Broadhead Selection

[NoBadP17]

So I had a question regarding broadhead selection. I know this issue has been beaten to death, but if anyone here has real world experience with the ones I'm going to be choosing from, I'd love to get some of their experiences with them.

First about me, I'm a new bowhunter. I shoot a lefty Hoyt Torrex, 27" draw at 65lb and shoot a 27.5" Gold Tip Hunter XT in 300 spine w/ 50 gr inserts up front and 100 grain points, giving me a total arrow weight about approx. 457.65 grains. Apparently I'm overspined, but that's an issue for another time...

I am primarily targeting blacktails in CA out of a tree stand, with average shots being from 10 yards to a max of 40.

I've heard nothing but rave reviews about the Sevr 2.0, Kudus and Slick Trick standards, so I bought all of them to sample. The Sevrs and Slick Tricks flew with near field point accuracy, so its going to be between those two. The Kudus grouped decent as well, but the other two just grouped better by a significant margin.

Most of my hunting is going to be done on a small 5-acre parcel, so I'm looking for max penetration/most efficient blood loss to make sure the deer goes down on the property. I know I'm describing a perfect scenario here, and hunting in real life is anything but that.

In my own testing on my foam block in the yard, the Slick Trick punches through almost to the fletchings on every shot, and the Sevr goes about halfway (probably due to the mechanical function of the blades opening), but I know foam and muscle/bone are very different mediums.

Anyway, this is a long way of me asking for any advice from members that have had some experience with either or both heads. I know Snyder talks about how great the Sevr is, and his praise does not go un-noticed, but the Slick Trick is a tried and true classic that's been around for a while. At the end of the day, I am just looking to shoot a head that is accurate and will cause the max damage to my quarry. Thanks in advance!

And yes, I searched for broadhead threads. None specifically addressed this issue...

 

[JohnCushman]

I have 2 pope and young antelope, and handful of others, and a couple deer thanks to 125 grain slick trick mags.

 

[MThuntr]

No mechanicals...moving parts fail and you noticed that they burn a bunch of energy trying to deploy. Even if people argue the accuracy the reduction of moving parts seems like a smart move. The guys who do Hunting Public have a few videos of comparing mechanicals versus fixed broadheads on whitetails...not all are an equal comparison but they went from sticking a deer with a single entry to complete pass throughs without any other changes. I'd argue 2 holes > 1

I'm a fan of cut on contact broadheads especially ones I can sharpen myself...currently using Magnus Stinger 125s but I hold no strong brand affiliation.

 

[Redman]

Slick Trick are great broadheads and I have killed a pile of deer with them in the past. I have tried many mechanical broadheads and won't go into that discussion but mechanical broadheads work great until they don't! I have yet to find a mechanical head that has not let me down in some way.

 

[brocksw]

Accuracy trumps broadhead. Period. Shoot what you feel confident in. Shoot what you can practice with. A mechanical to the heart is better than a fixed blade to the ass. Mechanicals are more forgiving in the accuracy and tuning department and I recommend them often to new shooters for that reason. If your bow goes out of tune in the middle of a hunt, you're usually better off with a mechanical.

Don't overthink equipment. Practice, Practice, Practice.

 

[elkhnter]

Out of the 3 you listed, I’d recommend the SlickTrick. Used to shoot the ViperTrick, but in the last few years, the quality control has went down.
I’m back with Magnus Buzzcut this year. No fuss, no issues, just a great COC head.

 

[OpenCountry]

Made the switch to standard slick tricks about five years ago and don’t have any complaints with them. They have flown consistently and penetrated great on elk.

 

[Nick87]

Just pick something strong and sharp, don't over think it. Broadheads are one of the most over hyped products out there imo.

 

[GlockZ]

I've been using Slick Tricks for years, either the Vipers or Mags in 100grs, and haven't had any issues with them. As someone else has posted, don't over think it, there are plenty of great broad heads out there and most are over hyped.

 

[jt13]

I shot 4 critters with Sevr broad heads and was completely underwhelmed. I shot 2 whitetail doe, a whitetail buck, and a red deer. 31" draw, 70-lb bow, 500 grain arrow. 3 of 4 died. 1 of 4 was a passthrough.

-Whitetail doe. Broadside, 30 yards, penetrated to offside shoulder. Ran 100 yards, bad blood trail.
-Whitetail doe. Slight quarter-to, 25 yards, penetrated 50%. Ran 100 yards, bad blood trail.
-Whitetail buck. Broadside, 25 yards, passthrough. Ran 30 yards.
-Red deer. Broadside, <5 yards, shoulder blade, 3 inches of penetration. Arrow fell out nearly immediately

Nearly every other animal I have shot with my bow I have got full pass throughs, mechanical or fixed, unless I hit spine. Coincidence? Maybe. However you wont see any more Sevr's in this household.

