what is the best Mechanical broadheads you have used

[bowtech777]

I am going to be switching to mechanicals, I am looking at the

NAP Scorpion XP mechanical broadhead.

It looks like an awesome broadhead and it is made by the same company who makes Thunderheads, which is the head I have used for years without a failure.

My broadheads are flying okay , at 30 yards a 3 shot group is about 4" in diameter.
but my field points almost stack on top of each other at that distance.

Therefore I am going to switch to Mechanicals, I dont want to really use the O-ring kind, which is another reason I am considering the scorpion xp by NAP.

Let me know what you think

[cfdjay]

I have been using spitfires for the last 4 years and love them. They shoot just like field points and don't have the o rings to break while you are in the field then you're s.o.l.

[jimbob]

Anything from ROCKET AEROHEADS I am currently shooting sidewinder 3 100 gr that have a 1 1/2 cutting diameter and have had AWESOME!!! results. I am also part of their prostaff so I must give them a shameless plug!!!

Rockets do have a rubber band and I have shot them at over 300 fps and have not had a problem...

try them you will be impressed especially since you shoot a BOWTECH=kinetic energy, another shameless plug!!! HA HA HA

www.rocketaerohead.com
later jimbob

[bowtech777]

I have heard alot of good things about rockets and spitfires

I will check them out.

Thanks for the info.

and the shameless plug is just fine by me, I would do the same thing.

How did you get on their prostaff?

I have a friend who use to shoot for PSE but that was a while ago.
Lost contact with him a few years ago.

[jimbob]

They had a post on another board looking for prostaff members and I sent them a email that had my bowhunting accomplishments,what i hunt, which states you hunt in, then one day they sent me a package and thats it..

Its not a big deal though just a few broadheads,some videos and prostaff decals but still cool!!!
later jimbob

[CritterGitter]

My advice is strongly against the mechanical broadheads. If you really want to use them then that is your choice, but you must consider penetration. I hit a buck in the shoulder blade and never saw it. Only got 5 inches of penetration. If you're getting 4 inch groups at 30 yards then why is that a problem? I like NAP products and think their mechanicals do a lot of damage on a pass through. I actually went with them initially as I thought on a gut shot they would do some much damage that the deer would certainly die. If you think it is worth sacrificing penetration to get better than 4 inch groups then that is your call. You might do a search for a post titled, "Uuuumm....I missed." I'll copy and paste some of it here so you can see what I mean:

CritterGitter
Moderator

Registered: Jan 2003
Location: central Ohio
Posts: 1014

I do the scent free shower, laundry, air tight bag my clothes, and liberally spray my boots. He smelled a little bit of something but couldn't figure it out. Again, he was straight down wind and he would have busted out of there in a hurry if I didn't do those things. Anyway, I am back from my afternoon hunt early. I shot an 8 point buck at about 3:30pm but couldn't find any blood. I think I hit him square in the shoulder blade. I didn't look for blood other than about 30 yards from the shot so I didn't push him. I found my arrow 15 yards from the shot and it only penetrated about 6 inches? The broadhead was broke off. My buddy and I will look for him in the morning. I will post an update, but it doesnt look good right now and I feel lousy about it.

CG



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11-17-2003 10:25 PM

[cfdjay]

I have had a 3/4 length of arrow penetration through a shoulder blade so penetration is no issue for me. I think a lot has to do with the rest of your set up as well.

[bowtech777]

I am Kind of satisfied with the 4" grouping, but when I shoot hte field points the group is so tight it makes the 4" group look like the size of a basketball.

Maybe my arrows are flying good enough, maybe I shouldnt really try to fix something that isnt really broken.

I am totally confused onto weather the mechanicals are anygood or not, I mean I here from one guy saying how awesome they are, then I hear from another guy about how bad they are.

I think I am gonna flip a coin and let that decide, because I am at about 50% to 50% on advice so far.

Is a little better accuracy worth the chance of limited penetration, That is the question..

I mean the accuracy will be better all the time with mechanicals as to the limited penetration only truly applies on a solid bone hit, such as the shoulder blade which hopefully will be far less of a chance of happening.

But even a lot of fixed blade heads dont do all that well on a shoulder blade, but some do....

Thunderheads
Muzzys
Wasp

are all good solid heads and will perform equally well on bone.
But the whole Idea is to not hit that bone to begin with.

I dont KNow?????

More advice and examples please.......

It is appreciated.....
HELP!!!!!!

[Thunderflight]

I'm not a big fan of mechanicals only because of the amount of energy that is required to make them open.

I have several friends who use them and they have killed several deer with them, but they just aren't for me.

Yesterday afternoon I spent two hours tuning my bow for broad heads (man my shoulder is freak'n killing me too). I found that out of a dozen arrows only five shot them consitantly in a two to three inch group. The other seven varied from 4 to 8 inches.

