Swacker Broadheads

[Antmo23]

I've seen this discussion on other sites, a lot of other sites. I shoot muzzys but I am going to give the grave diggers a try this year. Check them out, they are a "hybrid" mechanical/fixed.

[Elkhunter1]

A 1 inch entry hole is better than an arrow shaft size but I sure would like to see it a bit bigger for elk. No doubt they died/dropped within 100 yards. Im just a little concerned about the blood trail without a exit hole. Thanks for your reply, sure gives some food for thought and a little more confidence in the design.

 

GBA

You have to look at it from our standpoint. When the blades open up "inside" they are razor sharp and cutting what needs to be cut; arteries, veins, lungs, liver, or the heart. Fixed blades and mechanicals that open on impact are getting dull on the hair, hide, and bones as they are getting to the vitals. Yes there sometimes is "only" a one inch hole but, do you want a big hole with the arteries uncut or a one inch hole with all the arteries and veins sliced and bleeding profusely?

If you use a bow with high kinetic energy and you don't hit the front shoulder or backbone you should have an exit hole.

[AZHUNTER05]

Shoot the rage 2 blade! It leaves a 2 inch entry wound. I have never shot a swacker broadhead but they are priced well and you are supporting a couple local guys buy shooting them. Worth a try

[GotBowAz]

Elkhunter1, I see your point but I have to disagree a little with that philosophy. If I can’t get a blood trail because of no entry or exit wound I can have a downed bull within 100 yards a in some thick nasty crap like I hunt in and not be able to find him until the crows tell me where he is at. I shot a cow one year quartering away from me, no exit wound. I found her because I used a 2 inch cut open on entry Mechanical head. There was not a lot of blood but I had a trail of guts for 70 plus yards. That same shot with a max 1 inch hole would have given me very little to no blood because her guts would have plugged up the hole, (which I have seen a muzzy fix blade do). For me, I want a cut on contact head and a 2 inch minimum open on entry hole to have a good blood trail.

 

I killed a mud caked 333 bull in 2010 with one such head. He was quartering to me a lot harder than I thought. I put it in the pocket and drove the broadhead through only 1 lung, guts and into the opposite hip. No exit wound but the blood trail was like someone threw buckets of red paint all over the ground. He died within 45 yards. I'm pretty sure that even threw that armor of mud and taking out 3 ribs I cut arteries not to mention the 4 inch entry gash from the quartering shot.

 

[Elkhunter1]

Elkhunter1, I see your point but I have to disagree a little with that philosophy. If I can’t get a blood trail because of no entry or exit wound I can have a downed bull within 100 yards a in some thick nasty crap like I hunt in and not be able to find him until the crows tell me where he is at. I shot a cow one year quartering away from me, no exit wound. I found her because I used a 2 inch cut open on entry Mechanical head. There was not a lot of blood but I had a trail of guts for 70 plus yards. That same shot with a max 1 inch hole would have given me very little to no blood because her guts would have plugged up the hole, (which I have seen a muzzy fix blade do). For me, I want a cut on contact head and a 2 inch minimum open on entry hole to have a good blood trail.

 

I killed a mud caked 333 bull in 2010 with one such head. He was quartering to me a lot harder than I thought. I put it in the pocket and drove the broadhead through only 1 lung, guts and into the opposite hip. No exit wound but the blood trail was like someone threw buckets of red paint all over the ground. He died within 45 yards. I'm pretty sure that even threw that armor of mud and taking out 3 ribs I cut arteries not to mention the 4 inch entry gash from the quartering shot. I have seen every head produce massive blood trails and very little blood.

Yes you have valid points, our research showed that the arteries and veins are like rubber bands. Take one and run it down the dull blade and down a clean sharp one, you will get a vastly different result. Obviously when you shoot an animal that it quartering your entry hole will be larger due to the angle. It all comes down to confidence in what you are using. We shot everything you could imagine before it was produced, we shot hogs in the shoulder plate, we shot Coyotes, Rabbits, 2x6's, plywood, and plexi glass.