 

[std7mag]

Friend of mine swears by his Grim Reapers.
For me, i'm shooting 125gr Hornet Ser Razors.
I like that i can sharpen & strop the blades, and bleeders.

Shoot to field point POA & POI.
Haven't hit hard bone yet. Through ribs no problem.

APA Viper Air. 50#. 30" draw.
Carbon Express Blue MV. 250 spline. With 75gr inserts.

 

[Treeshark]

Love Slick Trick Standard 100s, 3 of the last 5 whitetail bucks I shot with them have dropped within sight (other two recovered fairly easily as well).

I’m a compulsive “tinkerer” with my hunting stuff, except for broadheads- I’m good with Slick Trick.

 

[Joe Hulburt]

I mainly archery hunt elk and always swore I would never use a mechanical broadhead but finally decided to try Grim Reapers last year. First off it was great to be able to have 100% consistent arrow flight. I've always struggled a little with that with fixed blade heads no matter how much tuning I did. As long as my form is perfect Slick Tricks and Shuttle T's fly well but any little error on my part and it is greatly exaggerated. I decided accuracy was most important (along with shooting a proven mechanical) and I'm happy I switched.

I made a perfect shot on an elk with a Shuttle T years ago and ended up taking 8 hours to find it due to zero blood trail. It turned out fine as the elk was still good but it was frustrating. The blood trail from the Grim Reaper was very short and easy to follow! If you want to have a short and good blood trail there is no doubt the mechanical will be a better choice in my opinion.

 

[Dan O]

Another vote for Slick Tricks they fly good easy to tune and are a solid tough broadhead. A big plus is they come 4 to a pack instead of the usual 3 to a pack and I see them at $39.99 a pack in stores.
If you like to sharpen your own Magnus stingers are a good head also plus a warranty, they will replace it if you break it.

 

[Shangobango]

I have 20’ish deer kills with mechanicals with zero malfunctions. and at least double that with fixed.

If I go back to fixed it will be because I am dropping the poundage of my bow due to shoulder issues or either hunting game bigger than deer.

If you go with fixed, having a cut on contact broadhead is the most important factor IMO. The one time I have shot a deer with a bow and could blame the broadhead for not retrieving it was a broadhead that did not cut on contact with a bow pulling 55 or 60 pounds. That was a long time ago and I have never forgot that deer running off with my arrow in it’s shoulder blade.

 

[Deleted member 40728]

I have shot deer with both broadheads and had awesome results with both.

I personally have sethled with the slick trick but that is just me. Both will get the job done.

 

[poster1]

I'm in the process of switching back to fixed blades for an elk hunt (mostly used rage's for whitetail in the past). I've narrowed it down to magnus black hornets and slick trick vipers. I'll let you know which one wins out for me in the next few weeks.

 

[bignest]

If your bow is tuned right you should reasonably be able to shoot any broadhead or field tip with the same accuracy. If you are shooting different with different tips then something is off with your bow.

That said, unless your shooting an axis deer or something similarly fast, I think heavy solid broadheads are the best. I prefer the Montec G5 125 grain myself. They are very strong. No parts to malfunction. Easy to sharpen. I’ve used mechanicals in the past and the fact is they don’t have the same penetration as a fixed blade. I have used them successfully often and have had plenty of pass through shots with them. The blood trail is nice with a mechanical. But sometimes they don’t open. And if you catch a rib square or a shoulder blade I want the power of a fixed blade. They just have better physics behind them. You can look up the articles researching this at length if you want. So all that is to say any setup can work with a good shot, and practice and accuracy is more important than broadhead selection. But the physics stands behind a heavy solid fixed blade.

 

[bignest]

And I forgot to say I hope you have a dummy mechanical that came with your set that you’re shooting into the target. Don’t shoot your actual mechanical broadhead into a target.

 

[Jag770]

I started off with slick tricks. I liked how I could replace the blades, but after a while they just didn't seem to do the trick. I started hunting hogs and I noticed I wasn't blowing through front shoulders, a couple of the broadheads I pulled out of them were bent and I was discouraged. I switched to Montec G5 Carbon Steel, super sharp, easy to sharpen, extremely accurate. The price point isn't bad either. They've held up to almost everything.