Looking for better blood trails

[woods89]

For the last couple years I have shot VPA 100 gr 3 blades. On a sample size of a few whitetails, they have done the job for a 3 blade fixed head, but blood trails have not been terribly good. I realize a lot of this is shot placement, but I'd like to maximize blood as I rarely hunt in snow and typically deer are out of sight quickly in my area.

I shoot an 08 Bowtech General at 70 lbs and 28'' if I remember correctly. Arrows are GT Velocity with 100gr brass insert. In every case I have seen massive overpenetration, i.e. deep in the dirt on the other side. The only exception was a doe I shot hard quartering to, and the arrow made it almost all the way through the deer stem to stern, with a pretty quick recovery.

I just ordered a couple SEVR 2.o Ti to try. I have had a couple people tell me I have more than enough energy to shoot mechanicals. I'm open to any other suggestions, though.

I'm also trying to teach myself to shoot lower and further forward than I have in the past, as I think that will make more difference than anything else.

Thoughts?

 

[N2TRKYS]

I’ve never had blood trail issues with Thunderhead 100s.

 

[Yooper]

Huge fan of the Rage Trypan's for whitetail. I've shot a few with them now and blood trails were the best I've ever had out of any broadhead on a deer. I've shot a lot of different heads and at this point I have zero interest in switching heads.

 

[Rob5589]

The Black Hornet Ser-razor makes for some heavy blood trails.

 

[Zac]

 

[wildwilderness]

I think you need to make a choice- either aim lower and more forward like you said with a good penetrating fixed (a good reference is straight up the leg), or go big mechanical but aim behind the crease.

big mechs don’t like bone at all (seen a few shoulder shot bucks get away) and lack penetration. For margin of error back is better than forward. I would rather accidentally liver/gut shoot a deer with a big mech since they don’t go far, especially if intestine hang out . Rage hypodermic NC would work, huge cut with grim reaper Whitetail special. Or the old standby spitfire.

I don’t like rubber bands, collars or clips on mechs, just a pain in the butt to me so those are a few that the blades hold themselves.

 

[Brendan]

Ranch Fairy is a side show douche that's looking for attention, that is all. Dude got his ass kicked out of here in like a day flat. I really wish he'd go away and people would stop posting him, even if he's right on some things (and wrong on others). Rant over....

Want better blood trails: Sharper broadheads. A better steel and a sharper broadhead will cut better, make the animal bleed more, and give you a better chance of a pass through. Although if you give yourself a pass-through with a big mechanical, you're getting blood...

Personally for deer I'm moving to Iron Will Wide, Bigger animals Iron Will S100.

 

[Trial153]

Three blade heads like VPA/montec ect and shitty blood trails are synonymous. The poor blade angle makes at it's best isnt the sharpest. Go with a quality head with a leading blade with bleeders.

 

[woods89]

Thanks guys. Appreciate the advice!

 

[scott_co]

Thanks guys. Appreciate the advice!

Form mechanicals, I really like Grim Reaper 3 blade 1 3/8" Pro Series or Razor Tip heads. I know folks have success with larger cutting heads such as Schwacker, Trypans, or Sevr, but the Grim Reaper heads just work for me.

I have PSE Carbon Stealth 35 EC with 32" draw length and 65-67#, which gives me around 292 FPS. I have plenty of energy and MO, but don't see a reason to use a bigger cutting head.

 

[journeyman713]

Slick Trick magnums!

 

[Beendare]

So many factors.....the numero uno is how high was the shot location.

I shoot the 3 blade VPA's [150 gr] among other 2 and 3 blade heads....and the one thing I notice is most animals don't go far enough to get a good blood trail going with these COC heads. In fact, most die in sight.

The COC heads go through them effortlessly....many animals don't know they were hit. Contrast that to some of he short chisel or mech heads where you hear a clear "Kerplunk" sound when they hit....that gets those animals moving like their tail is on fire.

Now it could be that you aren't getting those VPA's as sharp as they can be....I strop mine forward with a fine diamond stone...and touch them up every few days on a hunt...especially if it wet.

 

[Hoot]

You won't go wrong with those Sevr blades on whitetail. I have killed 3 deer and 2 antelope with them, they are good heads.

I really like the Iron Will heads as well. The bull elk i killed with an S100 this year only went about 15 yards and the blood was crazy.

I will continue have Iron Will and Sevr heads in my quiver for the foreseeable future, but I see myself phasing out my remaining Sevr heads in favor of Iron Will S100 and Wide 100's.

 

[chasewild]

From the above, it's clear that the IW heads will do everything you want, and more. And if you're recovering your arrows every shot, then I'd go with those. Otherwise you're spending more on heads than any other piece of gear in about two or three seasons.

But for white tails, it seems that head is overkill by a wide margin. I think you'd be fine shooting the Ulmer or just change your point of aim with your current VPA's.

 

[Scoot]

I swapped from a fixed head to Spitfire Max heads about 15 years ago (give or take). I'd never seen an animal I shot drop prior to that. I've watched more critters drop than not since that swap. Also, I'm colorblind, but even I can usually track my deer after I shoot it with that head. A couple warnings about it- you need sufficient KE for an over the top broadhead with a bigger cutting diameter like this one (you're fine with your setup), and I wouldn't recommend this head for moose or elk or other big game with really thick skin and big bones. For deer though, these have zipped through them like nothin' and I'm very happy with them. I also much prefer a 3 blade head to a 2 blade head, so this one fits the bill for me.

 

[Will_m]

I see a lot of "animal went this far with x broadhead, so this a good head" which I don't think is a very good metric. Seems like it's confusing correlation with causation.

 

[Zac]

I see a lot of "animal went this far with x broadhead, so this a good head" which I don't think is a very good metric. Seems like it's confusing correlation with causation.

Most statements regarding broadhead performance are black magic and highly subjective. There are really only a few people out there applying a scientific approach to broadheads. I would say Bill with IW is definitely leading the charge. I don't know if he makes the best product but he definitely applies the most science to his design and material choice. I would also say that Bryan Broderick, and Brent Hahn from Valkyrie have put alot of real world experience over decades into their designs.

 

[TSAMP]

This analogy is gonna make me seem old but I feel like broadheads are like ink pens. Some guys rock cheap bics and lose them. Other guys have some fancy fountain pen and tell you all about it. Then u got the trad guys dipping a feather...At the end of the day they all should spell your name out and if they dont toss it in the trash.

 

[Wellsdw]

I would stick to your plan of aiming forward and lower then make your assessment for switching. A lot of the tracks I go on with my dog are “poor blood but I hit him perfect tracks” usually are to far back but exactly or very close to where they were aiming.

 

[Will_m]

Well, I have to add my experience now. Shot two different pigs with a big two blade head and neither one of them left a very good blood trail. One was pretty sparse and the other, which was a lung hit, left basically no blood. I don’t remember have this problem when I was shooting a three blade head or a two blade with a bleeder. Time to go drink some different kool-aid for me.

Edited: I have to admit the shot that left blood was low and forward. The lung shot was as high as you can get lung.