I'm sick of blunt heads..

[JDP12]

as you may know, i got into traditional a couple months ago, and am havin a tricky time with some small game, as is my friend- he's had a couple rabbits get away already.

i haven't hit anything yet, but i'm looking at his experiences.

he's been using an ace hex blunt, and i think they got away from round 16 yards or so?

I know in TJ conrad's book, he really recommends a small broadhead for small game, but i just wanted your opinions because in a couple weekends i'll be going camping and living off what i shoot, and so i need to be able to know i can kill whatever i'm shooting at, plus i want to be an ethical hunter, so i'm lookin for somethin that i KNOW will always kill it.

i was thinking the Magnus head-   http://www.3riversarchery.com/Product.asp?c=57&s=71&p=95&i=5229-1  

because it seems like a good compromise between broadhead and blunt

what do you guys use for your small game?  maybe the hex head works great and he just had a bad experience- if you guys say it does then i'll use it.

[vermonster13]

Hex Heads have been real effective in my experience on rabbits. So long as I do my part they've done theirs'.

[TradPaul]

Hey Bud, i know the feeling, all i use now is the wensel woodsman heads for my small game, i'm sick of having blunts bounce off. Had a squirrel run away after it got hit with an hex, but then a few minuts earlier i used a WW just like Terry makes, and it went down in about 2 sec. Follow the link for a good reference.

http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=000055


P.

[WidowEater]

i use the magnus blunts with bleeders exclusively and they seem to work on everything from rabbits up to possums and raccoons

[Soilarch]

My experience is with compounds.

I shoot 125gr tips...so I buy a pack of 100gr fieldtips and but an "adder point" behind it. They weight 25gr.

They'll be a good 1/2" into the game before they start tearing the snot out of flesh.

[rg176bnc]

If you hit anything hard you'll have a blunt w/ no blade.  I wont buy the magnus again.  Use a less than perfect broadhead and youll be ahead of the game.

[Seeking Trad Deer]

last  year I stuck an ace in a squirrell and watched as it ran fourty yards with my arrow stuck in it until it got into it's hole in the tree and my arrow fell to the ground blood and all but now squirrell.    

[Gatekeeper]

Contact Mike at The Nocking Point (sponsor of this site) and ask him about his seconds (rejects) broadheads. These broadheads will work great for small game heads. I don't remember the price but I do recall seeing several different brands.

[Bakes168]

Go to your local Wal-mart or something and pick up a cheap pack of broadheads. I have three broadheads right now, each of them have four detatchable blades that I can easily resharpen. The blades are thin like razorblades.

I got mine grom Meijer, which I know isn't nation wide, but I'm sure you can find them someplace else.

They're Bushmaster 125gr. heads, and the best part is they're only $8.00 for three of 'em!  :D  

Bakes

[ChuckC]

Knock on wood but so far I have killed several skwerls using a simple nutter head.  actually, I knocked them senseless and killed them with my "hawk.    The nutters will not "kill" them   they come back to life, but they knock them into tomorrow and I simply add some effort with a tomahawk and they are toast.   Bunnies are typically way easier to kill than a skwerl, but alas. no bunnies with a bow lately.
ChuckC

[Jeremy]

I've had great luck with standard blunts and hex heads.  I've also used weighted shell casings.

I have to admit though, the big 3-blade snuffer really did a number on the tree rat!

[Firstarrow]

Judos are my preferred head for small game. Nothing I've hit with the Judos has survived.
There is something about the blunt trama and the ripping action of the wires.

[James Wrenn]

I have no trouble with the hex blunts on squirrels so rabbits should be no problem at all.A steel blunt slotted for a small piece of hacksaw blade works very well on treerats also but would most likely shoot through rabbits too easy..

[Doc Nock]

I broke the front shoulder of a tree rat with a judo years ago outa a heavy weight compound..jumped up and ran off onto posted ground... made me sick.

After taking up trad again, 15 years back or so, I hit a rabbit with a heavy ole ash head and a judo and it ran off...spent 2 hrs searching for it in heavy leaves and never found it or the arrow. Area loaded with groundhog holes. Must've gone down a hote and taken the arrow with it...

Two deals years apart and I've not shot at small game with anything but a hunting head since!  I had some ole savora heads with hard alum. ferrules that I hand sharpen the blades... junk for deer, but ok for one shot on small game.

[JDP12]

ok cool thanks alot guys, I'll just get some cheap broadheads then

[LBR]

Even a broadhead won't always make up for a bad shot--but it will help on a marginal shot.  I've seen rabbits go near 100 yds shot with a broadhead (gut shot), and I've seen a squirrel DRT (Dead Right There) shot with a Ace Hex-Head (double lung).

Cheap broadheads are the best bet as far as killing, but they will usually ruin a lot more meat.

Chad

[shoot4fun]

Try the Game Nabber from PDP..... you will not be disappointed !!
We use them on Squirrels and Rabbits and have had GREAT SUCCESS!!

[imskippy]

I just picked up a few of the barta blunts from 3 rivers to try. Anyone try those yet. They way 145gr and are a blunt tip with a claw behind it which I feel will tear up anything it touches so we'll see what happens. Skippy

[George D. Stout]

The Barta blunt is the old HTM.  Slip it over a 125 grain blunt and you have potent medicine.  I never lost a rabbit while using a heavy rubber blunt.  I've had them run away after being skewered by a broadhead.   You have to be fine in your shooting....head or chest and at fairly close range.

For squirrels, which are much tougher than rabbits, I use a blunted-off three blade like the old Bodkins.  Still...you need to make good shots...these critters aren't all that fragile.

[OkKeith]

Jake,

I have a recent post on here somewhere about what I use for small game. Broadheads (cheap or otherwise) work OK on the ground, but in my experience, unless you are willing to climb a lot of trees, you're gonna loose a lot of arrows stuck in high branches with sharp-pointed tips.

Holler if you can not find my previous post and I will get a picture of my set-up to you.

OkKeith