bear broadheads
Contributors to this thread:Equipment
From: #bareshaft
27-Mar-18
Anyone using old Bear 2 blade broad-heads on their compound bow?
From: Redheadtwo
27-Mar-18
Sure do. All I use is coc heads with my compound arrows with the exception of 150 grain 2 blade Thunderheads. Absolutely NO mech heads will I use.
From: HDE
27-Mar-18
Didn't know they were still made or that you could even find them.
From: Jaquomo
27-Mar-18
No - why, when there are so many superior COC heads available now? Mine sit in my tacklebox with other old inferior heads.
From: Ken Moody Safaris
27-Mar-18
Kudupoint Broadheads
From: Ken Moody Safaris
27-Mar-18
Superb head. I’ve shot this one into foam over a dozen times and still shaving sharp.
From: Windmill
27-Mar-18
Not to throw this topic in another direction, but you guys ever use anymore, or remember Razorback Broadheads?
From: casekiska
27-Mar-18
I remember the New Archery Product Razorbak-5 broadhead well, also the Razorbak-4. NAP also made a polymer blade version of each to use for target practice. Back in the day I killed a slew of whitetails with the Razorbak-5. IMO, a good broadhead. Only .91" diameter but the five blades sure opened up a hole! They were hard hitters too, the 5-blade tipped the scales at 142 grains. Well made broadhead with great quality control specifications. Andy Simo, the designer and manufacturer was an exacting individual who was never satisfied unless it was right! The earliest Razorbak-5's had a cone style tip but that was changed to a pyramid style which many believe enhanced penetration. The base carrier was aircraft quality aluminum, the blade cartridge used stainless steel blades molded into a Lexan carrier, and the tips were hardened coated steel. I've still got a bunch of them around somewhere, maybe I should use them this fall just for old time's take! If this thread goes anywhere I've got some stories I could tell about Andy, we hunted together a few times in the seventies and eighties. He was quite a guy!
From: PECO
27-Mar-18
Seems you need a certain mechanical, or a certain $30 broadhead to kill anything these days.
From: butcherboy
27-Mar-18
I still have one or two laying around. Always had to can’t them slightly to the left or right to get them to fly without corkscrewing. Lol
From: casekiska
27-Mar-18
I remember the Razorbak broadheads well,...the four and the five blade versions. Took a slew of whitetails with the five back in the day! They also made a plastic blade version which was supposed to be used for target practice.
The five weighed 142 grains, started out with a cone style tip and then went to a pyramid style which was supposed to ease penetration. The carrier was made of aircraft quality aluminum, the blades were stainless steel molded into a Lexan carrier, and the tips were machined coated steel. Blade diameter of the five was .91" but it really opened up a hole!
Razorbak-5,...imo, a great broadhead back in the day. I used to go see Andy Simo (designed the broadhead and started New Archery Products) when he had his operations in his home, in the basement in Riverside, IL. Great times. We then hunted together here in WI a few times. This brings back good memories of times long ago. Andy was quite a fellow!
From: casekiska
27-Mar-18
Sorry about the double post - the first one never registered as having gone through.
From: Windmill
27-Mar-18
Yea I remember when I was a kid shooting with my dad in the side yard, I had an ol plastic longbow with a couple of his Easton XX75 arrows and he had an old bear with metal sights, metal sight guard, a coiled-up wireof sorts for a rest, and a crack shot release. And of course Razorbak broadheads he would use, little plastic carryin cases and plastic cones to keep em covered with.
From: 12yards
27-Mar-18
I killed a pile of deer with the stainless steel Super Razorheads. I still have a couple hand fulls of them. Some year I might do a retro hunt with some XX75s and some Razorheads. I have a buddy that stockpiled them and still uses them. He shoots a Reflex Caribou with fingers and 2317s with Bear Razorheads. Kills them just as dead as anything out there.
From: Buffalo1
27-Mar-18
Didn't the Razorbak BH spin on a ferule which sorta of an axle?
