Excellent demo of both fixed and mechanical! I like the rage broadhead myself! Ive taken 13deer in 4yrs w/my x-bow! Complete pass thru on all but i waited until they were all broadside! My farthest tracking was approx 80yards..thank you for the test results.
Hey Tommy, sure thing. I've come to the conclusion that both styles work really well. At this point, it's about personal preferrence. All the non-functioning mechanicals have pretty much been pushed out of the market. All the best to you.
Montech g5 for me..but I'm still shooting compound. I tried out the crossbow for a season and put it down almost immediately. I don't care for crossbow hunting myself but certainly understand why they are so lethal and a vast majority of hunters go with them.
Thanks for the feedback, and I agree with you, I REALLY liked the Montecs. I have a long story on why I switched from instinctive recurve to compound, to crossbow over the years, but that's for another day. I respect all legal weapons for everyone's personality and philosophy, and will fight all the anti's to the bitter end to defend ALL of them!! All the best to you.
Excellent data sir, I had some penetration problems with early crossbows PSE Foxfire & Barnett using fixed blades/longer blood trails on deer, once I got crossbows in the 400 fps range(Sniper 370-Ripper 415-Ripper 425) using Swhacker 2" cut 100 grain broadheads very accurate many deer down & quick, sturdy broadhead, always a 2 "exit no problems for me. -W. Liggett
Thanks for the comment. I watch the TH-cam channel "Death by Bunjie" and he is now using the Swhacker too. I am considering a swtich back to mechanicals based on more experience and a study someone forwarded to me. Gotta decide pretty quick, season is fast approaching. All the best to you.
Death by Bungie another great TH-cam channel & also excellent data, what his guide on the Maryland hunts told him about the quarter size hole vs. the Swhacker size cut, and how far and hard he had to track deer to recovery with the quarter size cut, definitely data to consider, good luck hunting to you as well sir. -W. Liggett
I understand not wanting to name brands and respect that. With that said I’ve used the ones you showed in the beginning of the video and same results they broke after impact. I have to mention brand and model to make sense. I switch to the G5 dead meat 3 blade mechanical heads and have no bad things to say. I use 100g head for a total of 400g arrow. I have harvested 4 white tails with those heads and the blades have stayed intact on every one. The have an 1 3/4 cutting diameter and create a great wound channel. I’m sure I sound like a salesman but far from it. Just spent a lot of unnecessary money on all the available brands and have had one disappointing experience after the other until I used the G5’s. They recently released the newest blades that come in 2 inch that I have yet to try but if they perform anything like the original I will be switching just for the extra cutting size. I don’t know any archers that haven’t been through the whole broadhead thing on what’s better. A lot is preference but I can only speak from my experience. I used to completely distrust the mechanical head especially the ones that used the rubber bands for retention to hold the blade closed until impact. I always used the fixed blades and wouldn’t take shots past 30yds due to the way they flew out to that distance. Now that I found the right mechanical heads for my set up I wouldn’t be afraid to push 50+ yds in the field. Just as reference for the set up I use is the Barnett whitetail hunter 2. I’ve chronographed it on average of 370fps with the bloodsport hunter 20” arrows 100grain points. Not the fastest or heaviest hitting crossbow on the market but I’ve had great results using that “budget “ set up. Thank you for your video and time. It’s nice to have input from actual people and not a commercial that never put the best and worst of the products.
Hey Matt, thank you for taking to time to provide all of us with your feedback. Between me and my circle of friends, we have had the same experiences as you. It's good to hear about the G5's, I tend to like this brand a lot, but since I have already spent the money on the fixed, I'm going to use these until they are gone. All the best to you! Please keep us updated on their performance this season.
Did you have pass thru w the dead meat? That's what I plan to switch to after issues with unnamed number one, it opens fine, but the two blade just doesn't seem to leave blood trail well even w big holes in and out
Hey Michael, thank you. I used to use two blade Wolverine brand, very similar to Zwickey, when I was hunting with a recurver bow, and they were great. I never thought about using a two blade in the crossbow. I'll have to give this a try next year. Best of luck to you this season.
I’ve always used mechanical heads with my Excalibur matrix 405 with good results. I had complete confidence in my heads. A couple of seasons ago however I shot at an 8 pointer in the evening and hit him in the shoulder. The blades opened on the shoulder maybe penetrating about a half an inch. The arrow just stopped there and dropped to the ground. The deer wasn’t even fazed. He just walked away. He was standing about 25 yards away. I’m been rethinking my broadheads since that evening.
Hey Dee, THAT is exactly what I was afraid might happen to me. Sure, they have worked every single time so far, but I have seen a few things that could have gone wrong when looking over the broadhead after retrieving the arrow, which is why I made the switch. Good luck this year!
Great video! Been hunting with fixed from the beginning (10 years) and actually have been thinking about switching to mechanical this year. :) But maybe I'll just stick with what has worked. Thanks again for the testing, information, etc. You have a good way of explaining things, hope you continue with more videos.
Hey David, thank you. If you have not had a problem with your fixed, I'd stick with them. And if you did have a problem with them, I'd try a few different brands of fixed before capitulating to mechanicals. But, there are a million opinions out there, and everyone of them think they are right, including me, LOL. All the best to you.
@@theback40 I needed some new fixed blade broadheads so I took a chance after watching Lusk Archery Adventures and ordered some low priced broadheads that are made in China that are built very similar to what I have used. I'll be using one of them for practicing this spring & summer so I'll see how they stand up.
@@davesi56 I have not heard good things about Chinese broadheads standing up to a shot that would hit bone, very brittle and break, but I do not have personal experience with this. Let us know how they work out for you please.
Thank you! For the effort. I use an Excalibur supressor 400 td and this year I got 2 deer. The first was a doe and I used a fix broadhead (Excalibur)She dropped 30 yards but not a single drop of blood. All bleeding was in the thoracic cavity, and it was a pass through. The second was a 7 point buck that I used a mechanical ( rage) and he run about 80 yards into the woods again with no blood trail!! It took a few hours to find him and he only left a trail in his last 15 yards. Again double lung, broke a rib on entrance and on the other side broke a rib also and stopped at the hide. Can’t claim bad luck, but I need to find one that gives me better chances of trails!!!
I'm with you on those, I've had the same experiences! I need better blood trails from my broadheads, too. Thanks for the HONEST feedback. I'm considering Swhacker based on the "Death by Bunjie" youtube channel. He has had great blood trails and results. Not sure though, gotta do the research. All the best to you.
I am noticing better grouping using 150 grain field points and broadheads. But in order to do that you have to believe momentum is more important than speed. I kind of believe that specially for shots under 40 yards since you likely will not see deer jumping the string. With regard to blood trails, my intuition says yes ….. will improve also ( I guess!!! And hope kkkk)
@@Gauchooriental Good to hear you're getting tighter groups. Keep me updated as you progress through this please. I'm re-evaluating everything next year, putting a premium on pass throughs with good blood trails.
I have the Stryker 390ls. Just sent in to under warranty for limb replacements. All four limb tips started splitting down by the pins that hold the cams in place. The only limb sets left are 77 hardness limbs vs my orignal 93 hardness limbs that came on the sl390. Dropped my FPS down to 358 fps. They were replaced with the stryker 125 pound limbs instead of the 155 pound limb set. Sad day when I found out. Bowtech said it’s the only replacement limb set left they offer for the Stryker series. The limbs came back in all black with no writing on them as well. I won't use any cut on contact bladed mechanical tips. They are a weak design. That tip on your rage xbow bow cut in contact blade head was a redesign from the orignal bone busting chisel tip.. it was redesigned for low powdered compound bows to get more penatration so they could use a mechanical. Most of those bladed tips brake off, bend, and deflect like you have experienced when trying to pass through a deer. I've had alot better luck with gator style broad heads that have rear deploying floating blades and chisel type heads that's won't bend or brake. They fold in around bone so most of my exits are in a straight line. Any mechanical with a blade that locks in place always ends up defecting and never ends up going straight through...if i even get an exit. At first I blamed the crossbow...then the arrows. It's not...it's the broadhead design. I was shooting a 295 fps xbow with 380 grain to 403 grain total weight arrows with straight line pass throughs with rock mountain gator 100 chisel tip heads. Upgraded to a 390 fps xbow and tried rages along with grim reaper whitetail specials...no pass throughs with a 10 grain heavier arrow. I'm going to try the NAP Sling blade Ti 2 blade 2 3/16" this year. I'm sure it will perform like the old gator. Straight line pass throughs and big holes like the old gators. I found 2 of thr gators I had laying around from the 90's. One is like brand new. I might put them in service this year! Imo EVERY mechanical that the blade locks in place when deployed WILL ended up defecting inside of a deer. I've tried over a couple dozen brands of mechanicals and they all will end up vering off bone and exing at some goofy angle....eccept for the rear deploying gator style. They can and will deflect but not as bad as locking blade type mechanicals. Never tried a fixed blade in xbows but maybe some day. The right 2" mechanical just will get the job done quicker with alot more blood to follow. Most gator taken deer dropped within 40 yards on average. There's always a couple that went farther but on average I had blood trails 10' wide with double lung shots that exited...ridiculous! I would have never tried that head but it came with my kit in the 90's. I would have been sucked in to a more expensive marketing hype broadhead that would not have done as well like most mechanicals offered today with weaker blades and tons of marketing hype.
