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Author Topic: Small Game head??????  (Read 1336 times)

Offline owlbait

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Re: Small Game head??????
« Reply #20 on: January 08, 2012, 11:36:00 AM »
Bodkin broadheads are inexpensive. I've dubbed the tips of them and used those also. TJ, is that called the Adder?
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Offline wtpops

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Re: Small Game head??????
« Reply #21 on: January 08, 2012, 11:49:00 AM »
I use the hammer also. It will flat ruin a rabbit or squirrels day.
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Offline JamesV

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Re: Small Game head??????
« Reply #22 on: January 08, 2012, 12:36:00 PM »
Shot one with a field point and carbon shaft. Then it climbed the tree with my arrow. luckily it got hung up, giving me two more shots to bring it down. Lost those two arrows.
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Offline KentuckyTJ

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Re: Small Game head??????
« Reply #23 on: January 08, 2012, 02:07:00 PM »
Quote
Originally posted by owlbait:
Bodkin broadheads are inexpensive. I've dubbed the tips of them and used those also. TJ, is that called the Adder? [/QUOTE

If my memory serves me correctly I believe you are right Mike.

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Offline Stykbowslim

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Re: Small Game head??????
« Reply #24 on: January 08, 2012, 02:09:00 PM »
My son hunts small game a LOT and he uses VPA's SGT. Last Saturday he took home three rabbits and two squirrels using the SGT -- great head!
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Offline Recurve50 LBS

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Re: Small Game head??????
« Reply #25 on: January 08, 2012, 02:18:00 PM »
There was a good post recently last month in the Pow Wow section, titled squirrel hunting started by TxAg. Do a search you'll find it. On page 3 of the post Jerry Jeffer posted picture of his home made small game head. Since then I have copied his small game head and have killed several squirrels with that head. I was looking for a heavier head so it would bring a higher kinetic energy upon impact on squirrels because they are very tough and will take a hard shot and escape.
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Offline Ken Taylor

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Re: Small Game head??????
« Reply #26 on: January 08, 2012, 03:24:00 PM »
Hmmm... interesting... I use a variety of small game heads too but with just rubber blunts I have killed grouse, ducks, and snowshoe hares.

Never shot at a grey squirrel though... we don't have them.
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Offline Jason R. Wesbrock

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Re: Small Game head??????
« Reply #27 on: January 08, 2012, 07:15:00 PM »
Quote
Originally posted by PaddyMac:
I killed a half dozen or so grouse this fall with Ace Hex heads. Worked great. I think the narrowness packs a wallop. Didn't lose any arrows, they all flew straight up in the air like they're supposed to, but I did bury one in a stump and had a helluva time getting it out. I like it but I think it will punch a hole in rabbits. Hope to see in the morning.

I'm looking at the Hammer from 3R, too. I like the look of the SGT heads but they seem light. I like 175 gr. so I'd have to do brass inserts or something.
I had the same experience with Hex Heads and grouse -- absolutely devastating, and they don't skip off on a less-than-center hit. With respect to rabbits, they're all I use. I haven't seen a rabbit yet that will stop a Hex head...or survive a hit from one.

Offline StanM

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Re: Small Game head??????
« Reply #28 on: January 08, 2012, 08:06:00 PM »
kykiller,

I designed the Talon small game head to give you a little bit of both the shock you get with a blunt with the a cutting edge so often needed to cleanly kill small game.  The head came about after literally taking hundreds of nutria, opossums, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, etc.  Small game hunting is probably my favorite thing to do with a bow and arrow and I've used every single type of head available to take them.

There are a couple of points I think are important to make.  One is that the right head for you will depend largely on what you're after and what your set up is.  There is a world of difference between what a HTM rubber blunt will do from a heavy weight hunting bow and arrow and what it'll do from a 40 pound bow and lighter arrows.  Take into account what you're hunting and what your setup is when choosing your small game head.

Another, and I think this is the most critical, is shot placement.  My experience having hunted small game with lots of people is that there is an expectation for a head to kill on impact, regardless of shot placement.  I think this is because the animals are small, and ocassionally, when shot placement is right on, we do get DOA shots.  

