Since I am now shooting a lighter weight bow because of my back ... 46# @ 28 drawing 29".... I have a question about broadheads...
My preferred BH when they still made was the Hunter Head.. fortunately I still have enough for hunting seasons...
But I was looking at the ads in the catalogs (very dangerous... not recommended if wife is present) and was looking at the Woodsman heads... back in the old days I was never a fan of three blade heads...
But I have heard all kinds of wonder stories about these heads and have read they penetrate as slick as a 2 blade head and obviously leave a bigger hole...

OK, the question 1 is... do they penetrate as well as a two blade head in a bow the weight I am shooting (obviously they will be razor sharp like my 2 blades) or do they really need a heavier bow... most of the stories I read are with guys shooting 60# bows on bigger game than the white tails I will be after here on the farm...
Question 2.. do they fly as true and how do you align them when you set them up.

Either as long as your arrow is tuned and head is razor sharp.jonesy

The only thing that penetrates as well as a 2-blade head is a 2-blade head.

That's not true

Go Woodsman all the way !!!!! The people who dont shoot them are scared or  just cant sharpen them .

Can we compromise?   Snuffers!!!  

Used both and I prefer a 2 blade,just my personal preference.Just as jonesy said ,either one will work with proper tuning and sharpening.

KPaul

I personally favor sharp two blades for maximum penetration in low poundage set-ups.  Having said that, the WW has killed a lot of critters (even a few for me).  The only thing I don't like about the head is the tendency for the tip to curl.  If you try them, just snip the tip off and get the head super sharp. Assuming you don't hit bone, you should have no problem with penetration on most thin skinned game.

Claudia

I use both. I think the WW are little more tempermental as far as good flight goes. I think they penetrate well, but as good as a 2 blade? I don't think they will match the 2 blades exactly in penetration.

In my experience - which is 3 or 4 deer and 2 hogs killed with the WW - they penetrate very well, definitely comparable to a two blade. I even shot one through the shoulder blade of a deer and it dropped the doe immediately - at which point I shot her again for insurance. But, for me, I was disappointed with the blood trails on all but one of my chest hit animals.

If the shot is in right spot, it makes no difference.  I feel shot placement is more the factor...JMHO.  Just like the rest of you, I've had great & poor penetration with 2 blades & 3 blades pending where it hit.

Complete pass thru with sharp stone head from 50# selfbow on a mature boar black bear...Doc

 

I believe the Woodsman is the best penetrating 3 blade around, but it still will not match a 2 blade in penetration.  Since you're drawing nearly 50 at 29 you'd be just fine for deer and hogs with a Woodsman IMO.

I shot my 155 grain woodsmans and my Ace 160 2 blades hundreds of times into the same targets and measured each shaft before removing from target.  There was no clear winner in which one penetrated the best.  One time the WW would win and the next the 2 blade would win.  Try it for yourself.  I shoot 55@27.5.

Rob

I don't believe you will have any problems on whitetails with that setup.

Overall, I thought Dr. Ashby's tests settled the great penetration debate.

I agree with SlowBowinMo, you're drawing 50@29", that's a lot of energy and you'll be just fine.

I shot a doe last year with a Woodsman on a lam birch shaft (625 gr total) from a 44@29 yew longbow and the head completely penetrated the deer.  I recovered the deer.

Jason

my hunting bow is 46#@28"s and I get great results from the 3-blade heads.

QuoteOriginally posted by SlowBowinMO:
I believe the Woodsman is the best penetrating 3 blade around, but it still will not match a 2 blade in penetration.

That's been my experience as well. They're a decent design, but definately don't yield as much penetration as the 2-blade heads I've used.

Ahhh, the great debate.  I've seen the WW pass completely through an elk out of a 55 lb longbow and a 2 blade head not make it two inches into the side of a whitetail with the same poundage.  Where were "the results" for me on that one?  Who knows?  The problem is there are so many other factors to consider than simply arrow penetration (if penetration was the only factor, why don't we all hunt with field points?).    

To answer your questions oldgriz:
1. I think one thing we all will agree on is that a well-placed shot with a razor-sharp cut on contact broadhead will kill a deer with your new setup.  In my opinion, whether that broadhead has 2 or 3 blades won't make a difference.
2. I have had exceptional flight with the WW, and really paid no attention to alignment with fletching (as long as they spun true).

I hope this is helpful.

-Vig

Both will work. I like the way 2 blade heads penetrate, but Ive had some pretty thin blood trails with them even after perfect hits. Woodsman heads usually give better blood trails, but dont penetrate as well in my experience.

I would definintely go with the woodsmans. I shot 2 blade magnus heads for years and they performed fine, but in my experiences, they don't knock em down and bleed em out as quickly as the woodsmans do. Personally, I would never shoot a 2 blade head again.

BD