Exact same thing with my Stryker, that is why it has the black limbs now, the original were camo. Interesting observation on the gator style heads.......thanks for the info and feedback. So far, I'm ok with the fixed blade, but if they don't do the trick, i'll switch over to those. All the best to you.
@@theback40 ...nothing you can really do about it anyways. Bowtech told me that is a universal replacement limb set and it's the limb set they have offered in the last several years for the striker xbow series. It's gotta be the 125 lb set for thr standard stryker rated at 350 fps. I shot 358 fps with 390 grains total weight. Extremely easy to pull back vs the origina 155 pound 390 fps set.. They rated my sl390 at 390 fps back in the day with 385 grain total arrow weight I was told. So it probably shoots 360 fps with the weight Botech rated them at. I was told it
@@tripplebeards3427 Ugh. Good excuse to start saving up some cash to buy one of those new 500+fps bows in a few years, after they work the problems out of them. But then again, why, mine works just fine as is?
I use the G5 for smaller game and the Rage Trypan (mechanical) for large game. Very happy with both. Both have been equally accurate. Big difference for me is the ability to re-use a broad head. Bolts are cheap, heads can range from 12 - 20 bucks each. The G5 is very robust and easily sharpened. The Trypan (all stainless version) has been pretty robust, but I have had to replace the blades due to bending (no blades have broken). I even stuck one through the Humerus with little damage to the blade straightening and sharping didn't fix. I have had the same 3 broad heads now for 4 years. Lost a few of the G5's over time but did bend one up pretty good sticking it in a tree. I would not use anything fixed or mechanical with aluminum body.
Hey Errin, great feedback. I've shot two bucks this year with the G5, didn't have great blood trails for either, at least compared to what I am used to with the Rage I used prior. BUT, they were both down in less than 60 yards, so they do the job and do it quickly. I'll keep testing on a few more does this year and see how those go. Good luck this year!
Great video. I started out old pse crossbow. With pucket blood trailers 85 gr mechanical head. Then to older rocket broadheads. Just got a new wicked ridge raider 400 decock crossbow. Haven't shot it yet. I always shot mechanical broadheads. But this yr going to use fixed blade broadheads. Going with tooth of arrow 100 gr. I like how they are made and shoot. Machine 1 piece steel. U can reshapen them. Guys i know that shoots them. They shoot like field points. Seen a few test with them and xbow on u tube. That one test guy was shooting a tenpoint. He was shooting 500 fps. He even shot a concrete block with one. It stuck in the block. Bolt went into pieces. He got the head out. Didnt do much too it. Here there are hogs everywhere. They are a big nuisance here. I wanted a fix blade. Just in case i get into the shoulder of one. Tooth of the arrow cuts a good hole too. I went to buy 12 new bolts. I about fell over at the price. Come out to be 12.00 per bolt. That's not the nocks that light up. They are 75.00 for 3 bolts. Do u know of anyone that used a tenpoint rangemaster 100 scope? Or a Bear speed com 1.5x32 ranging scope?
Thank you. I don't know anyone using either of those scopes, but I too am interested in getting a ranging scope. If you end up getting one, let us know what you think after using it for a while. All the best to you.
Really good info exactly what I was looking for. Just FYI one of the best fixed blades out ther is the Exodus. I felt your pain when you had to use a new bolt. I've done years of archery with my compound bow but I just bought a crossbow for my kids and myself. The crossbows ibo speed is 405 but I've got a heavier bolt about 600 grains total so speed is about 360 but was worried about fix heads also. Searching for more of your videos.👍 Cool just found part 2.😁
Hey Jo, I made this video because I couldn't find an unbiased one either. Hope it helps you, and the kids get to whack a few nice ones next year! All the best to you guys.
A few years ago, I shot a buck with a compound bow. While field dressing the deer, I lacerated my hand, while reaching inside the deers chest cavity. Apparently my broad head broke and part of the blade was stuck inside the ribs. This injury required a trip to the hospital, for stitches.
I've messed up 2 buck opportunities using mechanicals with my crossbow and lighted nocks. I've only not recovered 1 doe with a fixed blade bc she ducked and I only got fat on the arrow. High back pass thru.ive shot like 20 deer with fixed blades vs 5 or 6 with mechanicals. I hate lighted nocks bc they cause more problems with flight path than benefits of flying straight. They are supposed to be shot activated but from my experience they ruin your arrows flight path dramatically or explode in cold temps or just make your arrow fly way high or low. Fixed blades and solid nocks from here forward. They cut way more than a non open or broken mechanical in a running deer. With fixed blades u can punch thru shoulder blades easily in a crossbow.Mechanicals work great from ground blinds at close range for double lungs but they break if u hit any shoulder. I shot 2 does at once yrs ago. Double double lung 🫁 pass thrus. Both deer ran 40 yrds fell over dead 10ft apart in the snow. Easiest track job ever. Arrow still went into the frozen ground 30ft past both deer. I could care less about finding my arrow rather have clean pass thrus every time with fixed blades and solid nocks than use mechanicals with led nocks that have a high probability of failing/ ruining your chance at ethically getting a clean deer kill. Nocturnal nocks suck for crossbows
Hey Garrett, thank you for this feedback. I hadn't thought about the lighted nocks contributing to problems, hmmmm. My experience last year on two bucks harvested with fixed blades is that they were extremely effective, both died within 50-60 yards, BUT, very weak blood trail, like, almost no blood with double lung shots on both. What has your experience been with the blood trails of your mechanicals vs fixed blades? Best of luck this season!
Muzzy Trocar is a good deadly head that shoots great or the old muzzy 4 blades fly great too. I shoot the Muzzy trocar HB in my Ten point Viper S400 at 393 fps and the deer don't go 50 yards, awesome blood trails and huge entrance and exit holes.
Thanks Michael. That's good to hear, they seems like a really solid head. Great to hear from someone actually using them that is not getting paid to promote them. All the best to you.
My archery shop told me and as well as other cross bow users that mechanical will fail about 50 percent of the time in a cross bow because of the sledge hammer effect when being launched causes most to open near mid flight or not open at all
Thanks for the feedback. I didn't have that experience back when I used mechanicals, but it is a possibility, and I know in the beginning it used to be common. Seems like a lot of the manufacturers now have specific crossbow broadheads that have better blade security to handle the sledge hammer effect at launch? Hope you get a big one this season with yours! All the best to you.
Crossbows offer a different spectrum of energy and penetration compared to vertical bows. We don’t really think in terms of not getting pass throughs when it comes to modern crossbows and modern speeds.
Hey Douglas, good point. One of my crossbow shots this year did NOT pass through, was very unsettling. It lodge into the shoulder bone on the opposite side, so got both lungs, but it didn't pass through. This was with a fixed blade head, I wonder if a mechanical would have had the energy to bust through? Still an easy recovery, only went about 60 yards. All the best to you.
I also got away from mechanicals. I always here people say “should put them In the right spot” but what if that doesn’t happen. To me fixed gives me more opportunity to kill on off shots. I use qad exodus they are solid fly good and have a good sized cut
That's great to hear Melvin. I agree, I feel the fixed blade ups the probability of a kill compared to a mechanical. Hope you get a shot at a nice one this season! All the best to you.