The most common shot placement that I made when I first started hunting, and often see people that I take out for the first time, is to shoot center mass.  The targets are small and the natural tendency seems to be shooting right for the center.  This results in gut shots and longer recoveries.  It's hard, I think, but you can train yourself to shoot for a shoulder crease, just like you do with deer.  Others prefer head shots for small game.  I know that concentrating on shot placement made my shooting at small game get significantly better, and my recovery rate go way up.

Congrats on your first deer!

Offline JamesKerr

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Re: Small Game head??????
« Reply #29 on: January 08, 2012, 08:38:00 PM »
I would use an old broadhead for squirrels on the ground or a blunt like the Hammer for them in trees.
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Offline RedShaft

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Re: Small Game head??????
« Reply #30 on: January 08, 2012, 08:50:00 PM »
i used heads similar to tj and the muzzy grasshoppers. but hunting anything other than rabbits i use old broad-heads.
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Offline Jerry Jeffer

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Re: Small Game head??????
« Reply #31 on: January 20, 2012, 08:30:00 PM »
This is the 5G SGH. only problem is, too lite, had to add 100gr brass insert to add punch. makes a wicked kill though.

 
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Offline Covey

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Re: Small Game head??????
« Reply #32 on: January 20, 2012, 09:35:00 PM »
I hit one square on with a judo. That sucker ran up a tree probably 20 yards from me, looked right at me and barked and whined for what seemed like an hour. Didnt want to waist a good broadhead or I'd shot at him again. Them little boogers are tough. Looks like Im gonna have to get me some of them talons. :0)

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Offline Roadkill

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Re: Small Game head??????
« Reply #33 on: January 21, 2012, 12:03:00 AM »
I have been using 9mm casings on target points.  Then I cut an X on the end with a hack saw.  A blunt that packs energy and holds in grass and brush without burying itself too far.  I usually shoot 125, but I start with a 100 grain target point and this boosts it up to about 150 grins.  I hit a bunny last weekend and that head shot bulged both his eyes from the sockets.  Cheap,as when I am done small game, I just pull em off and apply the 125's
I have lost too many judo and hex heads, so this is economical.  Those $4 heads hit the wallet hard when  hunting in wild roses thickets
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Offline snakebit40

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Re: Small Game head??????
« Reply #34 on: January 21, 2012, 12:04:00 AM »
I just bought some 200gr. VPA SGT heads and plan on seeing what they will do to a rabbit and maybe a squirrel next weekend. I'll have to get back to you on what I find out.
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Offline Arwin

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Re: Small Game head??????
« Reply #35 on: January 21, 2012, 12:56:00 AM »
Root canal via RFA Talon small game head and a St. Joe River longbow.   :eek:  

 
 
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Offline Hawken1911

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Re: Small Game head??????
« Reply #36 on: January 21, 2012, 11:02:00 AM »
On a whim I tried something new this year.  I ground down the tips of some standard 190 grain field points a bit, and then I sharpened them with a file like mini-broadheads.  They took less than five minutes each to make, and I've had complete pass throughs on all three squirrels I've taken so far this year.

I've had squirrels take off after being hit with blunts and fieldpoints, and the old broadheads I've been using do too much damage to small grey squirrels.  But these little 'Hawken Heads' I've whipped up have been the perfect solution for me.

For ground shots, the arrow passes through and stops when it hits the ground, leaving the squirrels skewered so they can't run far or climb a tree before they expire.

 
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Offline Gary Logsdon

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Re: Small Game head??????
« Reply #37 on: January 21, 2012, 11:56:00 AM »
I've taken a basket full of big fox and gray squirrels using VPA SGTs in 250 and 300gr weight. Any reasonably solid hit and they were DEAD.

(Note: Press your F5 key to refresh the page if the photo fails to download.)

 
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Offline Guru

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Re: Small Game head??????
« Reply #38 on: January 21, 2012, 12:42:00 PM »
I've had great success using the VPA Small Game Thumpers this past fall...


This one was with a 125gr. SGT on a 129gr. steel adapter...
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As you can see this one was with 250gr. SGT...
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More with the 125/125gr. combo...
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Only thing I can figure on your shot was maybe the hit wasn't where it appeared. A solid chest hit, and they won't get away...
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Offline Brian CS

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Re: Small Game head??????
« Reply #39 on: January 21, 2012, 02:23:00 PM »
I make my own, check out the link to see how very easy to make and effective on small game.

 http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=112736;p=1#000000
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