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Broadhead study

The "shot a monster" thread got me into a worm hole of broad head research. I came across a few studies by this guy Dr. Ed Ashby, who has studied 100's of broadheads over the last 30 years or so. In this article he discusses the benefits of a single bevel, two blade broadhead and its ability to split and penetrate bone far better than a double bevel blade. It's pretty lengthy, but definitely interesting.

That makes two of. After losing that deer last friday, I have been obsessed with broadhead research and Dr Ashby seems to be the expert authority on the topic. He seems to know his stuff, however, the gear he sells doesn't get the greatest reviews. Being mutually exclusive from one another, I dont think the quality of his gear necessarily parallels precision of his advice. I will apply Dr Ashby's principles to next years set up. Interesting enough, a 650 grn arrow, according to Dr. Ashby, is the bone end all bone crusher. Meaning 90% of us have arrows that are certainly under weighted in the event of a shoulder or poor angled shot. Even the rib of a mature buck could potentially stop your dart from mortally wounding a deer.

Also, I meant to ask if anyone uses grizzlystix arrows and broadhead. Results?

I've been a recurve bow hunter since 2003 and killed several deer with this 45# bow. The last four deer were shot with Grizzly single bevel broadheads and heavy arrows (10-11 gpp), all were pass-thrus. I have killed deer with Wensel Woodsmans, Bear Razor Heads, Magnus Deltas, and Magnus Stingers. None had the consistent penetration as like the Grizzly Broadheads provide.

Good info Fisherick. Have you had any run ins with bone? Also, do you suppose they would be a good fit for a compound?

Fisherick probably know more than me, but if I remember correctly, the grizzly single bevels were advertised as the bone crusher. I remember an ad where a guy was blasting arrows through beef shanks. Just be aware, single bevel blades are handed. A concern if you shoot helical fletching.

Just ribs, but sliced thru. I would think it would break thru a scapula, but not both. I have shot them with 60# compound/fingers and they fly find, but have not used them hunting. The only negative is they must be sharpened by hand.

I'm leaning towards grizzly for next year. Thanks for the info.

Come november, what do you mean by handed? Designed specifically for left or right handed shooters? I think they recently stopped making left sided bevels on some models.

sweet video on deer anatomy, guy has a couple others too. very helpful visual for picking a target

Hunts, on single bevel broadheads (Grizzly) the BH bevel and arrow fletching must match to get the rotational forces to break bone. (RH broadheads with Right Wing feathers) These leave a S cut wound in the hide.

If anyone is interested grizzlystik.com has left bevel heads on sale for $50 off. I think they've got 175's and 150's left in stock. I just ordered a pack of 175's to test out. Not sure I'll use them for deer next year, but I'm pretty interested in putting one through a bear.

Joe the left bevel are made for left wing fletchings. The reason you see them on sale is because most people have right wing fletchings. Since you bought those you may have to refletch some of your arrows. I read that people have used them successfully with opposite fletchings but it is not recommended.

Thanks for the heads up Brad. I had read similar things, although I did come across some controversy from some guys who didn't think it mattered all that much. I wanted to try fletching some arrows anyway, so I'll probably end up testing fletchings in both directions during the off season.

I shoot left wing helical with left bevel grizzlies out of the recurve. When removing from a 3D target you can feel the rotation as you pull the arrow out. It is significant. The grizzlies do penetrate better in targets than any other broadhead I've used. Including other single blades. I'll keep using them. It would be interesting to calculate actual cutting surface of a narrow head that penetrates an extra two inches versus a wider multi blade head that cuts wider but penetrates less. For the compound guys I think all sharp heads work fine for lower poundage trad guys I think the best penetrating head is the way to go Tekoa

Ashby reports should be required ready for anyone that bow hunts. :)

All things being equal, I haven't bought any single bevels yet, only because I've had so much success with my Wensel Woodsmans, and still have a bunch of brand new woodsmans...I couldn't justify the $$.

but I do shoot 11gpp extreme FOC carbons with at least 300 grains up front. I have shot those out of a 60# recurve through shoulderblades and ribs and got full penetration, the only thing that stopped a complete passthrough was the fletching catching on the hide of the exit wound.

Nick, you don’t want Grizzly Sticks, you want German Kinetics. They ended up losing the name for whatever reason and the current “Grizzly Sticks” are apparently weak sauce.

See link.

Good call Sosso. Actually, I am leaning towards Bishop Bridgeport. After watching broadhead penetration tests all over youtube, bishop seems to be ahead of the game. They seem to spin a little more and are practically indestructible. In fact, they seem to have a much stronger "s" shape cut when punched through wood, compared to other leading single bevel broadheads.

The more I learn about penetration in general, the more I seem to be changing my mind about broadheads. The one thing I haven't changed my mind about though, is the victory VAP TKO Elite arrow shaft. That has proven to be the best penetrating arrow by far, no questions about that. I will surely be using those next this coming season.

Just got the Massai 175's from Grizzly stick in the mail. Really looking forward to shooting them. I will say it is the only broadhead I've purchased that was sufficiently sharp right out of the package. They are every bit as sharp as my single beveled sashimi knife and I'm super anal about my knives.

Joe, they better be for that much coin! How is the tip on it? It looks like it is rounded on the way down. Width?

They call the tip a tanto point, whatever that means. It is slightly blunted, I think the idea is that shape is supposed to be stronger, but is still razor sharp. I've got a 100 grain montec g5 laid on top of the maasai for reference. The specs are 1.13" x 2.65", 175 grains. The retail price is pretty high, but I got these on a closeout sale for $40. Although they might be worth the high regular price as the broadheads blade and steel quality reminds me more of a quality German knife than your typical broadhead blades. Pretty impressed so far, but we will see how they shoot when matched up with some left helical fletched arrows.

That is one beefy head!

That looks awesome. I've read good things about grizzly. I chose to go with bishop only because there was a longer list of tests. You've a great tip for that price. Make sure you match the fetching with the bevel. Otherwise, you will lose the torque of the spinning advantage after penetration.

Wow, Bishop certainly makes a huge selection of broadheads! They look great and they better be for those prices!

Yeah, they are expensive. I hope they last as long as they say.

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