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125 grain broadheads

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5.6K views 51 replies 18 participants last post by  GCook  
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#1 ·
125 grain broadhead for deer hunting - what do you or have you used with success and would recommend?
Shooting Victory Carbon Trad 450, total arrow weight is around 550 grains.
One blade, two blade?
What do you all use?
 
#3 ·
125 grain broadheads seem to be the most readily available. I don't particularly like one that light just because I have my arrows tuned with field points much heavier that that. So, my only option was to go with brass inserts to build tip weight and keep the arrow tuned. I presently use Piledrivers. They are 150 grain heads. I prefer that style because I will often stick a couple of arrows in a pocket quiver for still hunting. The flat profile allows me to do that without cutting up my quiver and myself. If you are going to be using a different method of carrying the arrows then the sky is the limit. Use what ever flies best for you. People have been killing deer with stones tied on to shafts on up to points that fold up and only open on impact. I honestly don't get all that excited about broadheads or trying everything that someone comes up with. I only take one deer a year so I just don't have a need for lots of broadheads. Three to six of a style that flies good will last me a very long time.
 
A
#6 ·
I shoot the Victory Trad 450 spined shafts as well, and think it's cute that a 125 grain broadhead isn't recommended. I shoot either a 100 grain head or a 125 grain head, either the Van Dieman single bevel or the g5 Montec. The Montec is deadly on deer, bear and antelope, and I've killed three bulls with the head. I like my tip weight in my inserts, not my broadheads. I'm running 75 grain half outs with my 125 grain heads.
The Muzzy Phantoms are a great head, used them forever before switching. Easy to sharpen and fly great.
 
G
#7 ·
I've killed several pigs withe 100 grain Rage Hypodermic heads. Just use an insert weight to get my needed weight up front.
The field is wide open. The trad guys who buy into the only one way school won't approve but you have find success and gain confidence in what works for you.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
 
T
#8 ·
I have the 80 grain steel inserts i ordered with the arrow, along with 125 grain tips, that combo worked well for my setup, but still somewhat new to this. Tried 225 grain tips I already had but made the arrow much to weak, went to 125's so I did not have to cut the shafts. Now just lots more practice, feeling by October opener here in Michigan I will be more than confident out to 25 yards - that would be my max shot. Thinking I want a six pack of broadheads, whatever I decide on, so I have some for practice.
 
#12 ·
I switch heads every year, and usually use different heads for different deer/animals.

Honestly I've probably used more 125 grain heads to take animals than any other grain. That said I have never seen a difference in penetration between 2 blades vs 3 or 4 blades or single bevels vs double. Honestly its about your shot placement and arrow/tune.

Bone, Magnus, VPA, Zwickey, Simmons Bear greenies etc, YMMV. That's the fun in this sport, you can try out a bunch.
 
#16 ·
Ghost, Probably killed more animals with 125 grain heads than you have, but that was with wood and aluminum. When I switched to carbon, I killed a couple of animals with 125 grain heads and then switched back, because I wasn't satisfied with accuracy or the penetration. But I kept hearing about the great penetration, so I switched back with higher FOC. WOW, everything got better. Now, on one carbon set up I shoot 285 grains and my big, big game (elk, moose etc) setup 360 grains.

Yea, I hunt. 19 species and counting - bet your south of that. For veracity sake, I can post a picture of a fireplace with 12 species.

Bowmania
 
#17 ·
Easy Francis! Let me guess you drive a big diesel truck as well and bench 400lbs. This isn’t a d!ck measuring contest. If you didn’t have good accuracy or penetration then you didn’t have the right arrow set up for your bow, as simple as that. You can easily use 125 grain Broadheads and still get great FOC along with accuracy and penetration. All you need is a heavier insert. Ethics Archery has any weight insert you need as well as size. To come out and say 125 are only good for wood or aluminum is just plain wrong. No matter how many elephants and dinosaurs you have killed. Don’t hit yourself to hard patting yourself on the back. You might not be able to hunt this year do to injury.
 