My blessing and my problem is that I got a TenPoint Nitro 505. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been a great crossbow. Extremely accurate and reliable. I’ve taken deer with it and I’ve never seen anything quite like it. This 505 is the elephant gun of the crossbow world. Truth is there are consequences to that much speed. With as much energy as that thing has, there is a great chance of having single use broadheads. SEVR broadheads are among some of the strongest out there. If you’re looking for multiple use heads, I would give those a try.
@theback40 I would, but I’m a demented individual that was obsessed with getting one. I know now it’s not for everyone. On the good side, it’s been super accurate. It will Robin Hood at targets out to 100 yards. I am getting 521 fps with a 400 grain arrow. With a 470 grain hunting arrow I’m at 501 fps. With the appropriate arrow the 505 will produce more energy at 70 yards than the R500 at point blank range. If I sight in at an inch high at 20 yards, I’m only an inch low at 50-55 yards. Every deer I’ve taken was dead in 5 seconds or less with a chest cavity shot, but I’ve never taken a shot further than 35 yards. Honestly it’s way overpowered for any of the world’s big game. Your arrow will pass through your deer and travel up to a half football field behind. Shooting from an elevated position might be desirable for arrow recovery. Even the strongest archery targets will not sustain more than one shot to the same point of impact out to 50 yards. They will go through. Although there’s a new target coming out called the 10x HD that’s supposedly made for the 505. I have been lucky to have recovered all of my arrows, but certainly they can easily become single use. I’m not big on that idea. Broadheads take the beating of their life! I do love the bow, but now more than ever I understand that there are consequences to this much speed. Some say that at some point there will be a 600 fps crossbow and so on. I think I got it out of my system now and I’m not sure how anything faster would even be practical anymore. That’s a change in my view for sure. The bow has been smooth like butter and no problems of any type.
I know that a hunters choice of broadheads seems to be a very personal one. Many hunters have gained some of the knowledge they have from their families and traditions. That being said, I must tell you that there was an in depth 30 year study conducted under controlled conditions the showed hard data about fixed vs mechanical broadheads. The result was that hunters using mechanical broadheads had a significant advantage with recovering their deer. This was particularly true with crossbows. Certainly the technology of 1995 has changed considerably and broadheads have improved dramatically over time. It’s not really fair to compare the broadheads of 20-30+ years ago to that of today. Also, crossbows of very fast speeds would be at a disadvantage with some fixed heads due to the risk of plaining. Each of us must use the gear we’ve become comfortable with. But by the same token, don’t let tradition or things like brand loyalty cut you off from recognizing how great things can be. Just .2
Hey Douglas, thank you for this info. I just "Googled" and found some info on this study, and will be digging into it to check its funding sources, controls, and paramaters to make sure it is a valid study, and if so, take it's findings into serious consideration when choosing my broadheads for next year. Hope you are having a great season.
Hey Doug, I had a chance to find the study and read it, here is the link, I suggest anyone making a comment read it first: seafwa.org/sites/default/files/journal-articles/26Pedersen_et_al_163-166.pdf. This was a very valid study from a natural resource area around a naval support facility in Maryland. The data came from over 12 years of input, and over 1000 harvested deer, all with vertical and cross bows. The most important part of the study is that I cannot find any conflict of interest, the study specifically states ZERO funding was provided to put this report together. The data is pretty clear that using expandable/mechanical broadheads had a higher rate of deer recovery than fixed blades, and it didn't matter if it was shot from a vertical or cross bow. Their conclusion was that although there is a small probability for mechanical failures, this probability is more than overcome with increased accuracy, speed, and penetration. I can't argue with good data. I'll be switching back to mechanicals next year. Thank you Doug for directing me to this study. OK......now.......let the comments begin, LOL!!!
Yup. The field points zipped right through the target and must have caught the fletching one of the times on the way through and I didn't notice it. Oh well, still had a great test and I feel good about the results. All the best to you.
I have a simple question, seeing as you had only done 5 shots with your bolt before it came apart, why didn’t you just restart your test with the new bolt?
Hey Devin, good question, for which I don't have a good answer. I don't recall for sure the circumstances, maybe a time crunch and I wanted to get it done? Or, more likely laziness? Good luck this year.
Oh, incidentally some broadheads that can provide good performance and accuracy. SEVR, SWAT, Swahacker, Nap Killzone crossbow. Of course no two crossbows are the same and some target testing can determine your choice.
Liked your video, I’m in the same place. Doing my research I found a channel called Ranch Fairy… It has totally opened my eyes to tuning ideas I didn’t know exited with crossbows. It’s really worth checking out…
Hey Clifton, no suggestions here. I haven't even attempted to sharpen yet, both of them I used last year were damaged. Congrats on the THREE elk! Keep going. All the best to you.
Try magnus black hornets ser razr that’s a fixed blade that fly like darts and they have a lifetime warranty! I shoot them out of my crossbow you won’t be looking anymore.
Hey FRED BEAR! How did you get that name.......lucky guy I suppose. Thanks for the feedback, I bought a few brands and will be testing them shortly. All the best to you.
@@tbarto100 Saw a video of them shooting the Magnus Black Hornets, and they looked really accurate and solid to me, too. I thought they did some good videos showing their accuracy. If I had to add ONE more to my testing, it would have been Magnus.
@@theback40 I made an inexpensive target, that the bolt pull out of with 2 fingers.. i used a feed bag (plastic mesh/web) i stuffed it with an old poly filled sleeping bag and a few poly fill pillows... stops a bolt going 386fps.. broad head pull out just a bit harder..
@@t.c.f.fuller8867 I forgot all about this. I did the same thing back in my vertical bow days, except used old shrink wrap stuffed tightly into the feed bag, and it worked great. Might have to give this a try, thank you for the idea.
Hey great video Mark I have always shot fixed head out of my excalibur's and all in the same hole 👍 from day one. I never whent to mechanical because when I started back around 2006 I herd allot of bad stories about them so I went with fixed and no regrets 🤪
That is great to hear, helps my confidence in making the switch. I certainly regret that I didn't test this more in the beginning. But, luckily, all my mechanicals still worked well enough to be lethal for all my shots. But I feel much better getting away from them now. All the best to you.
Hey Joseph, same here. I basically turn over the target, put my foot on it, and pull until I need to go to the chiropractor to get straightened out again. All the best to you.
No disrespect but target moved on 1st, fix b/head test and you didn't straighten it up (needs weight on top) so your 2nd, shot won't be close to the 1st, i know this is an early video but if you do revisit it just an fyi for next time.
Hey Ratt, thanks for the comment. I re-aimed on the target dot after each shot, so it should still be close? But putting a weight on the target is a great idea, I hand't thought of it. All the best to you.
BTW, I don't take it as disrespect at all, I crave feedback and having people challenge my thoughts, this is the only way I get better at anything in life. Too many people get offended, and so many of us are not "brave" enought, like you, to make a comment to someone that can help them improve. So, thank you for having the courage to make this comment, I greatly value this kind of feedback.
Your welcome, there's too many criticisms out there, we all are in this together and it's nice to have a positive input so we can help each other grow in the archery areas. Have a great and happy New Years too you and yours 👍🙏.
You always group out bolts first ! Out of 12 bolts 5 to 6 will group. Other bolts for whatever turkey, chipmunks blue jays that give you away lol. Huge difference in bolts and grouping. Line blades with fetching is big to. Like you said little thing make the difference.
Hey Glenn, thanks for the feedback. I agree on the bolts, and the first one I shot was my #2 bolt until the darn fletching came off, ugh. So I grabbed one that was labled as a "B", so accuracy was good enough. I use the "C's" for the forest nuisance critters.... All the best to you!
Nice job on this video Mark. Many of big-name TH-cam creators have made the switch from mechanicals to fixed including The Hunting Public. Troy from Ranch Fiery is another one who doesn't like mechanicals, and he's into big heavy arrows and large fixed tips. That said, many guys continue to kill many deer with RAGE, SEVR & Schwackers! I'm still on the fence, although I've killed a few hogs with fixed (Afflitor, Muzzy & Magnus), I've had poor results with fixed on deer. I know it's shot placement that means more than the broadheads because the Indians killed deer with fling heads. At any rate, I'm starting the year off with the same head you showed that was broken, the RAGE Crossbow X 125 grain and we'll see how it goes. If I'm successful, I may try some Tooth of the Arrow in late season. The bottom line is the jury will always be out and undecided on this debate.
