Alright gang, I'm looking for new heads to try out and looking at the broad head hole thread has really got me exited!
So I am partial to single bevel heads and what I've tried so far are the Helix, hated sharpening them. The Eclipse Where Wolf, I don't like the aluminum ferrule and none of them spun perfectly true. Finally the Abowyer 200 grain screw in, I like these however my buddy and I have had 3 heads that snapped off the front third upon hitting bone or tree. I'm not knocking any of these heads but don't have 100% faith in any of them and want to try others.
Anyway the head hole thread had mentioned a few times a single bevel with a 1 1/4" cut, that would be right up my ally if anyone could tell me who makes one?
Finally any and all single bevel head suggestions are welcome and even a pitch or two for some 3 blades would be ok cus I'm thinking about experimenting with some of them too.
Thanks in advance for the help gang!
The Grizzly Kodiak has a 1 3/16" cut diameter. These are the 200 and 235 grain (glue on ) broadheads.
And the standard Grizzly has a 1 1/8" cut with 125, 155, & 185 grain options.
Keep em sharp!
I've killed several animals with Cutthroat 160 and 190 gr heads. They are very easy to get shaving sharp on a paper wheel and seem to be nearly indestructible. And most of the time the animals have fallen in sight, however when they don't fall in sight, I have had very poor blood trails. I don't think it has anything to do with the brand, because I've had the same issue with Grizzly heads, but just the fact that they are narrow 2 blades makes sense that they won't put as much blood on the ground. I've switched mostly to 3 and 4 blades and have been happier with the blood trails so far...
X3 on the Grizzly Broadheads
Cutthroats are great options...screw in or glue on depending on what you want to do.
Iron Wills are pricey, but are high quality heads.
VPA has a great single bevel you might want to try.
While you are looking at VPA, they are famous for their 3 blade heads...nearly indestructible.
Thanks,
Josh
Hunter 74,
Which Abowyer Model did you have breakage with?
They have lots of models to choose from and have always been very responsive to me. For example the I tried the Brown Bear Screw-In Carbon Steel years ago and though razor sharp, I experienced tip curl on ribs and typical chest cavity hits. Killed all the deer but was alarming. Talked to Abowyer and we discussed stainless but that could be brittle, nothing I wanted to deal with... They recommended 1-1/4" Boneheads and I was really impressed with the performance of those. Can't imagine breaking one and they are razor sharp...
I've also used Iron Will Single Bevels and they perform really well but are pricey and not as wide as I'd prefer(they have a 3/4" Single Bevel Bleeder you can add) for Whitetail unless a person has a lower energy setup, then they would be a fantastic choice if budget wasn't the issue. On that same theme, the Iron Will Wide Solids, with or without bleeders are really a good fit too but pricey. Believe they are 1-3/8" Main blade, 3/4" bleeder but they are double bevel. Wicked sharp and great edge retention. Super good blood tails.
VPA Heads are awesome and they have nearly all the variations and in fact are the machining, manufacturing behind lots of well known heads... I use their 3 Blade 250 Grain, 1-1/4" cut screw-ins as my base line.
Just some thoughts. The others have mentioned great options for lower cost as well. Just making note that many variables, metal type, hardness, ferrule length vs overall length, thickness, bevel angle all contribute to the end performance satisfaction based on goals... :campfire:
KAZ, the Abowyer head I use is the 200 grain Bonehead screw in carbon steel. My buddy was using the 250 grain Brown Bear in carbon steel. I want to say I'm not at all knocking the Abowyer heads and the owner has always been great to talk to plus he hooks me up by grinding the heads I buy with a 30* bevel instead of the standard 25* because I feel it's a better and stronger edge though a touch more fussy to sharpen. We also stick to the carbon steel because it should be stronger then stainless especially in an impact type of use.
Anyway the 200 grain heads do hold up better then the 250 but I still did have one pass through a deer and snap the tip off. Not blaming the head for this cus I have no clue what it may have encountered in the dirt.
My buddy with the 250 grain heads had two snap off the front third of the head. One was stuck in a deer that flopped a bit so it could of rolled and snapped the blade off and again I wouldn't hold that against a head. The second head he broke he accidentally centered a young maple tree. The arrow was stuck in the tree and when we pulled it out the front third stayed in the tree. This break bothered us a bit, maple is soft and the arrow centered the tree, no glancing blow or twisting, torquing forces to snap the head off. Just hit wood and broke in two.
