Broadheads

NoBadP17

FNG
Joined
Apr 5, 2018
Messages
15
Location
California
I know this issue has been beaten to death, but if anyone on here has real world experience with the ones I'm going to be choosing from, I'd love to get some of their experiences with them.

First about me, I'm a new bowhunter. I shoot a lefty Hoyt Torrex, 27" draw at 65lb and shoot a 27.5" Gold Tip Hunter XT in 300 spine w/ 50 gr inserts up front and 100 grain points, giving me a total arrow weight about approx. 457.65 grains. Apparently I'm overspined, but that's not the issue today...

I am primarily targeting blacktails in CA out of a tree stand, with average shots being from 10 yards to a max of 40.

I've heard nothing but rave reviews about the Sevr 2.0, Kudus and Slick Trick standards, so I bought all of them to sample. The Sevrs and Slick Tricks flew with near field point accuracy, so its going to be between those two. The Kudus grouped decent as well, but the other two just grouped better by a significant margin.

Most of my hunting is going to be done on a small 5-acre parcel, so I'm looking for max penetration/most efficient blood loss to make sure the deer goes down on the property. I know I'm describing a perfect scenario here, and hunting in real life is anything but that.

In my own testing on my foam block in the yard, the Slick Trick punches through almost to the fletchings on every shot, and the Sevr goes about halfway (mechanical expansion of the blades likely making it lose energy), but I know foam and muscle/bone are very different mediums.

Anyway, this is a long way of me asking for any advice from any members that have had some experience with either or both heads. I know Snyder talks about how great the Sevr is, and his praise does not go un-noticed. At the end of the day, I am just looking to shoot a head that is accurate and will cause the max damage to my quarry. Thanks in advance!
 

bsnedeker

WKR
Joined
May 17, 2018
Messages
3,020
Location
MT
Disclaimer: I don't like mechanicals. I played around with them for a couple of seasons, and I still carry a Sevr in my quiver just in case...but it would have to be a unicorn scenario for me to pull that thing out.

That said: Your setup is marginal at best for shooting a mechanical in my opinion. At your poundage and DL you are going to have a difficult time getting consistent pass-throughs with a mechanical, even on blacktails. What you are looking to do is keep animals from going very far after you shoot them, in my mind that means you want two holes in the animal every single time so I would go with a fixed blade head.

All THAT said...keeping a deer on a 5-acre parcel after an archery shot is going to be a tall order. On a chunk of land that small I would be making sure I had an arrangment with my neighbors to ensure they would not have a problem with me recovering a deer off their property if I shot it on mine. FYI I actually live on a 5 acre chunk of land myself, and I've talked to all of my nieghbors about this and I have reciprocity agreements with all of them.

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JasonWi

WKR
Joined
Jul 3, 2012
Messages
1,111
Location
Salem, Oregon
I hunt black tails the same way you plan to and have shot a few of them with ST standard, Wac'em Tritons, Original thunderheads, and a few other brands. I've shot two elk with the 100 grain Kudus.

I totally agree with bsnedeker and you want two holes to ensure they bleed out quickly and stay on your five acres. Two of the last three bucks I've shot have died within 60 yards of the stand. Using the ST and Wac'em. All shots were in the 19-30 yard range and they were dead in less than 10 seconds. DON'T use the Kudu, they penetrate well, but the blood trails were scarce.

One big thing I'd suggest is stay put for no less than 45-60 minutes post shot, unless you see the body laying in plain sight. Last years buck was another reminder of that and I only waited about 10-15 minutes and he wasn't quite dead when I climbed down and he was laying there looking back to where he was shot. I hit him further forward than I thought and it was totally my fault -- both the shot and not waiting as I know better. He ran about 80 yards further and died within 30 yards of private property I don't have access on.
 

Bill V

WKR
Rokslide Sponsor
Joined
Jan 24, 2017
Messages
488
Location
Colorado
I was talking to the Seek One guys at ATA about this same scenario. They hunt the suburbs and need deer to go down quickly. This is a good one to debate. Opinions will vary and this is mine for what it's worth:
Know deer anatomy well and aim for the top of the heart with whatever shot angle you are presented, within reason. The deer should die in sight within a few seconds with this hit. You are close to bone, so shoot a head that will go through bone. The Iron Will Wide would be my choice for taking this shot and getting the quickest kill. A lot of guys shoot mechanicals and aim back from the shoulder at the back edge of the lungs. Hitting the back lobes of the lungs hit doesn't kill them as fast as a front of the lungs, top of the heart shot, and you risk a one lung, liver shot.
 

CJ19

WKR
Joined
Nov 25, 2018
Messages
355
It doesnt matter for the bow set up you are using to shoot deer. Pick which ever reputable broadhead you can get to shoot the best out of your bow and concnetrate on practicing and making a good ethical shot. If you want the deer to die fast, you need to be accurate. All the heads you mentioned should be completely fine so long as they shoot well out of your bow.

For me, I prefer fixed blade and shoot them bc my bow is on the lighter side and it shoots thrm well. In the past, i have shot a bunch of deer with mechanicals and never had a single issue. Just make sure you get broadheads that arent some knockoff from amazon. Youll have all kinds of problems with those.
 
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nphunter

WKR
Joined
Jul 27, 2016
Messages
1,738
Location
Oregon
I've never seen an animal go down as fast shooting them with fixed heads and with expandables. I have killed a lot of deer and elk with fixed heads. When Oregon made expandables legal I tried them and every elk I have killed since expired very quick, the furthers probably went 100 yards, closest around 50 yards. I have killed way more animals with fixed heads and have zero issues with them, I always tune and shoot both since I also hunt in Idaho. Now that Idaho has made expandable heads legal I have zero uses for a fixed head broadhead on my compound, I will never go back to a fixed head after using expandables for the last few years. For deer to me an expandable is a no brainer, if your worried about penetration use a G5 dead meat.

I've killed elk with Rage Typans as well as the G5 Dead Meats, both work equally well, the Trypan makes a much larger hole but also has annoying plastic clips holding the blades but they would be just fine hunting from a stand. I have read great things about the Sevr, Lusk's Archery Adventures tested them with great results as far as durability.
 

bsnedeker

WKR
Joined
May 17, 2018
Messages
3,020
Location
MT
I've never seen an animal go down as fast shooting them with fixed heads and with expandables. I have killed a lot of deer and elk with fixed heads. When Oregon made expandables legal I tried them and every elk I have killed since expired very quick, the furthers probably went 100 yards, closest around 50 yards. I have killed way more animals with fixed heads and have zero issues with them, I always tune and shoot both since I also hunt in Idaho. Now that Idaho has made expandable heads legal I have zero uses for a fixed head broadhead on my compound, I will never go back to a fixed head after using expandables for the last few years. For deer to me an expandable is a no brainer, if your worried about penetration use a G5 dead meat.

I've killed elk with Rage Typans as well as the G5 Dead Meats, both work equally well, the Trypan makes a much larger hole but also has annoying plastic clips holding the blades but they would be just fine hunting from a stand. I have read great things about the Sevr, Lusk's Archery Adventures tested them with great results as far as durability.
What is your setup? DL and #?

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