Cheap Chinese Broadheads
Equipment
I am in the market for some broadheads and was looking online. I couldn't help but notice the heads for a $1.50 or less a piece. How many of you have tried these cheap heads? I know broadheads are not a good area to pinch pennies, but the dirt cheap price has me intrigued. I'm curious if anyone has done any real world testing with these. I'm going to stick with a good solid head with a good reputation.
We are in a trade war with China. Try to buy USA made.
Why would you cheap out on the one thing that does the damage with your bowhunting setup? Most guys have north of a grand in their bow, sights, arrows and quiver. Then go bargain hunt for broadheads.
These have had a fantastic reputation since before most of the Old Guys here were born.
You can pay less, but you’ll get.... Less. Just have to be able to get them sharp on your own.
I will not buy anything Chinese made unless there is no other option on a necessary purchase. And then I do it begrudgingly.
If you know broadheads aren’t a good place to pinch pennies, then why are you trying to pinch pennies on broadheads?
I spend more on a tank of gas in my truck than what I normally use in broadheads during a season... Buy good quality BH's - that would be the last place I'd try to save money... Doesn't mean you have to buy the most expensive options but it's not that much more to get into a good quality head... You can always look at buying heads that you can replace the blades or sharpen to make you money go further...
By American made Magnus broadheads. They have a lifetime replacement warranty. Mess one up and they replace it. They make AWESOME broadheads!!
Try a resharpenable head like the G5 Montec or the NAP Hellrazor. I just started using the G5 and Hellrazor both great heads. I'm going to guess each head will see 10+ deer killed before needing replaced. Now that is pinching pennies the correct way :)
A buddy accidentally bought knick off heads that were destroyed with 2 bone hits on an antelope.
I bought some of the Chinese knockoffs to use for turkeys. Even at about $1.70 per head, they weren't worth the money.
It like going to the hardware store and you see that little section with the $3 tape measure and $4 hammer with a orange handle....would you use any of those tools?
Only for winging out of rabbits, geese and coyotes. For killing something that matters I'm guilty of hitting the other end of the spectrum. Such a tiny tiny portion of the hunt cost equation.
You can get 3 Shwacker Razor 252s (100 gr, fixed blade with 1.5" cut) for $22 and they are an outstanding broadhead
I am all for saving money. I buy good quality products and maintain them. This saves a lot of money.
Had a valid question about my comment above. I've only bought chinese heads once. But they were easy enough to get sharp (fixed blades) and they flew fine. The only concern then is the ferrule, and the blades standing up. On a small thin skinned creature like the ones I referenced I have no concerns hitting them with that head. Hope that clears it up. If you hit a rabbit with a 1 1/8" cut sharp head, I don't care if that head does a 90 degree, that rabbit is gonna be very dead. Same with geese and coyotes. These animals are like 8" wide. No amount of ferrule bending, or deflection is going to cause a problem imo. And when I say animals that "matter" I was referring matter to me. If I miss a goose or a rabbit I'm not heartbroke about it. If I miss a chance at a moose that I can only hunt every 4 years, it matters more.
Thank you guys for some positive feedback on the cheap heads. And, yes, I was hoping to get feedback on how they preformed on small game, predators or any real world situation. As I said in my original post: "I'm curious if anyone has done any real world testing with these. I'm going to stick with a good solid head with a good reputation."
I've probably killed stuff with 30 different broadheads in my life, so I've tried quite a few! Hunt's photo pretty much tells you all you need to know about the quality of the head's from China.
I'm currently shooting Slick Tricks, in fact that's what I killed a mountain goat, black bear and three whitetails with so far this fall and all of the blades show chips or dents and some of the tips are broken or bent.
I like the suggestion about Magnus, I shot them a long time ago and think I might try them again! Thanks
Does anyone think it’s a good idea to buy counterfeit heads from criminals?
Everybody needs a cat arra in the quiver.......
I bought some for Pheasant hunt. Biggame get Rocky Mountain Ironheads from me.
Cheap Chinese Bows GOOD.
Cheap Chinese broadheads BAD.