I should also add that I run big boy bows at 65-70 pounds with a 30" draw so if I put an arrow in the ground I don't expect it to come out ok. However my buddy runs a more modest setup at 50 pounds and 28.5 draw and like I said he snapped 2 off clean.
I wanna add that I think I've shot 5 deer now with the Abowyer with only the one coming out unusable so I don't think they're bad but wanna continue my search for something stronger and be nice for a wider head too.
I appreciate the suggestions so far and I do have my eye on the VPA single bevel for sure. I just wish I could get they're head in a 1 1/4"-1 1/2" cutting with. Or a Tuff head with a bigger cut would be cool too. As far as the Iron Will I'm not afraid of the price but I'm leery of any head that the ferrule is a separate piece most I have seen will only have 1 out of 3 spin true.
Try Razor Broadheads. A2 steel and plenty wide: https://www.razorbroadheads.com/product-page/razor-200-grain-screw-in
I use glue on Cutthroat 190 gr broadheads. I had a real good, steady Blood trail on the first Moose I shot. This years Bull was coughing out blood after the first jump and died in sight as well as 3 other Whitetails so far.
I thought I knew how to sharpen until I watched a video from Ranch Fairy on YouTube.
I have killed a lot of stuff using the Abowyer Wapiti head. No problems with anything breaking or bending.
Hunter74,
I use the Abowyer 145 Grain 1-1/4" Bonehead carbon steel glue on then added an insert to get to 270 grain but if you look at that head vs the screw-in bonehead you'll see a significant difference in the dimensions, thickness, ferrule length, and what I believe to be more structural integrity. May not be what you're after, but just wanted to clarify the differences. Can't speak from experience on the Razors but have heard some decent reports. Absolutely no negativity taken, there's compromise somewhere on all these as you don't get something for nothing...
I too would be happy to see a larger cutting diameter single bevel from VPA, and I'm certain it will come but may be in the higher weights which is fine by me. :campfire:
You mentioned three blades so I'll go down that path....of course I am partial to a big 3 blade head :biglaugh:
With the horsepower you are shooting I don't know why you'd mess around with narrow 2 blade heads on north American game animals unless you just like seeing your arrows skip down through the woods after going thru a critter.
I've shot the biggest animals in North America with big Snuffers out of equipment in the similar range as yours (60-65 lbs, 29 inch draw, arrows 650-700 grains) and penetration is not a concern to me. This includes a couple of moose, a muskox, and a handful of elk as far as bigger stuff goes.
If I was in your shoes I'd track down some Big Jim big 3 blades (the inch and a half ones) or some old 1.5 inch Snuffers. If you want something in current production the VPA 1 1/4 inch 3 blades are really good heads. You have the horsepower....push a BIG hole thru!
R
I've shot the Grizzly and the Cutthroat as well. I've shot one deer and a black bear with Grizzly and one deer with a Cutthroat. I've had less than exciting results with the Grizzly regarding blood trails. But like you mentioned I saw both/heard both animals fall. This year I made a shot on a doe that I instantly regretted but had a good ending. It was almost straight down and entered her right side. The arrow took out her right side lung and went through her heart. I did not get an exit.
However, the blood trail was amazing. Blood three, four feet sprayed up tree trunks. I say all that to say it's what the broad head cuts, not the broad head, that gives us the blood trail. Regardless, I'll be sticking with the cutthroats on my carbons and I'll use 3 blade VPA's on my woodies simply because I already have them. Good luck on your search!
-Jeremy :coffee:
I use Big Snuffers most of the time with the 160's on a 75-grain brass adaptor, but if I use a two-blade single bevel it's a Cutthroat 160 glue-on with a 75-grain brass adaptor and have had good results with those.
Thanks a ton for all the replies gang!
I'm definitely gonna pick up some big 3 blades to test out cus they have my curiosity! I just hope I can get them scary sharp this time around...I have some old Wensel Woodsman laying around somewhere but I never used them on deer cus I couldn't get them as sharp as I wanted them. Hopefully my sharpening prowess has come along as much as I think it has :goldtooth:
I'm still a believer in single bevel though. Big thing my buddy and I have witnessed over and over the last several years is deer just don't seem to react and run so we watch most of them fall over. Maybe just coincidence but I think there's something to the single bevel slipping through the animal with such efficiency that they don't realize they're hit. It's also nice being able to blow through shoulder if one gets in the way!
