Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Have you ever noticed this?

The debate between mechanicals and fixed blades has been made more clear to me this weekend. Several of my friends and I have been preparing for the bear hunting season and this topic came up.

I realized that the guys that have come here from the Eastern USA, and the guys here that have only ever bow hunted deer are all strongly in favor of expandable broad heads.

The folks that lived in Montana, Alaska, and myself hunting much of my life in Alaska and Africa do not like them at all.

It seemed to me that when the White Tail, black tail and even the Mule deer to a lesser extent are the primary focus of the hunter the expandable seems to be a good sound option.

For those who hunt other game and often much bigger or threatening game, expandable heads don't get any consideration. Maybe this is just my circle of friends and acquaintances in archery. But it was an interesting observation this weekend.

I have not seen a geographically influenced opinion on mechanicals vs fixed. I know lots of guys that live in the mechanicals camp and hunt bear, elk, moose, and ect with them.

What I have noticed is that the more experianced archers (note I said archers and not hunters) tend to lean more to fixed blades. I believe this is because they know how to tune their bows and how to shoot. The guys that are not serious archers tend to lean to mechanicals for no better reason then easy use, screw on and shoot.

There really is no good reason to shoot mechanicals.

I'll take the side that either work. I've got over 30 P&Y animals (14 species) and have bow shot well over 100 animals from NA (20 species) and some more from Africa. I've used Bear Razorheads, Wasps, Savoras, Satellites, Zwickey Eskimos and Deltas..,all 4-blade, MA-3s with Schick Injectors glued on, Thunderheads, Rocky Mt Titaniums and Iron Heads and finally Ulmer Edge mechanicals for the last 2 critters. Accuracy and shot placement trump broadhead type in my experience. Both critters I shot with the UE were pass throughs (black bear and whitetail) with short recoveries. Ulmer Edge's definitely fly the best out of my Hoyt Carbon Element setup versus the fixed blade heads I've tried. The utilized the UE when bowhunting grizzlies this spring here in BC (no shot opportunities) and will hunt stone sheep later this month with them. I read about some really good Alaska hunters using them too....Bob Ameen and Frank Noska specifically, who are at the top rung of bowhunters and hunt more than deer. So overall, as the the mechanicals have improved, more of us really experienced hunters are using them and enjoying the superb flight characteristics and accuracy they offer. I bet there is a slow march toward mechanicals dominating the broadhead scene over the next decade. That said, fixed blades are excellent as well.

Mainly a deer hunter and have used mechanicals, but I hunt to hard to even chance a potential failure of a mechanical. See no real reason to switch from a fixed blade.

ps: Love Slick Tricks

I can only comment on the guys I hunt with in the Catskills in NY - we all use fixed - in fact, most of us use the Muzzy 3 blade. We are hunters, and target shoot for fun. We don't consider ourselves serious-as-a-heart-attack archers.

Kurt,

I posted a similar reply about 2 years ago about mechanicals.

There have been a lot of things over the years that have had piles of Nay sayers when new ideas have been brought out. Electronic game calls, were said to have a frequency that was not natural and therefore would never work.

Compound bows, too were ridiculed and laughed at. Probably the most debated product that was new to the market was the original Barnes X bullet. I hated that bullet and was disgusted each time one of my hunters showed up with them.

Yet today with the evolution to the Barnes TSX, they are the only bullet I shoot at big game. I actually said I would not be using a mechanical head, because the price paid to do the prototype experimentation was not something I wanted to be involved with.

I'm not ready to jump on the mechanical wagon today, maybe not for a while. However as with most effort and development in these things. Eventually they will become a functional product.

Heck, Even the slick trick when it was first introduced was laughed at. Those tiny little puny heads were a laughing stock among most serious and experienced archers. Had I not been given a set as a pro staffer many years ago, I would have been very slow to migrate.

As it was they were so unbelievable accurate and deadly, I have not used anything since. I'm not a mechanical guy, but I do believe that they are here to stay. At the point they become legal in all the states, the development will be sound and they will likely be a good dependable well accepted choice.

Well I disagree, I know the newest ones are better, but I've seen more than a few failures of mechanicals over the years. Couple of mine, one for my wife, and a few for others on a big bow lease we hunted on for many years.

After that, I'd never touch one again regardless. Fixed just plain still work. And I've no issues trailing a bit furhter if need be.

Would be nice to know what brands mechanicals are theoretically unable to fail, and if the track record behind them agrees.

After a double lung on a buck years ago, where the wasp remained closed even after it broke off and was laying in teh dirt, that took from 9am till dark to recover that deer... I said never ever again.

Rost not seeing what you disagreed with me on that you quoted my post???????

