Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Whats your broadhead,and what you hunting?

My first bear with a mechanical came this weekend. Ive been very slow to actually use a mechanical on a big game animal. I've used them on turkeys for years. I think on turkeys they are the best invention in broad heads possible. The stiff quills snap the blades open and the light bones allow even a mechanical to crush and slice through them.

When I was given a pack of the hypodermics by another outfitter and asked to just give them a shot, I agreed that I would. At which point I had at least a few mechanicals here that I was fooling around with on the turkeys. The only one I liked and that functioned 100% of the time was the Rage, I don't know the model, It's green and has a half moon shaped razor on the tip.

It was too flimsy in my opinion to use on big game. Then when I was given the package of the Hypodermics, ...... well they were built like I would build something. These were heavy duty and sharp as possible. I used the practice head in the package to shoot with my field points. There was no difference in the POI. I used one of the functional heads to shoot a turkey, opened upon impact and before entry, this is a decisive function which must happen with a mechanical or it's off the list for me. Way too many designs open upon impact but after entry.

These leave a small entry hole, then open so big they take extraordinary power to exit. Thats a big problem if they don't exit. Now all you have is a bullet hole on the entry side. If from a tree stand it's a bullet hole up high too. The whole intent with this is an extraordinary blood trail after all.

So I shoot a bear with it, A nice big bear too, well over the 300lb mark and with a 19" skull. So it was a good test animal with a good size. The shot was 26-28 yards, from a tree stand. shooting down. I was 17 feet up to the bow, not the platform, so probably 14 foot to the platform. The steepness of the canyon puts me only 12-15 feet from the ground next to me at eye level on one side and with the creek on the opposite side below me the stand is probably 25 feet from the ground on that side.

I shoot 65 pounds with an Elite energy 32, 28.5" draw 440 grain arrows and getting about 285fps. I have video of this shot which is crystal clear. The arrow and the bright green Lighted nock went perfectly through the bears chest. The light disappeared, and in slow motion the bear has not moved or even realized it has been hit. Then a split second goes by and he leaps to bite the wound. At this point on the video the blood can be clearly seen pouring from the hole. In the next second he is full span stride running, with blood pouring from the hole and seen as a big red cloud under him in the video. Another long stride with the exact same big red cloud, and he was gone.

About 3-5 seconds go by and he can be heard giving up with the moaning sound typical of bears. When recovered he was not 50 yards from the shot. The arrow exited clean trough and was laying on the ground just beyond where he stood. This was as fast as a bear can be killed or stopped without a CNS hit. Even with a firearm I have seen many bears go this far or further.

So the rage hypodermic has done as well as anyone could expect on this. Better then I expected, but as I was hoping it would turn out. I will use one on my next bear as well. I have no opinion on big game where steep quartering shots, or bone impact is involved. However I have very little experience in those conditions with a fixed blade head either. I'm in a fortunate point in my life that if I don't like the shot I don't take it. There will be more chances. So I don't participate in the debates that mechanicals don't work in some conditions. I don't use them or any other broad head in those conditions to have concern with.

One other thought, I love the Switchback at 63 pounds and 265fps with 425 grain arrows. There is however a pretty significant difference with 65 pounds at 285fps with a 440 -450 grain arrows.

Only 2 more pounds of draw weight, but a nice increase in delivered power! This is the power level a guy needs to get the best performance from a mechanical. Sub 60 pound draw and light arrows I believe are the recipe for failure or poor performance. This is where I believe the controversy with mechanicals has it's roots. Mechanicals need more power.