From: Jaquomo
27-Mar-18
I killed my first muley with a Bear Razorhead with the bleeder Super-glued in. 40# Wing recurve. I still have the arrow and broadhead. They were good heads in the day, but were made to shoot out of low-velocity bows with arrows that may or may not be straight so it didn't mater too much if they weren't exactly straight on the end of the arrow. I've glued them on and screwed them in. We used to file the tips into a chisel to keep them from curling when they hit any sort of bone, even a rib. It was a miracle if the bleeder made it through the animal.
From: t-roy
27-Mar-18
Razorback 4’s were the first Broadhead I used in the early 80s. Blades were pretty thin, but scary sharp, and they rotated on the ferrule. I seem to remember they came in a pretty nice hard plastic case too. Never have tried the Bear head.
From: hawkeye in PA
27-Mar-18
I've killed quite a few deer with a Bear razor head. Wife killed a nice 18" whitetail buck with a razorback 5 and a 32# PSE pacer. Neither would work today, though.
From: Windmill
27-Mar-18
Yea they had a little tool for tightening into the arrow insert and the broad head spun freely. My dad said it was like mentioned above to help the arrows flight be less affected because of the bows velocity’s and speeds back then.
From: LBshooter
27-Mar-18
I have a few boxes of them and they are deadly. They blades spin free and they fly well, I use them with my recurve, will be using them this year, a lays have at least one in the quiver. Aside note , these heads with the plastic cover they come with were the exploding broadheads that Rambo used in first blood 2, painted of course.
From: Buffalo1
27-Mar-18
https://www.ebay.com/itm/16-Vintage-Antique-Fred-Bear-Broadheads-Archery-Hunting/173240181790?hash=item2855eb641e:g:uckAAOSwOGVatrys
From: LBshooter
27-Mar-18
I have a few boxes of them and they are deadly. They blades spin free and they fly well, I use them with my recurve, will be using them this year, a lays have at least one in the quiver. Aside note , these heads with the plastic cover they come with were the exploding broadheads that Rambo used in first blood 2, painted of course.
From: Buffalo1
27-Mar-18
I was told in my early days that the Razorbak was the best BH to hunt bear with because of it's spinning quality, it would not get hung up in bear hair. I found out that a Zwickey Eskimo worked very well.
From: Buglmin
27-Mar-18
Lots of better made heads on the market the old Bear Razorhead. Seen why too many curl with hits to bone, and I'm not talking shoulder bones either!! I've seen them curl on ribs, shoulder blades, and come apart when they hit a leg bone on a mule deer. They might do good on small bodied whitetails, but I don't know any western stick bow shooter that trusts em!!
From: HDE
27-Mar-18
Huh. We've killed lots of elks and deers with them.
From: elkmtngear
27-Mar-18
I killed a pile of elk with Bear Superlights, "back in the Day". I have a bunch in a drawer, I still put them on my Wife's arrows when I take her out, mostly on "Farm Hunts".
This was a wild bull calf that a Landowner wanted taken out, 40 pound bow, pass through. Hard to beat the penetration on those heads, with a well-placed shot!
From: Fuzz
28-Mar-18
Lbshooter.... lol! I was gonna say the same thing about Rambo using them painted up like mini warheads!! That movie was just on tonight and I always laugh when I see those scenes. He needs to work on a consistent anchor point :')
My dad had a small archery shop out of our house back in the 80's. So of course I killed my 1st deer w/ a Razorback 5... wish I had a full case of them still just to take out for a spin once in awhile.
From: Charlie Rehor
28-Mar-18
I have a few of my Dad's bear heads saved from back in the 50's. Can't see using them.
I predict The Razorback Five concept will be back in some fashion. It was amazing and I never understood why the concept went away.
From: carcus
28-Mar-18
Still got probably a dozen of them or so, I've killed a few elk and a pile of deer with them, quality control wasn't very tight , I don't miss them at all!!!
From: BTM
28-Mar-18
The other day an old lady came down to the range with some "old archery stuff" she wanted to unload. One box contain 20 UNUSED 125-grain Razorheads with bleeders and individual plastic shields. She said she'd take $25 for them, and I almost broke my arm reaching for my wallet!
They've always flown well out of my bows, plus it's always good luck to have Fred along with you on a hunt.