Hey Ron, completely agree that the Rage mechanical works, and every deer I used them on was recovered. But I am working on lowering probability of failure in the whole process of hunting, and this is one of the points I identified could be improved, so made the switch. I'm still on the fence, too, but have decided to give fixed blade their shot (no pun intended) to see how they perform. Hope you have a great season.
Thanks for taking the time to reply Mark! My last test on my TH-cam channel didn't go as well for the fixed, but I was using two different bows and a few different arrows and broadheads. Both the Tooth of the Arrow and the RAGE performed the best on the pork butt. @@theback40 The RAGE made the biggest hole, but the fixed would have killed a deer as well. Wishing you a very good season!th-cam.com/video/oGJKEUa8rmw/w-d-xo.html
You desperately NEED to get a target capable of stopping a crossbow arrow All of my archery targets store bought and DIY will stop Both a BH and FP tipped Crossbow arrow with most of the arrow still protruding out of the target at 20 yards let alone at 40 That or hope you can afford one helluva budget for crossbow arrows Over all a very good solid viable test. I am a HUGE fan of FBBH's No I do not hate MBH's But I am a heavy industrial maintenance electrician and I have decades of experience with literally 1ks of different types of electrically powered mechanical devices from those of a simple design to complex in the extreme and I know and understand how why and how often mechanical devices fail. I have been intensely educated on the how and why of individual components of a larger complex piece of machinery fail to result in the entire machine failing And knowing all this is why I use FBBH's. That's not to say I haven't evaluated mechanical broadheads in the past because I have. I gave several of the more popular and highest rated mechanical broadheads a torture test of my own comparing them against my favorite FBBH I've been using for the last 10 years and 30+ deer. Every last mechanical broadhead I tested failed in one way or another to meet MY STANDARDS for absolute reliability at least one time while my favorite FBBH did not. Tried both rear-deploying and over the top deploying designed mechanicals I have on accident (do NOT ASK HOW) shot my favorite 100 grain chisel point three bladed FBBH into Tires Cinder blocks Steel garbage cans Side of a steel Dempster Wooden 2x4's and 2x6's Tree trunks In to a car battery Through a garage plywood aluminum sidded wall Into a steel pipe fence post And absolutely no lie or exaggerating that particular FBBH remained 100% intact Often100% ruined but intact. There is no mechanical broadhead that has yet existed that can even come close to matching that level of durability and yes my favorite FBBH's fly very well out to 60 yards. The final fact that convinced me to remain with FBBH over Mechanicals was a my friend was hunting a 180" class white tail for three straight years I saw the trail cam pics and one of its sheds and yes it easily would've scored 180 My friend bow hunts only no firearms Forth year he upgraded to a new faster bow Was having difficulty tuning the bow to shoot FBBH's well so he switched to mechanicals one with an absolutely impeccable earned reputation for reliability Shure enough he got his shot Compete pass through To his utter and complete horror found the blood covered arrow stuck in the ground rubber retaining band still perfectly in place blades still 100% NOT deployed Upon closer inspection the blades were stuck inside the ferrule of the broadhead and never deploy and only after he used the tip of a very small screwdriver did he pry the blades to loose from the ferrule. A few months later his neighbor (who knew about this buck and that my friend had been hunting him for years) called him said I think I found your buck dead or more accurately my son did while out looking for sheds Thankfully the rack was in surprisingly good shape and his neighbor was good enough to make his son give the rack with skull attached to him. I know better than most EVERYTHING man made can and does fail But absolutely no one can argue that two devices meant to do the same exact thing the one with moving parts will have a significantly greater risk of failing than one with no moving parts. Absolutely no doubt whatsoever in my mind if my friend had hit that buck with an arrow tipped with his FBBH of choice a NAP T-Head he would've recovered that buck after a short blood trailing job. Lastly Watch the video on how much more energy it takes to get mechanical BH"s with huge CD's of 1.75"-2"+ to reliably deploy done by Ranch Ferry.
You know the conclusion all of this is some of your mechanical Broadhead will fly like a field tip depending on the brand but I have never got a fixed head in my life and I am 55 years old that would ever fly like a field tip dynamically it cannot because of the front end of the Broadhead if you have too much blade sticking out it is going to plane that's aerodynamics and there's nothing you can do about that except if you like the fix head and you want to use it you have to recite your bowl in to the fix head in order to get it to fly where you wanted to but that kills all the point of having fieldpointe accuracy if you shoot a fixed blade head you will never have fieldpoint accuracy and now that's why I use mechanical broadheads because I want the field Point accuracy
Hey Don, thanks for the feedback. You can see the results of my testing here, which shows fixed heads are plenty accurate to harvest deer with a bow, even a high speed crossbow. We're talking 4" groups at 40 yards vs. 3" with a mechanical head, vs 2" with a field tip. Plenty tight enough grouping for me, plus I get the reliability of a fixed head vs. the higher probability of failure with mechanicals. You are right, and it is just a matter of personal preference, you have to pick accuracy against potential mechanical failure. For me, based on this testing, I made the change. But I would never try to push anyone to change what they are doing. I recovered every single one of my mechanical broadhead deer, so results matter. I'm just tweaking and reducing probabilities of failure points in the process. Good luck this season!
Thanks for the comment, never really thought about the height. I'll have to look into this. Just need to make sure there is enough clearance inside the rail of the crossbow so it isn't scraping on it. All the best to you.
If you want to shoot a mechanical get the Sevr Robusto. Rage heads are cheap and break blades and bend ferrules. Sevr heads are stronger than most replaceable blade fixed heads
Hey James, agreed. I'm working on it for next year, maybe even a new bow?????? The bow I use now will be 15 years old, and that target is probably about the same. All the best to you.
As usual your comparison test, like most on you tube, was not reliable nor accurate because you changed bolts. You didn't show how you cocked the bow each time probably because you removed the crossbow from the sled thus, affecting accuracy. I've never had a problem shooting the expandable broadhead I use out of any crossbow nor compound bow. The ethical thing to shoot is the most accurate broadhead out of your bow period. I just don't accept "accurate enough".
Excellent demo of both fixed and mechanical! I like the rage broadhead myself! Ive taken 13deer in 4yrs w/my x-bow! Complete pass thru on all but i waited until they were all broadside! My farthest tracking was approx 80yards..thank you for the test results.
Hey Tommy, sure thing. I've come to the conclusion that both styles work really well. At this point, it's about personal preferrence. All the non-functioning mechanicals have pretty much been pushed out of the market. All the best to you.
Montech g5 for me..but I'm still shooting compound. I tried out the crossbow for a season and put it down almost immediately.
I don't care for crossbow hunting myself but certainly understand why they are so lethal and a vast majority of hunters go with them.
Thanks for the feedback, and I agree with you, I REALLY liked the Montecs. I have a long story on why I switched from instinctive recurve to compound, to crossbow over the years, but that's for another day. I respect all legal weapons for everyone's personality and philosophy, and will fight all the anti's to the bitter end to defend ALL of them!! All the best to you.
@@theback40 👍
It is just because some of us are getting old and cannot pull a bow!!!
Excellent data sir, I had some penetration problems with early crossbows PSE Foxfire & Barnett using fixed blades/longer blood trails on deer, once I got crossbows in the 400 fps range(Sniper 370-Ripper 415-Ripper 425) using Swhacker 2" cut 100 grain broadheads very accurate many deer down & quick, sturdy broadhead, always a 2 "exit no problems for me. -W. Liggett
Thanks for the comment. I watch the TH-cam channel "Death by Bunjie" and he is now using the Swhacker too. I am considering a swtich back to mechanicals based on more experience and a study someone forwarded to me. Gotta decide pretty quick, season is fast approaching. All the best to you.
