Anyone still using Ribteks? I had a set years ago that I never used but liked. Always swore I would use them if I shot wood arrows, and I seem to be quickly moving that way! :) . Just picked up two dozen 135gr. to give a try. Most of the search results were pretty old. I figure anything is fine for deer, anyone used them on bigger game?
I have used them since I first saw them in catalog in 90s...actually just bought a bunch from the manufacturer in Australia.
I use 160gr and 190gr for mine...easy to sharpen, hold a good edge for long time...mount easy. I took mine on bear hunts, deer hunts, hog hunts, squirrels, and even nutria. LOL
I have two 6-packs in the St Judes Auction (1- 160 set and 1- 190 set)...and Kelly has some for sale as well if not mistaken.
http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=61;t=020164#000000
Bid on the ones in St Judes for the kids first....then buy all the ones Kelly has remaining too. :) I think I have enough to last me twenty years...but may need to buy more. LOL
I have a few of the 190 grain heads, and agree with everything Brock has to say about them. I would like to add that they are MASSIVE! I will be using them this upcoming deer season and think I will have no problems with penetration or blood trails. They are somewhat flexible so I don't know how well they will perform on bone hits on larger animals.
He is right the 190,s are huge, they look like spear points. I have some of those and a few 160,s left. Simmons and Ribtek are my favorite two blade heads.
Anyone use the lighter ones?
I used a 125 when I first tried them but went larger a year or two later.... used them on hunts for pheasants, rabbits, deer and nutria.
(http://pic40.picturetrail.com/VOL285/1460516/24043253/404236740.jpg)
I killed a black bear with a 160 gr head.
QuoteOriginally posted by Rock 'N Bow:
I have a few of the 190 grain heads, and agree with everything Brock has to say about them. I would like to add that they are MASSIVE! I will be using them this upcoming deer season and think I will have no problems with penetration or blood trails. They are somewhat flexible so I don't know how well they will perform on bone hits on larger animals.
"flexible" - what does that mean?
Not larger than deer but I did shoot a heavy Wisconsin white-tail buck a few years back with a 190 Ribtek from top to bottomus and complete penetration, including the heart. The head is perfectly intact and will harvest more stuff.
You could gut & skin the same deer with a 190, they have so much blade length.
They sharpen easy, are simple in design and look nostalgic.
They get the job done. A fun head to try out and a unique departure from the norm!
Kris
The blades tend to bend when some force is applied. This is due to the single layer construction.
I bought them years ago when I saw a video of a guy shooting them into concrete blocks and they had just minor tip damage. I figured I would never hunt concrete blocks and have used them on and off ever since. I wish I could tell you I had gotten good results but I have yet to have shot at anything.....lol!
I like them. Haven't shot anything with one yet, though.
I can get them really sharp in short order.
One of them will meet a Florida hog one of these days.
One of the best heads made, IMO. I like the ease of sharpening. And, they are tough. Never had issues with "flexibility".....the "crimp" in the blade keeps them from any flex, I think....
I've hit rocks and trees....can't think of ever having one come apart or bend beyond use. I did loose the very tip of one in a shoulder blade once....just a quarter inch or so.
I shot a 190 through a moose rib on this hunt and it stuck in the other side. Use a 65lb selfbow. I've killed a lot of other critters with them. I like the 190 best, and also the 160's.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/Markandmooseresize.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/woodwizard/media/Markandmooseresize.jpg.html)
I wish I had 2 more hands so I could give those broad heads 4 thumbs down.
Just my opinion of them.
QuoteOriginally posted by Rock 'N Bow:
The blades tend to bend when some force is applied. This is due to the single layer construction.
I shot two of the 190s into a pile of bricks out of a 60# compount on a wood shaft total weight 675 grains.
I was testing the efficacy of using minwax wood hardener to "foot" the wood shaft.
First two photos are without the hardener. I have been told that my first two photos "prove" the problem of the ribtek on wood shafts. I, on the other hand, do not think this would happen on game even a shoulder bone. This arrow was moving at close to 200 fps and was stopped dead and bounced back off the bricks.
