The proliferation of broadheads on the market today makes it increasingly challenging for bowhunters to decide what to use. The good news is that competition breeds higher standards with each season. The result is that, especially with mechanical heads, the engineering has evolved to the point that broadheads work as expected. Nothing less survives very long in this day of instant reporting. Selecting the right broadhead now comes down to feature refinement and personal preferences.
In the world of crossbow hunting, though, broadheads have traditionally been somewhat forgotten. With the exception of some heavier weight options, or more robust blade retention mechanisms, most crossbow broadheads have usually been identical to their standard broadhead counterparts in all but their names.
Not so with TRUGLO Inc.’s new Titanium X crossbow broadheads. While the Titanium X crossbow heads are reflections of their equally new Titanium X vertical bow siblings, they stand on their own merits.
Titanium X Mechanical Crossbow Broadheads
As the name implies, the Titanium X series broadheads are built on a grade 5 CNC-machined, one-piece titanium ferrule. Titanium is the benchmark material for premium broadheads these days due to its incredible strength-to-weight ratio. In the bone-pounding realm of broadheads, it’s exactly the kind of grit that you want. Of course, titanium does push the price above that of aluminum and stainless steel, but when you factor in a titanium ferrule’s ability to take repeated poundings in big game and return to service with a simple cleanup and blade replacement, the extra cost is easily justified.
Offered only in a four-blade variant, the Titanium X Mechanical Crossbow’s ferrule begins with a wickedly sharp, four-sided, cut-on-contact point that extends just forward of the first blade set’s deployment arms. From there, the ferrule maintains a parallel profile beyond the main blade set’s pivot and then flares out to its final width at the base. This gradual taper, ending with a base that matches the width of the crossbow bolt, is what makes this head crossbow-specific. As opposed to standard-size broadheads that are really made for use in small-diameter vertical bow arrows, yet still labeled as crossbow broadheads, the Titanium X’s wider base aligns with that of the larger crossbow arrows.
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There are two key advantages to this. First, a smooth transition between the broadhead’s ferrule and the arrow is conducive to better penetration since there is no step to catch on bone or on soft tissue and further slow the arrow down. Second, the elimination of this step minimizes frontal impact on the arrow when it hits something hard like bone, reducing the chance of damaging the arrow.
The Titanium X Mechanical Crossbow head uses two blade sets, both of which are rear-deploying. The small set is situated behind the point and can open to around 1-3/16 inches diameter. Behind this is the primary blade set, which can deploy to a maximum cutting diameter of 1-3/4 inches. The in-flight, undeployed diameter is just over 7/8 inch as we measured it, which is not far from the width of a typical fixed-blade broadhead.
Even with its sizable and lethal in-flight cutting diameter, this broadhead shot true to our field points’ point of impact on the target range.
The blades are made of .031-inch thick stainless steel and come from the factory exquisitely sharp. Each set shares a common set-screw pivot. No retaining mechanism, such as a plastic collar or rubber band, is used to keep the blades in their in-flight position. Instead, there is a thin spring washer positioned between the blade sets that provide the necessary in-flight retention. We found that patience was required to get the two blades and spring washer aligned when replacing the blades, but once assembled, the system works great, providing ample tension to keep the blades from deploying in flight.
The Titanium X Mechanical Crossbow broadhead is available in 100 grains and comes three to a pack. There is no practice head offered, but a replacement blade set is included so you can sight in and practice with the same head configuration as you would hunt with.
Titanium X Fixed-Blade Crossbow Broadhead
For fixed-blade fans, TRUGLO, Inc. offers the Titanium X in a four-blade configuration. This is a two-primary, two-bleeder blade arrangement that, like the Titanium X Mechanical, is based on a one-piece, grade 5 CNC-machined titanium ferrule.
What we truly appreciate about the Titanium X Fixed-Blade Crossbow head is its straightforward, all-business design. The super-sharp tip features a hammerhead-style profile with the wide sides aligning with the primary blades. Although we didn’t test it by shooting through a scapula, this design should do wonders for splitting bone.
The blades deliver a 1-3/16-inch cutting diameter on the primaries, and we measured just a hair over 7/8 inch on the bleeders. That’s a lot of “hole potential” that proved itself for us on both whitetails and hogs, delivering the expected soft-tissue devastation and resulting high-output blood trails. What’s more, the .031-inch thick stainless-steel blades held it together during bone pass-throughs.
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Unlike the Titanium X Mechanical, the Titanium X Fixed-Blade’s ferrule base does not flare out to the same diameter as a 2219 or equivalent-size arrow shaft. It’s slightly undersized to accommodate a collar that locks the heels of the blades in place when screwed onto an arrow. The collar’s profile, however, is sloped to offer a smooth transition between the ferrule and shaft.
Weighing in at 100 grains, we found that these broadheads, like the mechanicals, flew true to our field points. Credit that to the spin-testing that TRUGLO, Inc. performs on all of its broadheads.
TRUGLO, Inc. may not be the first name on your lips when you think of premium broadheads, but given the company’s archery history and its deep bench of bowhunting gear, we suspect that the Titanium X line of hunting heads will soon change that.
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