Best affordable broadheads?
Equipment
Okay, not trying to start a firestorm here. I've recently got into the compound game from traditional. Looking for info on best affordable broadheads. I'm used to buying a six pack of snuffers or zwicks for 30 bucks, found broadheads now for compound hunting are much much more expensive. I would like to keep price under 40 bucks for at least 4 heads. Need atleast one to practice with and make sure it's sighted in. I will be hunting elk and Muleys. I shot a doe this season with a wac'em, penetration was great, very poor blood trail, double lung shot, hit rib going in and out, recoverey within 70 yards, 3 drops of blood was all I found. Any advice much appreciated on what heads you guys have had success with for a reasonable price.
Slick Tricks or Magnus Stinger are both tested and trusted BH’s.
For me it's Slick Trick Viper Trick 125
Do the viper tricks fly similar to your field points? Do they come with extra blades?
Why not use the same heads you were using before?
Absolutely on both accounts with the ST's.
I’m with Midwest.
I set up my son’s compound with solid 2 and 3 blade traditional style heads.
They killed stuff just as dead off a compound as they did off his recurve.
Maybe not “kosher” setting up compound arrows with 200 grain broadheads, but that’s what balanced the arrows! Hell of a lot tougher heads than those flimsy little 100 and 125 grain things!
Your Broadheads should work the same from your compound. Slick tricks, VPA and Magnus are my top 3.
My son uses Muzzy 3 blades out of his recurve & compound.. Work great & 6 for under $40.
Ace. They even make Zwickey's look spendy....
And if they don't hit where your FPs do, it's not their fault.
Magnus stingers hands down.
VPA broadheads are about $40 for a 3-pack but they are easy to resharpen and reuse. I shoot the 125 gr nonvented and killed 2 does so far this year with the same broadhead and its back in the quiver and ready for round 3. Unless I lose it or shoot it into a rock I don't see them sustaining any damage from a deer hit. As far as weight goes, you can shoot heavy broadheads with a compound. My setup is 50 gr brass insert and 125 gr broadhead for a 175 gr total. Fly great and incredible penetration.
I’d go Magnus stinger or black hornet
I shot the wac em "crossbow" size 125 this year out of compound. Excellent results on black bear and elk. They run 35 or 40 bucks for 4 pack.
I switched from Grim Reapers to Magnus Stingers back in 2010 before an Idaho elk hunt due to their no open on impact rule and I've never switched back. The stingers fly like darts with little to no tuning. I don't line them up any specific way, just screw them on shoot em.
Slick Trick , Muzzy or Magnus all you need .
I would shoot stingers or slick tricks but I would also ask why you would switch from Zwickeys or snuffers especially if you still have them? I don’t think they’re the worlds best, but a well placed shot, and you’re in fantastic shape. Snuffers would be my choice out of those two
We have a lifetime replacement guarantee, 2019 is our 35th year in business since I started Magnus in a spare bedroom of my parents home. If at any time you damage one of our broadheads, take a clear picture and email us with your name and address and we replace. We will always take care of you. Good Luck Hunting to everyone.
Mike -
Gotta tell ya, I gave all my Stingers away, and I was HAPPY to see them go!
I use a Catquiver, and one o' those sharp trailing edges got me in the tip of my left index finger. Bled for 4 days 'til I gave up and super-glued it shut.
But Man, did they fly great.
Radical Archery Designs Madman heads are very economical and extremely high quality. 5 pack for under $40. Hard to beat them!
Last year Wal-Mart closed out all ramcats for 17$ a three pak. Very good broadhead for that price. I bought 4 doz. and will be set for the rest of my life.
Dropped the first Tom with a Bullhead. The second Tom jumped on top of the first to show off so I shot him with another!
Dropped the first Tom with a Bullhead. The second Tom jumped on top of the first to show off so I shot him with another!
While Magnus aren't necessarily my preference, they are great heads. I used Magnus Bullhead for turkeys this past spring, resulting in #2 & #3 turkey kills with them. They are definitely my go-to for turkeys!
I spent a lot of time tuning to get an arrow setup that would allow the Bullhead & fixed blade BH to fly the same because some of my go & bow setups aren't conducive to the Bullhead. Consequently I ended up damaging some BH and blades during extensive practice and after my explanation Mike took care of me with replacements. I personally didn't feel it was right to ask for replacements from killing shots because the BHs did their job.
