wondering what you guys thoughts were between a 3 blade like the woodsman elite or 2 blade like centaur big game regarding penetration and ability to put blood on the ground. penetration is my biggest concern but have been disapointed with sparse bloodtrails on heart/lung shots with average 2 blade broadheads. thnx in advance.
I don't know about the woodsman but have used snuffers for years. They do a great job at penetration and leave a hole that really lets the blood flow. Keep them real sharp and you will have no problems. :archer:
Broadhead Penetration secrets by Charlie Lamb unveiled here! (http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=000099)
Sharp and tuned. Either one will work for whitetails and hogs. :)
Personally, I'd go with a 3 blade like the Woodsman that is design with a 3:1 ratio profile for penetration or a single bevel 2 blade. The Abowyer heads look pretty nice. But I have never shot one to comment any further than that... You may also want to go with a Woodsman that is NOT vented. Some guys (including myself) have found they whistle when in flight.
The Centaur is available in either single or double bevel. They are similar to the Simmons Landsharks? They leave a wicked hole but can be tough to resharpen (for me). The VPA terminator (a non vented WW) is easier (for me) to sharpen and resharpen and leaves a pretty impressive hole also. :)
Just my opinion....I've found the low profile 3 blades are a little less finicky in flight than the large two blades.
I shoot 2, 3, and 4 blade heads all the time and cannot complain about any of the blood trials I get on deer and hogs.
I really like the Simmons 160 Land Shark and the VPA 250 Terminator and that is what you will find in my quiver 90% of the time.
It is great to have so many choices but my new favorite is the VPA Terminator...not just for the awesome blood trails it produces but it is extremely tough, easy to sharpen, and very well made.
I would suggest you get yourself a couple of each and do some hands on testing to see what works best for your setup.
Don't rule out Zwickey 4-blade Eskimos and Deltas. The 4-blade Eskimos penetrate great and leave a LOT better bloodtrail than the 2-blades IMO. If you're pushing enough horsepower, the Deltas might be for you. Ask Terry Green what he thinks about them! Oh yeah, he also has a great thread on how to sharpen them.
If you want more blood and are going to a 3-blade because of it, it would seem like you would want a 3-blade that had wider wings for more cutting than the WW.
The VPA Terminator looks like what you may be searching for.
I would tell you to go Snuffer but the Terminator doesn't have ventilation. Nothing to slow it down once its inside the body.
QuoteOriginally posted by rastaman:
Broadhead Penetration secrets by Charlie Lamb unveiled here! (http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=000099)
Sharp and tuned. Either one will work for whitetails and hogs. :)
That is a classic read in my book! :thumbsup:
Simmons style heads fly much better than anything in there size class.They also penitrate on the type game most of us hunt as well as a smaller 2 blade.They just do a lot more damage when doing so.The VPA or Woodsman style are the king of penitration in a 3b blade head.Great for light weight bows when you want a little more damage that the smaller 2 blades offer.Both the Simmons and VPA fly as well as a feild point on a properly tuned arrow when they are mounted straight.Nither might not be the number one choice for hunting a buff but they are excellect choices for the more popular game like deer and hogs most of us hunt.The good thing is it don't take a lot of bow weight to send them through such animals. :thumbsup: jmho
"You may also want to go with a Woodsman that is NOT vented. Some guys (including myself) have found they whistle when in flight."
So has anyone found vented snuffers to whistle?
I am with Kenny, the vented models do a bit of singing. I really like the unvented Woodsman Elite.
I used the big Thunderhead three blades for years when I used a compound. They usually left lots of blood.
When I went back to a recurve, I started using two edge heads, and noticed my arrows passed through without even slowing down, and the blood trails were not noticeably different for the most part. I also found out that the skittish Michigan whitetails didn`t run nearly as far before they stopped, when I began using two edge heads. My recovery distance went down drastically with two edge heads. They usually fall within sight, or at least hearing.
A big, easy to sharpen two edge is my favorite.
If I could get a big Snuffer as sharp as a Magnus-1, I might think about trying them.
I will also vote for the none vented Woodsman. They do seem to work well and you will have no trouble finding the blood trail.
Other than the Woodsman.
I have found the STOS 2 blade head to work very well. I can get them stupid sharp, they fly great and hold up as well as any head I have ever used.
I should have added I use the KME on the STOS HEADS.
DD
The idea of more/wider blades leading to better bloodtrails sounds good in theory, but IME, shot placement and sharpness are the two big factors with bloodtrails. My best bloodtrails in recent memory were the courtesy of a two blade Ace Express 165. Two deer and a pig shot with WW's/VPA Terminator left little or no blood, but nothing went over about 50 yds, either. An exit hole thru the front leg muscle just doesn't bleed much.
