Mechanical Broadheads fly like field tips?

[TomBow]

B mac. No I have never been involved in a shop, I just do a crapload (excuse my foul mouth) of reading and gathering info on bows, arrows, broadheads, yadda-yadda-yadda. I like to discuss with experienced or inexperienced bowhunters and if somebody happens to get some good info out of what I have to say or type, Great! That's my intention, I've learned a few things along the way and am always willing to share as well as learn myself. I just really like to read about bows and bowhunting (2 days to go boys, TWO DAYS!!)

There are good pro-shops in the twins as well as other parts of the state, just as there are bad ones. A good shop is like a good mechanic, worth the drive.
Best of Luck to all!!

[camo_marc]

Captain-
I had the exact same set-up as you. Started out with thunderheads and was missing way to the right. Swithched to steelheads and they shoot exactly like field points. also you can actually hear them slamming open when they hit the target.

[thore]

Tom Bow thank you first of all for taking enough interest in this topic to reply. The answers to yur questions are as follows.
Arrows: carbon express terminator hunter 4560 length 28.75 in.
Bow: Bowtech tech 29, 60lb 80%let off
broadheads: Rockets 75 grain 1.25in cutting diameter. Tom for what its worth I use this set up for turkeys and bear also. Just harvested my second bear with this setup on the 11 of this month. Bear was 12 yards away. Had a pass thru and it ran 50 yards. Oh one more thing travel speed is 255f/s range. So am I on something or onto something with this setup. Can't wait to hear back from you

[TomBow]

thore--yeah, you ARE on something, it's called BOWHUNTING, MAN!!

Here's my calculations:
This is based on the FOC and weight calcutors from the Jackson's ARchery and Hunting page:
If you shoot 4" vanes, your total arrow weight is around 435gr, KE is about 63 ft. lbs. and your FOC is about 6% which is pretty low, in theory, from what I've read. If you shoot 4" feathers, your arrow weight would be around 415gr, KE about 60 ft. lbs. with an FOC of about 8%. Bottom line, if you are getting excellent arrow flight with no wobble, why change anything. If you are punching through bear I'd say "no problem mon!"
How do you like the Tech 29? I shoot a 2002 Patriot at 67 lbs., 28" draw length and really like the efficiency. My CX 300 arrows at 28" weigh 364 gr. with 100gr Montec, 287 fps and I get about 66 lbs. of KE and have an FOC of 12% or so.
Knock 'em dead!!

[thore]

I just love it the tech 29 that is. But I must say I'm saving up my pennies for the Justice. Hey Tom Bow figure this one out for me, a pro staffer was monkeying around and put 21in. of fletching on a couple of arrows and tried it out. He staggered four right in front of the normal three. What do you think of that concept. You can't believe the difference in the tone of the arrow in flight its amazing. Or does this guy just have too much time on his hands.

[TomBow]

Hey it's all about experimentation. If you think something might work, you need to try it to know for sure. Some early Indian arrows had large fletch on them which would add drag and stabilize the arrow more. Over the years, somebody figured out that you get the arrow flying from the bow straight and you can get away with less drag and more speed because you don't need the fletch to work as hard to stabilize the arrow. Look at the olympic archers and some of the 3-D hard-core shooter's arrows and you'll see some pretty small fletching.
This hurts my brain to think about this stuff so early in the day!!

[fonz58]

4 of 4 of us in our hunting party use Jackhammer 75 gr. mechanicals. On opening weekend in ND 3 of us scored. One 8pt, 2 9pts. 1 scored 145!! and in velvet too. All 3 mechanicals opened, one ran 150 yds with a double lung, one ran 40 yds with double lung, 1 ran 75 yds with a double lung shot. 2 were a complete pass through. 1 did not. All bows shot 55 lbs plus. All shots under 20 yds. I shot 3 deer last year with this broadhead and experienced the same kind of results as above.

My 14 yr old son did his science experiment by purchasing 6 different kinds of broadheads. 3 mechanical, 3 traditional. He shot them into wood, steel, and 3/4" rubber. His 6 page report showed a clear advantage to all the arrows that had a CHISEL point. That was probably more important than mechanical vs. traditional.

His test (although limited by his budget to purchase expensive broadheads) helped him to confirm his choice in broadheads. At the time he could only pull back 45 lbs and therefore used a traditional broadhead (muzzy) to take his first deer. This year he has switched to the Jackhammer mechanical in the 75 grain, and is shooting 56 lbs. He took a very nice 8pt @ 5 yards and the entrance hole was a nice big fat triangle. That's my experience, and experiment results. Good hunting!!

[TomBow]

Fonz--Congrats on the success! That's cool!

Curious, what four broadheads did he use, what distance did he shoot from and what were the results.

On the American Hunter HSOforum, a guy called 5SHOT does broadhead testing. There is some good information there.