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Exodus swept wing broadheads

16K views 212 replies 38 participants last post by  THE ELKMAN 
#1 ·
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.
 

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#3 ·
This begs ... the questions: #1. Better than the Slick Tricks? #2. What do you think about giving up the forth blade to gain a seemingly small amount of additional precision?
 
#5 ·
1 1/4"

Duke, I don't know. I've killed lots of deer over the years with 3 blades. I'm going to shoot them out of the 380 before I hunt today to see if I get the same accuracy results. I'm also giving up the COC feature but I don't see that as much of a negative. I have had some minor main blade shifting with the RazorTricks that can cause POI problems si I've have to check them frequently to make sure they are aligned before shooting them......not that I've gotten many shots this year (one).
 
#6 ·
1 1/4" is pretty big cut for a fixed blade. That is bigger than a thunderhead and as big as the Muzzy MX-3. It would be very interesting to see how it does in a crosswind. When I tried the MX-3, it shot bullets at 20y, but really dove at 30 and a crosswind had a considerable affect on it. Very interesting.
 
#7 ·
I have to be careful loading them in my Kwikee 3 arrow quiver without touching each other. That was not a problem with the 4 blade Tricks.
 
#9 ·
Great heads moon and duke. I am a slick trick lover, especially the razor trick. I have shot them and let me say they are very nice. Tough, durable and accurate. I wish the diameter of cut was a little better, but they remind me a lot of slicks with toughness. Search on YouTube. Somewhere there is a vid of a guy blasting through a 55 gallon drum
 
#10 ·
There is a metal sleeve and a tiny "O" ring that keeps the sleeve from sliding off the head when the head is removed from the shaft.
 
#11 ·
Gambino, I'm going to shoot the one with the damaged blades through (hopefully) a piece of 1/2" plywood this afternoon to see what happens. I'm mainly doing it to see if any of the blades are ripped out.
 
#12 ·
Still have not tested the head using the SZ 380 but I did do a blade retention test this afternoon.
I tested blade retention of the Exodus swept blade head using a piece of 3/4" plywood. I shot it at 15 yards out of the SZ 350 using a 2219 aluminum arrow. 2 blades on the head were already damaged the other day from hitting a head that was embedded in the Rinehart broadhead target so I decided to use it. As you can see, there was no bending of the blades and they were just as tight in the head after the shot as they were before the shot. The arrow went about 6" into the Spyderweb field point target behind the plywood after going through the plywood. I had to cut the fibers of the Spyderweb target to get the arrow back out. I then unscrewed the Exodus head and beat the arrow back out of the plywood with a hammer. Here are photos of the head before and after the shot.
 

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#15 ·
I'm tryin ... to figure why you'd put a very expensive Spyderweb behind that plywood???? I know my ex-girlfriend journalist made a pile of money, but I can't see your writing career monetary compensation being in her league yet. :wink: You mad at that Spyderweb or somethin?:confused2:
 
#16 ·
Duke, it's not the end of the world, man:) I did not think the arrow would go 6 " into the Spyderweb target (you know....an anemic 350 fps crossbow) but it's all I had here. I keep my crappy worn out targets at the farm. Compensation??? Surely you must be joking:)
 
#18 ·
As stated above, I was shooting a well worn Rinehart broadhead target and the Exodus head hit something in the target at 60 yards. I think there are a couple broadheads and brass inserts embedded in the target. 2 blades on the Exodus head were rippled up on the front side. Yesterday I was shooting a BP Gator expandable head at 60 yards and it hit the same object inside the target. The Gator's body is made of aluminum. Here's the comparison of the 2 heads. The Gator was destroyed. I like the way the head shoots but this is telling:-(
 

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#24 ·
For the ... cost of mangled broadheads ... might be cheaper to buy a new target.
 
#25 ·
BHN, yep, I think I have absolutely no answer for that. My SZ 350 shoots them in the same group as field points out to extended distances, even slightly better than Razor Tricks. Lots of variables from crossbow to crossbow, arrow materials, fletchings and weight FOC.

I talked to a guy this morning that has killed 3 deer with them using his 60# Mathews vertical. He's happy with the heads, as to killing ability.

I still have not tested them out of the 380 but I hope to tomorrow during the middle of the day before the afternoon hunt. I've already determined that I can not equal the 350's accuracy with the 380 using Razor Tricks and the GT Laser II's I'm shooting. It's not a practical difference but it's there.

Duke, Yep, I've kept that 18-1 Rinehart around a little too long.
 
#26 ·
I finally got around to testing the Exodus head with the SZ 380. Although the head shoots virtually the same POI as matching weight field points out of the SZ 350, it does NOT with the SZ 380. The head's POI at 30 yards is almost 2" lower than the field point's. I did not go farther with the test. The 380 shoots consistent POI/groups with the head but the bow would have to be sighted in for the Exodus heads. I guess the reason is that the 380's additional draw weight/speed is having an effect on the laser II shafts. I'm going to continue shooting them out of the SZ 350 and after hunting season is over I'm going to shoot the heads out of other crossbows to see if I can determine a pattern or speed limitation where same POI as matching weight field points is lost.

BTW, Duke, no more bent up heads:)
 

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