Is there really much room for improvement with all the heads we have available? Without going crazy with price, what would you change or create?
I don't believe so
whatever choice you make the sharper the better.
People been killing critters with stone heads so a sharp metal point is all you need.
Well the stone done correctly is sharper than the metal. Yeah though I just dont see how you can improve on whats out there.
There are many great broadheads out there and it seems like the new whiz bang introductions are usually about some sort of aesthetic.
Grizzly, Ace, greenheads, zwicky, just to name a few.
I have noticed that some heads have better metal for file sharpening than others. Original Schulz Hunter's Heads and Rib Tecs have a waxy feel under the file when the edge gets flat, they also seem to hold that edge. It is also possible for head to be way too mushy under the file, those do not hold their edge. While others are so hard that they dull the file too quickly, other sharpening methods are best for them.
i'd like to see a one piece machined BH in the style of grizzly or tuffhead but with the ferrule extending right to the tip.
oh, and for $5 each.
I want a Simmons Safari contour in 3 blade...
Actually, the landshark would be even better (it's wider)!
Not a fan of the abrupt ferrule termination and recessed sections in the blades. I like the smooth contours of the tuffhead and grizzly. I just want the ferrule to extend to the tip. Then one piece machined would top it off. Then affordable for the blue collar bowhunter.
My personal dreamed 2 blade BH would be 1.5" wide, one piece machined, at least .055" thickness on the blade and extra long ferule with .080" or thicker tip thickness
There are at least a dozen two, three and 4-blade broad heads currently on the market of which I would be happy to use any one for the rest of my hunting days.
I would add that most of these have been around a while. They have not been put on the market within the past 5 years. In short, I'm not impressed with most of the new stuff, and I think it highly unlikely there'll be much innovation that shows real improvement in fixed blade heads.
Ton''a of improvements just listen to Saturday morning hunting shows and the latest and greatest expandable's :biglaugh:
Ton's
The new 200 grain Grizzly double bevel filled the last gap I saw in the market.
QuoteOriginally posted by Trumpkin the Dwarf:
I want a Simmons Safari contour in 3 blade...
Actually, the landshark would be even better (it's wider)!
Stole the words from my mouth!
There are several heads on the market that have been around for a long time and for good reasons- there good heads.
I was in Alberta bear hunting several moons ago, there was a celebrity hunting couple in camp working on one of there "bear" videos, one morning he was walking up to us hunters with a brown paper bag full of expandable spitfires handing them out he got to me I told him no didn't want to shoot that %#@*, I shoot, at that time, eskimos I got a cold shoulder from the both of them for the rest hunt.
Pushing gadgets, money, and fame that is what drives the industry, so it seems.
I suppose this will come across as a bit critical, but I would have accepted the heads and then done a penetration/survival test on the first bear shoulder blade that came in to camp.
QuoteOriginally posted by NY Yankee:
Is there really much room for improvement with all the heads we have available? Without going crazy with price, what would you change or create?
the last thing was the one piece broadhead which I have to admit was a dang good upgrade but after that its like kicking a rotted corpse,,,in essence now its about who has the best harvest photos.. I think that's all we need now is someone offering a broadhead sharpening service,, I'm talking scaple sharp polished edges that only a very few can achieve,, some of my heads I'm just not happy with!!!
for people like me who have a tough time sharpening certain heads but seriously if I struggle getting something sharp like those dang Australian heads :mad: I just find something else :biglaugh:
I would include some IT so i can always find it and maybe ( maybe not) so they always fly where i am looking.
BILL LEU, you have a valid point!
I built my broadheads out of what I know worked well for me for the past 45 years.
I was at the ATA (Archery Trade Association)show this last January.
I had two of the larger name brand heads on my display just as a discussion or comparison.
Almost every one I talked to made negative comment regarding the to other brand heads.
All agreed in this industry it is more about the marketing than what actually works.
Red River Broadheads are designed and built by bow hunter for bow hunters. Bow hunters that know what works well and what does not work well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlyijfCVcyE
I have some 190 grain Rib Tecs from Brad Hawkins. I think they would be improved if they were cut down to a single bevel Hill shape of about 170 grains. Okay, maybe that would not make much difference, but it would be really cool.
Pavan....... Doooo ittttttt !
I have some Hill blank blades, they do not sit very square on the Rib Tec, I would need to make some kind of a very secure jig pattern to make them predictably balanced. I just don't have the tooling to make that happen.
A straightforward 2 blade cut on contact head is about as fancy as I need to get. Good design and effective performance.
I feel older designs in more modern knife steels with more modern manufacturing technology is what will make "better" heads. The geometries and physics that make these work haven't changed and have been studied and perfected pretty darn well. Modern steels can take more abuse making them more durable for when you miss or they hit trees/rocks/dirt on the pass throughs. Modern manufacturing can improve tolerances like concentricy and improve consistency in weight while reducing costs to make them affordable to the masses. End result is old designs with modern steels and tighter manufacturing processes at lower costs...that's a better broadhead.
Wow what a question... yeah I'd like to have a Broadhead that would fix my coffee in the morning before I go hunting ...other than that I'm good
There is a reason the Bear Razorhead and the various Zwickey heads are still used by so many.
