All things Archery

[Hookeye]

How does your bow shoot through paper?
I ask because many folks who use mechs do so because of flight problems with fixed blade heads, and the improvement in grouping by switching to mechs makes many think a problem has been solved (when it has merely been masked).

I'd also like to know what your bow setup is. I think the old unwritten rule about a higher performance bow of 65# or more to be of merit.

That with an arrow that isn't too light (keep momentum and FOC up) should yield pass throughs IMHO.

 

[jmiller676]

It comes down to how sharp the broadhead is. I shot my first deer with a #45 Bear Grizzly and was only actually drawing around #30. I had pass through at ten yards. Stop over thinking things guys, a sharp broadhead will work. A lot of people talk about hitting deer in the lungs and not recovering it. The problem is they are pushing a head through instead of having it cut. With all of my bow deer I have had excellent bloodtrails, even when it didn't pass through. Bow hunting, it's not that difficult.

 

[Hookeye]

Bad flight and or side loads on impact/during tissue travel can reduce penetration.
It has to hit on the mark, drive through in-line, and be sharp

 

[jmiller676]

Bad flight and or side loads on impact/during tissue travel can reduce penetration.
It has to hit on the mark, drive through in-line, and be sharp

I agree however, I see a lot of people worrying that their bow only shoots 308 fps...give me a break.

 

[Hookeye]

Fast and crooked is still crooked

 

[vwarren]

It comes down to how sharp the broadhead is. I shot my first deer with a #45 Bear Grizzly and was only actually drawing around #30. I had pass through at ten yards. Stop over thinking things guys, a sharp broadhead will work. A lot of people talk about hitting deer in the lungs and not recovering it. The problem is they are pushing a head through instead of having it cut. With all of my bow deer I have had excellent bloodtrails, even when it didn't pass through. Bow hunting, it's not that difficult.

WORD!

 

[UncleNorby]

Doesn't matter if it's gun or bow. Nobody really knows where an unrecovered deer was hit, though they may think they made a good hit.

A dull broadhead through both lungs should be an easily recovered deer. But a one-lung hit can be tough even with a sharp head. I've made one-lung hits before and had a tough time finding the deer. Only after I found the deer and opened it up did I understand why.

I have learned to aim 1/3 up from the belly, and directly over the elbow (not behind it) with a bow.

 

[jmiller676]

Doesn't matter if it's gun or bow. Nobody really knows where an unrecovered deer was hit, though they may think they made a good hit.

A dull broadhead through both lungs should be an easily recovered deer. But a one-lung hit can be tough even with a sharp head. I've made one-lung hits before and had a tough time finding the deer. Only after I found the deer and opened it up did I understand why.

I have learned to aim 1/3 up from the belly, and directly over the elbow (not behind it) with a bow.

That provides you with the greatest margin of error.

 

[M4Madness]

How does your bow shoot through paper?
I ask because many folks who use mechs do so because of flight problems with fixed blade heads, and the improvement in grouping by switching to mechs makes many think a problem has been solved (when it has merely been masked).

I'd also like to know what your bow setup is. I think the old unwritten rule about a higher performance bow of 65# or more to be of merit.

That with an arrow that isn't too light (keep momentum and FOC up) should yield pass throughs IMHO.

BowTech 82nd Airborne
350+ FPS IBO
52# draw weight
28" draw
340-grain (includes 85-grain Slick Trick) Carbon Express Maxima 250 Blue Streak Selects
303 FPS
FOC is 9%

Mike Carter ("Crackers" on ArcheryTalk) installed a new string and cable last year, as well as tuning it in a Hooter Shooter. Obviously, it needed a slight adjustment when I received it back, as a bow needs to be tuned to the shooter. My field points didn't have the same impact as my broadheads, so a minute adjustment of the rest brought the two groups together. I then checked it via the walk-back tuning method, and it's shooting great. My arrow spine is as dead-nuts as one can get it -- optimal spine is 0.4148, and mine is 0.413.

 

[joker762]

Looking for some advice! I just bought a Stryker 380 and as of now I'm undecided what broadheads I'm going to shoot. What does everybody else shoot? I'm a big fan of the grim reapers out of my bow but not sure out of the x-bow. Advice?