Death by Bungie another great TH-cam channel & also excellent data, what his guide on the Maryland hunts told him about the quarter size hole vs. the Swhacker size cut, and how far and hard he had to track deer to recovery with the quarter size cut, definitely data to consider, good luck hunting to you as well sir. -W. Liggett
I understand not wanting to name brands and respect that. With that said I’ve used the ones you showed in the beginning of the video and same results they broke after impact. I have to mention brand and model to make sense. I switch to the G5 dead meat 3 blade mechanical heads and have no bad things to say. I use 100g head for a total of 400g arrow. I have harvested 4 white tails with those heads and the blades have stayed intact on every one. The have an 1 3/4 cutting diameter and create a great wound channel. I’m sure I sound like a salesman but far from it. Just spent a lot of unnecessary money on all the available brands and have had one disappointing experience after the other until I used the G5’s. They recently released the newest blades that come in 2 inch that I have yet to try but if they perform anything like the original I will be switching just for the extra cutting size.
I don’t know any archers that haven’t been through the whole broadhead thing on what’s better. A lot is preference but I can only speak from my experience. I used to completely distrust the mechanical head especially the ones that used the rubber bands for retention to hold the blade closed until impact. I always used the fixed blades and wouldn’t take shots past 30yds due to the way they flew out to that distance. Now that I found the right mechanical heads for my set up I wouldn’t be afraid to push 50+ yds in the field. Just as reference for the set up I use is the Barnett whitetail hunter 2. I’ve chronographed it on average of 370fps with the bloodsport hunter 20” arrows 100grain points. Not the fastest or heaviest hitting crossbow on the market but I’ve had great results using that “budget “ set up.
Thank you for your video and time. It’s nice to have input from actual people and not a commercial that never put the best and worst of the products.
Hey Matt, thank you for taking to time to provide all of us with your feedback. Between me and my circle of friends, we have had the same experiences as you. It's good to hear about the G5's, I tend to like this brand a lot, but since I have already spent the money on the fixed, I'm going to use these until they are gone. All the best to you! Please keep us updated on their performance this season.
Did you have pass thru w the dead meat? That's what I plan to switch to after issues with unnamed number one, it opens fine, but the two blade just doesn't seem to leave blood trail well even w big holes in and out
Good show and test. I use 2 blade zwickey. My bolts fly fine. My bow is 325 fps. Thanks.
Michael Herrell
Hey Michael, thank you. I used to use two blade
Wolverine brand, very similar to Zwickey, when I was hunting with a recurver bow, and they were great. I never thought about using a two blade in the crossbow. I'll have to give this a try next year. Best of luck to you this season.
I’ve always used mechanical heads with my Excalibur matrix 405 with good results. I had complete confidence in my heads. A couple of seasons ago however I shot at an 8 pointer in the evening and hit him in the shoulder. The blades opened on the shoulder maybe penetrating about a half an inch. The arrow just stopped there and dropped to the ground. The deer wasn’t even fazed. He just walked away. He was standing about 25 yards away. I’m been rethinking my broadheads since that evening.
Hey Dee, THAT is exactly what I was afraid might happen to me. Sure, they have worked every single time so far, but I have seen a few things that could have gone wrong when looking over the broadhead after retrieving the arrow, which is why I made the switch. Good luck this year!
Dee, with Excalibur 405, it should have gone trough the shoulder with no problems, unless it was very far?
If not, than something to think about!!!!
Great video! Been hunting with fixed from the beginning (10 years) and actually have been thinking about switching to mechanical this year. :) But maybe I'll just stick with what has worked. Thanks again for the testing, information, etc. You have a good way of explaining things, hope you continue with more videos.
Hey David, thank you. If you have not had a problem with your fixed, I'd stick with them. And if you did have a problem with them, I'd try a few different brands of fixed before capitulating to mechanicals. But, there are a million opinions out there, and everyone of them think they are right, including me, LOL. All the best to you.
@@theback40 I needed some new fixed blade broadheads so I took a chance after watching Lusk Archery Adventures and ordered some low priced broadheads that are made in China that are built very similar to what I have used. I'll be using one of them for practicing this spring & summer so I'll see how they stand up.
@@davesi56 I have not heard good things about Chinese broadheads standing up to a shot that would hit bone, very brittle and break, but I do not have personal experience with this. Let us know how they work out for you please.
Thank you! For the effort.
I use an Excalibur supressor 400 td and this year I got 2 deer.
The first was a doe and I used a fix broadhead (Excalibur)She dropped 30 yards but not a single drop of blood. All bleeding was in the thoracic cavity, and it was a pass through. The second was a 7 point buck that I used a mechanical ( rage) and he run about 80 yards into the woods again with no blood trail!! It took a few hours to find him and he only left a trail in his last 15 yards. Again double lung, broke a rib on entrance and on the other side broke a rib also and stopped at the hide.
Can’t claim bad luck, but I need to find one that gives me better chances of trails!!!
I'm with you on those, I've had the same experiences! I need better blood trails from my broadheads, too. Thanks for the HONEST feedback. I'm considering Swhacker based on the "Death by Bunjie" youtube channel. He has had great blood trails and results. Not sure though, gotta do the research. All the best to you.
I will also increase to 150 grain ones!
@@Gauchooriental Good call, I'm going to do the same. Heavier seems to be better?
I am noticing better grouping using 150 grain field points and broadheads. But in order to do that you have to believe momentum is more important than speed. I kind of believe that specially for shots under 40 yards since you likely will not see deer jumping the string. With regard to blood trails, my intuition says yes ….. will improve also ( I guess!!! And hope kkkk)
@@Gauchooriental Good to hear you're getting tighter groups. Keep me updated as you progress through this please. I'm re-evaluating everything next year, putting a premium on pass throughs with good blood trails.
I have the Stryker 390ls. Just sent in to under warranty for limb replacements. All four limb tips started splitting down by the pins that hold the cams in place. The only limb sets left are 77 hardness limbs vs my orignal 93 hardness limbs that came on the sl390. Dropped my FPS down to 358 fps. They were replaced with the stryker 125 pound limbs instead of the 155 pound limb set. Sad day when I found out. Bowtech said it’s the only replacement limb set left they offer for the Stryker series. The limbs came back in all black with no writing on them as well. I won't use any cut on contact bladed mechanical tips. They are a weak design. That tip on your rage xbow bow cut in contact blade head was a redesign from the orignal bone busting chisel tip.. it was redesigned for low powdered compound bows to get more penatration so they could use a mechanical. Most of those bladed tips brake off, bend, and deflect like you have experienced when trying to pass through a deer. I've had alot better luck with gator style broad heads that have rear deploying floating blades and chisel type heads that's won't bend or brake. They fold in around bone so most of my exits are in a straight line. Any mechanical with a blade that locks in place always ends up defecting and never ends up going straight through...if i even get an exit. At first I blamed the crossbow...then the arrows. It's not...it's the broadhead design. I was shooting a 295 fps xbow with 380 grain to 403 grain total weight arrows with straight line pass throughs with rock mountain gator 100 chisel tip heads. Upgraded to a 390 fps xbow and tried rages along with grim reaper whitetail specials...no pass throughs with a 10 grain heavier arrow. I'm going to try the NAP Sling blade Ti 2 blade 2 3/16" this year. I'm sure it will perform like the old gator. Straight line pass throughs and big holes like the old gators. I found 2 of thr gators I had laying around from the 90's. One is like brand new. I might put them in service this year! Imo EVERY mechanical that the blade locks in place when deployed WILL ended up defecting inside of a deer. I've tried over a couple dozen brands of mechanicals and they all will end up vering off bone and exing at some goofy angle....eccept for the rear deploying gator style. They can and will deflect but not as bad as locking blade type mechanicals. Never tried a fixed blade in xbows but maybe some day. The right 2" mechanical just will get the job done quicker with alot more blood to follow. Most gator taken deer dropped within 40 yards on average. There's always a couple that went farther but on average I had blood trails 10' wide with double lung shots that exited...ridiculous! I would have never tried that head but it came with my kit in the 90's. I would have been sucked in to a more expensive marketing hype broadhead that would not have done as well like most mechanicals offered today with weaker blades and tons of marketing hype.
Exact same thing with my Stryker, that is why it has the black limbs now, the original were camo. Interesting observation on the gator style heads.......thanks for the info and feedback. So far, I'm ok with the fixed blade, but if they don't do the trick, i'll switch over to those. All the best to you.
@@theback40 have you ran yours through a chronograph after the limb replacement?
@@tripplebeards3427 Nope, but I should have.
