Might get to do some pheasant hunting...what head should I use?

[mgompf]

I may get to do some pheasant hunting with the bow this year… should be quite the challenge!
Was just wondering if any of you had any experience with this and what type of head you would recommend?
I was thinking a brodhead with some type of “stopper “behind it?

[Tim Fishell]

The only problem with using a broadhead is if your hunting over dogs they can get hurt by the heads.  I know a lot of people have had great success with using judo points.

[joe skipp]

If your using dogs...Judo points. If your on your own, flu flu's with small broadheds like the Bodkin or Bear Razorhead. Magnus small game head works fine too.

[mgompf]

I will be with a friend using flushing dogs.
Will a judo point actually bring down a flying peasant?

[bowzonly]

I do not recommend the judo point,especially with trad equipt. and flu flu's.  I have been bowhunting pheas exclusively with bow for 10 years and have seen all types of heads in use, home made and commercial.  In my opinion the absolute best is the SGH from G5. It is safe for dogs and devastating on pheas. In a field ,using flu flus, you will not lose or break them.  If you plan on hunting pheas at least once a year I would say to invest in at least a half dozen of them.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I have heard people using a small game head and having a big flat washer between the point and the shaft.. They even hit their limit of rosters for that day.

[Mike Vines]

If there are no dogs, use a broadhead with a rubber band wrapped around the shaft behind the head.  If you are using dogs, ust the Ace Hex Heads.  The goose in my avatar was taken with the Ace head, but using them pretty much requires a head hot.  If not it will more than likely bounce off especially with lower poundage bows.

[bowzonly]

I usually get three birds out of about 12 shots taken. On average 2 are solid body shots and the third is sliced stem to stern by one of the claws on the SGH.

[Tree Rat]

I've done a fair bit of pheasant hunting with a stickbow.

No dogs - Broadheads.  

Dog's - Any quality small game head (except Judo's, snaro's, etc..) or even old standard steel blunts with a penetration resistor of some type. I like Zwickey Scorpio's myself.

IMO the wire frame heads seem to distibute the hit so it doesn't have enough impact or cause a glancing blow.

[seabass]

i am also from ohio.i am going to be hunting state land with cedar arrows,spiral flu-flus,and judo's.i think broadheads would be to dangerous for dogs or fellow hunters.the place i am going to hunt is chock full of shotgunners.i'll be the only one with a longbow.i will probably have to spend most of the day talking to shotgunners wanting to know why i am not using a gun.that will be kind of fun also.lots of luck this season,steve

[Rick Butler]

I'm heading to N. Dakota the end of Oct. for our annual Pheasant hunt.  I'm planning on taking a bow and flu-flu's this year in addition to my usual Pheasant hunting weaponry.  I'll have to get some of the G5's as were hunting over our Britts, Setters and Labs.

[JimB]

What about the Talon as a pheasant head over dogs?

[bofish-IL]

Our local club has a pheasant shoot every year. We have tried all types of tips. We found out a lot of times the phesant will fly off with the judo stuck in them. The snare heads just knocked feathers off the birds.

We hunt over dogs and use bodkin broadheads but do not sharpen them. Never had any problems for a dozen years.  We have also had several on video of pheasants flying straight away and actually outflying flu flu arrows. Our best results were regular fletched arrows and bodkin broadheads.

In our town there was a company that was called Hi Precision.  They made a three blade, that is so soft you can put teeth marks in them.  There lots of them for free still round, they make good shoot away pheasant heads when not using dogs. When I used my dog I used plain old steel blunts, out of a 64 pound bow with just a regular fletched cedar they worked fine.  With flu-flus and no dog I prefer the free broadheads.

[BowHuntingFool]

I use a Flu Flu with field points!

I wonder if using the three blade like the bodkin design, if it would be just a little safer for the dogs if the point was rounded.  The soft local ones that I use, I cut a single snare in them like the old copperhead broadheads, I think that, with the rounded points would still take the bird down and still be safer for the dog.  I will try this fall.

[bowzonly]

I have seen birds fly away (beyond the point of recovery) with field points in them.

[Steve O]

I have tried all the above except the broad heads.  I like a field point with a Zwickey Scorpio behind it.

[finq]

My friend took down a pheasant with a 2blade broadhead. he actually postet a highlight on this site with my acc, you can find a picture of the broadhead there.
dont know the exact name, but it was down in a second. he hit pretty good though.