Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Finally a Mechanical I have faith in

I have been playing with the Evolution Outdoors Hyde mechanicals for a while now. It is the only mechanical I have 100% confidence in and willing to hunt with. I may even hunt with it this season. Solid design and function.

I don’t even bother looking at mechanicals when I’ve never even had to question my faith in fixed blades. I just don’t see the appeal.

Same with me. Have not used a mech in 42 years of bowhunting.

Going to look at that broadhead for my crossbow this year. Its clocking a little over 400 fps so flight is important and that one has those bases covered and is a wicked design on the cutting end as well.

MCH - why these?

You've been a hardcore fixed blader as long as I have known you - what's different on these that has your attention?

I am intrigued by the the ability to switch between fixed and mech blades - that has some good value for multi-state hunts.

First and most important to me is it is a cut on contact!

Second is the blades are the only moving part and are positively locked by a shear pin for lack of a better term. They can not open inflight.

Third the Farrell is a solid piece no moving parts except for the two blades.

"IF" there were to be some sort of failure to deploy the two blades you still have a small fixed COC head that will drive through the target. Not ideal but at least a 3/4" cut.

I tested them on plywood, phone books, and a cow shoulder with skin on. They have performed time and time again flawlessly for me. They have worked with my Release bow, Fingers bow, and my Recurve. They have performed perfectly across the board. From 310FPS down to 180FPS.

I DO NOT, I repeat I DO NOT ADVOCATE use with traditional bows.

I merely wanted to see if I could get it to fail.

I can say I am confident in recommending the Hyde's for hunting with compound bows. I will also say I have absolutely no affiliation with Evolution Outdoors. I bought all the heads I own, But I believe in celebrating companies that bring great products to the market. In my opinion Evolution Outdoors hit a Grand slam with the Hyde's.

Last incase anyone ask or is curious No I have not tested or used the Jekyll heads. I have fixed blade heads that work already.

I forgot one other thing they make them in 150gr which is another big hit in my book.

I saw that too - very few to be had around here.

Thanks for the detailed reply.

Shot 6 deer w mechs. Recovered all 6. A couple of them went a few jumps and fell over.

No probs w mechs here.

But I prefer fixed. Just less to go wrong.

Have you killed several bulls and bucks with a bow?

Two Bulls, three cows, I am guessing somewhere around 100 bucks and close to 250 or so Doe. I hunted many years in the southern Zone in CT with turn in tags and earn a buck tags. Zero so far in MT seeing I have been gone for work during the archery season until this year. Fingers crossed I don't have to leave for Australia until after bow season this year.

Yeah Man anytime buddy.

Copy 5 elk and 350 deer. What fixed blades have you used with success? Just wondering, I made a ton of so of meat with xx75 and xx78's with old school Cabelas laser pro mags back in the day. Seems archery has come along ways.. Folks around here are pretty sweet on kudu points lately.

Depends on the bow setup and when we are talking. I have killed many deer, turkey, coyote, and bears with XX75's.

Fixed heads I like now

Slick Tricks, I loved the Razor Tricks
WASP Sharpshooter Traditional
Muzzy One
Iron Will Wide
Valkyrie Bloodeagles
Day Six EVO X
Thunderhead

My go to head back in the 80's early 90's was Thunderheads and Muzzy Matadors.

Kudu's aren't a bad choice.

I am not a big fan of them for the same reason I am not a fan of Shuttle T's and why the Valkyrie Bloodeagles aren't one of my favorites. I don't care for a recurved blade, it lacks the penetration compared to a flat continuous angle or a Tanto Tip.

Interesting. I've never not had a complete pass through with Shuttle T's even out to 80 yards but I shoot mechanicals at deer too...grin.

I know kudu isn’t a bad choice, they work excellent.

i was able to find enough 125 gr. Elmer mechanical broadheads to use for a few more years.anyone else like or use this Elmer broadhead ? and yes we have killed elk and deer with this broadhead too.

Maybe try reading what was wrote without inserting that you think or want to think someone is saying. I didn't say they don't penetrate I said they don't penetrate as well. There is a very big difference. Penetration test have been proven, I am not going to get into all that here. You can do your own research. Have you ever noticed a bullet is never recurve shaped? All I can say is study up on resistance, and penetration.

Here is a simple example

https://youtu.be/NiAqCCvxiMw

Dude. Relax. No need to be so emotional. I wasn't questioning anything you said, I'm just commenting at what point does the design not matter since you started a thread with the obvious premise of being an expert at the topic which were interesting based on my field results. It was a legitimate question while trying to learn something.

Haha you are funny!

I'm a lot of things but funny ain't one. A lack of a sense of humor at times is a negative virtue of mine...

I send ST a message yesterday telling them to bring them back. Best head ever.

I’ve killed a lot of deer with Rages but had my first failure last year. My neighbor killed the buck a week later and found my broadhead under the hide. It didn’t penetrate the rib cage. I think there are a ton of factors that have an effect on a head. Working at a processor in high school we used to find all kinds of heads, fixed and mechanical in deer.

