mechanicals?

[Legnip]

Hey Goose - I've replaced and re-used the fixed blades after shooting a deer. What type of mechanical do you shoot? I bought Rage 2 blades for my crossbow. I'm sure that it isn't too hard to replace the blades, but I thought that I would ask. Hard, easy, not bad after the first one?

[Goose]

Legnip,
I do use the rage 2 bladed also, I have never replaced the blades though, I have used the same head on a deer then a turkey so I wouldnt blow right through the turkey but like I said I cant speak from experiance on how the blades are to change out. Wouldnt think they would be to bad???? I just bought another pack of two blades and cant wait to use them.

[rudy1969]

Welcome to the world of bowhunting.  I have bowhunted for forty years and have used many different types of equipment.  I now use a crossbow and hunt from a pop-up tent and did not get the desired results, very few pass through shots, from mechanicals. I tried several different brands.  Last year I started using a 100 grain G5 striker and had terrific success.  I have harvested three deer with my crossbow and all were complete pass through shots.  If you use a fix blade make sure to practice with the broadhead.

[Legnip]

Hey rudy - How fast is your crossbow. I haven't shot a deer with mine, but a guy at the office has hunted with one for years. He said that he typically has to pull the arrow out of the ground. Are you hitting both front shoulders on the shots? I think a pass through shot boils down to kinetic energy and what you hit at what angle. The crossbow I have shoots 345 fps and I had some problems with the arrow planing some. That is why I switched to the mechanical. 

[DeerCamp]

I went with the Grim Reapers this year. Ive shot them a few times and LOVE them so far, I just hope that they wont let me down when that deer comes along.

[Legnip]

ORIGINAL: ARROWSMITH

I've used spitfires since they came out because they don't have any rubber bands or o-rings, Ive never needed a blood trail becuase the deer always piles up fairly close to me I've used the same ones year after year and sharpen them just like a fixed blade, cleaning them is a bit more difficult than a fixed blade but only requires a small straight slot screw driver, I have shot them consistantly out to 80 yards (yes 80 yards!)without a problem.  If I had to switch I would go to the Rage, and for a fixed blade I would go to the Crimson Talon, I just don't see how you can beat a fixed blade that will help your arrow spin and recover faster instead of tring to plane off in one direction.  I have never met a muzzy that I liked!

 
How can you say such a thing??? "You have never met a muzzy that you liked!" Somebody arrest that man... he must be on drugs.
 
I've never used the Crimson Talon, but the one thing that I don't like about them is that it has bent blades. Bent blades are just that and inherently not as strong. Maybe i'm off base, but I've had more than my share of engineering classes.

[Legnip]

ORIGINAL: Goose

Wow cant believe all the pro fixed blade broadheads! Shoot what works for you not everybody else, try both and see what flies best for your bow and the way its tuned. Some will shoot fixed better than others and that can be related to many things-bow tuning, fletchings, wind and ect...  My 2 cents is this- I recomend mechanicals just for the fact of accuracy, the good ones fly great and penitrate well. Theres less surface area for wind planing and I feel they are a little more forgiving than fixed blades. I shoot the rage 2 bladers myself and am very happy with them.Between my brother and myself we took 5 deer and 2 turkeys with them last year and couldnt believe the damage and accuracy of these heads.  The only complaint I do have is that I have had them open up in my quiver while traveling but just snap them back into place and they are good to go! Like I said earlier shoot what works good for you and good luck!

 
Hey Goose - When the blade popped open, did you have the broadhead pushed way into the quiver holes? You may have pushed it far enough in that it triggered the release. I shook mine to see if it would release, I'll have to spend extensive time this fall testing it to see for sure. I don't want to jump to conclusions now. Honey, I'll be back in a couple weeks...

[Squirrelhawker]

This is definitely one of those topics that loves to be debated. And you will get all kinds of answers.
 
The following is my opinion and I am not-repeat not-throwing rocks at any fellow bow hunter.
 
But:
 
You are already using one of the deadliest broadheads on the market.
 
I would not ever use mechanicals. Ever. Ask around at your local deer processors and you will be able to inspect their own collection of mechanical taken from deer that did not kill them. I have removed them from gun killed deer myself. I honestly don't know why they are legal.
 
By profession I am  a veterinary technician and a wildlife rehabilitator. I have a clear understanding of how tissue reacts, moves and protects itself.
 
1) no matter the available kinetics, it will always take some energy to activate any mechanical device. Period. There is no free lunch in physics.
Sure, you shoot a hot bow, your arrows are screamin and you take only close ethical shots. Reread the above statement.
 
2) on a fixed blade shot as long as the arrow remains in the deer and deer and arrow are in motion, that broadhead is doing its job to its utmost. Forward, back, left, right, the blades  remain fixed and ready to cut.
The mechanical blades that don't lock open (and they're out there) begin to swing back everytime the arrow backs up. How much opportunity to cut something vital is lost? I don't know. That's one of the things I find troubling. When I take  a razor sharp syringe and attempt a venipuncture, one of things that work against us in animals and humans is the vein "rolling" or getting pushed out of the way. By the point of the razor sharp needle! It is the bodies natural defense against the unsult of sharp trauma. large vessels are way tougher than most of us think.
 
Again, everyone has the choice to shoot what they want. But I will never believe that the accuracy gained is worth the risks.
 
My 2 cents

[JPH]

ORIGINAL: Squirrelhawker
 But I will never believe that the accuracy gained is worth the risks.

 
Excellent post!...But I disagree with you on your final point.
 
The accuracy that I have gained by going with the 2-blade Rage (I've been using it since it was the Sniper) has taken me to a point that I had been unable to attain in the previos 10 years of bow hunting. I will take a boiler room shot with a mechanical, over a marginal shot with a fixed blade, every day!
 
Given the right set-up in the hands of a responsable hunter, I consider the rear-opening mechanical to be a superior broadhead. 
 
 

[buckhunter21]

I agree with you JPH wholeheartedly.  I've been shooting mechanicals for the past few years and I wouldn't shoot anything else.  The accuracy compared to a fixed blade is unfounded, and I have NEVER had a problem with them not opening.  I think if you buy your cheap mechanicals there may be issues with them...Sometimes you pay for what you get!