Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Hypodermic vs killzone

I have very little experience with mechanical points. Anyone had any problems with the hypo.. or nap killing? Broken blades etc. I'm getting a new rig and will try to run 340 spined arrows, will prob have to drop down yo 100gr tips and don't want to sacrifice cutting diameter.
Any input appreciated.

Gamma,

I did this amateur-hour field report a while back on the Killzones mounted on Deep Six shafts, may help in your decision.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...s/8266677/Re_Field_Report_for_the_NAP_Ki

That said, I use the Rage 2-blade quite an bit here in Virginia, no issues so far, but ranges are short, angles are pretty consistent, and I can wait on a shot, or pass.

A number of the guys and gals I hunt with use the Hypodermics, and like them, I have enough standard Rages that changing over didn't make sense for me, YMMV.

The Killzone is a "hard" opening head, it does take a pretty heavy hit to deploy the blades. I used for a season or two, then went back to Rages when I sold that bow set-up.

I shot the Rage Hypodermic +P's last year and the standard Hypodermic the year before that. I was a Killzone guy for 3 years before switching to the Hypodermic series and have always kept a few Slick Trick's around. I've not used the COC Killzone broadheads, so can't comment on those.

I had penetration issues with the Killzone. Does broadside 17-25 yards, not getting complete pass throughs, ribcage shot deer. All the deer died and died relatively quick, but I want a complete pass through in those situations. Switched to Hypodermics and immediately started seeing complete pass throughs in the same situation. Then went Hypo +P and saw the same. We pull broadheads off the rack in the shop and shoot them at our deer targets outside. I went +P because we thought we could see a penetration difference in the foam targets. Not scientific, but there was a visual difference. Keep in mind the +P's have 1 1/2" cutting surface, so in theory they should penetrate deeper.

I hadn't decided what I'm shooting this year, but it'll be hard for me to switch from the +P's. I do like trying different stuff though!

I'll add this -- I was never a fan of the original Rage broadhead. I didn't move over until the Hypodermics hit the market.

Thanks for the info, I think I will order the hypo-

Thanks for the info, I think I will order the hypodermic Tripan. Will try to shoot a hog with one within the nex couple of weeks using the old trusty bowtech and let you know how it works out.

I am not expert,,,, I am a coc type of guy,,,, but I bait a lot of bears for guys,,,,,, I know a few who have shot expandables, and although I personally would not use them on big northern deer, them Rage heads have been impressive on bear kills. however, no angle shot, just straight thru the middle broadside, and you can put a canoe thru the hold................... the kill zone is a very popular head, for crossbows, but it takes a lot of energy to open one up, so I see little reason to use them out of a lower poundage, (under 60) compound................................

saw 3 expandables fail on hogs this spring, the shot angle again was the issue, no so much the head,,,,,, I have no time to mess around when I hunt, that is why I shoot a Magnus buzzcut

The Hypodermic has performed exceptional for me. Only shot a few deer with it so far but they have been quick killers.

With seemingly everything there are trade offs. A friend was hunting Wyoming elk last fall with +P Hypodermics and had the screw that retains the blades fall out on one. While I believe they have improved the retention system with the Hypodermics, they do require some caution if stalking or around branches if in a stand. I have yet to see the perfect combination of dependability, penetration, easy to tune, good flight, and large holes, but I’m settling with the hypodermics as a good alternative for tree stand whitetail hunting.

Depending on how well your bow is tuned, there are some larger cut fixed blades out there. I've played with mech heads for quite some time. Killed several animals with them. But im going back to fixed blades. RamCat has some large cut offerings. Slick trick does as well. I just like being able to concentrate on my shot without worrying whether or not my broadhead will malfunction. When mech heads work properly, the results are pretty amazing. But when they fail.........

Ack - when you tune the bow, I don't have to worry about "if" it's tuned, I now know not to aim at the same point twice...

I like the Slick Trick out West, the expandables aren't legal where I hunt, and I don't know that I would use them - if they were.

The less things you take in the field that can fail in the back country, the better.

I miss pods

Steelie, don't need those things to kill. Just put a sharp broadhead through both lungs. Death will usually come quickly

I have never used anything of the sort, but I know quite a few archers here in Wyoming that use various swing-out bladed heads. I have only guided 2 hunters ever that used them for elk. One arrow worked beautifully and one broke a blade off. But I don't know what "brand" of heads they used. One hunt was about 12 years ago and one was 4 years ago. Both elk were killed but the one that had the blade break took about 20 minutes to fall. It took about 10 minutes for us to get to it on the other side of a deep gulch and it was dead when we got to it.

The one that worked perfectly was a complete pass through and that elk fell in about 2 minutes.

What most of the dedicated archery elk hunters are telling me is that swing blade broad-heads can and sometimes do break off blades on elk and moose bone, but all seem pretty good against deer.

Antelope is in between. Antelope bones are small but extremely hard. Not surprising if you have ever seen one run at full throttle.

But locally at least, there is a swing back to the older 2 blade and 3 blade broad-heads for elk. I am only relaying what I am told here.

I am NOT any kind of expert on the matter myself. But what I am told is basically "the old broad-heads were not broken so we should not try to fix them".
I have done gunsmithing for a few Wyoming Sporting Goods Stores and shops for years now, and the managers tell me the older heads are what they are selling to the elk hunters and the swing blades sell well to the deer hunters.

If they are right (I suspect they are) this information may still be worthless to the OP.
White tail deer are WAY smaller then elk or moose, so I may be comparing apples to oranges.

But getting more info than you need is not harmful. Just discard what doesn't apply.

Learning more and more everyday, thanks for the input.

Was a mechanical hater until all my buddies started using Rages.
I didn’t convert until the Hypodermic’s came out myself.
Ever since then.....wow! Is all I can say.
It’s funny you read/hear about the “red carpet”...let me tell you it’s true.
Couple of Hypodermic kills.
As of right now....I ain’t changing anything.

No you don't, but I'm tired of punching tags on badly hit bow hunter deer.

Ive used both on deer and hogs. Killzones are sharper but take a little more effort to open. I’ve become a fan of the hypos for most of my hunting although I still carry a slick trick or two in a he quiver. Hypos are a big improvement from the original rage heads.

I thought this thread was going to be about something similar.

Tom thats some hole you put in that boy........thanks for posting Im getting me some hypos.