Colorado Archery Hunt

[gibby97]

Going on a archery hunt this year for the first time. Need help choosing a broadhead for elk.

Should I get a 2 blade, 2 blade with bleeders or 3 blade all in fixed head? Next question is what grain, 100 gr or 125gr? I currently use 100gr from whitetail hunting so it would be nice if my setup works for both.

For those of you who bow hunt elk frequently what is your favorite broadhead?

thanks in advance for the advice.

 

[Coveyleader]

As long as your arrow isn't too light, whatever you use for WT will work for elk. 100 or 125s won't make a difference either will the number of blades. Shoot whatever you shoot the best i.e even when you feel you had a bad release but the arrow still hit well. In other words, most forgiving.

As a side note, I've killed them with all head shapes and sizes except mechanicals, and prefer a 3 or 4 blade head.

 

[5MilesBack]

My favorite is a 125gr 3-blade 1 1/2" cut mechanical like a Spitfire or GR Fatal Steel, but I don't lack energy or momentum.

 

[BigAntlerGetter]

Shoot the broadhead that shoots the best out of your setup... this isn’t a popularity contest, every broadhead out there has had a fail, has someone who hates it, has someone who loves it, has made a poor shot kill, and made a good shot lose an elk. It’s expensive but buy a broadhead you feel you will like see how it shoots out of your setup....

And don’t buy a new broadhead on the way to camp and throw it on right before your hunt because you decided to change, get the heads make sure they work then practice


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[Bear.Parker]

My buddy has been using 125 grain Iron Will broad heads with great success on elk. Been really easy for him to tune his broad heads after shooting field points all summer. I have been using 200 grain Valkyrie Bloodeagles on elk out of my recurve for a couple seasons with good results as well.

 

[Beendare]

Hey Gibby...welcome to the site.

FYI, wide open questions get answers all over the map. Its best to style your arrow to your equipment and anticipated shots. In general terms a heavier arrow -450gr plus- will get you better all around performance on elk. If you are shooting a bigger head....having more arrow weight behind it is a plus.

If you are shooting a cut on contact fixed head....since those are very efficient...arrow weight is less important. Some guys shoot lower profile fixed heads or mech heads, these are less affected by cross winds.

No matter the BH, you want to meticulously assemble and check for perfect straightness...AND critical to BH tune. In a tuned setup with a heavy arrow, the BH is less of a factor. On a light arrow or in a low energy setup...a very efficient 2 blade or COC head is best.

I prefer a 500gr arrow with a strong COC fixed head.

BTW, Any type of equipment question you can ask has been answered in the past....the search feature is excellent. Best of luck on your hunt....


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[gibby97]

Lots of good info for me to think about. I’m planning to shoot an arrow between 400 and 450gr. My main goal is to make sure I have an adequate setup for elk since this is my first archery hunt for elk. So far I’m confident shooting 30 yards mainly cause I never practiced further. Plan is to get efficient out to 50 yards.

Thanks guys for the info.

 

[Coveyleader]

Get efficient out to 50, kill them at sub 20.

 

[HondoArcher]

This last year I added 75 grains to the back of the insert and a 25-grain collar. Matched this with a 100-grain two-bladed broadhead with bleeder blades. This gives me a good FOC and extra strength at the tip. I'm right at 465 in total grains with this setup. Go on YouTube and search for Gritty (Brian Call, Episodes 241, 347, 434) to see the details on his arrow setup and they why's behind it. Elk are tough and you need some weight to get through all of that mass. Three-bladed broadheads and expandables are great if you don't hit any bone. But if you hit that scapula you will lose the animal unless they are the Valkyrie or Iron Will broadheads on a 500-grain arrow.

I have some Iron Will 100's but haven't used them yet as they are expensive. I found that the Carbon Express XT head looks similar to the Iron Will and has high-quality steel but they are much cheaper. I dropped a bull in 2017 in Wyoming with the XT head before I added the extra weight to my setup. I use expandables on Antelope because of the wind.

The new Iron Will wide-cut heads look impressive. I may grab some of these for when I see Mr. Big.

Good Luck.

 

[b1c2r3r4]

I have never hunted elk but I use to use a thunder head 125 for w/t and it was a very strong head.

 

[ElkArcher918]

Lots of good info for me to think about. I’m planning to shoot an arrow between 400 and 450gr. My main goal is to make sure I have an adequate setup for elk since this is my first archery hunt for elk. So far I’m confident shooting 30 yards mainly cause I never practiced further. Plan is to get efficient out to 50 yards.

Thanks guys for the info.

gibby, I think you're on the right track. For elk focus more on total arrow weight and FOC. 450 gr. total weight with a durable fixed 3 or 4 blade bh is a good starting point, especially if you're shooting moderate poundage. Unless you are shooting high poundage, you sort of have to find the happy medium between total arrow weight, penetration, and trajectory. There's multiple ways to achieve this depending on your bow setup. I would find a good local shop and make sure your bow is well tuned and then work with their best bow tech. to narrow down the optimal arrow/bh for your bow.