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No more spitfires for me....

8K views 132 replies 46 participants last post by  jandrey 
#1 ·
I had a very disappointing evening hunt. A nice fat doe stepped stepped out feeding under an acorn tree. I estimated her close to 30yd.....no problem I'm 363fps and dialed in at 30yd. Put my 30yd crosshair on her and pulled the trigger. Shot didn't sound exactly right. I walked up to my arrow and very little to no blood on the arrow or vanes. I knew I had hit meat and figured I hit low....I thought maybe I missed judged my yardage....stepped it off at 31yd. Thought maybe I hit a twig.....didn't see it. Thought maybe the spit opened up but I didn't hear any strange hiss or thought thats what happened.

I tracked the doe best I could with my heart in my stomach. A drop here and there and eventually nothing. I did search and rescue until exhausted. Its going to be too warm tonight so no point in going back out tomorrow before church. I beat myself up pretty good over it.....really sick about it. Talked to a couple friends and decided to test shoot my spits along with field tips and the pic shows the results.

Now I had test shot 2 spits prior to hunting season and they both shot about 1" low at 30yd.....so I said this is where they are going to hit....adjusted my field tips and have been practicing ever since. Well I have a yard light and I stepped off roughly 30yd and test shot two arrows...same arrow one shot with 100gr field tip and one with 100gr spit. I was aiming at the black eat out place. The field tip hit where the masking tape is and thats where it should be...1" high.... you see where the spit hit. This is not the same spit as the one I shot the deer with. I have no explanation for this unless there is some serious weight difference from head to head. Or maybe the blades are opening and I don't know it?????????????

Either way I'm done with them.....you guys can rant about my post...you can brag on the spits and shoot them all you want but they will never be put in my quiver again. I wanted to share my experience...again I have no clue why....maybe they are opening in flight?????????????? I'm not going to bother with figuring it out it as I'll be putting slicks back on after church tomorrow. They cost me this time but they won't again.....I'm just glad my son wasn't hunting tonight. I would hate it even worse if this happened to him. Good ol pie plate accuracy there
 

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#3 ·
Wow, that sux Pin. You figure the arrow just clipped the top of her back ? I've never tried Spitfires but have experience with another mechanical that cost me a big buck in 2000. From then on I've shied away from any mechanicals. At this point the only mechanical I would even consider is the NAP Crossbow KillZone.
 
#7 ·
Pin, did you shoot that particular Spit prior? I had a Spit that shot 4 inches low (or was it 8? I don't remember for sure ... it was 2 years ago) at just 20 yards compared to the Spit practice head. I put the errant Spit on a spinner and it had a definite wobble to it ... and that was the first time I had shot that particular Spit.

I always shot every Spit once (and only once) on a given arrow when I was still hunting with them. Then I would take it apart, clean it, check the "leaf spring", reassemble it, spin it, and put it into my quiver. I never ever hunted with a Spit I had not shot into a target once.

Last year I shot a buck with a Spit but I didn't get a pass-through. The arrow hit the crease exactly where I aimed, but then hit the opposite shoulder, went through the bone there, and stopped against the hide on that side, not leaving an exit hole. Fortunately for me, there was a blood trail after about 25 or so yards, but I want to be certain of an exit hole for drainage from now on.

Those 2 episodes were enough for me. I switched to Slick Tricks ... and don't plan on using Spits again. Too bad, because I have 4 unopened packages of them, and 6 loose Spits I have not shot. But, I want to hunt with the same head I practice with and I want to shoot more than one practice shot (not many ... just a couple shots on a given head) so I can be absolutely certain it will fly where I want it to.


I understand your feeling of frustration and discomfort. I'd feel the same way. We all want a clean, quick kill.


Hang in there, Pin. Hopefully that high hit missed a lung (went between the lungs and the veins next to the back bone) and the deer will be ok ... just sore for a while.
 
#8 ·
yep, looks like a blade opened on it, did the same out of the Vent, I'm back to Ramcats, you still have to make sure the screws are tight as if one comes loose they go high and right as well ... just ask my shed ...lol
 
#11 ·
Tom, yes I actually had shot that spit a time or two and its one of the two that hit 1" low.

randy...I think you are right they had to open...these must be for slowpoke bows

I plan on it clint!

oh haha!!! I'm so tired and hungry I wasn't thinking lol
 
#14 ·
Yeah I wish now I had never used them. And Tom....I can't say for sure if I had shot the head in the pic before....I'm pretty tired right now and I can't remember for sure but I do know I pulled on the blades before I shot it and they were tight as any I've pulled out of a new pack. Fixed blades from here out
 
#15 ·
...
Fixed blades from here out


Yup. All it takes is once.

