Maine Hntr Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 So I know it's been posted a million times prior, but what's everyone's opinion on mechanical vs. fixed? Tried out the G5 T3's last year and shouldered a deer and never found it... The arrow just didnt get the penetration it should have and that ive seen before, I know it's all about shot placement but everyone knows you can't always be perfect, whether you misjudge distance, wind etc... Do fixed blades give you the most forgiveness if shot placement is just a bit off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetailfreak55 Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 I just switched to fixed for this deer season. I lost a Buck this year with not enough penetration. No blood no arrow no buck kinda makes a Guy sick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierhunter Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 unfortunately it depends on where you miss on which broadhead works best. You sacrifice penetration to get cutting diameter with a mechanical to fixed. I personally aim right on the edge of the shoulder and shoot a muzzy. I would rather miss forward than back, but I'm shooting over 80lbs of energy with my setup which is much higher than most people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 unfortunately it depends on where you miss on which broadhead works best. You sacrifice penetration to get cutting diameter with a mechanical to fixed. I personally aim right on the edge of the shoulder and shoot a muzzy. I would rather miss forward than back, but I'm shooting over 80lbs of energy with my setup which is much higher than most people. X1000 You'll easily lose a deer with a head-on shoulder bone shot with anything. Hard bone shots like that I'd rather have a fixed; gut shots and a rage is your friend. Best advice is to make a good shot, the rest will almost always work out no matter what you have on the end of the arrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 yup good advice so far. i think that fixed blade heads offer more durability and can punch through better than mechanicals in general. however, even in a perfectly tuned bow a fixed blade will never fly as well as a mechanical. cross winds catch fixed blades more and there's more drag to effect the arrow flight and drop at longer ranges. they all work and unfortunately you can't really control how you miss other than picking your shots. if you're shooting mechanicals only take perfectly broadsided or quartering away shots. if you're shooting fixed blades (with less cutting diameter) don't aim for center mass in the lungs, hold tight and up from the back of the leg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Agree...good advise so far. I don't know if I'd call it more forgiveness though. In my mind I'm thinking that implies forgiveness when it comes to shot placeement. Obviously, it's always best for your wound channel to be through the vitals. Fixed blades provide better penetration over mechanicals. You're odds of making a pass through are better so tracking becomes easier when you have an exit hole. That's even more important if you shoot a deer from a treestand since your exit hole will be lower in the chest cavity and entry is generally higher than hunting from ground blinds. When you do shoot a deer try to determine where you hit it. Poor shot placement means waiting a lot longer before you attempt your recovery. There are fixed blade heads out there that fly pretty darn good when compared to mechanicals or field points. As a general rule of thumb though, the bigger the cutting diameter on a fixed blade, the higher the risk it will be affected by cross winds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrown Posted June 15, 2012 Report Share Posted June 15, 2012 I wouldn't go as far to say that your not going to find a fixed blade that won't fly as good as a mechanical. I don't like mechanicals, and I shoot a fixed blade that'll hit exactly the same as a field point at 60 yrds, as far as a cross wind goes, I agree. If the cross wind is stout enough to effect a fixed blade though, your more than likely are not going to take the shot with mechanical either. Sorry for alway being the doubting Thomas! :boo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted June 15, 2012 Report Share Posted June 15, 2012 abrown no need to be sorry. the word accuracy most of the time has a subjective meaning... Oklahoma has got stout wind all the time in my opinion. whenever i was out there it never stopped blowing and whatever i was shooting is effected. lol i don't know how you all out there learn to live with it! assuming your equipment is in tune and your heads are squared up to the shafts you can get a decent fix blade to fly more than well enough but i've always been able to group tighter with a mechanical at extended ranges (40+ yards). the difference is usually very minor and my pickiness usually exceeds my ability. i'll take all the help i can get though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted June 15, 2012 Report Share Posted June 15, 2012 I prefer Muzzy and Wasp fixed blade..have shot rage also..I think waiting for that quartering away shot is critical no matter what head you use..a poor choice of shot angle is hard to make up with any head...NOT saying your shot was..just sayin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrown Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 I shot at a bedded buck once on the open prairie, 30 yrds, missed atleast by 3 ft thanks to a cross wind! Most hunters always hunt down wind, but I'm finding more and more that if you can hunt up wind, but slightly off angle, your chances of harvesting a machure buck increases. Diddo on choices of fixed blades. I shoot the Wasp BOSS SST, love em, they don't leave much of a blood trail though. I usually don't worry too much on the position of the deer, I just try to avoid that dang shoulder blade. I prefer to shoot the deer in front of the shoulder if he's quartering to me on shots less than 30 yrds or so, usually pile drives the arrow into the chest cavity. That's what I like about watching hunting shows, they over emphasize shot placement and where to aim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
