Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Aldeer Bow Talk Trusting mech heads

Shaw, as far as BHs elk hunting, fixed are proven over time. A lot of States have just recently made themlegal. Reviews are mixed. Quick bow any fixed head will do as long as you’re tuned. Slow bows and low poundage bows can use them but COC is most hunters preference.
Bad shots happen on all species. An elk survives almost all bad hits if its not to the guts.Deer sometimes die anyway. We have found multiple bullets/broadheads cleaning elk and elk often leave poor blood trails due to the wounds quickly clogging something. Biggest failure shots are the new guys thinking how cool frontal shots are but, they aren’t proficient enough to pull it off

Simple answer to all of this is, If you only shoot well made extremely sharp fixed broadheads you take the mechanical broadhead failure out of the equation!

There really isn't a mech failure problem to figure into the equation. Buy any well known mech head and they will open. Claims that they didn't are bull chit in the range of oooooh about 100%. Stop and consider a simple fold from the front 3 blade mech head. It's a simple hinge system. And each hinge operates independent of the other two. So for none of the blades to open you would have to have not one but 3 of the simplest mechanical systems on earth fail simultaneously on the same shot.

Sorry for his troubles but I’ll never shoot anything other than a rage. Just my experiences alone make my decisions. Maybe swhacker again if it came down to it

Shot Rages since they came out. Only lost a few deer and everyone of them was me making a horrible shot, mainly the “no man’s land” shot.

Rage worked fine for me this morning!

I shot rage for years and they always killed but they were alway unusable after one shot
I bought some Sevr mechs and have killed two hogs with the same broadhead and it still razor sharp
It is mounted on the same bolt ready for round 3

Rage opened just fine on this one earlier today!

Dayum!!

TRUST BIG & HEAVY

SIMMONS LANDSHARK 175GR + FMJ ARRAHS

THRU & THRU ON SHOULDER BLADES AND QUARTERING TO SHOTS ON A 60LB MATHEWS OUTBACK

/ THREAD

You just haven’t hit that one spot on the shoulder yet. 😉

That's just funny right there! 😂

Sounds like the guys arrow was off, hit hard bone, or broadhead didn't open just right, some or all. With a mechanical there are just more things to check. More to go wrong if it is not checked. Most mechanicals come with a practice head that is not the actual one being used on game and is closed not allowed to open. All products have a potential for defects. Molds making products get worn over time, process, or components could change, or weight could change, one blade could be more heavy, causing incorrect flight path. Have you ever noticed some arrows just fly more true than others, some ammo patterns are different, even if exact same kind?
Would it be best to shoot the broadhead being hunted with at a target even though it is mechanical just make sure it flies true? The broadhead should be cut out of the target as to not damage it, inspected closely, and blade sharpness checked.
Even a slight weight difference of a broadhead can make an error not fly true. An elk shot over a corn pile with a pre-arranged set-up would not be the same as one walking through the woods on different trails. Lot more possibilities for human error. We should check every arrow and broadhead combination before shooting any animal. Even then some testosterone rutting bull with all that adrenaline would keep going on with a shot that would take the usual animal down.

I’ve never had a problem with them opening, I had a problem with them deflecting. Now this was the old chisel tip design rages when they first came out. I shot a doe on a quartering away angle and it deflected. One blade was open and had two or three brown hairs on it. I’ve never shot them since. Slick tricks and ram cats for me. Ive never had issues with those.

Yep. Most of a deers shoulder is muscle and cartilage. The actual skeletal bones are much smaller. If you hit the actual bone in the front shoulder like the shoulder joint for example you will get chitty penetration fixed or expandable.

I’ve done it twice with a fixed head and once with a mechanical. Same result each time. You only get a couple of inches of penetration and you find your arrow from 5 to 10 yards away with very little to no blood on the ground.

That’s exactly why I changed my setup. With both fixed blades and expandable, bone stops it immediately with a light arrow. With a heavier arrow and sharp cut on contact, you will break bone some of the time.

A lot of people are taking the heavy arrow fad way too far. For my setup, 500ish grains is a good compromise. I’m still shooting 280fps, but if I make a shoulder shot, good chance the deer is gonna die. I shot a doe a couple of years ago, and thought I spined her. She dropped in her tracks. Turns out the arrow double lunged her and broke her offside leg as it exited.

Add mechanical heads to the “taboo” topics like religion.

Lot of folks don’t take into consideration that sometimes deer dip dive and turn on a shot. A lot of things can happen before that arrow hits the mark. I encourage folks to shoot with what they are comfortable with. I trust heavier arrows and fixed blade heads. If I do my part everything else should be smooth sailing. I feel like this topic kinda compares to Barnes vs ballistic tips.

I've been bow hunting for 32 years and all I've ever used are NAP Thunderhead 100gn. That being said I've killed lots of deer with no issues and they fly great. I've always said if it ain't broke don't fix it.