Mechanicals for bear
Wisconsin
Contributors to this thread:
Any thoughts, good or bad on mechanicals for bear? I have friends that swear by them, but I have always been a fixed blade shooter and now thinking of giving them a try. My first thought says if I wouldn't use them on elk, why would I used them on bear...but open to more opinions from others.
My personal experience is, you will get better penetration using a sharp fixed blade, more of a chance of a pass threw compared to a mechanical. Not that a mechanical wont do the job but when those blades open up they have to cut threw thick hair first thus cutting down on the penetration.
I've seen what they've done to animals when they open...and seen what can happen when they don't.
MF's Link
Having always had good success with fixed blades, I've never bothered with mechanicals. I can tell you that the outfitter I hunt with in Manitoba will not allow them. Says he sees no advantage and a chance for failure with them as compared to the tried and proven fixed blades.
Most hunters only use Mechanical broad heads because of the cutting diameter, for certain animals this would be ok but for an animal with thick fur, tough hide and possibly a dangerous one, a fixed blade will do a better job. In my bear camp we have had success with both but have had more pass threw with fixed broadheads.
I have always been a fixed guy , but in the last 5 years in bear camp I have skinned so many bears shot with mechanical and the holes and tracking have been unreal, II am really shocked that I say this but I feel the are made for bear hunting,
Bear hide and fur is much easier to penetrate than elk hide. Elk bones are bigger also. On bear you have a close shot so you should be able to double lung them and the do not go far usually. With a mechanical you are a malfunction away from Lost animal.
glunker , so is a mechanical release a drop away rest and the bow, 5 years ago no one could told be to use a mechanical I have killed over 20 bears and what I have seen with kill rate and blood trails in the last 5 years its just insane. It all really come down to confidence it the hunters set up,
What hunters fail to realize when using mechanical broadheads on bears is that low poundage and mechanical's do not make a good set-up. All the hype about speed and fast shooting bows go out the window when hunting bears over bait. If you are shooting less that 55 lbs. I urge you to use cut on contact broadheads. Only once in 30 years did I have a hunter use mechanical broadheads and the shot was marginal. There is nothing like tracking a bear that is wounded and P'oed in the dark.
Take a step back and look at the reality of the shot you will be more than likely taking. 15 yards, broadside, standing. No need to worry about the arrow planing at long distances, no need to worry about speed. An arrow traveling at 270 fps is traveling 184 miles per hour and it takes the arrow about a blink of a eye to travel that distance.
I would take a cut on contact broadhead any day over a mechanical in this instance.
I always loved the thunderhead 160's for bear, because of the larger cutting diameter and generally short range shots. Too bad they quit making them. I do have a few 6 packs of them left that I no longer need if anyone is interested.
Thanks for all the input guys, lots of good points. Think I'll stay with my Thunderheads...
For those that are anti mechanical. You have obviously never seen what a good mech on a 480+ grain arrow will do to almost any animal when shot out of a 60lb and up bow.
hey Rutn, have you ever seen what a zwicky delta will do to an animal?
"hey Rutn, have you ever seen what a zwicky delta will do to an animal?"
Yes I have. I am not anti fixed heads. I actually shoot fixed blades and mechanicals.
I had been using light arrows with a heavy draw weight because I felt like they would shoot faster out of my old bow. I switched to heavier arrows this year and noticed a huge difference in penetration and just to my human eye, it seems like the arrows are arriving at the target just as fast as they were with the lighter arrows. I'm a rage guy and my only issue with them was penetration. Now, with a heavier arrow, I don't have that issue. I'd be comfortable using a rage on any animal including elk or bear.
RutnStrut "For those that are anti mechanical" not a anti mechanical. I have seen more bears shot "archery" than most will ever see in a life time. Mechanicals have there place and will definitely do the job, hell a field tip will kill a bear if the shot is placed right. Fixed broadheads have been the clear winner when compared to mechanicals in my camp. When you see as many bears shot and recovery missions as I have eventually a pattern starts to develop and hunting a big game animal such as a black bear deserves respect (as any animal does). For bear my choice is a heavy fixed broadhead ( I like two holes in a bear) By the way I also shot both!
MF - Same here at our camp. I'm not anti mechanical, but most of our hunters used fixed. The only problems we saw were with the rage on several occasions a few years back.
Mike I agree with you 100%. I just sometimes like to mess with the guys that bash on mechanicals. I had never shot mechs before 2006. But I had seen so many people bashing them that I knew were shooting light, poorly tuned set ups. I tried them to prove a point to a few guys I knew. I was very impressed, even that first year. But back then I was shooting 78lbs and 570 grain arrows. I had a buddy that swore I'd get a pass through with a big fender washer behind my broadhead;) I love the big gaping holes I get on BOTH sides of deer when shooting mechs. However I will have QAD Exodus fixed blades on the end of my arrows for my bear hunt this fall.
Check out the slick trick broad heads. Non sharper. Cuts on entry. Great choice!!!
I got curious about what the largest cutting diameter was with Slick Tricks. Their Griztrick2 is 1 1/4 inch and appears to come in 100 or 125 grains.
Compared that to the discontinued Thunder Head 160 gr that I loved and had a 1 3/8 inch diameter.
I am thinking with the Griztrik2 the 125 grain would be the better choice on bears at close range. The extra 1/8 inch on the Thunderhead 3 blade probably makes for a toss up compared to the Slick Trick's slightly smaller four blades as far as opening up a big hole.
Jeff. All good choices you mentioned!!!