VPA 3 BLADE 125 gr Broadhead Test
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 พ.ย. 2023
- This is a test of the 125 gr VPA 3 BLADE, Solid broadhead. Here is summary of my 2023 Testing Procedure & Scoring w/the scores of this head posted in parenthesis as well.
VPA 3 Blade Total Score: 80.82 = 8 Golden Arrows (rounded up)
1. Flight Forgiveness (20%, 15 pts)
This is not just a test of how heads fly out of my bow, as it was in the past. With a well tuned bow, properly built arrows & good form, almost every head flies well. That's why in the past most heads got a flight score of 9 or 10. But that doesn't help those who may not have perfectly tuned bows/arrows/good form. So now I am gauging Flight Forgiveness. This is based on how the head flies for me, how well it spins, how "sensitive" the flight is to imperfections, & the exposed surface area of the blades. The max score of a Mech is 20 & the max score of a Fixed is 16.
2. Cut Size (20%, 12.85 pts)
The more tissue being cut, the more lethal the head, all else equal. The entrance cut, total cut, & width of the cut (a crucial variable for bloodletting) are all scored:
The entrance cut size is compared to a standard of 2.5" then that fraction is weighted to 7% of the score. (1.69” = 4.73 pts)
The max cut size is compared to a standard of 2.5" as well, then that fraction is is weighted to 7% of the score. (1.69” = 4.73 pts)
The max cutting diameter is compared to a standard of 2.0", then that fraction is weighted to 6% of the score. (1.13" = 3.39 pts)
3. Blades (20%, 16.4 pts)
Initial sharpness (9%, 400 grams = 8/10 = 7.2 pts) & Edge Retention (9%, +100 grams = 8/10 = 87.21 pts) are measured using the Edge On Up Sharpness Tester. The pressure needed for a blade to cut thru a copolymer wire is measured in grams.
Edge Retention is the loss of sharpness after the head is shot in Penetration Test 1, thru 1/2" MDF and 2/3" rubber foam mat & Clear Ballistics FBI gel. For every 50 "grams" of sharpness lost, 1 point is deducted from 10.
What are some sharpness scores for common edges?
A butter knife takes 2000 grams of pressure to break the co polymer wire.
A new high end cutlery edge: ~ 375 grams of pressure.
A utility razor blade: 200 grams.
Based on the many broadheads I have tested, here is my scoring scale:
Out of the Box Sharpness:
0-200 gr: 10
201-300 gr 9
301-400 gr: 8
401-500 gr: 7
501-600 gr: 6
601-700 gr: 5
Ease to resharpen or replace blades is judged & given 2% of the score. (10/10=2 pts)
4. Penetration (20%, 16.43 pts)
There are 3 penetration tests:
Pen Test 1: 1/2" MDF, 2/3" rubber foam mat, Clear Ballistics FBI gel. Depth of penetration is compared to a standard of 9" & weighted to 9% of the score. (7.75" = 7.75 pts)
Pen Test 2: Layered cardboard. # of layers penetrated is compared to a standard of 70 layers & weighted to 9% of the score.
( 55 layers=7.07 pts)
Angled Penetration Test: How effectively does the head penetrate 1/4" MDF covered by carpet at a 45 degree angle. This accounts for 2% of the score. (10/10 = 2 pts)
5. Durability (20%, 19.5 pts)
Each head is shot thru 1/2" MDF 3 times. Its condition is judged 1-10 & weighted to 12% of the score. (10/10 = 11.4 pts)
If a head survives that, it is then shot thru 22 ga steel plate twice. Its condition is judged 1-10 & weighted to 5% of the score. (9/10 = 4.5 pts)
If a head survives that, it is then shot into concrete once. Its condition is judged 1-10 & weighted to 3% of the score. (10/10 = 3 pts).
Steel plate & concrete are certainly not "realistic" mediums, but they do reveal the outer limits of a head's durability.
