I was recently in a local sporting goods / archery/crossbow pro shop store and while rambling through their broadhead offerings a neat looking head caught my eye. It was the Exodus swept wing head by Quality Archery Designs, located in Madison Heights, VA, the makers of some very popular high quality drop away arrow rests for vertical bows. I picked up a couple packs to play with and to compare to my favorite (to date) head, the Razor Trick 4 blade COC fixed blade head.
The Exodus 3 blade swept wing is a short bodied fixed blade head, available in 85 and 100 grains. Short bodied fixed blade heads tend to be less problematic than longer bodied broadheads for use with shorter, less stable crossbow arrows, at least that’s what I’ve found. Any screw in insert alignment problems, for example, will affect arrow accuracy more so with longer bodied heads. Short bodied heads also keep the head’s weight in the same place as a field point which I believe may minimize possible shaft spine variations and weight FOC changes which can change arrow POI from equal weight field points.
I finally found a few minutes this afternoon to shoot a few arrows so I pulled out the old Rinehart target that is mostly worn out but makes a good broadhead stop because it’s not so tight that the arrows can’t be pulled out without standing on the target. I did have a rubber backstop in place just in case.
I shot the first arrow with a 100 grain field point at 30 yards. I then unscrewed the field point and installed a 100 grain Razor Trick, which I knew would be right there with the hole made by the field point shot… and it was in the same hole. I pulled the arrow and unscrewed the Razor Trick and replaced it with the Exodus swept wing 100 grain 3 blade head. It hit barely ¼” higher and dead on R/L. I repeated that sequence 4 times and I can say the Exodus swept wing will hit in the same spot as a field point at 30 yards. My next step is to continue shooting the Exodus head at 40, 50 and 60 yards to see how it will fare at those extended distances. I believe I’ve finally found another fixed blade head that flies equally as well as the Razor Tricks but I have to shoot the longer distances to be sure.
There are other features about the Exodus heads I like. If you’ll notice, there is a tiny rubber “O” ring that keeps the blade retaining ring in place, like used with the NAP Thunderheads for years. For you folks that have used the Thunderhead with that little “O” ring, you know how straight those heads always go on the shaft The same is true with these heads. I do sometimes get a slight wobble with the Razor Tricks due to the main blade not being perfectly centered with the body of the head. That is not going to happen with the Exodus head.
One little thing that has me wondering is why these heads weigh between 95.6 and 96.1 grains. I’ll be asking. The longer distance testing will tell the tale on that one I guess. I do know that they shoot darn good at 30 yards.
I understand that this head is considered a barbed head and is illegal in some states so you may want to look into that in your area.
BTW, the full blade version of the Exodus impacts 2” to the left of the field point and Exodus swept wing head so if you are looking for fixed blade broadheads to shoot the same POI as field points, IMO, the full blade version is not it.
For you anti Chinese folks, the Exodus is made in the USA
Update: I shot the Exodus SW today at 40, 60 and 80 yards. All I can say is wow! It was a direct comparison with the Razor Trick which has been my favorite fixed blade hunting head for a couple years simply because it shot the closest to the same POI as my field points. I shoot virtually everyday so that is important to me. For those that just hunt with their crossbows and only shoot a few practice shots from time to time, it makes sense just to sight in the broadheads of choice and be done with it but when flinging field points daily year round and also hunting with the same crossbows, I want both to hit in the same spot if possible. So, at 40 yards today, the Exodus broadheads shot in the exact same spot as my field points, so I backed up to 60 yards with the same results. My hunting buddy thought I was nuts (he's probably right) when I backed up to my 80 yard marker.
I can normally keep my field points in a 2.5" circle at 80 yards on a calm day, shooting from a chair with my elbow resting on my thigh (hunting position) Six shots with the the Exodus SW and all were within that 2.5" circle!! I've never shot that close to field points with a fixed blade broadhead at that distance before. I'm going to repeat the session tomorrow with the SZ 350 and if I get the same results, I'm going to start all over again on Thursday with the SZ 380.
The Exodus 3 blade swept wing is a short bodied fixed blade head, available in 85 and 100 grains. Short bodied fixed blade heads tend to be less problematic than longer bodied broadheads for use with shorter, less stable crossbow arrows, at least that’s what I’ve found. Any screw in insert alignment problems, for example, will affect arrow accuracy more so with longer bodied heads. Short bodied heads also keep the head’s weight in the same place as a field point which I believe may minimize possible shaft spine variations and weight FOC changes which can change arrow POI from equal weight field points.
I finally found a few minutes this afternoon to shoot a few arrows so I pulled out the old Rinehart target that is mostly worn out but makes a good broadhead stop because it’s not so tight that the arrows can’t be pulled out without standing on the target. I did have a rubber backstop in place just in case.
I shot the first arrow with a 100 grain field point at 30 yards. I then unscrewed the field point and installed a 100 grain Razor Trick, which I knew would be right there with the hole made by the field point shot… and it was in the same hole. I pulled the arrow and unscrewed the Razor Trick and replaced it with the Exodus swept wing 100 grain 3 blade head. It hit barely ¼” higher and dead on R/L. I repeated that sequence 4 times and I can say the Exodus swept wing will hit in the same spot as a field point at 30 yards. My next step is to continue shooting the Exodus head at 40, 50 and 60 yards to see how it will fare at those extended distances. I believe I’ve finally found another fixed blade head that flies equally as well as the Razor Tricks but I have to shoot the longer distances to be sure.
There are other features about the Exodus heads I like. If you’ll notice, there is a tiny rubber “O” ring that keeps the blade retaining ring in place, like used with the NAP Thunderheads for years. For you folks that have used the Thunderhead with that little “O” ring, you know how straight those heads always go on the shaft The same is true with these heads. I do sometimes get a slight wobble with the Razor Tricks due to the main blade not being perfectly centered with the body of the head. That is not going to happen with the Exodus head.
One little thing that has me wondering is why these heads weigh between 95.6 and 96.1 grains. I’ll be asking. The longer distance testing will tell the tale on that one I guess. I do know that they shoot darn good at 30 yards.
I understand that this head is considered a barbed head and is illegal in some states so you may want to look into that in your area.
BTW, the full blade version of the Exodus impacts 2” to the left of the field point and Exodus swept wing head so if you are looking for fixed blade broadheads to shoot the same POI as field points, IMO, the full blade version is not it.
For you anti Chinese folks, the Exodus is made in the USA
Update: I shot the Exodus SW today at 40, 60 and 80 yards. All I can say is wow! It was a direct comparison with the Razor Trick which has been my favorite fixed blade hunting head for a couple years simply because it shot the closest to the same POI as my field points. I shoot virtually everyday so that is important to me. For those that just hunt with their crossbows and only shoot a few practice shots from time to time, it makes sense just to sight in the broadheads of choice and be done with it but when flinging field points daily year round and also hunting with the same crossbows, I want both to hit in the same spot if possible. So, at 40 yards today, the Exodus broadheads shot in the exact same spot as my field points, so I backed up to 60 yards with the same results. My hunting buddy thought I was nuts (he's probably right) when I backed up to my 80 yard marker.
I can normally keep my field points in a 2.5" circle at 80 yards on a calm day, shooting from a chair with my elbow resting on my thigh (hunting position) Six shots with the the Exodus SW and all were within that 2.5" circle!! I've never shot that close to field points with a fixed blade broadhead at that distance before. I'm going to repeat the session tomorrow with the SZ 350 and if I get the same results, I'm going to start all over again on Thursday with the SZ 380.