I havent shot anything but Judos myself. I really like them and luckily i havent lost and arrow that has a judo on it yet (knock on wood). however they are a little pricy and they can bind up with other arrows if you just have them in a loose quiver.
I have been really surprised what those judos will penetrate though, potent small game medicine.
What do you guys like to shoot when it comes to blunts?
Pricey and hard to beat a Judo. I like the 160 gr. blunt, and .38 special cartridge on woodies. The Muzzy Grasshopper ring fits behind a screw in blunt, and looks good but have not used any yet.
Hard to beat a Zwickey Judo for stumping. The Hammer small game blunt works pretty well also, especially for rabbits. For small game here of late I've been using a G5 small game broadhead. They really do a number on squirrels, I can tell you that! They are tough little critters and I've had mixed results with blunts and judos, but the G5s do the trick. It's hard to find the 125 grain ones locally though. The wheelie guys a seem to want the lightest stuff they can get. It's worth the wait to order them though.
Hammerhead for me
Do you do anything to add weight to the 38 special brass? I bet those would make great bunny busters with a dollop of lead in the base of them. Im also excited to try some of those grasshopper rings once i get a set of carbons :)
Those G5 small game heads look like they mean business, I wish they had them in glue on.
The VPA SGT is a good head. But it's hard to beat those hammers. The ACE hex heads are descent, and the most economical, but they do get beat up a little easier than the others I mentioned.
Anyone tried the Tiger claw small game point?
I have been using a 145gr Hexhead with an adder collar behind it. I have been very happy with this set up for stumping, and it has worked great on a few grouse too.
I really like the ACE Hex Head blunt. You can get it in glue on or screw in. And they come in almost any weight that you could ask for. Those heads will take a beating and are great on small game.
Small game hammer from 3 Rivers. Flies good, if I WAY miss a target, enough grab to stop an arrow before the fletching dissapears...
And someday, gonna get that squirrel...
I use 357 maximum cases on my woodies. They are the same size as 38 special except for the length. They are long enough you can load them up with lead shot so they weigh what you want. They are hard to find. I have been using them for years so I have a bunch of them. I hardly ever lose them. They are also pretty tough. I like Judos also. I just don't like the price.
Hammerhead
I have 357mag casings all over the place been using them grind down the rim of the casing and ad lead to get them to 125+- grns.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v683/timkoi/003_zpsgdyezrpj.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/timkoi/media/003_zpsgdyezrpj.jpg.html)
What is the purpose of grinding down the rim?
I have always wondered if there is much difference between the hammer, hex head, and the plain old cylinder shaped blunt. they all look pretty similar
Love those hex heads for stumping and squirrels. Very effective and I don't lose them while stumping.
Ace hex blunts, been using them for years.
Judos are good for tall grass.
I also like the small game hammer from 3 rivers.
I really like the Suanders Bludgeon points. I have hit a lot of rocks with them and they seem to hold up very well.
I'm a fan of the 175 grain "Hammer" from 3 Rivers. Good for stumping, great for small game, and only $11 for 3.
I mainly use 5/16" wood shafts with:
Judo
Ace Hex
.327 Federal Magnum cartridges (with a lead .31 ball squashed inside for weight).
Finger, My OWN personal experience is that the hex and Hammer(type) have cupped faces with sharper edges that tend to catch more material and stop the head quicker in dense material like a stump or even mud. The standard blunt... not so much. They deflect and zing under and around.
I also find ( again, my own experience) that the wider heads, although they may grab more than the Hex heads, they also have this aggravating tendency to catch hard stuff, like rocks, posts, hard trees, etc on one of their edges, which ( again.. for me) results in enough side torque to break the arrow right behind the head, losing the head to the woods.
I use hex heads or, for skwerls, I make and use nutters, which is cheaper, works OK and, well, it is something I make instead of buy.
ChuckC
I kind of forgot about the Ace Hex heads. I like them on woodies. They aren't quite as tough as the Hammers, but they do work pretty well. They catch on stuff fairly well, but not as well as judos or G5s. As far as Judos being expensive, that's kind of relative. I've never been able to lose one and I've pounded rocks hard enough to shatter carbons and bend aluminum shafts without doing noticeable damage to the Judo. In fact, just yesterday, I was stumping and accidentally made solid contact with a rock. My carbon shaft snapped off behind the aluminum footing, the nock was nowhere to be found, but the Judo was good as new! I'm not sure how many other heads would withstand the punishment a Judo will take, not to mention its unsurpassed ability to NOT bury in the grass.
The cartridge cases are cheap, but they tend to have a nasty habit of sneaking under the grass in my experience. That's why I went with the hex blunts on woodies. I still love shooting woodies, but right now I have way too many projects to have time to make them. Carbons are just too much faster.
Ace Hex heads for me. Tough and come in a variety of weights. Never lost one.
VPA Thumpers :thumbsup:
Another vote for Hex Heads. those are one well designed, tough, hard hitting head. Love having a few of them in the quiver for grouse and ptarmigan.
That said however, I always a couple dozen "thumpers" made up with .38 casings brought up to weight with some split shot.
VPA for the wide range of weights but I like the spring arm types in places with heavy grass. There are some really economical extruded plastic ones I use that have little plastic arms that work really well but the little arms break off kind of easy but they cost less than a buck a piece and still work without the arms really well but don't grab onto the grass anymore. VPA are definitely the best quality and overall the best performance and work the best in the most types of situations!
For screw in points, I like The Forge Converta Blunt that 3 Rivers sells. I combine it with a 125gn field tip to get the 200 grains up front that I shoot the majority of the time.
I'll second the Ace Hex Heads. I've been shooting them for several years and they work very well for both stumping and small game. Hit harder and don't slide under stuff as bad as a plain blunt. There's one in my quiver now.
Ace hex head for sure. Works great. Hits hard. Just spent an hour stump shooting, actually, small plastic drink bottles tossed on open range not stumps, with my bud. Great fun and you would be surprised how well the little root beer bottles with screw on tops attached held up. Highly recommend the Ace Hex head. :archer2:
QuoteOriginally posted by bowhuntingrn:
For screw in points, I like The Forge Converta Blunt that 3 Rivers sells. I combine it with a 125gn field tip to get the 200 grains up front that I shoot the majority of the time.
Hadn't seen those before, they do look pretty slick!
Zwickey Judo