When it comes to things like this (fixed/mechanical/heavy/light/high FOC etc....) you will get dozens of people splitting hairs on what is "best". In reality, any quality broadhead on any quality shaft is more than sufficient for hunting.

My advice - If you are hunting anything in North America, your current set up is more than sufficient. Find something that flies well with your current tune or tune your bow to the broadhead you choose, practice in the offseason and go kill things when the season opens.

 

This is pretty much what I figured, its just easy to get caught up in the back and forth and second guess decisions.

 

At close ranges and not in high winds, I'm just going to say that a good fixed blade head is always better.

You cannot say you will never hit the shoulder blade. Anyone that says "just don't hit the shoulder" is being narcissistic and using specious reasoning. My 2 biggest bucks (one over 140" gross and huge body), I regrettably drilled the shoulder. I didn't get full penetration but my QAD Exodus got into the vitals just enough (about halfway) to put them down within 100 yards. My setup for those two bucks was a slow Bowtech Revolt 60 lbs 30 inches that shot a 420 grain arrow at around 263 fps.

I seriously doubt a mechnical would have done that and would have just left a broadhead heavily jammed up in the bone and a crippled deer.

2 things are driving mechanical sales, I think. First, a lot of average archers can't get fixed blade heads to fly, so they go to mechanicals. Second, people now have this obsession of gory blood trails and watching the deer fall within 10 yards. This was never an expectation of bowhunting until the last decade or so. Put a decent cut fixed blade through the vitals, walk to the last spot you saw the deer, and you'll soon find a nice blood trail right to the animal. It will just look like someone poured it out with a watering can and not a bucket. The increased bone penetration is worth giving up any advantage that mechanicals have.

A reason so many professional archers hunt with mechanicals (Bowmar, Bee, Morgan, etc) is because they want to shoot 60 yards and farther and often in windy conditions.

 

Looking at the professional archery make me wonder if they can actually get one to tune and shoot. Watching them shoot (ive never seen levi shoot a fixed head) some leave a lot to be desired. The one pro that i have seen shoot fixed heads at distance is paige and she's the goat

 

Strengths and weaknesses pick your poison. Mechs leaks better fixed go deeper mechs fly better fixed do not fail etc.

I use both all the time. This yr I'm sure i will as well. Its just fun to play with new stuff

If I could only use one type, I'd go fixed as I spend a lot of time with my bow which is always super well tuned so the flight advantage is a no big to me. The penetration is a big to me and I have had issues with mechs not going deep as I'd like. That's just me there is no right answer

 

I agree with all 3 of the posters above me.
My brother and I have used both out of our 50lb bows 400 gr arrows 28dl with no issues.
Now use mechanicals for turkey and fixed for deer, just cause...

 

I started in 1956 with recurves 20+ years b/4 compounds became the craze. I arrowed Whitetetails, Hog, Elk & bl lack Bears in those early years. 40#s thru 60#s. Majority of time I used just under 55#s. Arrowed Deer, Elk & Bear with 53#s. I used a 2117 Aluminum most times, 29" long & 3 blade heads most too (B/4 expandable). 38critters & almost always a pass thru. Now, with Compounds, I've used a 125gr 3 blade fixed over 50 years now on everything. I still use Aluminum though I did the Carbon 2 years (70#s same 3 blade head & zero pass thru on 5 critters. (1 Elk, 35 yds, 3 Whitetails & a Hog, all recovered). My Aluminums always over 500grs total using 2216s & 2219s & cannot remember NOT having a complete pass thru into the ground or beyond. I dropped back to 60#s in 2010 & the 1st kill was a Cow Buffalo, ranged at 42 yds, 2219, 125 gr 3 Blade (Some model Rocky Mountain that 50 years) Buffalo & forward the Ironhead. I have never used an expandable BUT have veteran bowhunting family & friends that have/do. I have seen just enough problems to deter me from using them. Not always a penetration or shot placement problems either. My hunting arrows shoot like darts thru 60 yds but hunting it is "rare" I would/do consider anything after 40. I've arrowed many biggame & after keeping a log over 30 years the average shot has been just under 25 yds.. My recovery average is 30. Yes, we all have the exception from a good hit. I did have a liver WT go like 200 yds. I had a Double lung pass thru at 20 yds on a 5 point bull Elk & he went 125 yds & still alive an hour later when I walked up on him. The blood trail looked like spraying out of a paint sprayer. That was a puzzler. Can't really give any "scientific proven" info, I just know my 3 blade fixed never fail me & the critters on the gro

und proved it.. The large photo, pass thru, 53# 2018 Aluminum with 3 blade Rocky Mountain Razor into the ground (1977 or 78). See the right front leg, pass thru the bone, no break, into the ground. Just a 3 blade hole thru the leg. Son & 3adult G-sons use 125 gr 3 blade Montecs & taken many Whitetails, Hogs, Elk, Antelope with them. My son used expandable 1 year & lost a nice Buck.. Why was uncertain..

 

Did you harvest that 5x5 bull?

 

The simple answer, Deer are not hard to penetrate...just about any BH will do the job.

