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Sharp broadheads #5359301 10/14/14 02:17 PM
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Every season I see threads about "perfect shots" on deer that are either not recovered or not recovered same day. I haven't killed a ton of deer with a bow. Maybe 60 or so. But it seems that the ones I had trouble finding there were issues with either marginal shot placement or broadhead issues. I'm having trouble buying into "these animals are tough" comments. They are tough but if you have a sharp, I mean really sharp, broadhead you are far more likely to put an animal down quickly. Even with marginal shots the blood vessels cut and tissue damage is much different with a razor sharp head vs. just a kitchen sharp head.

For example, Sunday evening I put a top third of shoulder shot on a doe at 17 yards from a 12' tripod. Arrow enters at the back of the shoulder blade on her left side two thirds of the way up the body and exits mid line of shoulder and body on the right side. Complete pass through, 100 grain hand sharpened G5 Montec broadhead. Sparse blood trail, tall grass, fading light and 50 year old eyes. Great blood on arrow. Called in help from the guys as marking blood and holding a line of direction is key in these situations. Dark when they arrived and I had blood, sparse but good color for about 50 yards. Spotty blood for about another 60 yards and a dead doe lying on the ground at the end in a huge pool of blood. Most of the bleeding was internal due to the higher hit but the sharp broadhead took out the top of one lung and middle of the off side lung and numerous arteries above the heart as well as cutting through the esophagus. I shoot a slow Elite 32 set at 60lbs shooting slower than any bow I've shot since my Bear Whitetail 2 in the early 90s.

Before the G5 haters start I know the small head diameter can hamper blood trails. But they sharpen so easy and so well.

Tough blood trail. Short blood trail. A sharp broadhead slices arteries and tissues instead of tearing through and pushing aside blood vessels. I wonder how many of the deer not recovered, recovered after very long trails or time, would have had a different outcome with a good COC head that was razor sharp?


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Re: Sharp broadheads [Re: passthru] #5359336 10/14/14 02:33 PM
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I agree totally.


Re: Sharp broadheads [Re: passthru] #5359388 10/14/14 02:50 PM
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I think it's placement 5x more then sharpness.

Grant it I'm pretty anal about my broad head sharpness, I even strop my ulmers.

I had a similar shot on my mule deer this year slightly quartering way, entered behind shoulder existed through offside scaupla. But high. very little blood. I was shooting up hill so entrance was lower than exit but still above mid line.

I knew my shot placement and knew blood would be min. Deer ran long ways down hill. I knew he would run hard when I hit that off side shoulder blade. Via his track he died mid sprint.

When I field dressed him his cavity was full of blood.. What seemed like gallons.


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Re: Sharp broadheads [Re: passthru] #5360218 10/14/14 09:40 PM
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I agree with ya both; Sharp broad heads are a must; shot placement is everything. One of the biggest mistakes I've seen newbie make is they don't give the animal long enough to expire.

Most of the time a deer will lay down once it thinks it safe; but if they hear people talking and stomping around that will give them a burst of adrenaline to run off and a lot of times resulting in an unrecoverable animal.

I will never hunt with a new broad head that I haven't sharpened. Most new broad heads are not razor sharp!

Re: Sharp broadheads [Re: passthru] #5360232 10/14/14 09:48 PM
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Im still workin with the same muzzy from the last 3 animals.. youd be supprised what even a test Brodhead will do to an animal.. all about placement.

Most brodheads these days are onehittaquitas like rage and NAP, swacker etc... still use them for deer though.. don't care how much I love my muzzys the one like rage leave a blood trail like no other

Re: Sharp broadheads [Re: bjankowski] #5360349 10/14/14 10:50 PM
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Originally Posted By: bjankowski


I will never hunt with a new broad head that I haven't sharpened. Most new broad heads are not razor sharp!


If I had to sharpen a new broad head I wouldn't have bought it to begin with. JMO

Re: Sharp broadheads [Re: passthru] #5360400 10/14/14 11:35 PM
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Whitetail deer are NOT that tough! African game are tough. A Warthog is tough. An Australian Buffalo or a Nilgai is tough. Whitetail are not, relatively speaking.

If you make a good shot that double lungs or hits the heart, you shouldn't lose you deer, or any other animal for that matter. Even if you hit further back and take out the liver, the animal will die quickly. If the animal ran off and you tracked it for hundreds of yards before you lost it, your shot wasn't as good as you thought it was. Simple as that.

Ultra sharp broadheads are nice, but shot placement is the biggest key. If you place one in the boiler house, and you're using a good quality broadhead (take your pick) and a bow that can generate enough energy to penetrate effectively (it doesn't take that much) the animal's going down in short order.

