How do mechanical broadheads work

Not an expandable cut on contact Broadhead. A fatal shot requires five major stages, LKE. The killing power of big game depends upon five critical stages. Conventional fixed or mechanical broadheads can not do all five. Fixed broadheads only break the surface, mechanicals open on contact, deflect the arrow, and lose penetration! See what Chuck Hawks, a leading authority says, "Destroying, disrupting the function of vital organs or the central nervous system, causing blood loss and shock to the animals system.

The higher momentum keeps the arrow moving and penetrating deeper into the target. The combined increased momentum and internal deploying blades set at a low angle result in a deadly combination. Secondary trauma, combined with expansive wound channel volume, is critical to down big game.

The patented blade system has BOTH slotted and back supported cams, so they open at the same time. The delayed controlled expansion is achieved by being set back from the broadhead tip and utilizing a patented rear deployment system. This means there is no valuable LKE wasted on entry. All of the available kinetic energy is used to inflict internal damage and provide maximum penetration.

Blood loss and trauma take volume. A traditional three blade broadhead may have 2. The net result is 5 total blades with 5. There are several companies that make some unbelievable designs that have drawn me back in to using these highly effective broadheads once again.

Yet this time, my viewpoint about them is completely different. This is a unique design that has no O-rings or rubber bands to hold the blades closed. The back blades, called bleeder blades, stay in place with their spring clip technology. The tip is strong enough to split through thick skin or even bone resulting in excellent penetration, a feature that seemed to be missing on earlier styles of mechanicals.

The Spitfire Double Cross has a four blades total that provide a 3-inch overall cut. With this type of broadhead, I have been able to attain great blood trails and faster recoveries. Another great mechanical on the market is the Titanium 2. This design features a maximum cutting diameter.

They also feature a patented Lock and Pivot design that keeps the arrow flying true to maintain a straight-through path even when encountering bone or when taking acute quartering shots. It is made with strong materials that hold up to the toughest skinned animals a hunter may face. With these new designs and the results that I have experienced in hunting with them, I have gained the missing confidence that I had once lost when hunting the toughest terrains such as the Missouri river bottoms.

While hunting with these mechanicals I am sure that an animal is going to be harvested quickly with minimal tracking. The number-one feature a fixed broadhead has that will keep hunters using them is their incredible power to penetrate tough-skinned animals such as bigger whitetails, elk, caribou and even moose. As with dislikes from earlier designs with mechanicals, the fixed broadhead had its weaknesses as well. One of those being the loss of pinpoint accuracy when shot at longer distances.

This, too, has changed with modern designs. With no loose blades at all, this choice is great for hunting larger whitetails such as in Canada, where the hide is thick and tough. Another great fixed design is the G5 Outdoors Montec. This is also a one-piece design, all steel construction, that has incredible diamond sharpness that can be sharpened as needed.

This fixed-style broadhead is also great for larger whitetails and big game such as elk. The Montec is spin tested for accuracy, this means that the penetration and accuracy is apparent, unlike older designs.

Although newly designed, fixed broadheads are built to withstand the hardest-shooting bows on the market today. Another great use for fixed blades is when one has a lower poundage bow such as for women and children. A fixed broadhead is a better choice in this situation due to better penetration compared to that of shooting a with a mechanical broadhead. As for the debate about whether the mechanical or fixed broadhead is best, I think that is something that will continue to be debated for years to come.

As I have always said with choosing what kind of bow, arrows, accessories and yes, even broadheads, the correct answer is always found by what shoots and performs the best for the hunter. As for me, if I had to choose a favorite, I would say it is the mechanical broadhead, simply due to the fact that the majority of the bowhunting I do is for whitetails in the Midwest. With that being said, I will always have a few fixed broadheads in my bow case for back-up, or for when the day comes that I can fulfill my highly anticipated dream hunt of bowhunting a big bull elk out West.

For now, I will continue to practice with both and be ready for every situation. Break-Up Country. Elements Agua. Elements Terra. Shadow Grass Habitat. Explore All Patterns. Back About Our Story. Meet Our Staff. National Pro Staff. Regional Pro Staff. Back Licensing Marketing Services.

Licensees FAQs. Back Resources Contact. Plus, look at the cutting diameters on those mechanicals, some will argue, and all the gory promo videos. The anatomy does not lie.

But the heaviest blood trails and quickest recoveries come from a hit through the front third of the lungs, near the heart. That area is between the shoulders and fortified by heavy muscle and some bone though not as much as many believe.

But if you penetrate it with any broadhead, the blood trail will be profuse and short. Penetrate is the keyword.

But that shot placement presents more challenges to most mechanical broadhead designs, and my testing has proven that to me, over and again. Here are three more. Then I evaluate the results. The ribs allow me to measure cutting diameters, both on entry and exit. And they show how well blades and ferrules stand up to real flesh and heavy bone.

Broadheads that punch through, leaving behind clean cuts and shattered bone fragments in the center get my attention. Broadhead blades in general are not especially durable—and those of mechanical heads are the most fragile.

When they hit a cattle rib, they almost always bend and sometimes break. To be fair, most of them still punch right through, but not always. Sometimes that damage slows them enough as to impede penetration, or result in small exit holes, with blades left behind in the ribs. But only 9 percent of mechanicals have survived it.