Broadhead choice from Stickbows

[Toby]

I'm trying to choose a broadhead to use from my 50# recurve, it has very good performance, and I draw 28.5". I know there are a lot of good choices, and my mind is wide open to suggestions. I have combed all of the bow sites and get a lot of good information. Thought I would put it on here.

I will probably have a finished arrow weight around 500 grains, and will limit shots to 25 yards.

I have read a lot about the single bevel heads lately, and the "S" shaped cut they produce, supposedly better than the regular 2 blade. I have given thought to these as well as 4 blade Stingers, and I love Woodman Elites or the longer VPA's.

I just bought a KME broadhead sharpener, so getting 2 blades very sharp should not be an issue, including Stingers, and single bevels. And, I can get 3 blades extremely sharp.

So, if you can pass on any information, I would greatly appreciate it.

Toby

[foxvalley]

Hey Toby
I have been hunting with traditional equipment since the mid 8o's and am very critical of broad head selection,especially for traditional use, as penetration is affected more so with broadhead choice using stick and string than with the compound.
I have always used a cut on contact two blade broadhead, and have never considered any more than two blades.First, the coc tip aids in penetration,and slices thu the hide,vs punching thru it with a conical/ chisel tip.By slicing thru you get more penetration,but the added bonus,is the animal doesn't feel the "punch",and if no bone is hit,lots of times the animal will run just a few yards and stop,as they really didn't feel much,and don't know what happened.
The second reason for using a two bladed head,is if the arrow penetrates half way thru leaving the broadhead inside the chest cavity,by useing a two blade,the head has a tendency to freely move and slice and dice inside the chest cavity,doing major damage inside. A three or four blade head just can't move in the same manor.
The one drawback with the two blade is you generally will have less of a blood trail, as the hole tends to seal up a little more than multiple blades.
My first choice is the magnus vented two blade, and have been using this head for all my traditional hunting. I also use the magnus stinger four blade when I grab the compound,most often than not the arrow blows thru the animal,and two blade aren't as critical.

[Toby]

Foxvalley

Thanks for the info. I'm curios as to what draw weight, draw length, arrow weight, arrow shaft, and FOC is is you wouldn't mind.

Thanks
Pete

[foxvalley]

Hey pete,
My favorite traditional setup is an elburg jaguar longbow, 70lb draw @ 27",but my drawlength is 26" so I figure that i am drawing around 65lbs.Because I am almost able to start taking advantage of senior citizen discounts...lol... I need to shoot alot to handle this weight.
I make my own arrows,I buy tapered cedar shafts,stain seal,crest,and fletch each arrow with three flech shield type fletching. Three rivers archery is where i get all my supplies. I use the magnus vented two blade 125 grain broadhead, and my finished arrow weight is 575 grains. I experimented with hardwood shafts, and a heavy 160 gr.magnus two blade, total weight was around 800 grains,thinking that I could achieve more penetration....not. The hardwood arrow is very slow, and drops like a bad habit,and I didn't gain anything.
Sorry,FOC?
I have had great success with my traditional equipment including bear, elk, caribou, and four or five dozen whitetails,and highly recommend anyone interested to take it up.There is not a better sense of accomplishment to take an animal with traditional equipment, and arrows that you lovingly made by hand.

[ElkNut1]

For us, multibladed heads all the way! (grin) The reason being is for the exact reason Foxvalley mentions, very little blood in most cases with 2 bladed heads. Sure two blades kill but when a marginal shot happens you need as big as a wound channel as is reasonable for ones setup. We've taken quite a few bulls with 3-blade & 4-bladed heads with very good blood trails. Penetration has never been an issue. I prefer cut on contact heads but they are not a must, I wouldn't hesitate to use a Viper Trick out of my longbow at 55#.

As far as FOC goes for us we don't have a # in mind but do like the combo of head & insert to be in the 175 grain or so, nothing scientific, we go off of our results, so far no real issues with various head weights from 125 grains to over 200 grains up front. We like hovering in the 500 grain to 550 grain total arrow wt & it's good to 40+ yards if need be. These wts are for bows in the sub 60# range.

ElkNut1

[ferris bugler]

Are you looking to shoot a glue on head or a screw in?

[Toby]

f b

I shoot screw in broadheads and have been looking hard at Woodman Elite 125 grain models. I have used the 175 grain screw ins in the past but feel they are just to large for my 50# recurve. The 125's are 1" in diameter and the blades 1 7/8".

I can get the three blade models hair popping sharp, I'm not so good with two blades. If I went that way, I would probably get Magnus Stinger Buzzcut 4 blades. I talked with Mike Sohm, owner of Magnus and that is what he recommended. He said he just uses an Accusharp. You can't beat Magnus products.

[ElkNut1]

The Woodsman Elite is a very good head, I loved that one! We took a couple bulls with it. It's a very tough head for sure even out of compounds. Here's a bull I took with one in the 125 grain model with a 50 grain brass insert out of a 55# longbow.

ElkNut1

[Toby]

Paul,

Great bull, and nothing like a picture of one with a stick bow laying on it, yea, I'm in love with stick bows.

I know there are a lot of bh's that will do the job, having confidence in the one you are shooting is huge.

Thanks for the pic

Toby

[ElkNut1]

Toby, you're welcome & thank you! -- I agree whole heartedly that there are many good heads out there to help the trad hunter make a great decision. One of my favorites is the SnufferSS. That head is wicked!! (grin) We've taken some respectable elk with them with both trad gear & compounds.

ElkNut1

[ishy]

+1 for magnus stingers. We all use two blades for elk, even if you hit the offside scapula with our compund setups you get two holes.