Question on long range broadhead flight
Mule Deer
Our son is heading out west, hopefully, to hunt with a very good friend for mule deer this fall. (I'll be shooting photography since I got a nice buck out there last November.)
Of course that means he had to get a new bow, with all the accessories. (We bowhunters are kind of like women and shoes, I guess. Big trip=new everything!)
We're wondering, though, what broadheads you hunters find give you good downrange arrowflight? He's pretty happy with what he's been shooting for whitetails but is curious if there might be something better.
He'll be shooting around 70#, mid-range arrows at about 300 fps with a 100 grain head.
Ideally he could just go by six or seven packs of different arrows but he's saving for getting married, buying another house, etc.
use what he as been using and is comfortable with. no since in changing.
I shoot a setup very similar to his with a 70 lb draw shooting just a little over 300 fps with a 100 grain head. I used the Trophy-taker Shuttle T-locks last September in Wyoming for pronghorns. They flew great out of my setup out to 80 yards as long as my form was good. My only shot on that trip was a pronghorn doe at 70 yards. The arrow flew great and hit where I aimed and she went down in about 100 yards. I'd definitely recommend trying them.
Big fan of the Trophy Taker Shuttle T's or Terminal T's. Since they came out in 2006 I've used them exclusively! Fly like darts and very strong! Have a great hunt! C
This kind of blood trail has you smiling the entire time:)
I like Simmons but not sure about them in long range shots. I would probably go with the shuttle T's out to 80
Shuttle t lock or terminal t lock
I agree with what everyone else is saying about the shuttle/terminal t-locks, but you should also check out ramcats and wac' ems. They truly are the best flying fix blades that I have found.
Writer...I shoot Magnus Snuffer's SS 100 and routinely practice out to 70-80 Yds. and have no problems with flight at all.
My slick tricks hit right with field points out to 70 yards. I haven't tried them longer than that but no reason to think they wouldn't be good for as far as you wanted to shoot.
I've found wac'ems to fly the best.
Appreciate all the answers. Thanks for taking the time to share, especially the pics.
TBM...never heard Simmons mentioned with long range shooting, but I've seen some hellacious wound channels they've left.
The original 2" cut.
The Wac'em triton for sure.
Long-range performance will likely be influenced more by the tune of the bow than the broadhead design. That is, a well-tuned bow would probably get great performance from a lot of different heads at long distances. If the tuning is not so good, then long-range broadhead flight probably will not be good from most heads.
No one head flys the best for all people. Too many variables. Each bow is tuned differently and each shooter shoots differently. What may shoot great from my bow might shoot poorly out of your bow. Two schools of thought here. Shoot a handful of heads and select the one that shoots best for you. Or choose the one head you like best due to its features, and tune your bow to shoot it well. These days, brand name means little with regard to flight, they are all capable of good accuracy.
If what hes shooting works practice his stalking and get within comfortable range . Bedded mulies can usually be stalked to quite reasonable distances of 40 and under. Hope he get a good one looking forward to some great pics.
Shuttle T has worked well for me, so has the Ulmer edge.
I bought a few different packs, shot a field point at 100 yards, shot a few of each type and chose the head that hit closest to the field point. For me, that was a slick trick 125. That head might not work for you, but it seemed to be the best way to know for sure.
Slick trick Viper trick hits exactly like my field points out to 60 and haven't shot them past that as I wouldn't shoot past that at an animal. You didn't say how far 'down range' was. They are also as forgiving as my field points.
Skinny shaft with minimal fletch, well tuned with a tapered fixed COC head for me works just fine.
Sdhntr nailed it. Most heads now days will fly great with a tuned bow and shooter. Good luck
"No one head flys the best for all people. Too many variables. Each bow is tuned differently and each shooter shoots differently. What may shoot great from my bow might shoot poorly out of your bow. Two schools of thought here. Shoot a handful of heads and select the one that shoots best for you. Or choose the one head you like best due to its features, and tune your bow to shoot it well. These days, brand name means little with regard to flight, they are all capable of good accuracy."
I do not totally agree with this statement and just because an arrow hits the bulls eye does not mean that arrow is flying TRUE.
Sorry SDHNTR I know that you are very meticulous but some broadheads are more work than they are worth and on the other hand some are much easier than others for most setups.