From: George D. Stout
28-Mar-18
I've used then since the late 60's. They are fine heads and they made so many of them that they will always be available somewhere. I have a dozen or so old greenies that I still use. Better heads nowadays? That's a matter of opinion. I've never lost a deer when using them, and they usually end up on the other side of a pass through, even with lower weight bows. Anyone who has some they want to just get rid of, I can give you my address. I'll even help with shipping cost. And to answer the original question, I did use them when I shot compounds...1976 through 1980 and they did just as well. I still have two old compounds..Jennings and Martin from late 70's and still shoot them now and then. I may hunt with one this fall .... shooting barebow like I did back then. Enjoy whatever you use. Life is short.
From: tradmt
28-Mar-18
Go home George.
There are many, better built heads than those Razorheads. Not opinion, just fact.
Nostalgia runs deep in this one......LOL
From: Boris
29-Mar-18
I was just looking at mine on sunday. I have almost 6 doz. of Bear broadheads. Some have never had a file to them.
From: 12yards
29-Mar-18
tradmt, the difference between Razorheads and the many better built heads today is you could get a dozen Bears for a buck apiece and they flat out worked great and flew great. The thing I never really liked about them was the flimsy bleeder. I know it was designed to break on impact with bone, but that was a bad idea IMO. I always wished they'd have made that bleeder more durable.
From: APauls
29-Mar-18
I have a couple. Got them in a pack of a bunch of random broadheads I bought from a guy. That's what I use for aerial goosing and such types of shots.
From: Shawn
29-Mar-18
They were first made in 1956 and then improved in 1959. For close to 20 years they were the best selling broadhead out there. Kind of soft so very easy to sharpen. They killed an awful lot of critters and I would bet they have accounted for more whitetails then most heads out there, be it big or small. I killed my first deer with one in 1977 shooting a Red Wing Hunter. Quite a few folks still shoot them from their traditional bows. I myself shoot 175 grain VPA's out of all my bows, compound and recurves. Shawn
From: 12yards
29-Mar-18
Just for the halibut I screwed one on an old XX75 gamegetter 2315 and shot it at 17 yards into my Prerut buck with my GT500 tonight. It hit right where I was aiming. Great arrow flight.
From: Jaquomo
30-Mar-18
They're soft metal and don't hold an edge well, the bleeder blades are flimsy and rarely stay in after puncturing the hide, the tips curl on rib bones, and they dont always spin true. Otherwise they are great heads! :-)
In its day it was a very good mass-production head. Not by today's standards, but there are lots of crappier heads out there now, too, that cost a lot more.
From: 12yards
30-Mar-18
You are right Lou, they are soft. I've had the head, ferrule and all, bend in a nice arc before on hits. I've also had the main blades come loose in the ferrule. But as others have said, I never had one cost me a deer. When I first started using them I didn't use the bleeder. I just shot it as a two blade and some of the deer I swear didn't even realize they were hit. A couple bounds, stop and look around, stagger and drop dead. But there are definitely a lot of much better heads out there today for sure.
From: Jaquomo
30-Mar-18
Lots of animals have been shot with dull Bear Razorheads because folks didn't take the time to resharpen them every couple days after bobbing around in a quiver. Back when almost everyone I knew shot them, almost everyone hunted with astonishingly dull heads. They thought because they "looked sharp" out of the box that was good enough. But as soft as they are, they lost their edge pretty quickly.
From: 12yards
30-Mar-18
They were awful out of the box.
From: PECO
30-Mar-18
I find a lot of todays broadheads, and replacement blades, awful out of the box.
From: casekiska
30-Mar-18
GH - I remember well the Razor's Edge sharpening system. They were somewhat popular in WI for a while back in the early eighties if I recall correctly. They were designed to be used with a two-blade broadhead or a knife. I tried one once and though it worked well but found I could do almost as good of a job without having to go through the hassle of attaching and unattaching it to the broadhead. I have not seen one of these sharpening kits in years and don't think they are being made any longer.
From: Jaquomo
30-Mar-18
The high-tech "Cutmaster" worked about as well as anything for Bears and Zwickeys...
