Broadheads for Elk

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Wapato

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I'm looking for a 125 grain fixed blade head that will be able to blow through the shoulder of a elk for the bad shot that can happen. I'm looking for some advice before I go buy some new ones. My brother sot a nice bull this year that he lost because his shot hit the shoulder and his SlickTrick broadhead blew up. Thanks for any advice. Good Hunting.
 
Zwickey Black Diamond Delta's...

Most cut on contact's like the zwickey, bear, snuffers, are sturdy and will bust thru a shoulder blade or a leg bone.
 
Which ever one you are most accurate with. The elk don't really care what brand of broad head just went through thier lungs. They will die just the same.
 
If you mean that you're looking for something that will "blow through" the shoulder blade itself, you're probably going to be disappointed. Unless you're shooting a very heavy poundage bow with heavy arrows and a cut on contact head like a Zwickey, Magnus, Phantom and others like those, you don't have much chance of getting through a shoulder blade. Even if you do get through, you won't get much penetration into the chest cavity. How about shooting well, and behind the shoulder blade? Then, you'll often get clean pass-throughs and short blood trails if you shoot very sharp broadheads with reasonable weight and a balanced set up.

Of course, when you shoot a heavy poundage bow, you increase the liklihood of a bad shot, as really heavy bows aren't nearly as easy to shoot accurately as those that draw a bit lighter.

Why don't you focus on getting the best shooting setup you can buy and shoot a balanced system and learn to shoot it as well as you're capable of doing? Then, you need to develop the discipline to take high percentage shots and pass the others, even if it means going home with your tag.
 
Just curious how you know the slick trick "blew up" if the elk was lost? I havent had any problems with my slick tricks. Ive busted some, but id think bone is a little bit softer than rock. Lean your equipment and know your limitations. Also make sure your bow is properly tuned, ive heard that will effect penetration.
ismith
 
LAST EDITED ON Feb-03-07 AT 09:02PM (MST)[p]http:www.elknut.com
Wapato, I like how you qualify your statement!! (grin) That is incase a shoulder shot should come into play! No one should intentionally shoot for the scapula/shoulder blade, but crap happens! I applaud you for taking that into consideration before just choosing any broadhead.

It's true that most quality heads in 3-bladed fixed or cut on contact (COC) heads when put in the chest area will bring elk down under normal shooting conditions. But when things go bad, & at times they do, it's nice to know you have a head screwed onto your arrow that will go to bat for you under extreme bone contact hits. I personally have put several heads through the scapula of an elk, not purposely, but things do happen.

If you're shooting a bow with good KE then I'd recommend Magnus stingers, zephyrs, bear razorheads, Silver flames, swickeys & the like. I've both seen & put them through shoulders. We've lost 2 elk over the years with fixed heads, (replaceable blades) I don't recommend them over COC heads. The new narrow design SnufferSS in 125 grn 3-blade will stay together on serious bone contact. Again you'll need the umph of 60lb min KE to get through that area if it should happen, but by all means do everything possible to drill him where he lives in the chest.

In fact, on quality 2 bladed heads as mentioned it only requires a mere 34-36 lbs of KE with a good heavy 475 grn + arrow to penetrate an elks scapula. We shoot longbows & recurves these days & we've put those through as well. A 3-bladed head would not accomplish this though, it needs a higher KE such as 60lbs of KE+. Most compounds do that easily, just calc out your setup!

In 3-blades I'd consider SnufferSS & Razorcaps. In 2-bladed heads Zephyrs or Silver Flame won't let you down, they're both stainless steel.

ElkNut1
 
As someone already mentioned, there are not too many setups that will blow through a bull's shoulder. It typically means a lost bull.
Hank
 
Thanks for understanding the reasoning behind why I want that COC head like the Snuffer ElkNut1.I always practice for perfection and take very good shots but you want the right heads when that elk takes a step as you release. There has been alot of lost elk because of arrows not having enough penatration. The way we know my brothers SlickTrick broke is because we found the arrow with the broadhead but no blades. The head hit the shoulder, broke the blades and fell out easily because there was no blades to hold the arrow in. He could have also had a broadhead was a little loose on the insert. Wapato
 
I gotta agree with the others, don't blame the b-head, there is more to it than that!!! Arrow weight, draw #, draw length, KE, and momentum have as much to do with success as does the b-head. Not many setups will blow through the shoulder, I realize you might not have been aiming for it, but you can't blame the b-head for a bad shot.
By the way, I will be elk hunting in Sept. and I will be using Slick Trick broadheads.

Lien2
 
Are you shooting carbon arrows ? If so why do you prefer 125 grain heads? I used to shooy 125 gr Wasp sst , but after switching over to carbons I went to 100 grain , got them to fly better and they have great performance. I now shoot 100 GR Rocket Ultimate steel 100s' and have killed 2 elk with pass throughs on both and my neighbor has also killed a big bull and a nice antelope with these same broadheads.I know you asked about 125 , but I feel you will get just as good cutting/killing with a 100 grain head and they tune so much easier and fly real well.I said I'd never shoot a different head after shooting these Rockets , but had great experiance using the 125 Wasp on easton XX78s'and Wasp has released a new little 100 grain head that looks alot like the Rockets , so I may buy a pack and see how they fly...
 
