3 to 1 ratio broadheads - what's the deal

[Bill Sant]

In regards to the lack of longer broadheads, one has to remember that back in the day, almost all broadheads were glue ons that had to have the taper of the shaft glued into it.  Nowadays with the screw ins the ferrule of the broadhead can be as short as they want them as the attaching system is screwed into the shaft.

As a kid, we were always taught the 3 to 1 rule.  Although I personally think that the 3 to 1 ratio that Hill professed was more for flight characteristics than cutting ability.  The curvature of the blade in a hill head is not in any fashion a true 3 to 1  angle.  The over all ratio of the heads profile is there but with the convex and concave curves of the blade cover almost any angle you want.  JMHO

[2treks]

OWLBAIT, That was Joe Furlong(sp,sorry Joe). And yes it is a very tuff looking head. I will wager that we will see alot of this head in the future. many good features.single beval,tanto tip,stainless steel and some more that you have to see to understand(at least I did).

[owlbait]

Thanks Chuck, I knew it was Joe, just didn't remember last name. Great looking head. Too heavy for my equipment I think. He also had the bowtote sling that was a topic of discussion here not long ago. Nice guy too!

[deaddoc4444]

There  was in fact a study  done in the mid 80s ( as I recall )   it was published in one of the BIg Mags at the time .
   Jist of the article was that the broad- head either CHOPS  or SLICES  The ideal between both of these extremes   seems to be 3to 1  the more you CHOP ( wider head ) the less penetration you get and start losing flight aerodynamics . The more you reduce width  you gain penetration and it flies well but then you start missing arteries and veins and organs  by just puncturing  the animal hunted . SO  three to one   seemed to be the best compromise   BUT as stated here  HILL said it first and he had the back up experience.

[hunt it]

I bought couple of packs of those Tuff heads from Joe this weekend. I'm going to experiment with them some and they will probably be the head of choice for our Australian Buff hunt next year.The Ashby head was a contender, but after talking to Joe on his manufacturing process I'm certain his head is better steel and stronger than the Made in China version.

[Cari-bow]

Hunt it
I have not seen the new heads yet but they are on the way. I did some testing with the prototype and did not find them lacking. Joe has kept me in the loop with most of the difficulties of manufacturing. I doubt whether many of the other broadheads can keep up too these standards.I'm sure they will work just fine on Australian Buff's.
Abe

[Bowmania]

Who wants to shoot (excluding moose, brown bear, and griz) a broadhead that's one inch wide?  And for what reason?  Today we have 40 pound bows that can cut two holes in any whitetail made.

There are very few 3 to 1 BH's out there.  WW is not one, unless you want to be political about the term 3 to 1.

Bowmania

[JohnV]

Many heads that are advertised as 3:1 ratio are not. Measure them and see.  A true 3:1 is going to be a long head to get a decent cutting width.  That is why there are so few on the market although some try to advertise their heads are 3:1 when not.  Ed Ashby look at broadhead length/width ratio and how it affected penetration in some of his earlier studies.

[Jeff Strubberg]

3 to 1 might give you a great cutting angle, but it also gives you a very long head that's not only more susceptible to bending or folding, but also puts a ton more leverage against the ferrule on a hit.  

You have to overbuild a 3 to 1 head to get good durability.

[Cari-bow]

Well to those that think this is just advertising,this the prototype is just over 1" wide and 3 1/8" long.I do hunt elk ,moose ,deer and turkey. I like the idea of a 3 to 1 head not so much when everything goes right but when the don't. I know this is not for everyone but it is for me. This head is tuff just like the name suggests. Abe

[Overspined]

Arrow flight is "easier" these days, so broadhead design was likely more critical as well back when the recommendations were made. We have better materials now, more options, etc. Howard used to grab a bunch of broadhead arrows and shoot a bush (target). The ones that hit he would sharpen, the o es that missed he would shoot one more time and

[bowslinger]

A recent post had a link to Rocky Mountain Specialty Gear about shooting 2- or 3-blade braodheads.  The article is listed under "Tutorials".  It lists a formula from Dr. Ashby on how to calculate mechanical advantage (MA).  Longer broadheads have a higher MA, which is desirable for penetration.

link to RMSG:
 http://www.rmsgear.com/broadhead_debate.html