I always figured the amount of blood on the ground was from what ya hit, how ya hit it and what it had to go through to get to there.
Its hard to beat a Simmons but my favorite broadhead is a Magnus I. They sharpen easy and cut a fairly big cut of 1 1/2". I recently took four and turned them into single bevel with a file. After I got the angle like I wanted they were extremly sharp. I killed a pig yesterday and they made the s cut people talk about. I`ve never been impressed by all the single bevel talk but I gotta tell you they do make for a better chance at a bllod trail because they do not cut just a straight slit . As others said its really where you put them. I`m not trying to turn this into a single bevel debate so don`t jump on me please.RC
QuoteOriginally posted by Fletcher:
An exit hole thru the front leg muscle just doesn't bleed much.
Exactly! Good for shot placement, but not so much for exit wound blood.
terry green said all there is needed to know about cut on contact broadheads ...
" ... all this Bhead discussion is much less important than accuracy and sharp heads. Get those two down and you can pretty much pick your poison on N American Game."
,,, and charlie lamb hit the nail square on the head with how to get yer broadhead and knfie blades scary sharp so easily that even my 13 year old granddaughter has become a knife sharpening expert ...
"The KME Sharpening System"
I agree w/ some of the posts above.
Many way over think this broadhead thing.When I hear posts about little or no blood w/ this head or poor or better penetration w/ this head or better arro flight w/ this head,IMO the dissatisfied bowhunter has (1) ineffectively tuned their equiptment for the BH,(2)are sharpening challenged w/ that BH,(3) fail to put the BH tipped arro in the right spot.
I've killed stuff w/ 2,3,and 4 blades that go from 1'' to 1 1/2'' in width and IMO the advatages of wide multiblade heads out weigh the advantages any 2 blade for most of the game I'll hunt.
I'll take arrow flight over size any day. Pick what flies best - under YOUR hunting conditions. YOUR conditions are not my conditions - what works for one, may not work for another. There are many, many variables. Hunting shots are never perfect. H
A few years ago I made the mistake to try using a mechanical broad head with my recurve on pretty big pig needless to say things didn't work out so good. I have since switch to using 3 blades, but after reading a few elk hunting threads that al say I should be using a 2 blade broad head on elk..... needles to say Im a lil confused as to what I should be using. any help any suggestion would be use full.
thanks
Adrian
I like big two blades.
A few years ago I made the mistake to try using a mechanical broad head with my recurve on pretty big pig needless to say things didn't work out so good. I have since switch to using 3 blades, but after reading a few elk hunting threads that al say I should be using a 2 blade broad head on elk..... needles to say Im a lil confused as to what I should be using. any help any suggestion would be use full.
thanks
Adrian
Hightop,
There is no magic BH for elk or any other game we hunt.It is nothing more than preferrence.As I stated above.There are advantages and disadvantages w/ every BH.
QuoteOriginally posted by hightop_hunter:
A few years ago I made the mistake to try using a mechanical broad head with my recurve on pretty big pig needless to say things didn't work out so good. I have since switch to using 3 blades, but after reading a few elk hunting threads that al say I should be using a 2 blade broad head on elk..... needles to say Im a lil confused as to what I should be using. any help any suggestion would be use full.
thanks
Adrian
OK....looks like you killed a pretty good pig with a recurve in your avatar....what head did you use on that pig?
Thats the pig I used the mechanical heads on. and a 55lb recurve. those Russian boars are like tanks. That and the blades didn't open properly.
overbo I realize that its preference but from your experience what is more suitable for elk. from what Im reading the 2 bladed BH is going through the ribs with a lot less trouble than the 3 bladed.
also most broad head charts or info that I have found have been BH shot out of a compound and im having a hard time relating to a bow that can shoot 260FPS
3 blade BH for me,
Been on enough elk bloodtrails shot w/ 2 blades that are tough to follow.Elk like to travel in herds and alot of times there willbe more than one elk in the area when you put a arro in one and having a head that puts alot of blood on the ground can be the difference in a quick recovery or a next day or a couple days recovery
thanks for the insight its definitely sumpthing to consider plus iv got my 3 blades sighted in and working out real well for me.
A Wensel Woodsman out of a 55# bow is good medicine on just about anything in N America.
Just get them sharp,...and work on your shooting....and best of luck to ya.
Thanks Terry I appreciate the help il keep um shooting sharp and straight