From: ahunter55
30-Mar-18
Great head as many others of their time. These things have killed so many various Biggame animals it's ridicules including Bear heads. They will do as good as any of today when sharp.
From: Jaquomo
30-Mar-18
Ahunter, if have most of those lying around too. Used to swear by the Savoras until I met John Musacchia in the elk woods and he gave me some awesome new improved heads, called the "Muzzy".
You forgot the infamous six-blade Wasp with single edge razor blade inserts, and the weird five blade Martin (I shot an elk with one of those too)
From: ahunter55
30-Mar-18
my 1st horns were in 64 with a Bear. I've taken Bear, Elk, Whitetail & Muleys with Wasp (3 & 6) Savora, Satellites, Rocky Mountain Razors & several others from the early years. Hi Precision, 003s, Ma3s, & others, Even a Hilbre of all heads. Todays hunter has many great choices for sure. I have used some model 3 blade Rocky Mountain for over 40 years now.
From: casekiska
30-Mar-18
Fellows here have commented on this broadhead and on that broadhead, and a few photos of different broadheads have been posted. Yep, it's all very interesting. As a matter of fact it is all extremely interesting once you really get into it. There are broadhead collectors across the country who have done just that and are in it up to their eyeballs! Some fellows have been collecting for decades and have amassed collections of upwards of 3,000 different broadheads. The American Broadhead Collectors Club began in 1974 and has published a "Master List" of over 4,000 different broadheads which have now been identified by collectors.
From: Killinstuff
30-Mar-18
I stayed at an Air BNB cabin last week south of Minocqua WI that also happened to be a 1000 acre high fence deer ranch. Ted Nugent killed deer there and left an arrow behind with a bear head on it. I sure wanted that broadhead but I'd never steal.
As for high fence deer, them SOBitchtes ran as fast as they could soon as they saw me or the dogs. If the fences didn't stop them they'd have run to Minnesota I bet.
From: Jaquomo
30-Mar-18
ground hunter, you bet, both Johns were longbow shooters. Two days after I got the Muzzys I shot a nice 6x bull with one and they used the photo in ads and posters. I eventually became Pro Staffer #1 and shot the heads up until a couple years ago when Michele sold to Rage. Great heads, among many great heads available today.
From: Antler
31-Mar-18
heart shot
heart shot
Used a vintage 105 grain Bear Razorhead in Greenland in 2016 to put down a bull muskox. One shot through the heart and that was all she wrote.
From: Antler
31-Mar-18
heart shot
heart shot
Used a vintage 105 grain Bear Razorhead in Greenland in 2016 to put down a bull muskox. One shot through the heart and that was all she wrote.
From: Antler
31-Mar-18
should have been this pic
From: Jaquomo
31-Mar-18
Antler, that's very cool, but I'm not sure 1992 is "vintage". :;-)
I'm still wearing underwear more vintage than that!
From: 12yards
31-Mar-18
Antler, that's a Bear Razorhead Lite not one of the originals. I shot the Lites for awhile in the 90s. I think they were 125 grain heads.
From: BIG BEAR
31-Mar-18
The original.
From: Bill Obeid
31-Mar-18
Big Bear,
That’s an early head but it’s modified from the very first model. The original had pins in the ferrule.... the first modification had a bubble on the end of the ferrule.... and then Fred flattened the tip of the ferrule , ( like your picture) for better penetration.
From: BIG BEAR
31-Mar-18
Cool Bill.... I'm mainly a compound guy but I do have a half dozen Grayling Bear recurves and have hunted with a few of them ...... I need to give it another try.
From: Paul@thefort
31-Mar-18
arrow and bh from 40 years ago
arrow and bh from 40 years ago
killed my first deer with them in 1962 and I might try to kill a turkey when I pick up the stick.
killed my first deer with them in 1962 and I might try to kill a turkey when I pick up the stick.
From: Paul@thefort
31-Mar-18
I also believe Fred and a few others using the bear head, "rounded" off the point some so it would not bend over at the narrow pointed tip when in contact with bone.
From: mnbwhtr
01-Apr-18
Razors Edge is still in business in Ely Mn, just bought a clamp last year. Scary sharp when sharpened with this system.
