Redman Report post Posted July 3, 2014 I have only shot fixed blades... sorry to say I have had failures on hits... but I cant blame the broadhead just the shot placement 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shanehamblin Report post Posted July 3, 2014 I'd take a well placed field tip over a poorly placed samurai sword. That said I like fixed blades for elk, mainly for the toughness. Shot my bull in Nov with a montec an my coues in Jan with the ulmer edge. Neither animal cared if it was fixed or mechanical. Both died in seconds. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4Falls Report post Posted July 3, 2014 +1 on the shot placement. Ive shot tons of different heads over the years. None of them were perfect. Ive seen mechs zip thru elk at 60 yds and super tough fixed heads bounce of javelina ribs at 5 yards. And vice versa. In my quiver now I have some G5 T-3's and some Slick Tricks. That being said, I too am going to be trying some gravediggers this year as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JACK Report post Posted July 3, 2014 Let's just say you happen to hit a bone...This is what happened to me...Broadhead failure IMO...bent from tip to tip blades are locked in place...I was shooting a 385 grain arrow at 315fps. I hear a lot of guys saying you need a heavier arrow for expandables...So Is putting more MO and KE behind these heads going to make them stronger? After this and after testing several others at home...Never again will I use any kind of expandable...or light "fast" arrows Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMart Report post Posted July 3, 2014 I killed my one and only bull with a Swhacker 1.5" cut. I've also killed 4 Javelina and 1 Mule Deer with the Swhackers. Everything has died within sight, which is good because about half of them didn't have good blood trails. Now, I was using a 480 grain arrow for the Elk. The arrow hit a rib square, split the rib in half and still got through both lungs. 21 yard shot, slightly quartered to. A friend of mine shot a huge cow elk from 90 yards with a Swacker that did the exact same thing on the rib. His actually stuck in a rib on the opposite side. Again 450+ grain arrows. I also know of one of the best archers in the state that lost 3 elk in 1 year. He was using a 3 blade mechanical that was similar to a Spitfire. He was using a 350 grain arrow, not one of those 3 shots penetrated enough to kill an elk. I'm sure there are some success stories out there of killing elk with light arrows but it's going to fail you at some point. I'll take a 500 grain arrow moving at 260fps over a 330 grain arrow moving at 315fps all day every day. Heavy arrow, ANY sharp broadhead, good to great shot angle = Dead Animals. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost85 Report post Posted July 3, 2014 I killed my one and only bull with a Swhacker 1.5" cut. I've also killed 4 Javelina and 1 Mule Deer with the Swhackers. Everything has died within sight, which is good because about half of them didn't have good blood trails. Now, I was using a 480 grain arrow for the Elk. The arrow hit a rib square, split the rib in half and still got through both lungs. 21 yard shot, slightly quartered to. A friend of mine shot a huge cow elk from 90 yards with a Swacker that did the exact same thing on the rib. His actually stuck in a rib on the opposite side. Again 450+ grain arrows. I also know of one of the best archers in the state that lost 3 elk in 1 year. He was using a 3 blade mechanical that was similar to a Spitfire. He was using a 350 grain arrow, not one of those 3 shots penetrated enough to kill an elk. I'm sure there are some success stories out there of killing elk with light arrows but it's going to fail you at some point. I'll take a 500 grain arrow moving at 260fps over a 330 grain arrow moving at 315fps all day every day. Heavy arrow, ANY sharp broadhead, good to great shot angle = Dead Animals. 3 wounded elk in one year? should have burned the tag after the first one. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
8OWHUNT247 Report post Posted July 3, 2014 3 blade RAGE... Does the trick.. I have however, had the blades open in flight before, not cool. Entrance on the Deer, exit on the elk. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HUNTnTAT2 Report post Posted July 3, 2014 Wow. Best archer in the state and loses 3 bulls on one hunt? Sounds like a guy I know. I no longer hunt with him.....we call him "coyote" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMart Report post Posted July 3, 2014 Wow. Best archer in the state and loses 3 bulls on one hunt? Sounds like a guy I know. I no longer hunt with him.....we call him "coyote" lol. Best as in best shot, not smartest. I probably could have worded that better. I was trying to say that even a guy that could hit a paper plate from 125 yards 9 of 10 times was still not doing good shooting light arrows with mechanicals. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coatimundi01 Report post Posted July 4, 2014 I have some NAP Killzones that I bought for turkey with my old slow bow. I've since upgraded equipment now that I have a bull tag and was trying to convince myself to use them. Sharp blades, NO rubber bands/shrink tubing/o-rings... Penetration was my concern. I've since made the switch to 125gr head from 100gr to put my total arrow weight right around 445gr and will be using fixed blades. I will probably try mechs for deer and turkey though. I know there's a couple videos of the Killzones killing bull elk, and then one from AZ that almost stampedes them after the shot has a slow-mo and you can see the arrow sticking halfway out of the elk... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HuntHarder Report post Posted July 4, 2014 Why do some of you use different heads for different animals? I see a lot of people that use fixed for Elk and mechanicals for everything else. If your fixed blade kills elk, it will surely kill smaller game. I guess I just do not understand the thought process of constantly switching broad heads. If you think your expandables are not strong enough for elk, why have confidence in them for smaller game? There are lots of fixed blade broadheads that fly like missiles out to great distances. I shoot fixed blade broad heads because I found one that works and has never let me down. Love em'!! I think 90% of expandables will get the job done as well though, just IMO less moving parts = less things to worry about. K.I.S.S. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
creed_az_88 Report post Posted July 4, 2014 Why do some of you use different heads for different animals? I see a lot of people that use fixed for Elk and mechanicals for everything else. If your fixed blade kills elk, it will surely kill smaller game. I guess I just do not understand the thought process of constantly switching broad heads. If you think your expandables are not strong enough for elk, why have confidence in them for smaller game? There are lots of fixed blade broadheads that fly like missiles out to great distances. I shoot fixed blade broad heads because I found one that works and has never let me down. Love em'!! I think 90% of expandables will get the job done as well though, just IMO less moving parts = less things to worry about. K.I.S.S. I use mechanicals for deer because their flight is superior to fixed heads especially in the wind even with a well tuned bow, penetration isn't much of a concern with deer, and the number one reason is cutting diameter. The one and only reason I hesitate to use them on elk is because of penetration concerns and no other reasons. There are a ton of well built mechanicals that have been proven to be strong enough for elk and a pile of other torturous mediums including steel drums. I shot my one and only bull with a razor trick and although it killed the bull dead, I only found one drop of blood in 120 yards of tracking and that was with a heart shot. Luckily the dirt was soft and we were able to track his hoof prints. I truly believe that if I was using a mechanical like I do on deer, I would have been able to follow blood to my bull rather than hoof prints. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
creed_az_88 Report post Posted July 4, 2014 Not to mention elk tags for most of us are far and few between so technically its not constantly switching broad heads its switching every couple of years at most. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HUNTnTAT2 Report post Posted July 4, 2014 Well that's the difference between archers and bowhunters. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
idgaf Report post Posted July 4, 2014 Here are some of the animals I have taken with mechanicals over the last few years. They were shot from 10 yards to 45 yards with my Matthews Monster and a gold tip series 22 ultralight arrow. The broadheads were tekken 2 blade, rage 2 and 3 blade 100 grain. The broadheads I did not like both mechanical and fixed were the NAP Spitfire and the Muzzy four blade. The broadheads I use now are the 2 and 3 blade rage depending on the mood when I leave the house. Some of the pictures are graphic (bare with me I am suffering insomnia) 10 yards tekken rage 3 blade 15 yards rage 3 blade 15 yards rage 3 blade (long story but shot 5 times, not the broadheads fault,operator error) 18 yards Rage 2 blade 45 yards Not pictured a couple more turkeys (assorted broadheads), my 2012 coues(rage 3 blade), 2010ish bear(tekken 3 blade), and 2010 fixed blade muley(muzzy 3 blade fixed) Antelope (tekken 2 blade) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