(http://www.mikeswillowlake.com/images/MinwaxHardener/notbroke1.JPG)
(http://www.mikeswillowlake.com/images/MinwaxHardener/notbroke2.JPG)
These next two are of a head shot under the same circumstances as the first but the first three inches of the shaft had been hardened by soaking for a couple hours in minwax wood hardener. I don't think this head would have bent or the shaft broken but for the fact that the brick pile was loose and the hit was on an angled brick near the bottom of the pile. A solid concrete wall would have been ideal but did not want to shoot at the foundation of my house. :eek:
(http://www.mikeswillowlake.com/images/MinwaxHardener/brokeshaft.JPG)
(http://www.mikeswillowlake.com/images/MinwaxHardener/bentek.JPG)
I have been using the 190s off and on for a few years now but have not killed game with one so have no comments in that dept.
Plan on getting some 200 gr grizzleys but will also use the ribteks.
Vig, apparently you have had a less than pleasing experience with ribteks. Please tell us about it, which weight, what did you shoot, what happened, etc.
Thanks in advance for any information you provide.
QuoteOriginally posted by monterey:
QuoteOriginally posted by Rock 'N Bow:
The blades tend to bend when some force is applied. This is due to the single layer construction.
I shot two of the 190s into a pile of bricks out of a 60# compount on a wood shaft total weight 675 grains.
I was testing the efficacy of using minwax wood hardener to "foot" the wood shaft.
First two photos are without the hardener. I have been told that my first two photos "prove" the problem of the ribtek on wood shafts. I, on the other hand, do not think this would happen on game even a shoulder bone. This arrow was moving at close to 200 fps and was stopped dead and bounced back off the bricks.
(http://www.mikeswillowlake.com/images/MinwaxHardener/notbroke1.JPG)
(http://www.mikeswillowlake.com/images/MinwaxHardener/notbroke2.JPG)
These next two are of a head shot under the same circumstances as the first but the first three inches of the shaft had been hardened by soaking for a couple hours in minwax wood hardener. I don't think this head would have bent or the shaft broken but for the fact that the brick pile was loose and the hit was on an angled brick near the bottom of the pile. A solid concrete wall would have been ideal but did not want to shoot at the foundation of my house. :eek:
(http://www.mikeswillowlake.com/images/MinwaxHardener/brokeshaft.JPG)
(http://www.mikeswillowlake.com/images/MinwaxHardener/bentek.JPG)
I have been using the 190s off and on for a few years now but have not killed game with one so have no comments in that dept.
Plan on getting some 200 gr grizzleys but will also use the ribteks. [/b]
We never have nor ever will bowhunt "concrete blocks or bricks". Why peole keep using that medium for broadhead testing is beyond my comprehension.
How many other types of broadheads did you use in your "concrete" testing to see how they'd hold up?
My guess the results you showed in the first couple pictured were from using too short of a point taper. On Ribteks one needs to use a longer taper so that it fully seats to the bottom of taper. Same goes for all other glue on style broadheads.
I would bet that wont happen on 99.9% of the shots you make on animals in North America or elsewhere....even if you hit horn or the point of the shoulder or a femur...there is a bit of give and the head will penetrate. That damage is unrealistic in any hunting situation.
In my book the head still performed successfully...no bends, no off camber deflection...no tip curls...if not for an impenetrable object would have continued forward. I suspect you would get same result or a damaged head or broken shaft with any combo given same weight, speed, etc.
Ribteks are tough heads...easy to sharpen....easy to mount properly. There are others that do the same.....that is why we have choices.
Just my go to head is Ribtek...then Snuffer...and warming up to my Grizzly Kodiaks. If they were as easy to sharpen as my Ribbies would be up higher. :)
My experience with Ribteks only includes whitetails and one sika deer. Oh, and one concrete wall by mistake. One darn good broadhead if you ask me. Other solid heads I've killed deer with include Grizzly, Zwickey, Snuffer, Woodsman, Bear, Ace, and probably one or two more I can't think of right now.
I've had zero issues with Ribteks (including the concrete wall) and prefer them over all the others I've used. Ace would be my second choice.
I think people used to shy away from them because of the ribs and the fact that they were inexpensive. I decided to try them before passing judgement and have been well pleased.
I killed a muley buck with one. I got off on some other heads and just now went back to the Ribtechs. My only problem with them was getting a scalpel type edge. The metal was just a little too coarse or soft. They did sharpen good but not as good as I wanted. I am going to give them another try. No need to carry a knife if you shoot the one ninetys. I call them my flying butcher knives. I don't see them bending or being flexable at all . they have a ridge built into them that really stiffens the head. Its a super simple, super well designed head and as trad as it gets.