At first I blamed it on my broad heads so I pulled out a pack of "ole-faithful" Muzzies and they had the exact same results.

I'm not going to do any more tuning today. I need to give my shoulder a rest so I'm going to go hunting on base. I'm good for shots out to 25 yards. The area I'm hunting the furthest shot is 23 yards so I should be good to go.

My bow still has some tuning issues, but due to my shoulder being sore it's gonna take a week or so to iron them out.

TF

[bowtech777]

Yea, I have noticed differenced in the flight characteristics of each individual broadhead and arrow combow.

I have one arrow that will hit perfect just about every time I shoot it, and 1 that will shoot about 2 inches to the left everytime, and another that shoots about 2 inches low everytime I shoot it.

The one to the left bothers me more than the one shooting a hair low.

I was at the IX center one year and met Chuck Adams there, he told me to stick with the aluminums because it will take about 5 to 6 dozen carbon arrows to get a dozen flying perfect with broadheads.

He said Carbons are too expensive for the average hunter to buy 6 dozen carbons to get a dozen that fly right.

And I am seeing it, I have never had this many problems with tuning and getting a good grouping before and this is the first year I have used carbons.

I think next year I will be back to shooting the XX78 superslams again.

I am really disappointed in the performance of these carbons.

The carbons are also twice as hard to fletch as aluminums, you gotta clean the shaft with denatured alcohol and then use a scotch brite pad to ough up the surface a bit the clean em again then use a certain kind of glue to get em to hld good.

and that info came from a tech from Easton I talked to over the phone.

his advice worked but took two to three times as long to fletch a dozen arrows compared to aluminums.

[cfdjay]

Have you tried ACC's?

[bowtech777]

My Nephew shoots those, and they fly nice.
But I just can not justify spending that kind of money on an arrow.
he pays like $110.00 a dozen and I just dont think they are worth the money.

I can buy 2 dozen of the XX78 for that price.

And I know those fly great.

If I was shooting in tournaments and winning cash prizes, I could see spending the cash on Easton ACC's.

But for hunting???

I think the XX78 superslams fly just as well if not better or atleast more consistant.

My wife wonders why aluminums are as much as they are, she would completely freak if i came home with a dozen of arrows that cost $110.00 or more.

Thats almost what I make in a day, not quite, but not too far from what a Days pay is for me.

[Ohio Bill]

spitfire 125's.....I love them!!

[Q2XL]

out of my crossbow i use spitfire 100s and man do the do the job very quickly.first one this year was down within 15 seconds.second down within 30 seconds.

[Arrow 1]

It sounds like your fixed blade heads are flying great. Why change anything. Mechanicals have been known to be trouble.

[ShoreBoundOne]

I use Gold Tip Gladiators...they are devistating...had a clean double lung pass threw on last years Buck...they fly just like my field tips and they beat the crap outta the thunderheads i was using the year before...best thing is they are less than 10 dollars for a pack of 3...reason being is they dont use stainless blades....i just keep a thin coat of oil on my blades and i am good to go

http://www.swiowaarchery.com/images/broadheadsgladiatorlabels.jpg

Mitch

[Buckmaster]

Wasp HammerJack 100 gr. 1 3/4 cut.

[Q2XL]

man them gladiators look pretty wicked too.

[Caribou Dreamer2]

I have used only one type of mechanical head and it was the NAP spitfires and they will do the trick if put in the honey hole.
The only thing i will have to say about "any" mechanical head is make sure you have plenty of K.E to have them work properly

[Airwave(OH)]

Well I have to chime in here and say one more vote for the SpitFires 100gr. If you practice and then select your shot, like you would any other broadhead they do an awesome job. They make a big hole !

["J"]

Listen I am by far no expert setup guy, but if you have a bow setup correctly there is no reason not to have 1-2 inch groups at 30 yards, but the key is if the bow is set up right. Paper tune the bow to get the arrow flying right. Then sight it in, seems like allot of people get a bow and sight it in and then complain when the bow won't hit the bullseye, you have to get the mechanical aspects of the bow working before you start to sight it in and paper tuning in my oppinion is the only way. Just my 2 cents worth, and as far as mechanical broad heads, they are best left on the stores shelf. "J"

[JRinNY]

If you decide to use mechanical broadheads-(I use them-but realize everything has a positive and negative side) check out Rocky Mountain Snypers. I first seen them on a PRIMOS hunting video. The guys from PRIMOS were all shooting them at that time and liked them. I have taken four deer with them and all were typical recoveries-no different than being shot with the fixed blade broadheads I used before. These type open differently and are supposed to use alot less energy to open. Just my experience.