S
#26 ·
While you can use whatever weight broadheads to hunt what I think what Bowmania was referring to is he prefers using heavier heads for weight than inserts. And yes you are right you don’t need EFOC to kill. But you asked the guy if he hunts in an attempt to belittle him so if he offers to show you he is a good hunter don’t be but hurt if he’s a better hunter than you.
 
#27 ·
I could careless if he is the best hunter on the planet, doesn't make a F to me, and he didn't imply anything about inserts or anything of that nature, he flat out said don't use a 125 grain head unless its a wood or aluminum arrows, so now you're trying to make excuses for him...ive been around guys who've killed over 50 different species in this world and have gotten sound advice along the years, none of them would say what bowmania said...ridiculous
 
S
#29 ·
While I prefer some of my weight upfront in my inserts unlike Bowmania and he didn’t offer an any explanation. It’s really not necessary to act that way to someone who has probably been shooting a single string bow over 40 years, coaches and has helped many people with their form, and has more experience hunting than most. Many times I don’t agree with what everyone says but I still listen and learn.
 
#30 ·
Ghost, you asked me a question and I answered. I can't help you didn't like the answer. I can go back and tell you how many animals I killed with a 125 grain head, but it's not the point. I don't and won't shoot a 125 grain point with carbon.

I can go further into my reasoning. Let's take a shaft at 8 grains per inch, 30 inches long, add 125 grain head, and add 35 grains (I'm trying for around figure) components. That give us a 400 grain arrow. If you're shooting 50 pounds that's 8 gpp. Mr. Bear like 10 gpp and some bowyers advise not to shoot under 8. And my 8 grains per arrow inch I think is in the middle of the road. I think you can go down to 6, and surely you can go higher that 8. I picked 8 because I think it's the middle of the road.

Now, I will say that I have used carbon on a hunt with a BH that weighed 125 grains, but it had a 125 grain adaptor. I'd hardly call that a 125 grain pt. I hardly think that having a shop full of equipment and hanging around guys that hunted all over the world qualifies as hunting.

You asked the question, sorry you didn't like the answer.

Bowmania
 
#34 ·
May I ask what this is about?

We were conducting a Bowhunter Education class one weekend and on the second day in comes one of our students, late, saying that he was sorry, but he just shot a pig with his field point arrow we were using for class.

The Lead Instructor also happened to be the Head of the Waimea Field Office for the DLNR... besides being dismissed from class, this kid was lucky he got to keep his bow and hunting license... :grin:
 
G
#35 ·
I wasnt calling you one I said no point in being one. I agree lighter points will work fine. Of course I also use inserts with them to bump the overall tip weight up if using them.
I like to run my arrows between 9 & 10 GOP and keep my foc above 15%. That said I generally run 150 grains up front. You can't go wrong with most heads of they are really sharp.
I need a wide cut. My old azz eyes don't see as well as they used to and I want a gaping hole to leak out as much blood as possible.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
 
G
#39 ·
Yeah while much of the trad community will say you can't use mechanical broadheads with a single string bow and I've proven that to be untrue.
You have to be able to weigh out what works for you. Experiment and think for yourself. It is good to have the knowledge and experience of others shared over the internet but in the end that should just be your starting reference, not the gospel you live by, until you prove or disprove it through your own experience.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
 
C
#41 ·
If a broadhead has an aluminum ferrule I will not use them anymore. I have had too many snap off at the end of the shaft. That is why I started using 200 gr heads a long time ago. Before weighted inserts. Never had a failure since. So haven't looked into switching. I don't care about the weight but durability is first in my book. If you can find a strong light broadhead that is sharp go for it. Shoot it accurately and eat well.
 
#43 ·
I don't know that I'm at fault for this going south. All I said was that I wouldn't advise the use of 125 grain BH. And not qualify. I do remember why - I jumped on the thread with only a few minutes to burn.

If I had more time, I might have use the 400 grain arrow and 8 gpp with a 50 pound bow to prove the point. Let's debate (I think I was just asked to debate) that compared to a tuned arrow (both of them tuned) with a 300 grain head. It has more foc and is 175 grains heavier. The lighter arrow will have better trajectory and be faster. The speed in my opinion is not good. IT results in noise that the 575 grain arrow doesn't have. That noise comes from the loss of energy that the 400 grain arrow doesn't get out of the bow and the 575 gr gets some of that.