The detailed answer is here on AT if you search....pages and pages of different experiences and interpretations with different styles of heads.

The problem with many of the comments like; "Mech heads are no good" is;
1) Most likely the shooter never BH tuned thus they were shooting arrows with a slight wobble that inhibits penetration
2) We don't know whether the shooter assembled his arrows perfectly
3) We don't know what the arrow weight was
4) Not all mech heads penetrate the same- big differences with some designs

Best practice;
Always BH tune- its not true that you can screw on a long mech head and it will fly like FP's

Spin check on a jig for perfect BH assembly

If you are using an inefficient head.....bump up your arrow weight a tad, those heads work best with a little more weight behind them.

 

Professional archers use mechanicals because they want to be as accurate as possible. Mechanicals are definitely more forgiving in flight , even with a properly tuned bow.

At extended ranges, you just agreed with me. At close ranges, if they can't put it wherever they'd like with a fixed blade, then they wouldn't be a pro.

 

If someone believes a broadhead cost them a deer, i will ignore any input from them in the future.

 

hey, if you would have shot a Satellite broadhead at a big ole buck back in the 1970's and seen the blades go flying off the broadhead before it got to the deer you could blame the broadhead..

never happened to me but a few times a blade would be missing and you had to be real carefull while field dressing

 

My take - honest disclaimer: I am not a bowhunter because that's not legal here, but I do fart around with broadheads for fun quite a bit:

I can get clean flight from every head I bought if I fart around with the setup long enough.
So what would matter to me more is structural integrity and durability of the head.

Most thin bladed / screw in / non-one piece replacement blade stuff may be really sharp but it doesn't really do anything for me seeing as they tend to shear off or shatter on harder impacts. Maybe that's just me.

 

Not rocket sceince. The bigger the cut the less penetration.

 

If you read the first couple posts with comprehension, there isn't a great deal more to add. The point SDguy was trying to make is valid...some draw weight-draw length-bow design-arrow speed combos are below the optimal use recommendations for most mechanicals. There are some built and marketed as 'low KE', but even then it is likely better practice to have the average female and youth drawing low poundage to limit shot didstance and use a sharp COC type BH.

Mechanicals have been besmirched for the past couple decades as a bandaid fix to poor tuning. That is at least partially true, but I think Levi knows his way around a bow press and tools. Without a doubt, a BH with the blades folded down will fly the best at longer distances and in less than optimal conditions while hunting...such as dealing with wind. I use them on turkeys and some whitetail locations where land access is limited and I want the biggest hole and most profuse blood trail possible.

Lusk does a pretty good job shooting into layered cardboard and ballistic gel to assess penetration via a non-living media. How a head holds up shooting through plate steel and cinder blocks is debateable...although the folks who choose the survivors have a measure of pride to flaunt. Plainly this discussion won't be the 'end-all', so you will simply have to choose what you feel is best and prove it in the woods (see post #2).

 

What's the loss in KE of a fixed compared to that of a sharp mech? I shoot at 60lbs 29.5in draw 406gr arrow at about 270fps.

That's the great equalizer. SO many times here people just start going on and on about what they see but they never mention the details. They'll just say I shoot 375 grain arrows and never have an issue. Then you find out they are shooting 75 pounds with a 31 inch DL.........and they are shooting that 375 grain arrow at 325 FPS.........lol

That kinda' matters. So strangely enough your spec's and mine are almost identical. I shoot a 405 grain arrow @ 275 FPS. The bow, DL, DW and all that doesn't matter because the speed & weight are all you need. At my spec's and lots of dead critters to gage from I rarely get a passthrough with a large 2 ich mechanical. I rarely do NOT get one with a good 3 blade true COC. It's the exact opposite results.

That said do you "need" a passthrough? That's the better question. I prefer them because I hunt high and shoot close so many times if I don't get that low exit I get a poor blood trail because the entrance hole is high in the back. Now if I were in a blind it wouldn't really matter as the entrance hole is much lower.

But as far as penetration goes (which is what you asked) you'll see less no doubt.

 

PS I should have added if I waited for the perfect broad side shot I might see more passthroughs with larger mechanicals but my goal is to kill the animal first and foremost. I know what I can and can't do after years of shooting game so I factor that in to the shot. IOW I don't change the way I hunt when I switch heads and that probably hurts my passthrough percentage. But then again I'm not willing to limit myself to a perfect broadside shot either.

I'm not saying I take bad shots......just not perfect BS only.

 

You gotta remember that anytime you hear people trashing a broadhead the 1st thing they will do is blame the head when 90% of the time it is operator error and they will never admit it.

 

What I want to know is there an actual test that can quantify the difference in penetration?

I am a big believer in the phrase “test don’t guess”, but I hate broadhead test.

While they can be an OK basis for performance there is just too much that cannot be accounted for in real life. No two shots at deer will ever be the same. As most will agree, shot placement is the key followed by sharp.

 

I have always had good luck with fixed and I have had a failure with even a quality mechanical. BUT I would say, first put the arrow on the deer.
Your first concern needs to be building an accurate setup. Once that is something you can do then build on that.