Wow

It would be nice if they did.

Well,

The 150 grain Jeyklls are flying to the same POI as the field points out to 60 yards, and holding up to a Rhinoblock well - data point of one evening.

So far, liking the flight, and they are quiet - two people commented that they can't heard any whistle or hiss in flight.

Glad you like them so far. I think I am going to try to stick a Pronghorn with one this year.

So I got my first kill with the Hyde Broad Head. Expanding blades bent a little but head looks solid still. Bull never took a step. The hole was wicked.

Wow Glad this worked for you, Though I will be shying away from this one due to little near no mechanical advantage if no other reason.

Proof is in the pudding, nice bull and no tracking. What mechanical advantage do you speak of compared to other mechanical heads?

decent looking head. but ill stick with my rage hypodermics, 63 deer with rages and none have dropped out of sight. mech heads make a difference when you have a bow that shoots 285+ fps, mine goes around 315. even perfectly tuned i still have a POI difference with fixed blades that i dont have with mech heads.

Dale Perry owns Evolution Outdoors. Known him since the old Gravedigger days. Man makes some amazing broadheads. They just work. Fly great too. Guy knows a thing or two about accuracy as his heads are a mainstay atop the leaderboard at the 100yd BH challenge in Ariz. As for slicktrick heads....the razor was a great head. But man the wicked tricks are where its at. Very accurate and they leave a HUGE hole in stuff. There is a broadhead that will make its debut at ATA 2021 called the Trifecta. Good friend "Handsome Rob" Schneider of Rattler Grips designed them. They are on FB if you guys do social media. He is destroying big TX hogs with them on a regular basis. Single bevel heads available in fixed and mech variations. I will be shooting them as soon as he gets some quantity built up. They will be available in a 150grn for thise of you that prefer higher foc

I got nothing to say, you clearly know nothing of value on the subject. If you can't see and understand the edge there is nothing any of us can say to help you out of your hole. Good luck with whatever broad head you choose to shoot.

rattler grips are awesome. Not sure about the Trifecta I have seen them on his page but until I can test them Hyde's are the only Mechanical I'll shoot as of now. I typically don't hunt with a fast bow. Recurve, Long Bow, and Hoyt Vantage LTD so COC is paramount for me.

Right now my two heads of choice are Ironwill's and Hyde's

Rob is a hunter. He set out to design a better broadhead. I believe he has succeeded

A Slick Trick costs about $10/head. The Hyde costs 20. I can't see the advantage. They're illegal here in Idaho anyway.

So don't use it!

Subjective! If you like it use it. I have 100% faith in my heads of choice. They work perfectly

The mechanical advantage I am referring to may apply to a fixed blade or a mechanical head. Dr Ashby suggest the optimum blade angle for maximum penetration will be a three tone mechanical advantage. If the cut diameter = 1" then the length of the cutting edge would be 3" for example. Very few broad heads offer the 3 to 1 mechanical advantage. Two to one may be more common. In this cace we are looking at what I would call .12 to one. Notice the decimal point.

Ashby has been around a long time & more recent years I expect he has seen a number of wheel share ramps. He uses the wheel share ramp to illustrate the concept of mechanical advantage. This is A bit more extreme to be sure. Ever see a 1 to 1 wheel share ramp? Id dare say no. Why? Mechanical advantage, lot easier to climb a 20 to 1 ramp than a 2 to 1 ramp for example. If this was not so then wheel share ramps surly would be a lot shorter. Wouldn't you say? Lot less space & material required for a 2 to 1 ramp as opposed to a 20 to 1 ramp, to be sure!

Looks to me like the mechanical blades on this head are more like a ax as opposed to a broad head. No thank you! See factor number four in the link below.

https://static1.squarespace.com/sta...19+Terminal+Arrow+Performance+Update.pdf

MCH "ran one through a bull elk, didn't take a step"

Numbnuts ^^^ "Nah, those'll never work. Not enough mechanical advantage, think of a wheel "share" ramp fer christsake"

If everything Ed Ashby wrote was gospel you wouldn't be able to get a pass through on anything without a 900 gr arrow with an FOC of 30+. If you're going after rhino and cape buffalo you'd probably do well to listen to Ashby - state side an FOC around 15 and a sharp head will do pretty much anything.

...Ordered some Hydes for the hell of it, I'll be sure to post picks showing what a dummy I am around the first week of November.

Im sick of all this Ashby crap. No i dont hunt larger western game. But ive dang sure killed my share of animals. And a wild hog is about as tough as they come. Especially when that plate comes into play. Ive yet to need a 600+grn arrow with a long 2 blade coc single bevel head with 20+% foc to get a passthru. If i were hunting A10 Warthogs id maybe be interested. But on stuff that the tissue pulls back from the cut and the bones are hollow....12-15% foc and an arrow weight that can get ya 280fps plus will do the job handily. And do it with a big cut mech head

So the Ashby "Crap" does not apply at any level to North American big game you say. While it may be a bit over kill I beg to differ as my experience leads me down a successful path due more to momentum COC FOC & I have been fortunate enough to put together a system with structural integrity. 280fps is nice though not for the individual pulling a 24" DL & shorter. Momentum B4 Velocity in my book & same goes for mechanical advantage over cut diameter. Just seen & read about too many lost critters where penetration was dismal for a variety of reasons.