@@theback40 ...nothing you can really do about it anyways. Bowtech told me that is a universal replacement limb set and it's the limb set they have offered in the last several years for the striker xbow series. It's gotta be the 125 lb set for thr standard stryker rated at 350 fps. I shot 358 fps with 390 grains total weight. Extremely easy to pull back vs the origina 155 pound 390 fps set.. They rated my sl390 at 390 fps back in the day with 385 grain total arrow weight I was told. So it probably shoots 360 fps with the weight Botech rated them at. I was told it
@@tripplebeards3427 Ugh. Good excuse to start saving up some cash to buy one of those new 500+fps bows in a few years, after they work the problems out of them. But then again, why, mine works just fine as is?
Mark, great test, thanks for taking the time. How are your food plots doing, hopefully you got them planted?
Bob
Thanks Bob. Just drilled in the plots yesterday, and have a 60% chance of rain today. I'll get an updated video posted soon. All the best to you.
I use the G5 for smaller game and the Rage Trypan (mechanical) for large game. Very happy with both. Both have been equally accurate. Big difference for me is the ability to re-use a broad head. Bolts are cheap, heads can range from 12 - 20 bucks each. The G5 is very robust and easily sharpened. The Trypan (all stainless version) has been pretty robust, but I have had to replace the blades due to bending (no blades have broken). I even stuck one through the Humerus with little damage to the blade straightening and sharping didn't fix. I have had the same 3 broad heads now for 4 years. Lost a few of the G5's over time but did bend one up pretty good sticking it in a tree. I would not use anything fixed or mechanical with aluminum body.
Hey Errin, great feedback. I've shot two bucks this year with the G5, didn't have great blood trails for either, at least compared to what I am used to with the Rage I used prior. BUT, they were both down in less than 60 yards, so they do the job and do it quickly. I'll keep testing on a few more does this year and see how those go. Good luck this year!
Great video. I started out old pse crossbow. With pucket blood trailers 85 gr mechanical head. Then to older rocket broadheads. Just got a new wicked ridge raider 400 decock crossbow. Haven't shot it yet. I always shot mechanical broadheads. But this yr going to use fixed blade broadheads. Going with tooth of arrow 100 gr. I like how they are made and shoot. Machine 1 piece steel. U can reshapen them. Guys i know that shoots them. They shoot like field points. Seen a few test with them and xbow on u tube. That one test guy was shooting a tenpoint. He was shooting 500 fps. He even shot a concrete block with one. It stuck in the block. Bolt went into pieces. He got the head out. Didnt do much too it. Here there are hogs everywhere. They are a big nuisance here. I wanted a fix blade. Just in case i get into the shoulder of one. Tooth of the arrow cuts a good hole too. I went to buy 12 new bolts. I about fell over at the price. Come out to be 12.00 per bolt. That's not the nocks that light up. They are 75.00 for 3 bolts. Do u know of anyone that used a tenpoint rangemaster 100 scope? Or a Bear speed com 1.5x32 ranging scope?
Thank you. I don't know anyone using either of those scopes, but I too am interested in getting a ranging scope. If you end up getting one, let us know what you think after using it for a while. All the best to you.
Really good info exactly what I was looking for. Just FYI one of the best fixed blades out ther is the Exodus. I felt your pain when you had to use a new bolt. I've done years of archery with my compound bow but I just bought a crossbow for my kids and myself. The crossbows ibo speed is 405 but I've got a heavier bolt about 600 grains total so speed is about 360 but was worried about fix heads also. Searching for more of your videos.👍 Cool just found part 2.😁
Hey Jo, I made this video because I couldn't find an unbiased one either. Hope it helps you, and the kids get to whack a few nice ones next year! All the best to you guys.
Correct qad exodus is the fixed head you want , a close 2nd is the ramcat
A few years ago, I shot a buck with a compound bow. While field dressing the deer, I lacerated my hand, while reaching inside the deers chest cavity. Apparently my broad head broke and part of the blade was stuck inside the ribs. This injury required a trip to the hospital, for stitches.
Hey Earl, yikes! That does not sound like a fun ending after getting a buck on the ground. All the best to you.
I've messed up 2 buck opportunities using mechanicals with my crossbow and lighted nocks. I've only not recovered 1 doe with a fixed blade bc she ducked and I only got fat on the arrow. High back pass thru.ive shot like 20 deer with fixed blades vs 5 or 6 with mechanicals. I hate lighted nocks bc they cause more problems with flight path than benefits of flying straight. They are supposed to be shot activated but from my experience they ruin your arrows flight path dramatically or explode in cold temps or just make your arrow fly way high or low. Fixed blades and solid nocks from here forward. They cut way more than a non open or broken mechanical in a running deer. With fixed blades u can punch thru shoulder blades easily in a crossbow.Mechanicals work great from ground blinds at close range for double lungs but they break if u hit any shoulder. I shot 2 does at once yrs ago. Double double lung 🫁 pass thrus. Both deer ran 40 yrds fell over dead 10ft apart in the snow. Easiest track job ever. Arrow still went into the frozen ground 30ft past both deer. I could care less about finding my arrow rather have clean pass thrus every time with fixed blades and solid nocks than use mechanicals with led nocks that have a high probability of failing/ ruining your chance at ethically getting a clean deer kill. Nocturnal nocks suck for crossbows
Hey Garrett, thank you for this feedback. I hadn't thought about the lighted nocks contributing to problems, hmmmm. My experience last year on two bucks harvested with fixed blades is that they were extremely effective, both died within 50-60 yards, BUT, very weak blood trail, like, almost no blood with double lung shots on both. What has your experience been with the blood trails of your mechanicals vs fixed blades? Best of luck this season!
Muzzy Trocar is a good deadly head that shoots great or the old muzzy 4 blades fly great too. I shoot the Muzzy trocar HB in my Ten point Viper S400 at 393 fps and the deer don't go 50 yards, awesome blood trails and huge entrance and exit holes.
Hey Dave, that's good to hear. Good luck this season, it will be here before we know it. So much work to do! All the best to you.
100gn G5 Montec is what I shoot. The vented blades make them more accurate than solid blade fixed heads. And they're super tough.
Thanks Michael. That's good to hear, they seems like a really solid head. Great to hear from someone actually using them that is not getting paid to promote them. All the best to you.
My archery shop told me and as well as other cross bow users that mechanical will fail about 50 percent of the time in a cross bow because of the sledge hammer effect when being launched causes most to open near mid flight or not open at all
Thanks for the feedback. I didn't have that experience back when I used mechanicals, but it is a possibility, and I know in the beginning it used to be common. Seems like a lot of the manufacturers now have specific crossbow broadheads that have better blade security to handle the sledge hammer effect at launch? Hope you get a big one this season with yours! All the best to you.
Crossbows offer a different spectrum of energy and penetration compared to vertical bows.
We don’t really think in terms of not getting pass throughs when it comes to modern crossbows and modern speeds.
Hey Douglas, good point. One of my crossbow shots this year did NOT pass through, was very unsettling. It lodge into the shoulder bone on the opposite side, so got both lungs, but it didn't pass through. This was with a fixed blade head, I wonder if a mechanical would have had the energy to bust through? Still an easy recovery, only went about 60 yards. All the best to you.
I also got away from mechanicals. I always here people say “should put them In the right spot” but what if that doesn’t happen. To me fixed gives me more opportunity to kill on off shots. I use qad exodus they are solid fly good and have a good sized cut
That's great to hear Melvin. I agree, I feel the fixed blade ups the probability of a kill compared to a mechanical. Hope you get a shot at a nice one this season! All the best to you.
@@theback40 thank you
I can't get the Exodus to fly worth a darn. Glad you had luck w them. I love the idea of them
Great information, thank you.
Thanks Robert. All the best to you.
My blessing and my problem is that I got a TenPoint Nitro 505.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s been a great crossbow. Extremely accurate and reliable. I’ve taken deer with it and I’ve never seen anything quite like it.
This 505 is the elephant gun of the crossbow world. Truth is there are consequences to that much speed. With as much energy as that thing has, there is a great chance of having single use broadheads.
SEVR broadheads are among some of the strongest out there. If you’re looking for multiple use heads, I would give those a try.
Hey Douglas, thanks for the tip. Would you buy the Nitro 505 again knowing what you know now?