Watch your local Walmart in December into the 1st of the year - i’ve Bought 3 packs of muzzy 3 blades for as low as 6$ on clearance.
Wasp Drones are a good deal for a quality head. I'd buy these before Muzzys.
Thanks for all the input. The reason Im not throwing on zwicks or snuffers is because they are glue on. Which Magnus would you say fly the best on long range shooting? I practice out to 80 yards, cut off range for shooting at game is 50 yards (double what my range was with the longbow)
Thunderheads can be purchased for $38 for 5. Or Muzzy $40 for 6. Both are excellent heads that have been around for decades.
I hate spending $10 each or more for broadheads. Maybe because my first broadhead purchase was a dozen Bear Razorheads for $5.95!!
I shot Zwickey Eskimo's out of my compound for years. Could kill several deer with the same head, just resharpen and go. If they had a bigger bleeder I might still use them.
Another vote for wac'ems.
Rocket Steelheads, $19.99 for a 3-pack
Smarba-Our warranty covers everything but loss. thanks
Mike: Yes I know it does, but because I feel the BH did their job on the turkeys I'm not compelled to ask for a freebie. I get that the Bullheads are more prone to being fragile due to the long blades and need to keep them 100 or 125 grain. I asked you for some help after burning through several blades & heads practicing and I feel you went above and beyond with that customer service - thanks!
BTW it was not my intent to derail the thread discussing turkey heads, but rather to vouch for Magnus' fantastic customer service when someone else mentioned their BHs.
But hey, when you get a chance to post a turkey double pic without the use of a a pop-up blind (just some natural stuff I threw together) you gotta do it, eh?!
Personally, I would rather save money and buy a cheaper bow then to not buy the best broadhead I can. The last 7 bull elk I have shot were all killed with a G5 striker, 100 grain head, and everyone was a complete pass through. Not one bull made it 75 yards.
Magnus buzzcutt or vipertricks. Get good with a smooth stone and Magnus buzzcutt a is all you need. Best bang for the buck. Pun intended.
Slick Trick Vipertricks for me.
Hard to beat a 6 pack of 4 blade muzzy heads for $30.
Hard to beat a 6 pack of 4 blade muzzy heads for $30.
https://www.amazon.com/Muzzy-Bowhunting-Broadheads-Blades-Trocar/dp/B000HX2G0C?crid=BJYDZXVFJL0L&keywords=muzzy%2Bbroadheads%2B100%2Bgrain&qid=1540602688&sprefix=muzzy%2B%2Caps%2C174&sr=8-5&ref=sr_1_5&th=1&psc=1
Thunderheads are still my pick, and these days I could afford to shoot them at three times the price.
I practice with BH's a LOT, and those TH's are tough! They hold up to being slammed into a hard clay bank repeatedly all summer, and with a pack of replacement blades, they're ready to hunt with the quick change of blades.
They're also the quickest and easiest to hand-sharpen to extreme sharpness for the best blood trails possible.
Slick Trick
and never regret it
Muzzy 3 blade. 6 for $40 and come with practice blades.
I can vouch for the Thunderheads, too....
There are plenty of heads out there that you really can’t go wrong with. JMO, what they all have in common is a lack of moving parts, but that’ll start a war.... ;)
But if you liked the Zwickeys, just spring for the screw-in adaptors...
Muzzy... probably killed more deer than most of these mentioned, combined. Ed F
Muzzy 6 for $40 hands down
You can not go wrong with Wasp Boss SST fixed blade broad heads. $30 for 3. By virtue of my world class Howard Hill-like archery skills I have shot them into the steel unistrut that compresses my DIY foam archery target, through steel garbage cans, into cinder blocks, into a the side of a steel dumpster, through abandoned tires, through wooden fence boards, and even a car battery and every single time the head remained intact. They come hair popping, scary, scary sharp and if your arrows are cut square as mine are they spin like new never used drill bits. Give them a look there isn't a better made better value in fixed blade broad heads than Wasp Boss SST's.
I've killed a lot of big stuff with Muzzy 125s ever since John Jr. gave me some in the elk woods back in about 1984. Longbows, recurves, and compounds. Switched to IW last year, but if you want an affordable head that performs well, Muzzys, Slick Tricks, and VPAs are hard to beat.
I went scouting today. Spot was a little over an hour away. Prob spent $35-$40 in fuel. I scout a fair bit. I hunt a fair bit.
