Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Aldeer Bow Talk Should I switch broadheads?

Posted this morning about a deer I lost yesterday. Wondering if I should look at changing broadheads to do more damage. I'm currently using 100 grain Wac Em 3 blade. Obviously, better placement on the shot is key, but would a different broadhead help with the blood trail and potential plugging etc. Here is a pic of the current broadheads.

It's not the broadheads fault. No broadheads can make up for poor shot placement. If you hunt long enough you're gonna loose one.

What broadheads do you use sluggun?

Your broadheads fine. I've gotten so use to shooting my 125gr thunderhead, I find it hard to change. Last year I purchased Magnus Stingers for my 60# bow and even knowing how well the perform, put my thunderhead back on. This year will be thunderhead on my 72# bow and Stingers on the bow maxed to 62#. We all lose animals, its part of the monster, live and learn. Every hunt, every encounter can give us more knowledge on the animal and our part as a hunter.

Sluggun is right. Practice practice. Don't take ifffy shots. Wait till the deer is closer. Only take high probability shots. Yeah, you might can hit a deer at 40 plus yards. It's better to be a responsible hunter and only take kill shots, not wound deer.

100gr Thunderheads here and just can’t seem to switch. I did switch one time to 100gr jack hammers by wasp when the expandable craze first came out but it didn’t take long to switch back. I’m a don’t fix it if it ain’t broke person.

This

agree with shaw 100%,the original broadheads were made from stone, and killed deer!!

Appreciate the responses. Practice, better placement, and high probability shots are a given. I know a better shot would have done the trick. I was wondering if a different broadhead would provide a better blood trail when it does not work out as planned. Honestly, I have not looked into broadheads and just went with the shop owners suggestion. Been reading up some and looks like a lot of different opinions and not much benefit. I know those Wac Em's will work fine and shot placement is the key. I made a better shot on a buck last year and he dropped within 20 yards. Sure wish the last one would have worked out that way. That was a much bigger buck. Had a really cool rack too.

I use a 100 grain Wasp boss sst. It's a 3 blade fixed broadhead. When a deer is quartering to you the margin for error is high. Your shot may have hit right where you were aiming but a deer only has to move inches for it to turn out wrong. Some shots whether with a gun or a bow they just don't bleed right away. Now your deer probably once his chest filled with blood then he started to bleed. May have been 150-200 yards from where he was shot but once the rain set in, without being able to use a dog, you were screwed. Get you some lighted nocks so you can see exactly where the arrow hits. This will give you a better idea of whether you need to go after him right away or give it time. I can't say that I wouldn't have taken that shot my self but you want to aim for where the arrow will exit. Odds were against you this time but who knows you may get another chance at him. Without a recovery there's no guarantee you killed him.

Everyone has told you the truth (better shot placement, practice, all broadheads will kill a deer, yada, yada,yada). No one has answered your questions...but I will. “Should I switch broadheads?” Yes! “Will a different broadhead help on not so perfect shots?” YES! Provided you have enough KE, get you a reputable mechanical head with 1.5”-2” cut. I have recovered countless deer with marginal hits. Rage Hypodermic is a good one. I prefer 3 blades so I use Grim Reaper Razortips 1 3/8” cut. They also penetrate better than any expandable I’ve shot. Yes, if you shoot enough deer with your bow, you’re going to lose a few. It sucks! But I like a big wound, even if I occasionally don’t get an exit wound.

Also, you need to know what you’re looking at when tracking. If you have double lunged one, you should find it within 100 yds. If you’ve gone past that, you need to back out and give it some time.

A big mechanical has advantages, like it's better in a gut shot situation. But a fixed blade is certainly better in a shoulder shot. Both will kill the deer with a marginal shot in the body, the same can't be said for a shoulder shot.

That’s why I don’t shoot them in the shoulder.

Where do you shoot them?

Atoler, would you use a fixed blade broadhead to allow a direct shoulder shot when necessary? Or are you just saying for margin on errant shots. Just thinking for my specific setup on that deer. It was quartering toward me at maybe 10-15 degrees max. So only slightly. Not like 45 or anything. What is entry and exit location for that bow shot? I aimed as tight as I could to the back of shoulder and center mass. What about rifle shot? Deer was standing still but alert since I grunted him to a stop.

i don't think he's recommending that you take shoulder shots w/your fixed bh's ... he's just saying *IF* a fixed bh encounters the shoulder it typically does a better job vs. a mech bh ... but i'll let him answer you specifically ...

rifle or bow, i don't like quartering to shots - period ... on both weapons, i like to take straight broadside or slightly quartering away shots ... to Atoler's point, the first deer i shot w/my bow years ago now was slightly quartering away so it entered in her chest & wrecked her opposite shoulder ... i was using a fixed bh & it remained intact & she obviously didn't go very far at all ... i was amazed & pleased to see the jellied meat on the opposite shoulder (see pic below) ... that happens to be a toxic bh but i've had muzzy 3-blades do the same thing ... the arrow snapped & lodged inside her ...

btw, sorry to hear you didn't recover that buck; it sucks when that happens ... it's easy to "over-analyze" & get down on yourself, but sometimes you just gotta chalk it up to plain ole "chit happens" & just stay after it ...

Fixed or mechanical is personal preference unless ya here in Oregon, mechanical are illegal. They are legal across the river in Washington though. I've always said thAt I would never shoot mechanical and I verified it this year. I saw a mech- head that had a run in with an elk and lost. Looked like junk and was pretty bent up. I know they kill but, I put too much effort into my elk hunts to chance any type if broadhead failure. I may hit one bad or miss but, my thunderhead or stingers gonna poke a hole in something.

Ummm...behind the shoulder.

I lost a giant in Kentucky in 2016. The shot was right behind the shoulder but a hair high - 8 inches below top of the back - I clipped the top of lung(s?). Trailed buck a long ways bleeding from mouth / wound. Neighbor killed him day or two later. I was shooting a slick trick standard and had never lost a deer with them in 6-8 years. Ended up killing a great pope and young buck late September of 2016 with my bow / slick tricks and missing another giant hunting in another state (I killed him two weeks later with my gun)

Fast forward to 2017 - I changed bow, arrows, and went from 100gr to 125gr broadheads. Rage hypodermic. Opening day in Kentucky it was raining and nasty. My target buck was coming in the PM so I hunted a morning doe stand. Shot a big doe with my new set up and it was devastating. That evening I was in a ground blind .... my target buck came right in with the bachelor group. They winded me at 22 yards and he bounced out to around 40 and turned back to me. I anchored (guessing range) and released. Arrow was right behind shoulder but a hair high. I was sick..... waited hour. Slipped up there and it was a bloodbath. He died within 60 yards.

I'm sold on rage hypodermics for now. I am shooting a halon 6 at 30 inches and 70lbs. So the dreaded rage penetration issue doesn't seem to be a problem. I've killed a lot of deer with a bow and I know shot placement is key. But with the right set up - big expandables can help with marginal shots (and marginal shots happen no matter how good you are)

That's great sir. I believe Atoler was try to point a marginal area that could easily be hit with a bad shot that a fixed blade broadhead would be a better option.