BONUS: 0
TOTAL SCORE: 80.82 pts = 8 Golden Arrows (rounded up)
Price: $18.92/head
Special Notes:
Please check out my sponsor, Stay Sharp Guide. staysharpguide.com or @Innovative Outdoorsman They make excellent broadhead sharpeners. The support I receive from them has helped me improve my channel
I also have some Broadhead Discount Codes I can share:
TRIFECTA: LUSK10 saves 10% on any order.
SEVR: LUSKFIVE saves you $5 on any order & can be used on top of any online sales.
ZEUS & HERA Broadheads (New Era Archery): LUSKFIVE saves $5/pack
Vector Custom Shop: LUSK gives Free Shipping
AFFLICTOR: LUSK10 saves 10%
Tooth of the Arrow: LUSK19 saves 10%
DEAD X BOWHUNTING Big Game Broadheads: LUSKFIVE saves $5 per pack.
Crimson Talon: LUSK15 saves 15%. - กีฬา
Thank you John for taking the time to thoroughly review our three-blade 125 grain broadheads! We greatly appreciate your in-depth analysis and positive feedback. Our commitment to precision machining and high-quality materials is at the core of what sets us apart. We look forward to continuing to deliver top-notch performance for bowhunters. Happy hunting!
:) Thank you. Keep making great stuff :)
Thanks for your time, effort, and information. Your the best. Good show.
Michael Herrell
Thanks Michael.
YES! Was hoping you’d review this one. Thank you!
Great to hear.
I’m a bit new to your channel but have watched a couple videos and have learned a lot for what I’m looking for so I feel a “thank you” is deserved. Thank you!😂
Well thank you! :)
This company is the best solid broadheads company. People complain about sharpening because most people don't know how. These are pretty simple.
They do make solid stuff.
We appreciate your support Mike! We precision machine our heads for durability and dependability in our shop in Fort Wayne, IN.
we all know we not shooting into these things but its cool to see if they hold up to it keep doing what you do plz and thx i enjoy your content always have...God Bless
Thank you Jason
Been looking forward to this one! I have this in 100 grains just got them before this whitetail season
Thank you
Impressive. 👊🏻
Yep
Thankyou
:)
Great work as usual!👍
Thank you for your doing such detailed job for all the lovers & the haters ,of which I’m noticing are growing in numbers,unfortunately.😮😱🥺
God Bless you and your family 🙏😇🥰
Thank you!
I shot a doe this season at 53 yards with the 150 gn model she went maybe 30 yards and was done,the VPA zipped straight through and completely buried itself into a fallen tree another 25 yards behind her, i chopped it out and everything is still in perfect condition, one down side it dose kinda suck to pull out of targets compared to something angled on the back side but other than that it’s a solid head, great review as always 👍
A slight forward angle on the back of the blade sharpened also would be a great help in removing them from a target.
We appreciate your support Jeffrey! We are committed to machining quality broadheads that you can shoot, resharpen, reuse and repeat! We also appreciate your feedback about the angle on the back side in terms of removing from the target. I will pass this along to our design team to see if this is something we can look into improving. Thanks again!
@@timbow50 We appreciate your feedback Tim! I will pass this along to our design team.
Thanks for sharing that
John thank you for the content. Been watching for years. Wondering what your all time favorite fixed blade is.
Thank you Brandon :)
344 sharpener is no joke! Love that thing.
Right? Me too.
I’ve shot the 175 grain model. Great heads
Nice.
We appreciate your support Jason!
I take silicon carbide sand paper and tape stips on a 5 gal bucket. I make sure i keep the broadhead pointed in the right direction and i can get a Montec shaving sharp .i don't know the exact angle but they get way sharper than just using a flat stone.
Thats a great idea. I bought the stay sharp 344 guide he mentioned. It works great but yours sounds like a cheap diy version of it.
Definitely recommend using something curved for sharpening fixed 3 blades.