Careful if you go to the RamCats. They shoot ok from my bows (about the same as Slick Tricks) but I stripped a blade retention screw on one of the 3 blades I bought (just to try them for fun) and it is very easy to do that. AND I had to tighten all 3 retention screws (one for each blade) after every shot.

And if you want the SBG blades (which I feel makes a big improvement over the finger-slicer-dicers that come with the head right now) here is the place to go ...

http://shop.firenock.com/Smoke-Ramcat-3-pack-Ramcat.htm?productId=139
 
#16 ·
Thanks Tom! But I'm going to stick with the slicks. I couldn't wait and just shot 4...3 of them same hole as field tips, 1 was 1" left but I can spin that one tomorrow and bring it back in. I wish I had never strayed from them......lesson learned. I will finish tuning tomorrow....for now its time to hit the sack and try to put this day behind me.
 
#18 ·
I remember the day I use the split fires. The most I dislike about them is the clips. I can only reliability use them once! Did your like that too? Did you change the clips after every shot? I also find out using dental floss to wrap the blade will cause deformation of the body in some targets due to material being pushed into the crack by force. So for me it is a one shot head! Sorry about you shot!
 
#20 ·
Sorry about this "bad luck'.....I guess it could happen to any broad head but these stories are why I use Slick Tricks and do not use Mechanicals of any sort...

When I first saw that "neckit foot" I thought a few "grand daddy long leg" spiders had attacked your foot......lol
 
#21 ·
I think as speed and poundage being pulled on crossbows increases you will hear of this more often with mechanical broad heads. The Matrix is pulling 260 lbs correct? Thats a lot force being applied to the arrow. I think broad head designers are going to have to address this.
 
#22 ·
Yes I'm pulling 260lb and thats a lot. Dorge, no I didn't replace the clips, they felt fairly tight just not factory tight so I wrapped one wrap of clear scotch tape around the head....and I had tested that before I went into the woods and it shot same POI, 1" low. The head in the pic I can't remember if its ever been shot or not but I tugged on the blades and they were tight as any of them right out of the pack. I was so tired last night I didn't look but I just looked at my target I shot and there is ONE cut where one blade opened. As tight as the blades where on the one I test shot last night lets me know any of them are capable of opening at any time out of my 380. I will never use them again....slow bow or not
 
#24 ·
You don't even want to know how many SF's I sell (and use myself) and have had great luck with in faster bows than that. Every now and then something happens and it does not perform and generally all it takes is one time and people are done. I can say that about every single broadhead I have ever sold. From a retail stand point this is a no win scenario. Fast bows and fixed heads don't like eachother. You can get the occasional "screw it on hit like my fieldpoints" but not enough that its a guarantee, not by a long shot. Even with mechanicals you can still have to deal with tweaking. Its also very hard to get one pack of broadheads to fly the same as another of the same brand. Too much inconsistency thru the whole spectrum. Add in bad hits or the deer simply not cooperating and this is by no means an exact science. The biggest lie in the industry is "field point accuracy". You also have to allow for bow to bow temperament. Just like guns, some demand certain arrows/heads to perform well. The bottom line is you have to practice with your heads, adjust as nessicary, and be willing to try different heads till you find what your bow likes. Its a royal pain but from my vantage point the real issue is the "6 shots to sight it in and out to the woods I go!" hunters. That is the VAST majority of crossbow shooters. Mechanicals offer me the highest possibility of similar to field point flight so I recommend them more often than not. As I said, a no win scenario.
Wyvern
 
#30 ·
Yeah I notice that manufactures claim "field point accuracy" or "field point flight" but not field point "point of impact" I guess if it does not wind plane like mad it's considered field point flight.

To be safe I'm banding mine this year. I know they will open on impact with bands because I tried to super glue the things for practice before and they opened.
 
#25 ·
Yeah for me this experience done me in though I know others love these heads. I put my slicks back on and about to get ready for church. The slicks shot great and thats what I'll be sticking with for now. I went to the spits because some of the compound bows I had were hit and miss on slicks so I gave them a shot...bigger cut...but this one bad time has broke me
 
#26 ·
Getting ready to head out the door but one thing I want say....as we hit on the poundage that may be the issue here more than the speed....260lb is a jolt on an arrow and the blade may have opened right out of the bow. Its something I will never know but its likely.
 
#28 ·
Yeah any head can fail. Same for the arrow components, or the arrow itself I suppose. But Mechanicals have to increase the odds I would think.

I'm gonna try getting a fixed head to shoot out of the 390. I don't really care if they group with field tips just as long as they group together. Then I'll just site in for the fixed heads.

The two I want to try are Slick Tricks and VPA
 
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