@theback40
I would, but I’m a demented individual that was obsessed with getting one. I know now it’s not for everyone. On the good side, it’s been super accurate. It will Robin Hood at targets out to 100 yards. I am getting 521 fps with a 400 grain arrow. With a 470 grain hunting arrow I’m at 501 fps.
With the appropriate arrow the 505 will produce more energy at 70 yards than the R500 at point blank range. If I sight in at an inch high at 20 yards, I’m only an inch low at 50-55 yards. Every deer I’ve taken was dead in 5 seconds or less with a chest cavity shot, but I’ve never taken a shot further than 35 yards.
Honestly it’s way overpowered for any of the world’s big game. Your arrow will pass through your deer and travel up to a half football field behind. Shooting from an elevated position might be desirable for arrow recovery. Even the strongest archery targets will not sustain more than one shot to the same point of impact out to 50 yards. They will go through. Although there’s a new target coming out called the 10x HD that’s supposedly made for the 505.
I have been lucky to have recovered all of my arrows, but certainly they can easily become single use. I’m not big on that idea. Broadheads take the beating of their life!
I do love the bow, but now more than ever I understand that there are consequences to this much speed. Some say that at some point there will be a 600 fps crossbow and so on. I think I got it out of my system now and I’m not sure how anything faster would even be practical anymore. That’s a change in my view for sure. The bow has been smooth like butter and no problems of any type.
@@douglasborgaro6801 Thanks for the feedback. I'm probably due for an upgrade, mine is bumping on 15 years old now.
I know that a hunters choice of broadheads seems to be a very personal one. Many hunters have gained some of the knowledge they have from their families and traditions.
That being said, I must tell you that there was an in depth 30 year study conducted under controlled conditions the showed hard data about fixed vs mechanical broadheads.
The result was that hunters using mechanical broadheads had a significant advantage with recovering their deer. This was particularly true with crossbows.
Certainly the technology of 1995 has changed considerably and broadheads have improved dramatically over time. It’s not really fair to compare the broadheads of 20-30+ years ago to that of today.
Also, crossbows of very fast speeds would be at a disadvantage with some fixed heads due to the risk of plaining.
Each of us must use the gear we’ve become comfortable with. But by the same token, don’t let tradition or things like brand loyalty cut you off from recognizing how great things can be. Just .2
Hey Douglas, thank you for this info. I just "Googled" and found some info on this study, and will be digging into it to check its funding sources, controls, and paramaters to make sure it is a valid study, and if so, take it's findings into serious consideration when choosing my broadheads for next year. Hope you are having a great season.
Hey Doug, I had a chance to find the study and read it, here is the link, I suggest anyone making a comment read it first: seafwa.org/sites/default/files/journal-articles/26Pedersen_et_al_163-166.pdf. This was a very valid study from a natural resource area around a naval support facility in Maryland. The data came from over 12 years of input, and over 1000 harvested deer, all with vertical and cross bows. The most important part of the study is that I cannot find any conflict of interest, the study specifically states ZERO funding was provided to put this report together. The data is pretty clear that using expandable/mechanical broadheads had a higher rate of deer recovery than fixed blades, and it didn't matter if it was shot from a vertical or cross bow. Their conclusion was that although there is a small probability for mechanical failures, this probability is more than overcome with increased accuracy, speed, and penetration. I can't argue with good data. I'll be switching back to mechanicals next year. Thank you Doug for directing me to this study. OK......now.......let the comments begin, LOL!!!
Good test! I was wondering if that was your arrow hearing on the field points!
Yup. The field points zipped right through the target and must have caught the fletching one of the times on the way through and I didn't notice it. Oh well, still had a great test and I feel good about the results. All the best to you.
I have a simple question, seeing as you had only done 5 shots with your bolt before it came apart, why didn’t you just restart your test with the new bolt?
Hey Devin, good question, for which I don't have a good answer. I don't recall for sure the circumstances, maybe a time crunch and I wanted to get it done? Or, more likely laziness? Good luck this year.
Thanks Mark
Sure thing Mik.
Oh, incidentally some broadheads that can provide good performance and accuracy. SEVR, SWAT, Swahacker, Nap Killzone crossbow.
Of course no two crossbows are the same and some target testing can determine your choice.
Thanks Douglas.
Liked your video, I’m in the same place. Doing my research I found a channel called Ranch Fairy… It has totally opened my eyes to tuning ideas I didn’t know exited with crossbows. It’s really worth checking out…
Thanks Craig, I'll check it out.
I shoot the montec g5s. I have are hard time getting them as sharp as id like. Any suggestions? BTW they did their job on 3 elk so far
Hey Clifton, no suggestions here. I haven't even attempted to sharpen yet, both of them I used last year were damaged. Congrats on the THREE elk! Keep going. All the best to you.
Cool comparison but looks like you need a better block to stop the bolts.
So funny you said that, my buddy said the same thing a couple days ago. I suppose it's time for a new one..... All the best to you.
Try magnus black hornets ser razr that’s a fixed blade that fly like darts and they have a lifetime warranty! I shoot them out of my crossbow you won’t be looking anymore.
Hey FRED BEAR! How did you get that name.......lucky guy I suppose. Thanks for the feedback, I bought a few brands and will be testing them shortly. All the best to you.
Black hornets are very accurate!
@@tbarto100 Saw a video of them shooting the Magnus Black Hornets, and they looked really accurate and solid to me, too. I thought they did some good videos showing their accuracy. If I had to add ONE more to my testing, it would have been Magnus.
why would you skip a bolt or arrow out across a driveway..? seem to like it would tear up good equipment...
Good question, guess I do it so if I miss, I can find it and hope it is ok or repairable. All the best to you.
@@theback40 I made an inexpensive target, that the bolt pull out of with 2 fingers..
i used a feed bag (plastic mesh/web) i stuffed it with an old poly filled sleeping bag and a few poly fill pillows... stops a bolt going 386fps.. broad head pull out just a bit harder..
@@t.c.f.fuller8867 I forgot all about this. I did the same thing back in my vertical bow days, except used old shrink wrap stuffed tightly into the feed bag, and it worked great. Might have to give this a try, thank you for the idea.
Hey great video Mark I have always shot fixed head out of my excalibur's and all in the same hole 👍 from day one. I never whent to mechanical because when I started back around 2006 I herd allot of bad stories about them so I went with fixed and no regrets 🤪
That is great to hear, helps my confidence in making the switch. I certainly regret that I didn't test this more in the beginning. But, luckily, all my mechanicals still worked well enough to be lethal for all my shots. But I feel much better getting away from them now. All the best to you.
I've also used fixed montec forever due to issues with mechanical way back then. Never lost a deer w three blade fixed.
@@jowhi9296 that's the same blades I you's and I shot my buck yesterday and destroyed both lungs 👍
Those practice heads are challenging to get out of targets for me.
Hey Joseph, same here. I basically turn over the target, put my foot on it, and pull until I need to go to the chiropractor to get straightened out again. All the best to you.
@@theback40 lol I feel you there. Many times can't get them out
No disrespect but target moved on 1st, fix b/head test and you didn't straighten it up (needs weight on top) so your 2nd, shot won't be close to the 1st, i know this is an early video but if you do revisit it just an fyi for next time.
Hey Ratt, thanks for the comment. I re-aimed on the target dot after each shot, so it should still be close? But putting a weight on the target is a great idea, I hand't thought of it. All the best to you.
BTW, I don't take it as disrespect at all, I crave feedback and having people challenge my thoughts, this is the only way I get better at anything in life. Too many people get offended, and so many of us are not "brave" enought, like you, to make a comment to someone that can help them improve. So, thank you for having the courage to make this comment, I greatly value this kind of feedback.
Your welcome, there's too many criticisms out there, we all are in this together and it's nice to have a positive input so we can help each other grow in the archery areas. Have a great and happy New Years too you and yours 👍🙏.
Thank you.
Hey Bruce, sure thing. All the best to you.
Try adding 50-100 grain tip weight
Hey John, could you expand (no pun intended) on this a bit more? Why add weight?
On my compound arrows i think the arrows fly straighter
@@johnsand8495 Ah, got it. I have seen this before, to move the balance point forward, but didn't know exactly why. Thanks.
I also got away from using mechanicals a few years ago. I had to shoot a hog twice to kill it and all but one of the blades had broken off.
