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.
Topic: Cutthroat Broadheads- first look (Read 10558 times)