Oh I bet a couple of coats of super glue before mounting on wood would act just like that hardner., Interesting.
God bless, Steve
I have used Ribteks for over twenty years, and have had no problems with performance on game. Will sharpen easy with a file, but to get shaving sharp I found that using a lansky and then a leather strop would get the hairs jumping off my arm.
As for failures, the only ones I have experienced were when hitting rocks, and that was usually curl a few millimeters at the tip. I would just cut off the bent part and use the 'chisel tip' ribteks for small game.
Ribteks have punched through shoulder blades and ribs for me without any failures on their structural integrity.
Here's a big bodied billy that had a ribtek punch through a rib on entry and poke out his armpit on the far side, still sharp.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v667/memo48/trad/fixedited.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/memo48/media/trad/fixedited.jpg.html)
Cheers,
Memo
That thing is wild looking...wow! :)
Kelly, if you re-read my original post you will see that i was not "broadhead testing". I stated such in the post as follows;
QuoteI shot two of the 190s into a pile of bricks out of a 60# compount on a wood shaft total weight 675 grains.
I was testing the efficacy of using minwax wood hardener to "foot" the wood shaft.
QuoteMy guess the results you showed in the first couple pictured were from using too short of a point taper. On Ribteks one needs to use a longer taper so that it fully seats to the bottom of taper. Same goes for all other glue on style broadheads.
No, they were fully inserted.
I did this test at a time that ribteks were being bashed because many were stating that hitting game in a bone would result in what you see in pic #1. I never viewed it as a test that would duplicate hitting bone. I actually expected that what happened would not happen! It did happen, however, the results with the hardened shaft make it pretty clear that even with POC the "problem", if it exists, is easily mitigated by footing the shaft with the minwax hardener.
The third and fourth phots prove that. They also show that the ribtek is tough. Hitting bricks out of a compound at an angle did produce a bit of bending in the head. Most bow hunters will readily realize that it's not going to happen on bone.
I have a pretty good supply of 190 ribteks and pretty much plan to continue using them. Am considering using the 200 grizzley to gain the single bevel MA which would be advantageous on larger animals. A shoulder injury has me shooting lighter bows these days and I look for every advantage possisble.
Another thought is to convert the 190 ribteks to single bevel. It would give up some weight, but that could be made up by footing with a heavy hardwood and inserting a heavy weight in the footing. For my state it also must retain a width of 7/8th inch so that is a factor too.
I have taken a several whitetails, a large black bear, and a cow elk, with the 190's; never had any problems. Switched to Eclipse because for the option of using bleeder blades to make them into four blade broadheads.
IMO they are a very fine broadhead. I killed two caribou bulls with the same arrow and 160 Ribtek. They sharpen well and hold their edge. Interesting that the factory edge is not ground but part of the stamping process. I would not hesitate to shoot them again.
Both 160 and 190 grain heads have been sucessful on hogs, ranging from 60-355#. 160's on wood arrows and the 190's with 100 grain brass adapters on some stiff carbons. Have only had one tip bend a little and the was corrected with a hammer and a block. Very tough head. Have had Snuffer, STOS and Magnus perform less abmireably. :thumbsup:
I've shot Gemsbok, black wildebeest, warthog and a ton of feral goats without fail.
I shot a steel bear target at the NALS with a 125 and it stuck in. I kept shooting for the rest of the round.
One last question. Do you do normal 1" tapers with the ribteks or shoot for longer (1.25"?) To completely fill up the ribs?
You want to fill the ribs.
I want to try some! If they are such a doggone good head, how come no one here in the states carries them? Are they hard to get a hold of?
Go figure! I just made that post, went over to the classifieds and found me a doz. 135gr Ribteks for sale. Who would have guessed from the original poster no less? :rolleyes: :bigsmyl:
Col Graham stopped making them and retired....he was also working on to a follow-on head called Pro Game Hunter which was virtually a Ribtek without ribs...but a solid ferrule.
I have bought them from archery shoppe but the shipping is expensive as they only do air freight...so talking $80-250 for shipping depending on size of order. I bought over a hundred the last time to make it worth my time and effort....have a few dozen remaining as the rest I gave away, sold a few, and put a few up for auction for St Judes.
Thanks Brock. I'm looking forward to giving them a try. I'm hoping to get a dozen woodies made up before hunting season gets here and want to try them this year.