I would like more discussion on this aspect of this topic.
I've done what sdhntr said and always test new heads, that's how I came up with the wac'ems. maybe since I've shot them the longest and my bow tune/style is set up for them.
So Rocky D, since you didn't name any heads,
Which ones are "more work than they are worth"?
Which ones are "much easier than others"?
If a shuttle T doesn't hit exactly where your field points are hitting, I'd say your bow is completely out of tune. No other explanation.
I used them last two years, flew great and accurate. To me, they left something to be desired in terms of their sharpness.
I will be using Solids this year. I shot one in 10 yard increments from 10 yards to 90. I was very impressed.
Wildwilderness, Shuttle Ts, VPAs, and Slicks Tricks are on the top of the list for me. I have not felt the need to change so I do not have a running list of what I think are good and bad.
Personally and I am sure that many will disagree but I am not a fan of the original muzzys. I know tons of game have been killed with them but for me they fall in the hard to tune group. Once I am on with field points I do not want to make radical adjustments with a broadhead. Those above have required very little tweaking for me. I have had people try them off of their setups with good success.
I was not trying to be argumentative I just find some heads are more demanding than others. I do not keep a running list on the good and bad but I stay with the tried and true until I here enough positive things and then I will give them a try.
I even tried the rage and felt like I was shooting a tin can. Just my perspective, I try to give honest assessments and just because I bought does not mean that I will stand by a product.
Rocky D, I do not disagree with you. The original Muzzy's could be harder to tune, especially out of fast bows. Heck, they were hard to even get one to spin right. But it was/is possible if you wanted to sort through the good spinners and tweak and tune to eventually make them to work. I agree, it was/is a lot of effort, but if you really want to shoot those heads, it can be done. With most of the more modern, compact heads, like the ones you mentioned, rarely is this level of effort necessary. Thats why I said "These days, brand name means little with regard to flight, they are all capable of good accuracy." I was referring to the compact designs that are more common today.
This also relates to why I said there are two methodologies here. You can try a few different brands/types and choose the one that flies the best for you. Or pick the one you like based on it's features alone and work with it to make it fly well if it doesn't right away. If that happens to be an older design with more planing surface like a Snuffer, Muzzy, Thunderhead, etc., you can still make it work, just might take a bit more effort with faster bows today. Those are still good heads when it comes to terminal performace. Thousands of trophy heads on the wall can't be wrong.
SDNTR, Agree but why would someone want a project when they can get past most of the work with the initial selection.
Most people fall victim to advertising and if you watch TV then if you do not put a rage in the cage then your lost animal will be the result.
Also, for elk as one person stated "just use what you have been using for whitetails" which may be faulty in that legality may be an issue, long range flight may be a real challenge, and all broadheads are not elk medicine in everyone's hands.
Actually it was Western bowhunters who pushed me toward the heads I mentioned specifically for long range shooting.
I find that for a lot of hunters their first trip out West can be an eye opening experience in all facets to include equipment.
Shuttle T has worked well for me. I will agree with Nick on the sharpness issue though.
I would recommend Shuttle T, good luck with the mulies!!
"Also, for elk as one person stated just use what you "have been using for whitetails" which may be faulty in that legality may be an issue, long range flight may be a real challenge, and all broadheads are not elk medicine in everyone's hands."
The question wasn't about what to use for elk.
I'm also a shuttle T fan. Been using them for about 8 seasons now I think. As for the sharpening, they must be very meticulously sharpened. I can get the two straight parts of the blade with normal methods (several grits on wet stons). I get the curved part with a free hand with a lil cylindrical pen sharpener. Here's what one looks like after blowing through an elk shoulder blade; same as it looks out the package only sharper
I believe that you should tune your bow properly. I walk back tune to 70 yards, shooting at a vertical line of electric tape. My bow is tuned to field points and I now choose heads that hit with my FP's. I don't believe in tuning to a broad head. Most heads should fly well until you hit 40-60 yards, which I don't consider long range. 70 yards seems to seperate the best. Right now I'm using new old stock of NAP Nightmares for fixed and Spitfires for mechs. They fly exactly with my FP's at long range.
I usually get together with buddies and buy a few packs of different heads for testing. That way it dosent cost any of us too much.