I have run Muzzy, Thunderhead and Slick Tricks. Been over joyed with them all. But Slick Tricks are my fav. Last year I tried the Rage 100gr. Had a deer jump the string and turn a slam dunk shot into a questionable hit. Without the large cutting area of the Rage, i would not have gotten that deer. My hunting buddy killed 5 last year with the Rage. No problems at all. Will I shoot them this year? Dont know. If I shoot a mech it will probably be the Ulmer Edge or the offering from Slick Trick. If fixed blade, Slick Trick 100gr, mag.

I wouldn't necessarily say it's geography but more of a philosophy stand point. I've lived all over so I can't really claim any geographical point as home but mostly it's been east of the Mississippi River. Of course from the handle you've probably pegged me fairly as a long bow guy and you'd be correct. To me, it's fixed, heavy, two blades and maybe a bleeder here and there. I will run a carbon arrow though just for the pure longevity and economics. It boils down to trust. I know that when that arrow leaves the shelf that without a doubt the blades are already cutting the air and if I do my part, spilling blood. Anything mechanical can and will fail.

In my line of work there are a lot of products seen but the hunters in camp each year. During this time myself and many of the other PH's have come to dislike the mechanicals over all.

Last year a PH friend of mine who may be the most anti Mechanical guy in RSA called called me to catch up and chat about hunters I booked for him to take. It was a group of four as I recall. They all showed with Mechanicals. I still remember the text message from him saying something sarcastic and rude ( funny) about sending him this group.

Some time after that hunt I ran into him. He went on and on about the amazing performance and how his opinion is completely changed on mechanicals. His raving about knocked me off my rocker. How could this 100% anti Mechanical very experience archery savvy PH have been swayed from four hunts?

I still remember the words, these animals were easier to track then a gun, and most were dead sooner then when shot with bullets! All these hunters used Grim Reapers. This was not my personal experience, but that of one of my most trusted and knowledgeable PH's I know. I did not go out and buy these to use myself, but ...... if I felt the need to use mechanicals his opinion would lead to that purchase.

Any of you guys use these? what did you all think about them?

I could try the rage as the leading edge of the razors don't have an angle forward which can snag high grass in flight. For the same reason I would not shoot the grim reaper. I have known people (and seen one on TV) who had the leading prongs catch in tall grass and the arrow will nose dive down. Murphy is always looking for me as opposed to those who are more lucky.

(I just saw blondey on TV. The big bull followed the cow into the shooting lane right in front of her and stopped broadside while he sniffed the cow in front of him. The cow stood at twenty yards and watched her reach forward to adjust her sight, then the bull turned his head away from her as she raised and drew her bow while the cow stood there as if saying, "hurry girl and shoot that Bastid", which she did. All I can figure is tame elk. That would never happen with me.)

Anyway, I have seen instances where a mechanical opens at the shot and things go haywire. The 4 blade Muzzies kill quicker than the three blade rocket mechanicals I had plenty of pass throughs with and I don't have to worry about a blade opening.

I am not enthused about a two blade head. To my way of thinking, at some time the cut will be made parallel to a major vessel rather than across it. I know what a good fixed blade will do to a direct hit the point of a tough shoulder or to a hip hit. I just can't see the long skinny blades busting through, though they might.

I know that with a recurve years ago it wasnt a good idea to hit a big elk in the shoulder with even a razor head.

Muzzy or slick trick is good enough for me and I don't have to shoot a head costing $15/ pop.

I like the old muzzy 90 gr 4 blade - 6 for $28.

I use both on deer, but I always seem to be far more impressed by the short trails and ridiculous amounts of blood with expandables.

I like Slick Trick, Magnus, and TH as well, but they never even come close to spewing blood like an expandable. In a bad hit situation, I'll take an expandable every time.

That said, I'm speaking of deer. Can't seem to warm up to archery hunting larger game. I personally prefer to carry bang sticks on bigger critters.

Too many fires, not enough sleep, I shoudl have been agreeing totally.

Have no other explanation. My apologies. Some days I'm in a haze and hurry at the same time.

Jeff

No worries Jeff, I thought I was missing something.

I have no problem with expandables, but other than their tendency to shoot like a field point from an untuned bow, fixed blades have every advantage. If a hunter doesn't want to take the effort to make sure how and where their broadhead shoots, expandables are the ticket.

Pretty much sums up my feelings on the subject.

I'd say that's a pretty good reason.

That is one way to look at it. Better yet would be to learn to shoot, set-up, and tune your bow. After all you owe it to the game being hunted.

Right? But the reality of it is that I have been tracking other peoples animals for 30 years and I would rather trail one double-lunged with a blunt, then shot in the kidney with the baddest broadhead.