Hey Edward, thank you for the feedback. Help make the decision to switch! All the best to you.
You always group out bolts first ! Out of 12 bolts 5 to 6 will group. Other bolts for whatever turkey, chipmunks blue jays that give you away lol. Huge difference in bolts and grouping. Line blades with fetching is big to. Like you said little thing make the difference.
Hey Glenn, thanks for the feedback. I agree on the bolts, and the first one I shot was my #2 bolt until the darn fletching came off, ugh. So I grabbed one that was labled as a "B", so accuracy was good enough. I use the "C's" for the forest nuisance critters.... All the best to you!
Nice job on this video Mark. Many of big-name TH-cam creators have made the switch from mechanicals to fixed including The Hunting Public. Troy from Ranch Fiery is another one who doesn't like mechanicals, and he's into big heavy arrows and large fixed tips. That said, many guys continue to kill many deer with RAGE, SEVR & Schwackers! I'm still on the fence, although I've killed a few hogs with fixed (Afflitor, Muzzy & Magnus), I've had poor results with fixed on deer. I know it's shot placement that means more than the broadheads because the Indians killed deer with fling heads. At any rate, I'm starting the year off with the same head you showed that was broken, the RAGE Crossbow X 125 grain and we'll see how it goes. If I'm successful, I may try some Tooth of the Arrow in late season. The bottom line is the jury will always be out and undecided on this debate.
Hey Ron, completely agree that the Rage mechanical works, and every deer I used them on was recovered. But I am working on lowering probability of failure in the whole process of hunting, and this is one of the points I identified could be improved, so made the switch. I'm still on the fence, too, but have decided to give fixed blade their shot (no pun intended) to see how they perform. Hope you have a great season.
Thanks for taking the time to reply Mark! My last test on my TH-cam channel didn't go as well for the fixed, but I was using two different bows and a few different arrows and broadheads. Both the Tooth of the Arrow and the RAGE performed the best on the pork butt. @@theback40 The RAGE made the biggest hole, but the fixed would have killed a deer as well. Wishing you a very good season!th-cam.com/video/oGJKEUa8rmw/w-d-xo.html
I'll have to check this out, thanks for the link. @@boomerrangerron
You desperately NEED to get a target capable of stopping a crossbow arrow
All of my archery targets store bought and DIY will stop Both a BH and FP tipped Crossbow arrow with most of the arrow still protruding out of the target at 20 yards let alone at 40
That or hope you can afford one helluva budget for crossbow arrows
Over all a very good solid viable test.
I am a HUGE fan of FBBH's
No I do not hate MBH's
But
I am a heavy industrial maintenance electrician and I have decades of experience with literally 1ks of different types of electrically powered mechanical devices from those of a simple design to complex in the extreme and I know and understand how why and how often mechanical devices fail. I have been intensely educated on the how and why of individual components of a larger complex piece of machinery fail to result in the entire machine failing
And knowing all this is why I use FBBH's.
That's not to say I haven't evaluated mechanical broadheads in the past because I have.
I gave several of the more popular and highest rated mechanical broadheads a torture test of my own comparing them against my favorite FBBH I've been using for the last 10 years and 30+ deer.
Every last mechanical broadhead I tested failed in one way or another to meet MY STANDARDS for absolute reliability at least one time while my favorite FBBH did not.
Tried both rear-deploying and over the top deploying designed mechanicals
I have on accident (do NOT ASK HOW) shot my favorite 100 grain chisel point three bladed FBBH into
Tires
Cinder blocks
Steel garbage cans
Side of a steel Dempster
Wooden 2x4's and 2x6's
Tree trunks
In to a car battery
Through a garage plywood aluminum sidded wall
Into a steel pipe fence post
And absolutely no lie or exaggerating that particular FBBH remained 100% intact
Often100% ruined but intact.
There is no mechanical broadhead that has yet existed that can even come close to matching that level of durability and yes my favorite FBBH's fly very well out to 60 yards.
The final fact that convinced me to remain with FBBH over Mechanicals was a my friend was hunting a 180" class white tail for three straight years
I saw the trail cam pics and one of its sheds and yes it easily would've scored 180
My friend bow hunts only no firearms
Forth year he upgraded to a new faster bow
Was having difficulty tuning the bow to shoot FBBH's well so he switched to mechanicals one with an absolutely impeccable earned reputation for reliability
Shure enough he got his shot
Compete pass through
To his utter and complete horror found the blood covered arrow stuck in the ground rubber retaining band still perfectly in place blades still 100% NOT deployed
Upon closer inspection the blades were stuck inside the ferrule of the broadhead and never deploy and only after he used the tip of a very small screwdriver did he pry the blades to loose from the ferrule.
A few months later his neighbor (who knew about this buck and that my friend had been hunting him for years) called him said I think I found your buck dead or more accurately my son did while out looking for sheds
Thankfully the rack was in surprisingly good shape and his neighbor was good enough to make his son give the rack with skull attached to him.
I know better than most EVERYTHING man made can and does fail
But absolutely no one can argue that two devices meant to do the same exact thing the one with moving parts will have a significantly greater risk of failing than one with no moving parts.
Absolutely no doubt whatsoever in my mind if my friend had hit that buck with an arrow tipped with his FBBH of choice a NAP T-Head he would've recovered that buck after a short blood trailing job.
Lastly
Watch the video on how much more energy it takes to get mechanical BH"s with huge CD's of 1.75"-2"+ to reliably deploy done by Ranch Ferry.
Hey Arthur, great comment, and you articulated perfectly why I switched to fixed blades. I'll check out the video. Best of luck to you this season!
Maybe try other brands mechanicals. I had much better results with Swhacker over Rage
Hey Marius, thanks for the info. I've heard good things about them, too. Good luck this season!
You know the conclusion all of this is some of your mechanical Broadhead will fly like a field tip depending on the brand but I have never got a fixed head in my life and I am 55 years old that would ever fly like a field tip dynamically it cannot because of the front end of the Broadhead if you have too much blade sticking out it is going to plane that's aerodynamics and there's nothing you can do about that except if you like the fix head and you want to use it you have to recite your bowl in to the fix head in order to get it to fly where you wanted to but that kills all the point of having fieldpointe accuracy if you shoot a fixed blade head you will never have fieldpoint accuracy and now that's why I use mechanical broadheads because I want the field Point accuracy
Hey Don, thanks for the feedback. You can see the results of my testing here, which shows fixed heads are plenty accurate to harvest deer with a bow, even a high speed crossbow. We're talking 4" groups at 40 yards vs. 3" with a mechanical head, vs 2" with a field tip. Plenty tight enough grouping for me, plus I get the reliability of a fixed head vs. the higher probability of failure with mechanicals. You are right, and it is just a matter of personal preference, you have to pick accuracy against potential mechanical failure. For me, based on this testing, I made the change. But I would never try to push anyone to change what they are doing. I recovered every single one of my mechanical broadhead deer, so results matter. I'm just tweaking and reducing probabilities of failure points in the process. Good luck this season!
You need high profile veins for fixed heads. Height matters more than length.
Thanks for the comment, never really thought about the height. I'll have to look into this. Just need to make sure there is enough clearance inside the rail of the crossbow so it isn't scraping on it. All the best to you.
If you want to shoot a mechanical get the Sevr Robusto. Rage heads are cheap and break blades and bend ferrules. Sevr heads are stronger than most replaceable blade fixed heads
Thanks for the recommendation. I am looking at a few different brands right now, will decide shortly. All the best to you.
Plaining of your mechanical head should not happen. Either there’s a more desirable head for your rig or the heads are opening prematurely.
Hey Douglas, agreed. They fly very accurate, never had an issue with their accuracy. Hope you are having a great season.
If only you had a better target…..
Hey James, agreed. I'm working on it for next year, maybe even a new bow?????? The bow I use now will be 15 years old, and that target is probably about the same. All the best to you.
As usual your comparison test, like most on you tube, was not reliable nor accurate because you changed bolts. You didn't show how you cocked the bow each time probably because you removed the crossbow from the sled thus, affecting accuracy. I've never had a problem shooting the expandable broadhead I use out of any crossbow nor compound bow. The ethical thing to shoot is the most accurate broadhead out of your bow period. I just don't accept "accurate enough".
You talk to much. Get to the point.
Hey Gary, agreed! All the best to you.