The Bear Razorhead was the best broadhead ever designed.
That is the only reason we started building and selling broadhead. The company that bought out Bear Archery stopped making it. I shot the razor head for 30 years and it meet all my needs.
Cut on contact
Easy to re-sharpen
Excellent penetration
Bleeder blade that opened the wound channel with out limiting penetration.
So I built it and am now selling it.
Our R-1 is the same broadhead with more total cut surface as an improvement!
Guaranteed 100% if you shot it in a rock send me the head and I will replace it!
How can you go wrong with a guarantee like that and have a broadhead designed by the master of bow hunting????
https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=sfp&hsimp=yhs-001&hspart=elm&p=red+river+broadhead+video#id=6&vid=5f74474d00b74b0d40d9d03f60f18ad0&action=click
The Bear Razorhead was the best broadhead ever designed.
That is the only reason we started building and selling broadhead. The company that bought out Bear Archery stopped making it. I shot the razor head for 30 years and it meet all my needs.
Cut on contact
Easy to re-sharpen
Excellent penetration
Bleeder blade that opened the wound channel with out limiting penetration.
So I built it and am now selling it.
Our R-1 is the same broadhead with more total cut surface as an improvement!
Guaranteed 100% if you shot it in a rock send me the head and I will replace it!
How can you go wrong with a guarantee like that and have a broadhead designed by the master of bow hunting????
https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=sfp&hsimp=yhs-001&hspart=elm&p=red+river+broadhead+video#id=6&vid=5f74474d00b74b0d40d9d03f60f18ad0&action=click
QuoteOriginally posted by Esau:
[QB]
All agreed in this industry it is more about the marketing than what actually works.
x2. i swear some designers have read the ashby files and then made a BH that is exactly the opposite of what has been shown to be optimal.
Another wide head like the Simmons tree shark!
I would like a head that was crazy adjustable by weight. i.e. not changing the arrow or insert.
I hate it when I find a cool broad head that I want to try, because, hey why not. But then you see they only come in specific weight that doesn't match you bow/arrow setup.
TLDR: I want to mess with the head and not the arrow.
The razorcap was probably the best head for the weight versatility. That design with a two blade and three blade versions with the adjustable weight would be cool. A lot could be built off those ferrules.
QuoteOriginally posted by Terry Green:
Wow what a question... yeah I'd like to have a Broadhead that would fix my coffee in the morning before I go hunting ...other than that I'm good
Hahahaha
Fred Bear hit a home run with the Razorhead and everyone else is still playing catch up.
Of course Fred's broad head is a take-off on the Zwickey eskimo. Zwickey made broad heads for Bear before he came out with his own. Pretty strong resemblance.
When Fred came out with his head, it almost put Zwickey out of business. The invention and marketing of the judo point saved the company, and Zwickey broadhdeads are again going strong as ever.
After looking at all the different designs and styles of broadheads, and then take into consideration what is a "proven" design for many years, it's hard to top the time-tested Zwickey heads.
JamesV...if not mistaken Cliff Zwickey made the Black Diamond broahdead back in the day and that is what Fred Bear shot until he started making his own broadheads....which were a copy of the Zwickey Black Diamond. ;)
I believe anything worth shooting has been done in broadheads...the only difference being in metal selection, hardening, finishing, sharpening bevels, etc..... A lot of the olders were carbon steel...held edge good but rusted terribly....softer steel is easier to sharpen but harder to maintain an edge......harder steel holds an edge for long time and can get razor sharp but is hell to sharpen in the field. A good compromise on ease of sharpening, edge retention, durability.....in any design is a must.
Of the ones I see out there today and in recent past....I would say the Zwickey, Ribtek, Grizzly, TuffHead, STOS, ACE, Eclipse for 2-blades and Wensel Woodsman and Grizzly Instinct for 3 blade heads (Snuffers no longer made to where I would recommend though the original Rothaar 160 Snuffers were best 3 blade of the time).....other than deciding on double bevel or single bevel....I dont think a guy can really do better than these heads.
I pretty much think the Silver Flame and those high dollar heads are overkill and hype....that a fella with a Grizzly or Wensel or Tuffhead or similar...sharpened razor sharp on a heavy arrow shot by a proper bow would do the same thing as the German or Alaska Bowhunting $100 heads.
They say the height of custom bows was in the 80s and 90s.....and I think the height of high quality broadheads for glue on, cut on contact, robust designs is now!
I like a single bevel design myself & I'm pretty sold on RMS Cutthroats. They are a solid head that I find easy to tune and sharpen.
The new Valkyrie Bloodeagles (screw-in/set weights) and their Jagger System of Broadheaads and Collars/Inserts have my attention. The whole system is pretty pricey though and their screw ins are twice the cost of the RMS Cutthroats.
Must agree on the cutthroats. I have set them on the counter side by side with the grizzlies at RMSG and the cutthroats have a higher quality grind, IMO. That said, I have a bunch of Ribbies to lose before I buy more broadheads.
Other than the omission of the cutthroats, I'm on board with Brock's list.