Yep. That will work...it's what the Stay Sharp 344 does.
I like em ! durable as hell and if they can go through steel and concrete and come out looking like that then they will have no trouble on a deer.
Thanks for sharing your experience
These are my current heads accept I use 175 grain 1.25” heads. Awesome quality, hard to beat
Nice.
Really nice performance. Wish VPA offered S7 in their 3 blades.
They do in some models now...at least the Omega.
Do you still have a score chart? The one you had before was awesome I loved that.
I put one out at the end of each year.
Would love to see the vented version of this next!! Regretting getting the solid a tiny bit for whitetail since these solids wouldnt tune nearly as well as the Hades Pro grim reaper. Bow had perfect center shot and paper tune. Maybe its my fletchings tho also
Thank you. I've tested both of those in the past. But I'd be happy to do so again with my newer regimen.
@@LuskArcheryAdventures awesomee. Ill try and dig for it in the meantime, wondering if its as solid a head or close to it, with better flight. I may jus need different fletchings too since the Hades pro fly better with less drag on blades
The Hades and Pro version are awesome heads
Pastor Lusk in da house! Can I get a Jeebus? 🙏 Hallelujah.
:)
Very nice performance. There are so many heads that are similar in design that we kinda know that going in.
I'd like to see some of the heavier designs of 200 & 200+ grains from makers like Helix, VPA, Tuffhead and others through your testing protocol to see how they perform against the average 100 & 125gr heads of the same or similar design. What do we see in the results when we double or even tripple the weight of the head?
We appreciate your interest in our broadheads Frank! This would be a great review to see from Lusk. We have numerous testimonials on our social media and website from our customers who shoot heavier broadheads and see great success with them. Similar to our 125 Grain heads, our 200+ Grain weight heads are CNC machined for durability, dependability, and precision.
I’ve tested quite a few 200 gr heads over the last year or two.
@@LuskArcheryAdventures Thanks. I probably missed those. I'll have to go back and check them out.
For me I would sharpen the back of the blade too. Wouldn’t be that difficult at all with a bench vise and quality file or dremel tool.
Hmmm...You could, but that would take some work and would shave some weight.
Are you able to sharpen these 1 piece broadhead into the 150g sharpness range and have them stay 150-175 sharp after passthrough mdf? Only thing i dont like about these broadheads is they are so dull.
With the Stay Sharp 344, you can.
I wish they put the secondary ‘pyramid’ bevel on the tips of all their 3 blades. Only 175gr and up have that.
👍
it doesn't look like the head was seated down all the way to your outsert, maybe that's why it had some wobble in the beginning?
It was seated as far as it could go.
Head to head with Annihilators would be great video
Thank you. With my testing all being consistent and identical, any head can be compared to any other like that.
VPA always has nice designs. I'm simply not a fan of carbon steel so much. It shows why every time as well. Let;s pretend the head was sharpened. 100 Drop after the initial test tells you something about the make up and hardness of the steel being used.
I have no doubts about the head ,period. My doubts is only in blade sharpness retention. retention after being used.
Thanks for sharing that Mike.
Just a thought, why not test cutting the wire very first thing then test again after the accuracy test. I'm sure you have a reason for it and I love your videos all the more. Thanks for sharing.
I'm pretty sure that he uses a separate broadhead for the accuracy and sharpness test
:) The very first test I do with any head is the sharpness. I always use a brand new head for that. But I just show the flight first, cause it breaks up the monotony of having just watched a detailed description indoors.
@@LuskArcheryAdventures thank and as mentioned I figured there was a reason you done it that way but curiosity got the best of me lol.... Keep the videos coming brother, we all enjoy and you are very popular here in North Carolina.
First at last ! Woohoo
:) Thank you
Are these broadheads tool steel?
No. They are a carbon steel, but not an official tool steel.