So the only advantage is trajectory. THe heavier arrow is better in a cross wind. AND I think it's a more accurate arrow. You do some bad form mistake and it's easier to move a light arrow off course than a heavy arrow. Is penetration even debatable? Heavier has it hands down.

Heavy foc beats a 125 grain tip for penetration. When an arrow impacts something it flexes. When a 125 grain head with 10-12% foc impacts something it starts flexing at the balance point. For argument sake, the balance point of a 30 inch arrow with a 10% foc is a couple inches toward the tip from the middle of the arrow. THe 575 grain arrow has a balance point maybe 6 inches from the tip. How much is that going flex compared to a 125 grain head. THat extra flex is going to impede penetration. How much I don't know, but this is a debate and if it's a 1/16 of an inch the heavy arrow wins.

Let's go back to the trajectory of the light arrow. How far are we shooting, because if it's 20 and under there's no difference that 50 shots won't cure if you need any. And for over 20 yards I've gone to 3 two inch feathers. So trajectory isn't much of an issue. So what's the advantage of a 125 grain head? I will say I killed an elk at 45 yards with an MA-3 that had the 125 grain adaptor, weighing 250. In 2016 I killed a big 6X6 elk with a 360 grain tip at 29 yards (see TBM). 2005 running moose with a 360 gr head. Maybe there isn't even a trajectory advantage?

Now, to address what a debate is, I'll have to say killing 19 species has as much to do with what we are debating as killing 7 hogs in four years. Killing the above animals and the 19 species answers the question on me hunting, not the debate on 125 grain broadheads.

Sorry to the OP, I should have given more reasoning for my original post.

Bowmania
 
#44 ·
I’ve killed over 35 animals with a bow in 10 years, I got pics for days, we can go all day buddy, you’re arrogance and ignorance is showing , most of those were with 100 grain also on a recurve , you spit out cute stars but provide zero intel


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#45 ·
I see that you hunt. Address the facts. I was ignorant enough to know you wouldn't want to put up numbers on arrows.

I couldn't get 35 tags in probably twenty years, but I sure have more than double that in bow kills, but as I said that's not part of the debate. Let's hear some numbers and facts.

Bowmania
 
#46 ·
I still aint got it? What are we arguing here, debating here... What?

I've been bow hunting since the very late 80's and was advised to start off with Bear Razor heads, and after my first sliced finger took out the bleeder blades... then discovered Snuffers... After the first pig went down, then the first deer, then the first goat, well the first sheep was a collaborative event based upon sheer ignorance and a little bit of fear at the time... but since, I've hunted with MA3's, MA2's, Zwickey eskimo and Delta's and Snuffers. For me, for the Money... and the performance, I'm sticking with Snuffers... they have everying I want... a fair cutting diameter, three blades, and cut on contact, and a reasonable ratio to the blade... however... every other broadhead I have ever used, and the MA3's still fly the very best for me..., are adequate for hunting.

However, I do two things, one I won't shoot unless now really close, and two, I won't shoot unless I am comfortable with the angle of the shot... this because it took my son and I severals hours to have run down a sheep we shot and actually in the end had to dispatch it with a belt knife after it charged my son and I (very weak at this point... this sounds better than it sauntered over to us with arrows protruding forward... :grin: ). Other than close, we did everything else wrong... :grin:

My hunting buddy uses an expandable that has an insane cutting diameter... and he does it for probably more realistic reasons.. (disabled) and has had animals drop from blood loss with marginal shots... and so he is comfortable with them... the point is... location, location, location... location of the hunter, location of the preferred shot path, and location of the hit.

This topic seems more of one of FOC than the merits of a particular broadhead... and this I can illustrate with sincerity, a good friend hunts with his wife every chance they get, and back when we started, we both were using MA3's and he took our MA3's and drilled holes in them for his wife. Same head, but now less than 100 grains and they flew great with her 35# Martin Compound.

Isn't it really shot placement? I believe I have related the incident of the Bowhunter Education Class field point exercise with one of our Students earlier, so what exactly am I missing here? :laugh:
 
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