Bowsite.com

broadhead for alaskan moose

I am booked for fall 2018 moose in Alaska. Shoot a Mathews Ovation at 31" at 68#. Axis 300 with NAP Thunderhead 125 gr. & Scott release. I usually shoot 5" feathers here in WY account very little moisture. Alaska will be different and will be experimenting with several different vanes. Any thoughts on this setup ? Has worked great on elk here in WY. I my also switch broadhead if flight with vanes becomes an issue.

You will be fine imo .

Lots of horsepower there with the 31” draw.

I went with a low profile, 2 1/4” stiff vane in a four fletch configuration. Better rest and cable clearance, with excellent control. I was having some contact issues with the Blasers that I used for several years, but only on my current main hunting bow.

I think I will switch over to four fletch completely by the spring.

I’ve killed two moose with 100grain Wasp Boss broadheads with 2” Blazer vanes out of a 70 lb bow. An Ak/Yukon and a Canada. I think my arrow weighed a little over 400 grains. They worked fine with no issues, but I will be using a 125 grain head for them in the future.

I’d definitely suggest using vanes. Highly likely you will be dealing with moisture of some sort. Otherwise, I think your setup would work fine. Good luck! Moose hunting is a blast.

And the rest of your set up is good to go. Re-fletch and get sighted in.

Shot placement is more important on moose than BH.

I did not have a problem with my feathers and it rained on us every day at some point for 13 days. Spray them with some kind of water proofer. Other than that your set up sounds just fine.

Switch to blazers you wont regret, otherwise your setup will be fine

Moose die quick. I like the iron will heads thou. They are tough and penetrate deep

Thunderheads were the first broadhead I ever shot, no Matter how well tuned my bow was, I couldn’t get them to fly straight!! Lol Your set-up is fine, I’m impressed that you can get them to fly straight!

Ditto on Thunderheads....I couldn't get consistent flight.Moose wheelhouse is the size of a ...well..................wheelhouse.70 pound any bow paired with good flying arrows and sharp blades......you fill in the name and model of it all

I stopped using Thunderheads when the sharpness on their blades went down. Talked to the manufacturer and he said he had not changed a thing....but I had old spare blades and new spare blades and they were quite different. If set up works on Elk it will certainly work on Moose.

I had the same issues with Thunderheads when I switched to carbon shafts. Absolutely loved them when I shot aluminum shafts, but couldn’t make them work with the carbons.

Thunderheads will be fine. I would use Hellrazors.

I did the fletching thing a few years ago, tried about 10 kinds. FlexFletch FFP-360 on my moose arrows. Blazers were at the bottom for me.

I have killed two moose with thunderheads years and one quartering to and one broadside. The broadside actually took longer to die. The quarter to was a young bull taken strictly for meat. Thunderheads will fine but personally would not be my first choice.

Well, if a Thunderhead won't work than you better just take a gun because they're probably in the top 2 of modular heads.

Shot my moose last year with solids. They performed excellent. I would use either solids or iron will.

I have shot 4 Moose, all with 150 grain Magnus I, 4 Blade and all were 1 shot kills with one being a complete pass thru. The other 3 all stopped in the off side shoulder.

I'm with tradmt, the Thunderhead is the best of the best. Started using them in the 80's and still using them today. I would say the top two modular heads are Thunderhead and Muzzy. All other modular heads are patterned after those two.

Shoot what you’re comfortable with. Sounds like a great setup. I used to think water was a big issue with feathers. I haven’t had much of an issue on first shots. It’s when you shoot them a second time when they look like a wet rat. By all means try the vanes, you’ve got 9 months, but if it’s frustrating getting something to shoot well for whatever reason don’t hesitate to go back.

old school 100 grn 4 blade muzzy worked for me 57lbs 29" draw .....1/4 away hard it went completely through out the right shoulder ......if it were me I go with just what you have and been practicing and killing other stuff with itll do its job if you do yours good luck whack a big one MikeC

What you've got will kill them deader than dead. When you start shooting a trad bow you realize how much extra power a compound has and no longer worry about the compound! lol

I'd steer away from feathers. Problems with moisture that require treatments and feather noise if brushed against the feather's spine.

A good sharp broadhead (I like 3 bladed solid VPA in 125 g) shot through the lungs will kill the animal 100% of the time.

Suggest to verify that each hunting arrow shoots correctly with a practice or dull BH that you will be using at the max distance you can shoot accurately.