I think Bubble Off makes this point.

I would be more concerned with FOC and flight.

I have the same draw weight and length exactly. I use the Magnus Black Hornet Ser-Razor 125 grain 600 grain arrow. I got 3 pass throughs last year. Blood trails were not very obvious, but they were not needed. The deer died in 40 - 60 yards. (13, 33, 34 yards) from ground blind.

 

Very slow 70 lb 410 grain arrow around 270 fps. When I was shooting the 74# gt500 that arrow shattered ball joint folded the deer it plowed 20 ft. Arrow was 30 yards beyond the deer.

 

SEVR 1.5 Hybrid and never look back!

 

I have looked at those pretty heavily but the swinging blade worries me a little.

 

Check out Lusk Archery Adventures on YouTube for the best broadhead testing.

 

W that weight an speed shouldn't have penetration issues on whitetails with either

 

Forgot. See John luck videos on broadhead he puts thru all sorts tests and gives em rating

 

Ya he will sell ya on who ever sponsors him

 

Actually, he isn’t sponsored by any broadheads. They are donated by friends and viewers. Know what you’re talking about before slandering someone on this page. That’s not what it was designed to do.

 

He isn't sponsored by any of the bhead companies. I used to shoot muzzy pigman expandable awesome head don't know y discounted. Shot 2 in sevr out havoc Xbox last yr all pass thru 5 out of 7 didn't make it out site. Hoping they come out w the 2 in hybrid this yr Otta be prrfection

 

Shooting deer on your Xbox don't count 🤣

 

I can give you my opinion ,no expert. I have hunted with both fixed and mechanical broadheads .Im shooting at 62 lbs , and I have never not had it that the arrow went strait threw the animal.

 

That seems pretty unusual to me, as I shot recurve bows for 30 years with draw weights from 56-60# and the vast majority of my kills were complete pass through shots. Since shifting to compounds in 2010, I can honestly relate the same...by far more pass through shots than the arrow remaining in the animal. Now a lot of factors go into penetration beside draw weight...draw length, IBO rating of the bow, tuning, TAW (total arrow weight), design and sharpness of chosen BH's.

Those are the controlable factors, but shot placement on the animal(s) trump all the rest. If you are hitting heavy bone or taking heavy quartering shots, that might be part of the issue as well. Although a couple years ago with a 61@29.25 Elite Ritual 35, I shot a quartering away buck 21 yards distant that exited out the scapula and was buried in the dirt. Nifty square hole of bone missing from the sharp TOTA four-blade BH. If you are not getting the same results with your poundage, some things need to be addressed.

 

I’ve killed over 100 big animals with bow and arrow. Shooting slow bows from 60# and a 26” in my early teenage years to fast bows at 80+ pounds and 29” at my adult draw length.

The only thing that has rang true through all of that is hitting what you’re aiming at. Hit them in the lungs, and it’s a good day. Hit them elsewhere, and it’s dicey, no matter what’s on the tip of your arrow. For the vast majority of people, a moderately weighted arrow (400-475 grains) with a well designed mechanical, like the grim reaper 1 3/8” pro series is your best bet. I can tune and do tune large fixed out to 70ish yards, beyond that they fall start to fall off from drag. I hunt with mechanicals. They’re better when you’re at your worst.

 

I have never killed anything with a mechanical head, they haven’t been legal here for very long and fixed heads have remained my comfort zone…

with that being said, I have seen them in action quite a bit, almost exclusively on elk, and this is a very, very accurate reply. The theme has always been the same, regardless of weapon or projectile…. Hit them good, there is no drama aside from a freak scenario

miss your mark, and it’s a complete crapshoot… sometimes you get lucky on a poor shot, most of the time it’s a long frustrating day. I have shot all types of heads and seen all kinds of heads used with all types of setups, and I have never seen a good shot result in not enough penetration aside from one catastrophic failure that I had with a proven and very beloved fixed heads, and one quartered shot deflect with a very poor designed head for the use.

from 40# light arrow, short draw length to very high energy setups, good shots result in very quick recoveries on elk. With that said, I think the best broadhead is the one that will consistently hit behind the pin.

I’m not about to give up on fixed heads, considering the hunting I do and shots I take, but I am certainly warming up to mechs because they have a lot going for them, and are flat out more forgiving in flight, and I know with my current specs, they aren’t going to bounce off.

my arrow is 27.5” carbon to carbon, and on a broadside shot on a huge mature roosie bull, half arrow penetration means complete penetration through the vitals, shoot top of heart and both lungs, we are talking about 8-9” of penetration to poke out the off side… deer, those numbers shrink a fair amount

now if I’m calling a bull and I know I’m going to have a 10yd frontal and it’s going to happen fast, I will have an arrow with a GK xl ready to rock, but stalking a bull that is feeding or harassing cows, getting a 25yd broadside shot that is not rushed and controlled, I will probably have a mechanical ready to rock, and will have complete confidence.

I appreciate unbiased objective replies like yours based on objective experience👍