A Heart shot and 10 inches of penetration will get it done every time usually within sight.
That's hard to do and not sure if one helped you more than another.
If you want great blood you have to hit them low and heart shots with passthroughs usually create the biggest trails.
What has been your best broadhead to date? And how was the shot placement?

 

Rage hypodermics and Trypans until this season. Last year when I found the arrow I hit my buck with the blades had exteme damage. The blades had extreme chatter and were bent but they were intact and connected to ferrule.

 

Try out a wider cut like Magnus black hornets or ser razor 1 1/4" . Might get a faster recovery

 

So last year I shouldered a decent buck with a rage hypodermic, only got about 8” of penetration. Never found him. Had pretty decent blood and tracked for 250 yards. Called a dog and found more blood that I certainly wouldn’t have found on my own.

This season I made the decision to switch to fixed blades after about 15+ years of fairly good success with mech heads. And I have shot 2 does in the last 2 days with 2 different fixed heads.

So Sunday morning I shot a doe with a Magnus stinger killer bee, terrible shot to be honest and that’s on me. I hit high shoulder and was able to pass through the thin part of the scapula. The shaft snapped off and 2/3 of the arrow and broadhead were stuck in the ground. Almost no blood on that part of the arrow and broadhead.

Waited 2 hours to try to recover that deer. I called a dog tracker immediately after seeing the terrible sign on the arrow. Later recovered the last 3rd of the arrow which was covered in blood which was weird.

We ended up recovering that doe. She made it 225 yards. No way I would have found that deer without dog because of thick cover and lack of blood. Autopsy showed that I nailed one lung and barely sliced another. Blood clotted up on the exit hole and the entry was high.

So tonight I shot another doe, after that experience I changed up my fixed head to a rocket ultimate steel which is a 3 blade 1” cutting diameter versus the Magnus stinger killer be which is a 7/8” 2 blade.

Also recovered that deer after a 160 yard track. Autopsy showed i destroyed 1 lung and nicked heart and other lung, arrow hit the offside elbow and backed out quite a ways making it look like I had terrible penetration. While tracking the deer I found the fully intact arrow with blood all the way up to the fletchings.

Luckily this track job was in a wide open field and we found her at the edge of some tall grass, I feel like had it been in dense woods or tall grass I would have been in trouble or needed to call another dog. Luckily my wife is very good at finding pin drop sized blood trails.

I have to work tomorrow so calling in a blood tracking dog at 9:00 at night on a Monday wasn’t really feasible.

I’m using a Mach 34 with s2 cams, 28” draw, 415 grain arrow at 58 pounds.
I like the penetration I’m getting but my blood trails have been very poor.

I’m not totally giving up on fixed heads yet but I figured I would share my experience over the last 2 days. I understand the fixed heads I chose are small but I did that intentionally to try to maximize penetration.

Thanks if you decided to read this whole thing. The only conclusion I came to was I’m glade I had a fixed blade for one deer but then for my deer tonight I wish I had a mechanical. This is what makes bowhunting interesting.

Thanks for listing your experience!

Here's my 2 cents. Going from a rage to these small cut heads is a big swing and as your initial testing is already indicating - there's downsides to the small heads despite what some might say. I'd settle more in the middle and shoot a 1.25" 3 blade, a 1" plus four blade, bigger 2 blade single bevel, or a 1.25"+ two blade with bleeder. Or heck even a Sevr 1.5".

There's so so many good options! Exodus, Crimson Talon 1.5" cut SB, Contact VBS, Contact MD3, Magnus Black Hornet, Terra Firma Gladius, Grim Reaper Hades, Tooth of the Arrow and the list goes on and on.

 

 

Appreciate the post. Where did you get this data? Thanks

 

Are your broadheads razor sharp? They're kits that can get heads super sharp.

Good luck.

 

My experience on blood trails is that low “exit holes” produce the best blood trails. i‘m Pretty new at this, started in 1977 but my experience is that a shaving sharp fixed head of 1” or larger through the lungs and/or heart is fatal and very quickly fatal. And if the exit is low you will have a decent blood trail.

 

Don't be afraid to look around and try other fixed blade broadheads.
Exact archery 4 blade and the muzzy trocar are great head's and even could help you more with penetration.
Maybe do some tests before you get in the field, I know it is not the same as an animal but it can give you a better idea with your setup.

 

It sounds to me like your shot placement is more of an issue than the broadheads you are using.

I'd also suggest going to a larger cut fixed blade with your specs. Exodus, Grim Reaper Hades, etc

 

I just posted photo and entry hole. Looked pretty good to me.

 

^^^ correct boardside is your friend. Sounds like the angles arent the best and head positions.

 

Just posted pic and circled entry hole. Looked pretty good to me.

 

 

Buy a pack of QAD s and call it a day. Cut dia like a small expandable. Wide blades that leave wider then normal blade slits. Tip also handles bone very well.

 

Who did the studies shown above?

 

It wasn't so much a study, as it was just tracking data. There's a military base in Maryland that allows hunting but heavily regulates it as far as requiring you to check in with your hunt results, what you hunted with, what type of broadhead, shots taken, recovery, etc. And that is where they pulled that data from.

 

Thanks for the write up, Always on my mind if one is "better" than the other? As much as I think the perfect shot will happen every time we all know it won't

 

At 60lbs you want a 3 blade exodus or grim reaper. Or 4 blade magnus.

I shoot 60lbs.

 

Agree with others. 3 or four blade fixed heads.

 

Shot placement but I’ve found that super sharp blades is also important. Since I started sharpening my heads my and my families deer haven’t made it far. They run maybe 20-40 yds then stop and look around then crash. Takes maybe a minute or two tops. That’s on double lung mostly and double lung plus liver. Qad exodus or Magnus black hornet ser razor.

 

Derp, getting 8” of a well placed arrow could easily be a double lung and hit the off side leg. It could also be a total miss of the lungs. We will never know. The deer that you got both lungs but thin ****s on them, a bigger blade would have caused more damage.
One thing for certain, a muzzy as example will 100% of the time, make a much smaller hole. For whatever reason you didn’t hit where you aimed. A Grim reaper 1 3/8” pro tip will penetrate as well as a muzzy but will fly much better and make a huge hole for a much better blood trail.

Just one of many examples of why I like a larger cut broadhead.

 

This is tough as I have bounced back and forth between fixed and mech I think giving what a person is doing and specs dictate that. I just lost a deer with a mech but user error and probably a shot I shouldn't of taken on an alert deer. I honestly think you are fine with either. Like everyone said there are better fixed out there to try. Also there are better mechs that have better durability and penetration. Grim reaper, evolution and g5 deadmeat come to mind. I found the evolution penetrates as much as most fixed heads. And has a hell of a cut. I switched from them this year and will be going back next year.

After some fails and objectivity I have found I am on the cause for failure and or happen stance and bad luck. Looking back on things I can't tell you a time I can truthfully blame my broadhead. Not sure if it matters pick a quality head and you are good.

 

Totally agree. That was kind of the point I was trying to make with this post. I had one deer I don’t think I would have recovered with a mech head and another I think a mech head would have been way more beneficial and had it been different terrain I don’t think I would have recovered that deer.

 

If your deer are regularly making it past 100 yards it's your shot placement, not the type of broadhead you are using. They are tough animals and sometimes you get one that somehow makes it further on a great shot, but in my experience those instances are the exceptions and most go down within 75 yards.