Re: Sharp broadheads [Re: Bowhunt Only] #5360530 10/15/14 12:29 AM
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Originally Posted By: Bowhunt Only
Whitetail deer are NOT that tough! African game are tough. A Warthog is tough. An Australian Buffalo or a Nilgai is tough. Whitetail are not, relatively speaking.

If you make a good shot that double lungs or hits the heart, you shouldn't lose you deer, or any other animal for that matter. Even if you hit further back and take out the liver, the animal will die quickly. If the animal ran off and you tracked it for hundreds of yards before you lost it, your shot wasn't as good as you thought it was. Simple as that.

Ultra sharp broadheads are nice, but shot placement is the biggest key. If you place one in the boiler house, and you're using a good quality broadhead (take your pick) and a bow that can generate enough energy to penetrate effectively (it doesn't take that much) the animal's going down in short order.


My mulie went a long ways over 300 yards and was double lung. I think it has more to do with the animals state of mind when arrow hit them. Had a deer stand there after arrow has pass through him, he never heard or saw the shot. Had others run,walk, fall, others haul butt. The common theme on the ones that haul butt.. They where spooky to begin with.

Pretty sure if I hadn't of hit that off side shoulder blade of that mulie he would of taken 3 bounds and laid down. It was a hell of a thud when I hit him.


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Re: Sharp broadheads [Re: JCB] #5360578 10/15/14 12:46 AM
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Originally Posted By: JCB
Originally Posted By: bjankowski


I will never hunt with a new broad head that I haven't sharpened. Most new broad heads are not razor sharp!


If I had to sharpen a new broad head I wouldn't have bought it to begin with. JMO


Well first of all if I could find one that was as sharp as I wanted I'd buy it, but I only shoot heavy broad heads like Zwickey or Muzzy Phantoms 200gn... They are sharp but not razor sharp.

Re: Sharp broadheads [Re: BOBO the Clown] #5360608 10/15/14 12:58 AM
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Originally Posted By: BOBO the Clown
Originally Posted By: Bowhunt Only
Whitetail deer are NOT that tough! African game are tough. A Warthog is tough. An Australian Buffalo or a Nilgai is tough. Whitetail are not, relatively speaking.

If you make a good shot that double lungs or hits the heart, you shouldn't lose you deer, or any other animal for that matter. Even if you hit further back and take out the liver, the animal will die quickly. If the animal ran off and you tracked it for hundreds of yards before you lost it, your shot wasn't as good as you thought it was. Simple as that.

Ultra sharp broadheads are nice, but shot placement is the biggest key. If you place one in the boiler house, and you're using a good quality broadhead (take your pick) and a bow that can generate enough energy to penetrate effectively (it doesn't take that much) the animal's going down in short order.


My mulie went a long ways over 300 yards and was double lung. I think it has more to do with the animals state of mind when arrow hit them. Had a deer stand there after arrow has pass through him, he never heard or saw the shot. Had others run,walk, fall, others haul butt. The common theme on the ones that haul butt.. They where spooky to begin with.

Pretty sure if I hadn't of hit that off side shoulder blade of that mulie he would of taken 3 bounds and laid down. It was a hell of a thud when I hit him.



Your Mulie was the rare exception then, BoBo. Whitetail typically don't run til they drop. My Impala and Gemsbok in Africa both hauled a$$ until they crashed and died. The Impala probably went 300+ yards. But Whitetail typically don't. And even with the Impala and Gemsbok running full speed til they dropped, the blood trail was easy to follow and lead right to the animal. These folks saying they made a perfect shot but tracked the animal for hundreds of yards and the blood trail disappeared and they never found the animal, didn't make as good of a shot as they thought they did.

Last edited by Bowhunt Only; 10/15/14 01:00 AM.
Re: Sharp broadheads [Re: passthru] #5360783 10/15/14 02:31 AM
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If I hadn't of hit that mulie in off side shoulder blade and punch through bone, I really don't think he would of went that far. I grunted to stop him and get him to turn around. i really think the distance traveled comes down to their alertness Also. Kind of like when you shoot a whitetail with a bow when the are just milling around. They jump 5' after shot, stop look around then fall over.


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Re: Sharp broadheads [Re: passthru] #5361386 10/15/14 01:54 PM
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I saw a hit on video of one on TBH the other day I know was a good shot and the deer went over a thousand yards. Found it the next day with the buzzards circling after the coyotes had their way with it. I saw the arrow right behind the shoulder, bloody spots on both sides of the animal. That deer shouldn't have gone over 50 to 100 yards. But there was something else not right. No one wants to admit it but shooting a not as sharp broad head makes a difference. I personally have made marginal shots on deer and they died reasonably soon and close because the head made a clean slice that bled them out. I've also had many whitetail "run til they drop". Not most of them but I see it fairly regular. Thing is, a deer running flat out with a hole through both lungs runs for 15 to 30 seconds. They can cover a lot of ground in that time.


