BROADHEADS: Cutthroat (as in Cutthroat Trout) 160gr single bevel, 2 blade glue-on and Cutthroat 200gr single bevel, 2 blade, screw-in. Cost is $45.88 per 3-pack. Designed by and purchased from Rocky Mountain Specialty Gear in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.


ANALYSIS OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the new Cutthroat broadheads will satisfy my requirements for elk hunting.  As a life long hunter of elk (13 harvested) and an occasional black bear (2) I am very aware of the deficiencies of many broadheads on the market. I have experienced too many broadhead failures in the last 40+ years of hunting. Most any sharp broadhead will suffice for smaller big game and for shots on elk that don't impact bone but I have learned to expect the unexpected when hunting elk. Not every shot will be perfect. Like Dr. Ashby said "Don't design a broadhead for when everything goes right. Design it for when everything goes wrong". I have experienced the curling of a broadhead tip so badly that it couldn't penetrate an elk's scapula and the splitting of a broadhead into the two halves that were brazed together upon impact of a bear's vertebra. These shots were from powerful longbows at close range and shooting 2 different popular fixed 2-blade broadheads. I've always felt the need for a better engineered and manufactured broadhead and I'm happy to see that there are several new impressive broadheads on the market. The Cutthroat is the latest of these new designs and it too looks impressive. See photo below for a comparison of the sizes and shapes of the new Cutthroats compared to other popular broadheads.


BROADHEAD REQUIREMENTS: Large, thick blades, CNC machined from a single piece of high grade steel, 2 blades and tanto tips for superior bone penetration and no curling, long ferrule to strengthen the tip, single bevel, no vents for less noise in flight. The head has to spin true on my shafts and fly/impact the same as my field arrows. And of course it shouldn't cost a fortune.

TESTING EQUIPMENT: Big Jim's Buffalo Bow, 58# at my 29"draw length. Carbon Express Heritage 250 shafts, 590gr. total arrow weight with a 200gr broadhead or 160gr broadhead w/ adaptor.

BROADHEAD DATA: Excellent CNC workmanship, heat treated to 55 Rockwell hardness, non-reflective black Teflon finish. The tip of each head is CNC machined into a massive tanto tip that cuts on contact and won't curl. The 160gr glue-on head is 2-3/4" long x 1-1/8" wide, .070" blade thickness, 25 degree single bevel. The 200gr screw-in is 2" long x 1-1/8" wide, .070" blade thickness, 25 degree single bevel. They weighed in respectively at 165 grains and 205 grains on my scale. I mounted up the two broadheads and found they easily spun true on my carbon shafts, a testament to the accuracy of CNC machining versus welding or brazing. The blades are very sharp out of the package but I had RMSGear put one of my Cutthroats on their powered leather strop and it polished up the beveled blades to a mirror finish that are scary sharp.

FLIGHT TEST: I shot up to 25 yards and could not discern any difference in my broadhead arrow flight from my field arrow flight. Impact in same location too (broadhead arrows with orange cap, field arrows with yellow cap in photo below). There were no whistling sounds from either broadhead. The boys at RMS Gear have taken testing a step further and shot a Cutthroat into 1/8" thick steel (see photos below). It penetrated the steel with no damage to the head when another popular fixed 2-blade broadhead (the one I've been using lately) just made a dent in the steel and disintegrated into shards of metal.





CONCLUSIONS: Both Cutthroats will satisfy my needs for a heavy duty, well engineered and machined broadhead that I can afford to purchase. I personally will go with the 160gr glue-on head for elk hunting because I believe the nearly 1:3 ratio profile will penetrate best for "when everything goes wrong". Also the glue-on head allows me to vary the broadhead adaptor weight to more easily adjust the FOC as desired. I understand from Tommy at RMSGear that more choices in Cutthroat broadhead weights will be available in the near future.

I got some about a month ago and have been shooting them quite a bit. They fly great and seem to be indestructible. They were easy to sharpen as well. I look forward to putting them to the real test.

I been waiting patiently for these to get back in stock and these will definately be in my quiver

Been shooting them since early last fall.  Mine were some of the first and not quite sharpened all the way.  Tommy knew I had a hunt coming up and got them to me quick.  A file worked wonders!  I will be getting more.

I've done some testing on these heads and I'm really impressed.

I've been looking at these heads also. I think he has a 200 grain glue on that he is trying out,and will be available later. That is the one I'm waiting to give at try.

Absolutely the easiest to sharpen broadhead I've ever used and holds an edge like you dream about! When I shot my deer this year I managed to catch my arm guard with my string, all day on the stand with heavy clothes in really cold weather took its toll almost. Threw my shot off and really jacked up my arrow flight, I caught her back next to the spine, hit one of the little wing bones on the side of a vertebrae, got lucky and hit the renal artery I believe, arrow passed through abdomen and through her leg. The arrow did stay in the deer but got an amazing amount of penetration considering the way it was flying after I caught my arm guard with the string! So even after punching through the hide four times and taking out the little wing bone on the vertebrae, I could still shave hair with it!!!! I personally never paid that much for broadheads before, but the quality, the ease of sharpening and the warranty really have me sold on them! I'll be buying some for my wife to use this elk season!

Lucky to live in CO. about 45 minutes from RMSG.  Talked with Tom last week and left with 3 200s.  Quality is excellent, appear to be bullet proof. Will test on turkeys in KS in a few weeks.

You guys sure make it hard on a recovering (always) broadhead junky!

I got lucky and bought some on the classifieds when they first came out. I just ordered the "new and improved" ones and got them a couple weeks ago. I have never got a BH this sharp. This is my first time shooting a single bevel head. The Cutthroats are the best built head I've seen. As stated before, very easy to sharpen and they hold the edge. Hopefully Mark (straight_arrow) and I have some luck in a couple weeks on these KS turkey's. I will keep you posted if we get to put them to the ultimate test.

Thanks for the post, I will be ordering some as soon as I know what weight head I need

I'll be taking these out in a few weeks to see if I can get my first turkey.  Great design and very easy to sharpen with the KME.

Is the VPA and Cuttthroat in your picture the same weight?  Just trying to get an idea on the length per weight.

tracker12 here's their blog article, it has some further pictures that state length vs width info. They also have some more weights coming and the heavier screw ins I think/believe will be longer but same width as current screw in.
http://rmsgear.blogspot.com/2014/10/broadhead-project.html

Hopefully, the heavier heads will have the "looks" of the glue-ons but come as screw-in models. I hate messing with adapters for my aluminum arrows. 250-260 gr would be perfect for me.

"Is the VPA and Cuttthroat in your picture the same weight?" Yes, both heads are 200gr.

"the heavier screw ins I think/believe will be longer but same width as current screw in."

From what I understand from Tommy at RMSGear the heavier screw-ins will maintain the same width (1-1/8") but will get longer as they get heavier.

I got my first package from RMSG yesterday.  I had Danny sharpen them.  They are scary sharp.  Hopefully, I will see how they work on turkeys.  Ken

Longbow--will the heavier, screw-in heads be "shaped" like the 160gr glue-ons or the 200 screw-ins? Thanks

bluemoonrising: The screw-in broadhead shape will change as the head weight increases. Since the blade thickness at .070" and blade width at 1-1/8" will stay the same then length will have to increase as required to add more weight to the head. The final  profile will not exceed a 1:3 ratio (similar to the glue-on heads). What the weight of the screw-in at that final 1:3 profile will be is currently being determined by RMSGear. Stay tuned.