 

All I can say is buy a pack and go shoot some Coyotes with them, I think you will like them.

[ccran]

Well I put electrical tape around the ferrel in front of the opening blades like the instructions say and shot this Swacker a dozen times. I finally quit when I started to shave the fletching off my other arrows. Thing flies just like they say, straight and fast, 2" group at 30 yards with no adjustments necessary.

[GotBowAz]

ccran,

 

Not to put down the schwacker which I really do think is one of the better mechanicals but I dont know of a mechanical head that wont do the same thing which is another reason why I like mechanicals, except maybe the older model rage which would pop a blade open in flight occasionaly. Not sure what to think of the new rage extreme yet. But I dont think anyone should shoot a machanical with a badly tuned bow just vbecause they fly well.

[AZHUNTER05]

ccran,

 

Not to put down the schwacker which I really do think is one of the better mechanicals but I dont know of a mechanical head that wont do the same thing which is another reason why I like mechanicals, except maybe the older model rage which would pop a blade open in flight occasionaly. Not sure what to think of the new rage extreme yet. But I dont think anyone should shoot a machanical with a badly tuned bow just vbecause they fly well.

 

I have never had a rage open in flight nor have i ever heard of anyone having that problem.

[CouesBuckhunter]

Good luck swoods205!

 

TJ, the shrink bands will become stretched after awhile if there is pressure on the wing blades. I make sure that the foam in my quiver has a good enough hole or slit for my broadheads to slide into without any pressure on my wing blades.That prevents the shrink bands from being stretched.

 

Every animal I've hit has gone down in 50 yrds or less. The only animal that didn't go down was a couse buck I hit in the front leg quartering away, obviously that was operator error.

 

The bear I shot last year barely made it anywhere, we were able to capture this on camera. Here's the vid if you want to see what the swhacker will do-

 

If you want to see more videos of arizona critters getting swhacked here's the link-

http://www.youtube.com/user/huntingarizona?feature=results_main

[GotBowAz]

ccran,

 

look up a competition Randy Ulmer had with Cameron Hanes and a couple other guys with rage. Randy lost as he had one open in flight and hit the carpet. One of the other guys shooting against them super glued his shut so that wouldn’t happen. Me personally, I have had them open on a spot and stalk because a piece of grass pulled the blade open. Kind of ticks you off at full draw on a nice buck and the blade is dangling there. It was fine when I put it on my string. I know a LOT of people who had the same issues and now they take a dermal, make a notch in the blade and either use dental rubber bands to hold them shut or a small strand of copper wire out of an electrical cord. The new rage extreme appear to have addressed the issue but they also made the blades wider. I might be tempted to try the rage extreme out but I will never pick up another rage held shut with the o-ring without making modifications to it.

 

GBA

[CouesBuckhunter]

To clarify what stephen was saying. You will get a 1 inch entrance wound if the animal is broadside. If the animal is at any angle the entrance hole will be bigger.

 

Here is a buck that I shot quartering to me at 15yrds. I did not get an exit hole. He only made it 25yrds, I watched him expire right on the other side of the water where I had shot him.

 

This coues buck my dad hit in the diaphram, barely knicking a lung, and it didn't go far.

 

 

 

 

My dad created the Swhacker, originally called the Sonoran. Hank Parker bought the design from my dad and it was thus renamed to Swhacker. Swhacker has 125gr. 100gr. and a 100gr. 2 inch cut. My dad still sells 85gr. three blades and two blade broadheads and also bowsights at http://www.sonoranbowhunting.com/.

[reganranch]

Is your dad an engineer/ machinist? It was a pretty dam good idea!

[CouesBuckhunter]

He is a mechanical engineer at Raytheon.

[reganranch]

Right on man! Are you going the engineering route also?

[AZLance]

The bear I hit this year with the Swhacker, had a 1" entrance wound and a 2 1/2" exit wound. Let me tell you I have never seen so much blood when I tracked him out. He was bleeding out both sides! This was the biggest blood trail I have ever had the chance to follow.