Point being, if I figure how many heads I would lose in an average year, suddenly even the most “expensive” head becomes very affordable. Never mind if you can resharpen, or there are warranties attached.
Magnus 100 grain Buzzcut 4 blades for years. I shoot year round with them into Rhinehart targets and just sharpen the non-serrated portion on the leading edge before hunting. I have killed many deer with this set up (60#, 405 grain arrows, 270 FPS out of Bowtech BTX31 lately). Mike is very responsive to emails and produces a great, dependable product.
Used 125 grn. Thunderheads for years with good results. Then switched to G5 Strikers, 100 grn., 6 years ago when I got a new bow. Excellent results with these, 6 bulls in 6 years, and none went over 100 yds. This year, 25 yard shot and he went only 20 yds and dropped dead without a kick. Five were complete pass throughs and one was a quartering away that went through every thing and was protruding out the neck on the opposite side. I'll stick with them. Lotsa good broadheads out there. Up to the shooter to make them work.
StillHunter, you can get screw in Zwickeys.
Often I can “age” the bow hunter by his broadhead choice.
Magnus stingers and Slick Trick original or magnums. Ultimately every head noted here is a really good one. Those are fixed heads I've been very happy with between my wife and I.
Charlie is that why you’re shooting Iron Wills? Based off that I figure you for a successful 24 year old :)
Charlie-I'm shooting 125 gr 3 blade Rocky Mountain Ironheads..
After shooting trad for over 3 decades with Zwickey, Magnus and Woodsman heads, I was nudged to the compound world in 2010 due to draw shoulder issues. I tried Muzzy, but gravitated to Magnus Stingers and NAP Hellrazors. Then I came across Trophy Taker Shuttle-T's, which fly great and put several animals down. Of late, I have dabbled with the expandable side the equation and killed several deer with the old tried and true NAP Spitfires. My quiver has a mix and every one of them has a proven track record in personal experience.
Magnus or Zwickey's. Very simple heads, easy to sharpen and they fly great, love them both.
Surprised so many guys like the Zwickey Eskimos cause they tip curl like crazy. There are so many better choices today. Or is it the romantic aspect of them?
I usually file the tip off the zwickeys making it more of a rounded edge.
I tend to think of the resharpenable fixed blades as the cheapest, since they can be reused for nothing more than a couple of minutes on a sharpening steel. I've had good luck with Hellrazors and Montecs, particularly the carbon steel, but there are a lot of good three blade resharpenables out there.
That being said, I don't pick broadheads based on price, so I tend to shoot Ramcats and Muzzy HB hybrids now.
Another trad shooter here...I’ve killed about 60 big game animals with Oh maybe 12-14 different heads of different types. I didn’t expect him to be the most durable I have tried but the VPA 200 Gr Have definitely been the most durable, I’ve been so impressed. Not sure how the lighter heads compare they are amazing...More durable than Zwickey, woodsman, Staas, grizzly, Snuffer, stingers, Ace, muzzy, shuttle T, G5, ...you get my drift.
This brought Hannah is on its fifth animal and that’s not including several squirrels and a rock chuck...I haven’t broken one yet (knock on wood)
Gosh my auto correct is aweful sorry
I am a Broadhead junky, but keep going back to muzzy. They just plane work. Usually a one and done, but have shot 3 deer with one once.
VPA are the most economical IMO. I use 3 blade versions. Tough as heck. You buy they, get them sharp, kill stuff with them, then resharpen or touch them up. No need to buy any more blades or anything. Just keep killing with them.
I been buying old stock Rocket Steelhead off flea bay for like 12 BH's for $20.00. I can't tell you how many deer I have killed with them over the last 10 years.
I think the way to look at keeping it economical is either use a tough resharpenable head or the magnus with the warranty.
Stillhunter, I've seen the same thing happen as in your initial post with the short heads, in my case Slick Trick Mags...dulled on a center punch lung shot......and it was ugly.
The short wide design heads puts a lot of the blade in contact with hair, hide bones. Sure they work....just about everything does most of the time.
I like a longer COC tapered design....those blades never dull on hide and stay sharp all the way through the animal. You won't find a quality head cheaper than the Stinger/Buzzcuts 3/$28....and made in USA.
I have had great blood trails using Magnus 1 4 blade. The blood trails are heavy and short. They are easy to keep sharp and affordable, BUT, Magnus has quit making them. I would love to find NOS some where.