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Re: Sharp broadheads [Re: BOBO the Clown] #5361415 10/15/14 02:06 PM
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Originally Posted By: BOBO the Clown
Originally Posted By: Bowhunt Only
Whitetail deer are NOT that tough! African game are tough. A Warthog is tough. An Australian Buffalo or a Nilgai is tough. Whitetail are not, relatively speaking.

If you make a good shot that double lungs or hits the heart, you shouldn't lose you deer, or any other animal for that matter. Even if you hit further back and take out the liver, the animal will die quickly. If the animal ran off and you tracked it for hundreds of yards before you lost it, your shot wasn't as good as you thought it was. Simple as that.

Ultra sharp broadheads are nice, but shot placement is the biggest key. If you place one in the boiler house, and you're using a good quality broadhead (take your pick) and a bow that can generate enough energy to penetrate effectively (it doesn't take that much) the animal's going down in short order.


My mulie went a long ways over 300 yards and was double lung. I think it has more to do with the animals state of mind when arrow hit them. Had a deer stand there after arrow has pass through him, he never heard or saw the shot. Had others run,walk, fall, others haul butt. The common theme on the ones that haul butt.. They where spooky to begin with.

Pretty sure if I hadn't of hit that off side shoulder blade of that mulie he would of taken 3 bounds and laid down. It was a hell of a thud when I hit him.


Yup I watched a doe get laid out by a 30-06 180gr bullet at 100yrds just to get up and run 100yrds before she died. Shot was right behind the sholder

Re: Sharp broadheads [Re: passthru] #5361444 10/15/14 02:19 PM
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This is one downfall of the broadheads that I shoot. I use single bevel broadheads and they are not even close in sharpness as compared to other broadheads. I give this up as they penetrate more and will go through a whitetail shoulder blade (usually). My thoughts are I have a higher percentage of missing three inches left or right depending on the position of the deer and may hit the shoulder blade. I need my broadhead to bust the bone and penetrate rather than hit a deer high and hope the sharper broadhead bounces around and cuts an artery. But that's just IMO, I wish I could get both but the only place I can find what seem to be razor sharp single bevel broadheads are through Alaska Bowhunting, and they run 90$ for a 3 pack. 30 bucks for one broadhead is a little out of control and I won't pay it. Back in the day when I shot double bevel, I did use thunderheads as I found them to be some of the sharpest blades on the market (at the time) and I could easily replace a blade after I shot one. I really never had a problem killing deer with the sharp broadhead or the penetrating broadhead, I guess I'm just preparing for what I think is more likely to happen if I make a bad shot. That being said, it's based on how I shoot, so I guess depending on what you feel gives you the best chance on recovering a deer that has been hit poorly, you should go with.


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Re: Sharp broadheads [Re: wisco-hunter] #5361954 10/15/14 06:53 PM
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Originally Posted By: wisco-hunter
This is one downfall of the broadheads that I shoot. I use single bevel broadheads and they are not even close in sharpness as compared to other broadheads. I give this up as they penetrate more and will go through a whitetail shoulder blade (usually). My thoughts are I have a higher percentage of missing three inches left or right depending on the position of the deer and may hit the shoulder blade. I need my broadhead to bust the bone and penetrate rather than hit a deer high and hope the sharper broadhead bounces around and cuts an artery. But that's just IMO, I wish I could get both but the only place I can find what seem to be razor sharp single bevel broadheads are through Alaska Bowhunting, and they run 90$ for a 3 pack. 30 bucks for one broadhead is a little out of control and I won't pay it. Back in the day when I shot double bevel, I did use thunderheads as I found them to be some of the sharpest blades on the market (at the time) and I could easily replace a blade after I shot one. I really never had a problem killing deer with the sharp broadhead or the penetrating broadhead, I guess I'm just preparing for what I think is more likely to happen if I make a bad shot. That being said, it's based on how I shoot, so I guess depending on what you feel gives you the best chance on recovering a deer that has been hit poorly, you should go with.


I shoot single bevel ulmers for elk, mulies and pronghorn. If you use a leather strop and some oxide and strop back side of blade they get really sharp. It doesn't take more then three or fourth strops to knock off any burr.

Single bevel sharpness really is a mis- conception. Test them with a rubber band


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Re: Sharp broadheads [Re: passthru] #5362010 10/15/14 07:33 PM
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I will try this BOBO, I tried using the fine side of a sharpening stone to do the same thing, but I could not get it "razor" sharp. I looked on the ole interweb and found out what you are talking about, I will try this and see how it works. Thanks!


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Re: Sharp broadheads [Re: passthru] #5362090 10/15/14 08:18 PM
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It's real easy. When you use a stone you remove lots of metal. With a strop you are literally just polishing more or less. Every time you sharpen a knife or blade you remove metal, and the off side gets a very micro sized burr. The strop really just polishs that burr out.


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