From: krieger
01-Apr-18
The first buck I ever put my hands on was circa 1977-78. Town hunter shot him and didn't find him, we did with the combine. Bear Razorhead , wood arrow, we had it for years above the shop door, wonder where it got to??
That broadhead was one of the coolest things I'd ever seen !!
I shot me some Razorback 5's also, killed my first good buck with one, 22 pt non-typical. Loved those heads!
From: George D. Stout
01-Apr-18
I don't mind new heads but I dang well won't pay ten bucks or more for one broadhead. Being cheap is a confining thing. This year I'm switching over to Ace Standard since they are still semi-affordable and easily sharpened in the field. Anyway, I've never lost a deer when using Bear heads, and I never bent or broke one in an animal. You're mileage my vary. Yes, there are many tougher heads, and pre-sharpened for those who need that as well. It's a good time to be in bowhunting as far as choices go. Enjoy.
From: WV Mountaineer
01-Apr-18
I've killed deer with the greenies and trad bows. I've killed deer with razor heads and compounds too. The greenies worked. But, there are better. The razorheads worked. but, there are better. God Bless
From: cnelk
01-Apr-18
Arent Bear broadheads only supposed to be used for bear hunting? :)
From: Jaquomo
02-Apr-18
I've shot through a bull elk scapula with a 4 blade Muzzy on a steep downhill with a 66# Bighorn recurve. Blew a "square" through the bone and the bull dropped in sight. Replaced the blades and killed a couple more elk with the same head. I'd be interested to see how a Bear would perform on the same shot. I have killed elk with the Bear but didn't hit anything "hard".
It was a good head in its day, but nobody ever spin-tested broadheads or shot 300 fps compounds back then either.
From: tradmt
02-Apr-18
George, the great thing is we don't have to spend $10 a head for heads that are better than the Razorhead but, if I did have to, I would!
In all honesty, if $10 is what's keeping from going hunting then I got a lot bigger problems to address.
From: mnbwhtr
02-Apr-18
jaquomo, anything can happen, I blew right through a moose's shoulder blade in Ontario with a bear razorhead, the inserts needed to be replaced and but I was still able to shoot a deer with the same head later that year.
From: Tajue17
09-Apr-18
Kudopoint looks to be copying the tried and true--> Simmons shark,, why do people even do that?
The Bear Yellows are great if you get them as trad points and mount your own ferrules because most I came across with ferrules installed have wobbled I have maybe 40 of them I use with sticks sometimes, I would go for buzzcuts nowadays over the bears..
Muzzy's are awesome heads that point design was revolutionary but I could only get 3 out of 3 to hit good for me from a compound on the same arrow,,, BUT i made my longest heart shot with a muzzy and they have taken a lot of my deer. but I rather use them in my stickbows,, I was told they were originally designed by a longbow shooter to have a bone breaking cut-on contact head,, but then we learned what single bevels from light weight bows can do to heavy bone so it made sense to go to a single bevel with light bows.
From: 12yards
17-Apr-18
Here's my Bear Superazorhead slinger outfit. PSE Jet Flite Express 55-70 pounds with 2317 Autumn Orange logs and 5" feather fletch. Hunted with it from 88-2000 or 2001. Killed a bunch of deer and a bear with that beast. DL way too long, LOL. 31" when I am actually a hair over 29". But it worked for me for many years.
From: Shug
17-Apr-18
I killed this bull mastiff with an original Bear razor head late80s I believe...
From: Shug
17-Apr-18
Forgot the pic
From: Ursman
17-Apr-18
Back in 1966 my pals were shooting Bears I was shooting Super Hilbres and Bowlos and getting great penetration with my 43 lb Hoyt recurve.
From: Sharpstick
01-Jun-18
I've been looking and buying bear razorback broadheads off of ebay lately. Found 2 packages of unopened just today. Think l'll scarf them up. Iol Had a pass thru on a doe last year, died in 8 seconds with in site. They may be old,but so am l. Only heads l use are Bear 2 blade and Magnus stingers.
From: tobywon
01-Jun-18
Come on Shug!!!! the least you could do is put the tongue back in before taking the photo :)