Please add an "ease of sharpening" category and add in some footage of you sharpening the heads to your tests. I bet this head would sharpen up easily and cut the wire even better than new when it was new. This one seemed pretty dull out of the package, might have been a monday or friday job.
I do have that in every score sheet, in the video description :) I periodically show resharpening, but sometimes just refer people to Innovative Outdoorsman TH-cam page, as they have videos showing how to sharpen dozens & dozens of heads.
What is the best scoring fixed blade thus far ?
Exodus was very high
What fixed blade would u recommend for center point sniper 370 crossbow ! Also what mechanical is Higher scoring ?
I’m currently shooting THORN RIFT 2.2 mechanical broadhead and it’s been working fine just grazed a bucks brisket behind shoulder skimming his undercarriage so to speak … I believe I fixed blade would have been better even though it was mad fault not broadhead !
Highest fixed was the Trifecta 125 gr fixed blade head. But others have been very close as well--like Exodus, Dead X Bowhunting, and some others.
In my opinion if it can survive the steel plate and concrete then it’ll hold up on a deer
Yep :)
Absolutely! Our heads are designed to withstand the toughest of hunting conditions!
Sharpness rating should be less than an 8. It’s rare to get less than an 80 score on these tests. Don’t get me wrong I love watching these tests but widening the test scores would be beneficial.
Thanks for the feedback. I try to base the scoring on real world application as much as I can...and not necessarily gaps between different heads. In other words, I think giving this an 80% on "effective sharpness for hunting" is fair. But the actual sharpness score in terms of grams of pressure needed to cut the wire is good info for those who feel otherwise. Does that make sense?
I'd be taking them back if my broadheads wobbled like that on the roller
Ok
@LuskArcheryAdventures I know it sounds negative. But if they are wobbling it means either the seat of the broadhead isn't square or the insert is no good. I've seen a lot of your tested braodheads spin true even after the cinder block.
why not just buy the deepower 3 blades and heat treat and temper them like i do.
Those Deepowers did very well
If your gonna do a whole write up about a broadhead tell us what steel it’s made of idk 🤷♂️ what do I know seems like a good piece of info to put in your lengthy description
He literally said it was made from high carbon steel....
@@colebelt348 hey dummy u know there are literally 100’s if not 1,000’s of different high carbon steels
Minute 2:30 bub
@@colebelt348How many kinds of high carbon steel are there? How many have added chromium or molybdenum, and at what ratios? How does each one heat treat and what are the properties?
Not all tall people have the same name or the same occupation. Not all high carbon steels are the same.
@seanyoung1875 well no shit lol but dude asked what they're made of and went on this whole tangent much like you did lol. I told him what lusk said. What more do you want?
I think all his videos are annoying but yet here i am watching another
Well, sorry they're annoying to you. But thanks for watching.
“We have Annihilators at home”
.. the Annihilators at home…
Ok
"I don't shoot steel plated deer" is cognitive dissonance for "I struggle with forming new opinions based on new information".
That sounds like poop 💩-head for “I don’t know what cognitive dissonance is.”
Well okay
Durability is good, pretty much everything else is average or poor. Definitely the worst flying fixed head I have ever tested. Zero forgiveness.
I can get these heads.to consistently hit a 2 inch circle at 70 yards. You might want to tune your setup a little better.
Well, thanks for sharing your experience.
get your fingers out of the way
Sorry. Not sure what you’re referring to-perhaps when I’m showing the broadhead.
I think it’s about time you can leave what are using for arrow and bow set up now that I believe your videos are popular enough, it honestly is getting annoying and probably can check your ratings and see if it gets skipped a lot, Jmo
...or maybe a new viewer may want to know. Don't you have the ability to fast forward the video? JMO
Definitely do not stop doing what you're doing John
Explain what is annoying to you.
Agreed
And the whole “9.5 on ten a ten point scale crap” for sharpness??? …just show it on the screen or leave it out…super annoying !!!!
Then you can skip it…..it’s nice for new viewers to know his setup