Get an ATA pass, visit booths and snap pictures....go home and reverse engineer it. I know they do this in pretty much every industry that exists. Its unfortunate to say the least.
If you keep your eyes peeled you can find cheap prices on US "made" broadheads. I know camofire will have stuff from time to time. I think they had Shockwaves for like $10-$12/ pack last year.
Maybe we could put a huge tariff on them OR trade them for a few million bushels of soybeans?
Holleee Pat, there's a difference between cheap heads and counterfeit heads from criminals. Just because it's cheap doesn't make the seller a criminal. There's a lot of cheap product not claiming to be "the real thing."
Exactly, I'm not looking at the counterfeit heads, I was more interested in folks experiences with the obviously foreign heads. Brands like SINBADTECK and JIANZD and similar names that are not claiming to be anything special. Now the $20 Rage Hypodermic for a 3 pack is a different story.
I’m referring to the guys further up the thread who admit to buying the cheap Chinese knock offs.
Of all the gear we use, the business end of the arrow is not a place to go China.
Lots of options out there for a bit more.
Some guys are All China,All the Time!
If your referring to me . I was given 12 knock off heads for free from a buddy . I used them for turkeys one year . The rest I used for my Cat arrow !! I will try most anything once. I Like To learn from my own Mistakes!! Hunt
Genesis is referring to KUIU. All Kuiu all the time...made in China.
Just as an update, I stayed up late the other night sharpening some old broadheads. They are sharp and I'm no longer in the market, but I would still like to see pictures of animals that died with a foreign product on the tip of your arrow.
Korey, nearly all replaceable blade broadheads are made in china. So if you're asking to see animals killed with made in China heads, you're asking for the lions share of big game kills nation wide. Just like clothing, once again, I'd bet 90+% made overseas...
"I will try most anything once."
You'll probably never be reminded of that quote.
Much....
Hint - get hold of an archery catalog from 10-15 years ago and see what was being sold. Then look at today's catalog and see what has survived the 'test of time'.
Shop for quality first, price second.
Most, not all of the 1 piece heads are made in China too. A lot of the companies are simply resellers with their own logo. They are also the ones that don't mention where their stuff is made. Here in Oz there is only 2 locally made heads, i own one of them. I do everything in house from pressing blades to heat treating and sharpening. I get ferrules made, locally, and have just spent a considerable amount of $ buying a CNC swiss lathe to make them myself. Will take a lot of broadheads to recoup that cost too, especially since i am already cheaper than the others for 6 heads than they are for 3. Not all cheaper stuff is inferior, i just don't have the extra $ for marketing and spend a lot of time with broadheads in my hand through all stages, not just packaging them.
I unknowingly bought some Chinese copies of the G5 Montec heads. Or, at least that's what I think they were. They never would shoot straight. They couldn't even be made to spin straight either. Garbage. They couldn't even be used for small game because they were so inaccurate.
Moose, post up a pic! I'd love to see what you make...
130gn Outback Supreme
130gn Outback Supreme
130gn Outback Stealth
130gn Outback Stealth
140gn Traditional Glue On Supreme
140gn Traditional Glue On Supreme
Here's a few pics, i do 130gn and 200gn, in both right and left single bevels. I make them a bit heavier than the 'standard' to allow for a few sharpens.
I also have another model, the Compass, which is the same shape as the Stealth but with a bleeder. Unfortunately they aren't razor sharp fro the pack, but very very close, i just bought a new grinder to sharpen the blades, it's 6.4m long and 6T in weight.
Why would you skimp on the only thing that really kills the critter? TMBB
Those are BEAUTIES, BD! But Moose’s look more affordable...
@Moose - what are the dimensions on the Supremes?
They are 70mm long, 28mm wide, or just under 3 inches long and 1 1/8 wide.
They are made from1055 carbon steel, 1.2m thick, heat treated to 52-54 rockwell, with a 30 degree bevel.
All the heads are exactly the same distance from the end of the shaft to the tip.
The knock off heads are being sold as the real thing and packaged to look like the real thing. So yes, the folks selling them are criminals and are selling counterfit products.