My last three bucks with a 225 grain Tuff Head on a heavy wood arrow, have gone down in seconds, in sight. As you said; they don't react as panicky, and stop to try and understand what happened, then tip over.
Tuff Heads come sharp, and are easy to sharpen. They are made of knife grade 400 series stainless steel and hold an edge really well. The ferrule goes almost to the tip for strength. I've shot completely through large boar hogs with shields with a 45# longbow.
I had good results with the 225 Vandieman heads. They are 1 1/4" wide.
Blood trail was easy to follow. No head damage.
I have looked at them Vandieman heads and like the looks of them for sure. My two hang ups, which are fairly minor, is they seem to be hard to get ahold of and out of stock a lot and 225 is sort of an odd weight. I'm sure I can find 225 grain field points but I don't see them regularly.
Right now I'm liking the Razorhead dimensions and design but man I hate that it has a screw on ferrule and not one solid piece.
Another caveat for me is I'm sort of stuck at left bevel. I anchor with a feather to nose touch and I need to run left wing with the tail of the feathers curved up for this to work well.
If you Google Lusk Archery Adventures, there's a guy from Iowa that has tested hundreds of heads which may be helpful for you. Virtually all of the heads being discussed have been tested including the Vandieman.
The tests are probably not perfect in sorting out Animal lethality but you can see how they stack up on a host of very important integrity & performance characteristics. :campfire:
:archer:
Following this thread and looking up the recommendations on line....so many of them are no longer the 3:1 ratio that the original single bevel heads were. Why is that?
Quote from: Roger Norris on December 24, 2022, 06:36:46 PM
Following this thread and looking up the recommendations on line....so many of them are no longer the 3:1 ratio that the original single bevel heads were. Why is that?
I started with the 3:1 Single bevel idea and I ran into tip curl and tip damage plus they were mostly narrow cut. I gravitated to wider cut for more trauma and shorter for more structural integrity. I've had no issue with penetration on any of them.
The VPA 3 Blade 250 grain 1-1/4" cut are fairly long and I like them a lot. No penetration issue and structurally sound, big hole. That's my two cents...
What Chuck Jones said! I have used many broadheads like many of you. I used Grizzly for longtime. But, I have had my best results with Tuffhead broadheads for me. I have a few that has taken 3 or 4 deer with complete pass throughs and watch them drop. Not promoting them, I still carry my old favorite ACE in my quiver too, but for my 55# bow I have noticed a difference.
:archer2:
Here's some size reference for you. The Ironwills are 150 grain. Double and single bevel with bleeders. They are SHARP!!! The Abowyer brown bear is 175 gr without insert and the bonehead is 140gr without insert. I've killed with the two Abowyers but not the new Ironwills.
There's a bunch of good heads out there. I haven't tried them all but will always be partial to an old fashioned zwickey. Here's a picture of the tree my deer was standing in front of.
Nice Jed—is that a 2 blade or 4 blade?
That's a two blade, but I use both. I like the way they sharpen up and fly.
Thanks again for all the help gang!
So currently my decision is to try out the Razor heads for a wider single bevel and I'm also going to pick up some VPA 3 blade heads to experiment with.
Shocked that anyone has broken an Abowyer head. I love them, have killed a few deer with them and they seem absolutely bulletproof. They are made of pretty high quality steel and sharpen up nicely. I shot this buck through the shoulder with a 250 grain Wapiti screw in. Split the scapula and penetrated 12" with 600 grains behind it pushed by a 55# Stalker recurve at 16 yards. Great blood trail too. These are very high quality heads and are a bit pricey but not the highest out there.
Nice work with that Abowyer!
With the exception of a rabbit with a blunt and a pig with a Tusker Aztec, all animals I've killed with compounds and trad bows have been with Outback broadheads from Australia - both the Supreme and Stealth models. Very affordable and easy to sharpen. I believe they are currently not producing but they're working on starting back up again soon.
Grizzles 30+ years. I have shot a couple others but always go back.