 

[jmiller676]

Looking for some advice! I just bought a Stryker 380 and as of now I'm undecided what broadheads I'm going to shoot. What does everybody else shoot? I'm a big fan of the grim reapers out of my bow but not sure out of the x-bow. Advice?

something sharp, very sharp.

 

[clfergus]

Looking for some advice! I just bought a Stryker 380 and as of now I'm undecided what broadheads I'm going to shoot. What does everybody else shoot? I'm a big fan of the grim reapers out of my bow but not sure out of the x-bow. Advice?

My brother, dad and I just shoot Muzzy Mx-3. Pick them up at Walmart for 17.00 and they have passed through each deer we have shot. Easy to use even with practice blades and cheap.

 

[joker762]

Well, I've tried about six different broadheads and so far the shwackers are shooting the best

 

[ws6guy]

I shot Rage 2-blade broadheads for three seasons and killed 9 deer with them. With the exception of one pass-through, the rest of the arrows stayed in the deer as they ran and expired. That resulted in eight expensive arrows being broken. Poor penetration seems to be the only complaint I've read about Rage broadheads. It seems like any hunting show in which you see them in use, the deer runs off with the arrow hanging out of it.

I only lost one deer while using them. I had photos of a 10-pointer on my trail camera, and caught up with him the first week of November 2010. I hit him in the vertebrae at 30 yards -- he may have jumped the string slightly, or I may have just shot high. Who knows? Anyway, the arrow didn't penetrate deep enough to sever the spine, and after a quick grunt from my tube, he walked closer and stopped perfectly broadside at 20 yards. The second arrow busted right into the ribcage where I wanted it to, and he charged off crashing into the brush.

I waited about a half hour, then slipped out of there in the opposite direction to get tracking help. We returned in the dark at least two hours later, and took up the bloodtrail. We had copious amounts of bubbly lung blood, and came upon an empty, bloody bed. We then backed out and resumed the search the next morning. We tracked that buck for hundreds of yards, and discovered at least three more bloody beds, but no buck. I'm confident that it was only a single-lung hit, as he survived.

How do I know he survived? He was hit by a car the following January. By the time I got to him, someone had already sawed his antlers off. But, lodged there in the vertebrae was my Rage broadhead and two or three inches of my carbon arrow. I switched to Slick Tricks the next season (2011), and killed 6 deer with them. All six Slick Tricks penetrated both sides of the deer.

I also got rid of the Rages due to penetration issues. I lost a nice deer and looked to be a good lung hit. Found a couple huge blood beds but never could locate the deer. I have also switched to Slick Trick Razortricks since I'm only pulling about 55lb and short draw length so I don't have a kinetic energy in my arrows.

 

[spainy79]

I just made the transition with my bow going from a biscuit rest to a QAD HD drop away. I'm already seeing better consistent shots and the plus side is I didn't have to adjust my sights too much. I was actually shooting high once I got the left/right figured out. Got the 20 and 30 pin set. Would like to get the 40 done as well before next weekend. Didn't think October was ever going to get here.

 

[bubba31]

Well, I've tried about six different broadheads and so far the shwackers are shooting the best

Shwackers, 125 grain, 2 1/4 inch cut, is what I use, I swear by them,accurate, big wound channel=quick, clean kill, fast recovery, best broadhead I've ever used

 

[whitetailbowhunter]

Rage 2-Blade 100 grain Chisel Points are what i switched to this year, Last year my 3 blade failed to deploy all three blades. I Cut off the Aorta, so i had no problem locating the deer 50 yds away, but i still had one fail. The 2 blade Chisel points have done an excellent job for me and untill it fails, i won't switch to anything else.

 

[vwarren]

I have killed countless deer with the rage 2 blade. but I am gonna try the rage 2 blade 2.3 extreme these things are sick looking!

 

[whitetailbowhunter]

One of my my good buds that i go to 3-D shoots with just bought the new Bear Motive 6 and this bow is AMAZING. Extremely quite, very fast, and puts 3 shot groupings that touch everytime and it is a typical Bear, very smooth. i was also shocked at how quiet this bow is without any modifications. If you get a chance, this is definately one to check out, or at least shoot!

Compound Bows | Motive 6 | Bear Archery

 

[Hookeye]

Debating on test driving a Blackwidow PCH after season.