I've seen a carbon arrows hit a shoulder hard enough to break the broadhead off the arrow. The elk backed off and started bugling again about a minute later. I wish I had the specifics of the set up, but I was just a witness. I do know that the shot was about 20 yards.

No conclusions, just food for thought.
 
Well, I can tell you this! A 100gr. NAP Thunderhead on a Carbon Force arrow coming of a 60lb draw penetrated almost 10 inches on cow that was shot at 18 yards. I know how deep it went only because I was able to recover my arrow, My cow however ran off never to be seen again with my broadhead most likley planted solidly in the rear shoulder area. She hardly even bled on the arrow and didn't even give a second thought to moving out even after standing for several minutes. I don't believe any arrow/broadhead combo will blow through the shoulder of an elk. Having said that I will be looking at the G5 Montec for the next hunt. Mostly because the arrow flight properties that I've seen on a few of my friend's set ups.

Bottom line: There is no replacement for shot placement! If you suspect that you may hit the shoulder, hold off for a better oppourtunity. Losing an animal is no fun.
 
i have been shooting razor cap broadheads for elk since they came out and they are tough!!!the grain can also be changed by just removing the blade cartridge and replacing it with another grain cartridge.i agree no one intends to make a bad shot (at least i hope not)but in the case it happens i want a cut on impact that will give me the best preformance i can get.
average joe
 
Any of the two blade COC that fly well for you. I understand your basis of concern because even with a "perfect" shot you waited for bad things happen. I think a truely super sharp blade is critical and makes a huge difference on penetration. There is a big difference between a "Sharp" blade, and one that is honed and detailed to the extreme.
 
Use a small cutting diameter, you will need it to penetrate deep. Want to get the the lungs through a shoulder? Not a good plan IMO, avoid the shoulder and shoot 50 ft-lbs KE, razor sharp head with 1-1/4" cutting dia.
 
>Are you shooting carbon arrows ?
>If so why do you
>prefer 125 grain heads? I
>used to shooy 125 gr
>Wasp sst , but after
>switching over to carbons I
>went to 100 grain ,
>got them to fly better
>and they have great performance.
>I now shoot 100 GR
>Rocket Ultimate steel 100s' and
>have killed 2 elk with
>pass throughs on both and
>my neighbor has also killed
>a big bull and a
>nice antelope with these same
>broadheads.I know you asked about
>125 , but I feel
>you will get just as
>good cutting/killing with a 100
>grain head and they tune
>so much easier and fly
>real well.I said I'd never
>shoot a different head after
>shooting these Rockets , but
>had great experiance using the
>125 Wasp on easton XX78s'and
>Wasp has released a new
>little 100 grain head that
>looks alot like the Rockets
>, so I may buy
>a pack and see how
>they fly...



The weight of your b-head has little to do with weather you shoot carbons or not. Total arrow weight, KE, momentum, and FOC are better factors. It just so happens that the 100gr flew better than a 125gr in your setup, not so in others.

Lien2
 
Magnus Stinger 125!!!!!!!!

I busted a nice Yukon moose with it this fall. The first time I ever used it. One shot, one kill within 15 seconds of impact. Granted it wasn't through ashoulder blade, but if you have ever seen the hide of a moose.....and the rib cage.....!!!!!
 
The reason I want to go with a 125 broadhead is because I want to get some more KE. I shoot a Hoyt Trykon set at 70lbs and ICS 340's. I know that the odds are that any head will not go through the shoulder of a elk but I want an broadhead that has enough cutting force and impact that will not have a problem going through the ribs or possibly the shoulder. You never know when that elk is going to take a step as you release, as has been the case of many hunters. Thanks for all the advice and I think that I am going to shoot the Magnus Snuffers this year. I did alot of research and they got some very high ratings. Wapato
 
The magnus heads are very good and would work well for killing critters but in my experience they tend to plane a little to much and that leads to off target shots which sounds like the problem in the first place. I switched to Wack'ems this past year and was very impressed with accuracy and penetration. I've shot just about every broad head out there and after having planing problems with thunderheads I went to wack'ems. I won't ever go back. They fly like field points and I didn't have adjust my sight pins at all, even out to 60 yards....
 
Just get what flies the best. The rest is all luck if you hit the shoulder. Chances are you will not penetrate the shoulder and if you did it would probably be a one lung shot and you still would not find the bull unless you were lucky.
So that being said, get what flies the best in your bow so you have less chance of hitting the shoulder...
 
One thing that nobody has mentioned, and it is at least as important as the brand of broadhead, and in my opinion, far more so; is to shoot a perfectly tuned arrow that flies very cleanly. You'll get far more penetration with a perfect flying arrow with moderate weight shot out of a moderate draw weight bow, than you ever will with a poor flying arrow shot out of a monster bow, even with the sharpest broadhead.

If your broadheads are planing, you need to spend more time on the range tuning. Just for the record, I shoot an old Browning 6T6 at 67 pounds, easton 3-60 ACC's at 30" and a 100 gr. Thunderhead. Total arrow weight is around 455 grains, but I don't remember exactly. The last two animals I shot with it were a shiras moose that I shot at 42 yards total pass-through and again at 61 yards total passthrough. The other was a mature bull elk at 41 yards with total passthrough. Both animals fell dead within sight. Hit 'em in the right spot with good flying arrows with exceptionally sharp broadheads....and they die quickly.
 

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