I read where knock off Rage heads were packaged in a shipping container and marked in the big box as "window blinds" trying to get them past customs.
For Sale:
not the Chinese versions but I will sell 13 NEW never shot, but out of original packaging, Rage broadheads. These are the 2 blade slip cam versions with the O-ring and orange collars. Also will provide extra collars and O-rings. $65 shipped to your door. Price comes out to $5 / head.
PM me if interested
I have enough US-Rages to last me for a while so that is what I use but figured I'd try the Chi-Comm Rages for the cheap price when we had (on another site) this discussion a couple of years ago. Several of us were the guinea pigs for this experiment. A guy in New Jersey was selling some decent ones on EBay. Some came direct from China....and yes, some where indeed junk. Some however were excellent. What we found out at that time, the US Rages were getting some of their parts from China, except for the blades that they make in the US factory. To their credit they (the Rage folks) were honest about it. The US-Rage ferrules were the same as the Chi-Rage ferrules....they came from the same Chinese factories. The Chinese factory was just selling the complete BH out the back door for alot cheaper. The particular Chi-Rages I tried killed a deer just as dead as the US-Rages and held up well. As already noted above, when we looked closer at it, many name-brand US broadhead's (and other products) have parts that come from China or other foreign countries. They will get assembled here in the US and put in the retail blister packs with the US company's logo. For a while some of the Chi-Rages were coming in what looked like a US Rage blister pack. Rage sent a letter to the US Trade Commission I think it was to stop these Chi-Rages from coming into the country.
Now that I think of it....as I recall, I think we (here or the other site?) found out some of the bow manufactures were even getting their metal blanks from outside the US (China?) too. They would CNC them out here in the US. Anyone familiar with that??
IMO the term "Made in the USA" may be used a little loosely unless it says "100% Made in the USA" or something like that. My view....stick with the US stuff....just be aware some of the US stuff may very likely have parts that come from outside the US unless it says "100% made in the US".
There are many review in you tube that show the knockoffs to be as effectI’ve as the real deal. Not all the knock offs are the same and not all are a few bucks apiece. None of them are $15 each though.
I hate those cheap cell phones and all those cheap electronics. :) :)
I bought some cheap Allen broad heads from Walmart to shoot feral goats with in Hawaii, they flew like garbage past 30yds. Inside of 30 they were as deadly as they needed to be, complete pass through. However I would only shoot them once before tossing them. Defiantly don't throw them at anything bigger than a whitetail deer either.
I've heard even some of the "not so cheap" broadheads are now being made in China :(
So buy some US-made heads instead!
Plenty of good choices out there.
Let’s get some more usa made heads that are priced reasonably that would help a bit
Did you want me to post that link to Ace again???
^Does Ace make BH's for screw-in inserts? I didn't see them at your Ace link.
Also....as I touched on earlier, you have to look beyond the "Made In The US" logo. Where is the metal coming from to make the product...the US or outside the US? I attached an Alibaba link showing hundreds of archery products made in China, including aluminum stock by the ton. Is Mathews, PSE or Hoyt getting the metal for their risers, cams or limbs from China? I don't know but I wouldn't be surprised.
Someone on AT made a thought-provoking comment. It was something to the effect if we're in a global economy, we buy from each other. Why should China buy our farmer's wheat, corn or wood? If we didn't buy from China (or Mexico or wherever) and their unemployment goes up, they wouldn't be able to buy our products and then someone here is out of a job. It's a double-edged sword and it seems ya have to be careful for what you wish for.
You just need the glue-on to screw-in adapters, and you can use whatever glue-on you like. Some guys make their own by turning down field points, but I don’t have a lathe.
And I have to agree with you.... there’s precious little in life that’s NOT a double-edged sword,
Two varieties - glue-in and screw-in. Screw-in style shown can be shortened to reduce weight.
I dunno if Ace uses domestic steel or not, but they’ve been making them the same way for 80 years and probably haven’t bothered to chance suppliers.
You DO have to be able to sharpen them yourself, but a Rada wheel will do that for about 7 bucks.