IMHO reasons that top the list include inadequate Inertia due to insufficient mass & poor BH for the system utilized. Guys with 31" draw length have more options than the shorter draw length guys or the traditional archers is all I am saying.

The Jekylls are legal, we’ll see how they do this year.

I’ll use the Hydes in Virginia when I get back.

Are these broad heads only sold directly from the manufacturer?

Yes - so far.

Good Luck Out west and back home!

Fourth place on his priority list. Hmmm

Shoot a well tuned arrow with a decent amount of weight to it. Doesn't have to have crazy FOC or be overly heavy. Shoot a well made broad head that is COC and I know it will give 90% of hunters out there a pass thru if put in the right spot.

Angle's sound important but in reality a Long "ramped" broad head and a Short "ramped" broad head are going to have roughly the same surface area. What gives an advantage is COC as it does not have the resistance to it that a chisel point does. The chisel point is poking its way thru opposed to the COC slicing its way thru.

In the case of the Hyde that 3/4" fixed COC is slicing a hole for those longer thinner blades to follow thru. In effect helping create less resistance.

I am not a big Mechanical fan, but there is a time and place for hyde's in my quiver. They have proven worthy in testing and in hunting (in fairness on one kill to date for me using it).

I am not here to sell anyone anything, use what you like and is legal in your states you hunt in. Some guys want to hear real world results of products they have not used.

Guess I tend to get leery, if archers are overlooking No.4 of 1 thru 12. Question did they take in to consideration 1 through 3 much less 5 thru 12. Not saying we need to follow all 12 factors to a T to accomplish the task at hand in North America. Yet most guys do not get many opportunities to make it out in a season. So when they do, Ill encourage us to put some real forethought in to the task. We ow it to ourselves as well as the game we hunt.

Strive to make a good shot all of the time.

While accepting things are not going to go to plan all of the time.

While me and my 30 inch draw have a very good success rate over the past 15 years while shooting mechanicals most of that time. I also shot a 500ish grain arrow most of that time.

Last season I again had a very short blood trail while things went not exactly to plan. That one scared me to tell the truth. I was hunting with my then 9 year old son in a stand for the first time. 25 yard shot & like I have never seen B4, the deer dropped on the spot with a scalupula / Brachial plexus shot. The deer struggled to get up while bleeding out & a follow up shot finished the job a little quicker.

When I dressed the deer out I was disappointed to see the BH never even touched the opposite shoulder. In this case a light over all arrow weight was the primary factor in my mind why the penetration was less than optimum. End results were arguably stellar that time with an easy recovery. Still Ill strive for full through and through penetration.

Suppose I suspected my 30" draw length was going to allow me to get by with a lesser arrow weight. My bad.

This season Ill be perhaps going a lot overboard with a heavier arrow and perhaps a 2 blade single bevel BH. Perhaps Ill share this years results as well for better or worse.

It is still hard to beat a fixed blade, but mechanicals make for easier tuning. Usually. But because of their design mechanicals have a longer length from tip to cutting surace and thinner blades, especially the large cut.

Again...you do you. Just sick of seeing everyone bash on folks because they arent launching super heavy high foc arrows. Im a 27" draw. My arrows range from 375grns with 8% foc to 420grns with 14-15% foc. I run fixed blades and mech heads. Havent found a whitetail or hog able to hang onto one. Ive also outgrown the old wives tale of short bh bows in todays times being hard to shoot and not accurate. So yeah i enjoy speeds of over 300fps. And at 50 yds which is my self given max on game(although ive never taken a shot past 40) i can keep my groups nice and tight. Im a tech with 20+ yrs and know how to keep my equipment perfectly tuned.

They aren't hard to shoot and they certainly are accurate. However they are less forgiving.

I use the NAP Spitfire Shockwaves. Group just like the field points and kill just like a fixed blade.

Anyone have any experience with Thorn Archery mechanicals?

https://www.thornbroadheads.com/store

Thanks, Dinny

Same comment.

I gotta laugh, a marginal shot, "1" higher mch woulda been crying himself to sleep, instead it spined him, so its gtg. Target tip woulda done the same..

While my older side prefers fixed blade stuff, from 40 years of trying to poke stuff with a stick, I’ve shot my share of mechanicals, and never had a failure. I have had muzzy 3 and 4 blade shear blades in small whitetail bones. The rest is great, but the blades were too thin. OTT, if it’s sharp, tough, has a decent cutting diameter without being so wide it’s more suited for turkeys than BG, and flies consistently true, then I don’t have many reservations about shooting it at something.....no matter what it is. Ramcats have been the most accurate lately, and stuff dies fast and leaves good directions too. I shoot cut on contact stuff only, in my stick bows.....but compounds have a surplus, and I’m usually dealing with ground damage to a broad head, as opposed to wondering where it fell out of the deer at.