If you're going to refletch all your arrows, suggest indexing them prior. I marking the stiffest side and align the cock vane with that mark and originate that vane up. That way, all my arrows are the same regarding spine. I had one flyer, discovered the index was off 90 degrees.

Good luck in your training and best of luck on the hunt.

Disagree on the feather comments, all I have ever shot is feathers and never had a single problem with them in any weather. I do have a rain cover I put over them when it is raining and I have also used the feather dry powder on them on some hunts all work great.

Check out the Iron Will heads. They are made out of tool steal and guaranteed for life. I killed a nice bull with them last September.

I took a Iron Will 125V on my Ak moose hunt in 2018. But I didn’t get a shot.

Ironwills or soilds are on all my moose and elk arrows

I prefer single bevel heads. The twisting action causes a moose to run left or right, depending on which way you torque him.

finally got to go on this trip in fall 2019. bad knee and cancer shut down 2018. Was able to take a great 53" bull wit lots of mass and a fantastic adventure. Settled on a 29" axis, 4 4" vanes, 75 grn. brass insert and a 2 blade Magnus Stinger. 30 yd shot, complete penetration out far side. Bull went about 60 yds and died on far side of the river. Not in the river thank God! Completely happy with setup and broadhead flight was exceptional ! Outfitter and Guide is Richard Moran, Extreem Adventures. He is a hard core bowhunter himself and understands what it takes to hunt with a bow. The trip was an great adventure with the last day float thru 15 miles of whitewater up to class 4.

broadhead damage in pic. is entrance hole. Should be Extreme Adventures 907-301-3832. This guy is a class act and we had an amazing adventure with the area all to ourselves!

Awesome adventure and moose!

Looks like your setup was just fine:-)

Congratulations!

Beautiful bull, congratulations! Looks like a bit of a senior with the antler configuration.

I bet there's more of a story to be told!?!

Ambush X2^^^

How bout some more details (along with more photos) on your hunt, Kurt!?

OK more details. Trip was a fly in the float trip. Richard is a former USAF aircraft inspector so you can imagine how great his gear was. Everything in perfect condition. No freeze dried dinners, everything for main meal premade and frozen in vacum bags. Hunt area is over the counter but because of the whitewater float no other hunters in the area. Moose are dying of old age here. The whitewater is serious enough that you are required by Richard to buy and wear a dry suit during that portion of the float. We only broke 1 ore during that part but it was a riot!. Hunted 12 days and saw fresh sign every day. Had a 40 yd shot at a bull 3rd day but only saw 1 front and no view of the spread. We let him walk as the area is a 3 in the front or 50" min for nonresidents. I am sure he was wide enough but you don't take chances on that. Several other small bulls during the trip but no shooters until last day. Warm weather and lots of leaves still on the trees made spotting difficult and calling not very effective. Got a lot colder last 3 days and hunting picked up. Had a 65" bull cross the river right at camp last morning. A dream bull and I thought he was going to walk right past my practice target at 40 yds. It fell apart at the last minute and I was seriously questioning not picking up the 338 laying by my feet. Chased that bull for a couple hours without success and returned to camp for our packs. Decided to brew some coffee and wait for the wind to shift to hunt down river. As we were getting ready to leave another bull,[mine] crossed the river right at camp again. Richard called him up to 30 yds, I drilled him and he went back in the river. We yelled and cussed and prayed he would make it across. As you can see he did and we celebrated. Tough pack of about 10 yds to the raft!. The hunt included a brown bear and I had a tag. We had planned to sit the carcass but the hunt was about over with 2 days left to float out we packed up the next day. Floated the whitewater and made camp one last time. Bear tracks thick in several areas on the way out so we planned to spend some time looking. Unfortunately I fell in the slick river rocks unloading the raft that last night. Badly injured my left ankle and killed the idea of bear hunting. Richard did everything you could ask for and was a great guy to hunt with. Very organized and knowledgeable. WE Hunted every hour of every day no matter the weather. Great trip and awesome adventure. Price was very reasonable especially with the brown bear included.

Kurt made the perfect shot. Excellent hunt with a great client.

Great story. Nice Bull with character

well done

awesome moose and adventure, congrats

thx for sharing....awesome

Congrats on a great adventure and nice bull!

Sheesh, Kurt you also forgot to mention you have a killer stache! Thanks for the pics and writeup. Awesome.

Register here to reply to this topic