need2hunt Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 I used to use fixed blades all the time and then I tried the NAP Spitfire expandable. I've seen more animals go down quicker and have better blood trails than any of the other heads I've used. I know that part of that is confidence, spitfire is the first head that hit exactly the same as my field tips. So not having to mess with my set-up right before season to get broad heads hitting correctly definitely made my confidence and accuracy go up. I'm not against fixed blades, just found what works best for me and don't plan to fix what isn't broke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elkoholic Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 Unless you are shooting 40+ yards or are dealing with strong cross winds, I see little advantage to mechanical heads. I have used them on deer when shooting a Browning Apparition set at 86 lbs. shooting 540 grain arrows at 300+ fps and can tell you with that setup you can shoot through both shoulder blades using mechanical heads, but very few people shoot that sort of setup and I no longer do (although it is my backup bow). With most standard archery hunting setups shooting in the 260 fps range there is little reason to not be able to tune your bow (or have someone else tune it) to shoot fixed blade heads to the same point of impact as field points. This fixation we have with arrow speed is a detriment to arrow flight with either fixed or mechanical heads. One would be better off shooting a heavier arrow at slower speeds and using a fixed blade head than going for more speed with a lighter arrow and a mechanical head. Bottom line is, a fixed blade has a very low chance of failure, my choice, and a mechanical head may, or may not, get the job done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerClay Posted June 19, 2012 Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 I gave mechanicals a try for a couple years and I just could not get the "hopefully this head will work correctly" out of my head. I went back to my Slick Tricks that fly just like field tips and leave slug holes in deer. Last year I had a doe take a step just as I released and it made the shot quartering to me. I entered the front shoulder and the arrow exited out the opposite hind leg. You cannot get better penetration than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaronlaw777 Posted June 21, 2012 Report Share Posted June 21, 2012 Rage I like being able to shoot practice heads and go straight to the field. Thats why i choose rage. However, put it in the boiler room and you should get your animal. Plain as that. I have had the rage however, show me a lot of forgivness. My 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueGrit72 Posted June 24, 2012 Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 Broadheads I love shooting fixed blades I prefer slick tricks they are small four blade broad heads put a doe down last season even missedplaced my shot but I dropped her where she was standing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted June 24, 2012 Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 to me a person should shoot what they are the most accurate with. i have time to tune bows, tune arrows and work on my setups. the reason i shoot a Muzzy is that i can get it to tune great for my setup. i have pin point accuracy out to 60 yards and thats only because i choose to not shoot past that distance. to me shooting a broadhead because you anticipate something going wrong is the wrong mindset. all you should be thinking about is the perfect shot your going to make. i prefer to shoot a fixed head because it flies great for me and thats the bottom line. yes it takes time, effort and patience. but what the heck else are you going to do in the off season? Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maine Hntr Posted June 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 to me shooting a broadhead because you anticipate something going wrong is the wrong mindset. all you should be thinking about is the perfect shot your going to make. Tony, this is not at all why I asked the question, I was just looking for others opinions on what they like better and why. The mechanical heads although fairly new to the market in the past 5-10 years are quite intriguing because of how they fly and the size hole they typically make, I decided last year to try and go mechanical and it just didn't happen for me personally, that being said the arrow flew good I just think I hit 1 or 2 inches right of my mark. I shoot my broadheads and try and figure out what works best not what works best when I make a mistake... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowhunter97 Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 I think fixed blade give more forgiveness. Mechanicals dont open 100% of the time. The only time ive shot a deer with a mechanical was on the deer that would have been my 1st bow deer and it didnt open and i lost the deer so i threw the mechanicals away. One broadhead i always though was cool wat the NAP 2 blade Bloodrunner it is pretty much a fixed blade with a 1 1/8 inch cutting diameter but if it does open it has a 2 1/2 inch cutting diameter. So for me its a win win. i might switch to them this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slash Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 X1000 You'll easily lose a deer with a head-on shoulder bone shot with anything. Hard bone shots like that I'd rather have a fixed; gut shots and a rage is your friend. Best advice is to make a good shot, the rest will almost always work out no matter what you have on the end of the arrow. I strongly agree that it doesn't matter if you're using a fixed or mechanical, as long as you get a good hit. I prefer Muzzy and Wasp fixed blade..have shot rage also..I think waiting for that quartering away shot is critical no matter what head you use..a poor choice of shot angle is hard to make up with any head...NOT saying your shot was..just sayin Tisk Tisk Tisk....I'm disappointed Martin. RAGE ALL THE WAY!! I'm not against fixed blades, just found what works best for me and don't plan to fix what isn't broke. I agree, the first buck (or deer for that matter) I ever shot (bow or gun) was with a RAGE mechanical. It didn't go anymore than 40 yards and dropped. Maybe it was just shot placement, I DID have a pass through, as it was only a 15 yard shot, but ever since that day I've been a strong advocate for the RAGE mechanical broadhead. It also doesn't help that I probably have a biased opinion since I used to work for Field Logic, the company that manufactures them. LOL. i prefer to shoot a fixed head because it flies great for me and thats the bottom line. yes it takes time, effort and patience. but what the heck else are you going to do in the off season? Tony Amen, we can't just fish the entire off season LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger-Hunter Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 One thing I learned (ingrained) in hunter safety class... The definition of a trigger, "a mechanical device that WILL fail." The more moving parts, the more apt the shot is for error. Fixed blades all the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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