls went more than 100 yards. All 3 where shot with the same 61# Pronghorn and all the arrows where right at 640 Grains.

One of the bulls taken with a STOS was an up hill shot quartering away. The fletching vanished and the bull collapsed at the shot, he got up and collapsed again, then got to his feet and went 25 yards or so and was done.

When field dressing found that the arrow had hit the off side shoulder and shattered it.

I used the same BH to take a decent Whitetail back in MN 4 weeks later.

Those STOS heads are tough, fly well, and sharpen well.

My .02 Cents worth DD

[Ragnarok Forge]

I don't want the weight distributed along the shaft.  The further forward I can push the cg. the easier it is to tune the arrow, the more forgiving the arrow is of bad form, and the better the arrow penetrates.  For me it is a no brainer to stick with a heavier head.

[cacciatore]

I use the weight tubes only if i can't have the weight i want with just FOC.For really heavy bows I can't go too much high on FOC to mantain the proper spine so i use a weight to to retain the 10-12 gfp I want.

[Jesse Peltan]

If you cut the arrows to 30in, drop the weight tubes, and use 175 grain heads the tuning should be pretty identical.  You'll just gain 5% foc.  You'll gain 30 grains from cutting down the shaft and adding point weight but lose a few from the weight tubes.  So you should end up similar in arrow weight just with more foc.  The weight tubes can pop out on hard hits.  Adding point weight is the way to go.  Your current set-up will work but I'd drop the weight tubes, cut the shaft, and get a heavier head.  The heavier the head the thicker it can be so it'll stand up to hard hits better.  If the arrow ends up lighter than 500 grains I'd go up in shaft spine, cut to 30, and add point weight.

[wapitimike1]

I'm 3 blade man, VPA 175 with 100grns of brass mounted ona FMJ 28.75"s. 550grns of nastyness chucking out there 175fps, Look  Out!

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Originally posted by The Hawk:
Trying to decide on a broadhead for the fall hunt.  I am trying to decide between Magnus 4 blades, Snuffers, Muzzy Phantoms  or maybe even the Montec.  Elk tend to be hard on my broadheads so I thought the Snuffers or Montec would be the strongest and maybe offer the best penetration.  I like the fact that the ferrule on the Phantom runs almost to the point of the blade.  I have heard complaints that some cut to the tip broadheads can fold over on elk ribs (have not seen it personally). What about the angle of the Montec vrs the cutting angle of the snuffer.  I am planning to use a 32"Gold tip traditional shaft, with a weight tube and a 125g broadhead for a total arrow weight around 565g.  I pull about 62lbs@29 1/2" and the arrow speed is around 195 fps. So... what do you think?

Back to the original question(s)...

Given your selections, I'd opt for the Phantoms. But any of them should work. You're pushing a 565-grain arrow 195fp, and that's more energy than I put through my elk or bull moose.

Personally, I think it would take an extremely poor quality cut-on-impact head to roll over on an elk rib. None of your selections fit into that category, so I wouldn't worry about it in the least.

[Bill Carlsen]

I've killed a number of deer and bear with the Phantoms (including my first turkey) and have no trouble with them. If you chose them you would not be disappointed...they sharpen easily, shoot extremely well and penetrate like crazy. My wife uses them in her 45# DAS and get two holes every time using the four blade configuration.

[jason1040]

In our elk hunting group 2 of us shoot Magnus I, 2 shoot Zwickeys, 2 shoot Wensel Woodsmans, and 1 shoots STOS. There have been a lot of elk fall to these heads. If any one particular head was better then we would all be shooting it, therefore it comes down to personal preference.

Elk die quickly if you put your arrow in the right place, but they can go for miles with a poorly placed arrow. I have been shooting the Magnus I, but for my next batch I have been looking at the Eclipse or the STOS - not because I have been disappointed in the Magnus but just an experiment.

[The Hawk]

Thanks for all the help and advice.

[Steve O]

You have plenty of horsepower to shoot the big Snuffers!  I have heard that is where they got their name...after a guide or packer or somebody saw what the broadhead did to a big elk Roger shot