Broadhead Review 2017

Posted by John Stallone on 09/02/2017 in archery, hunting | Leave a comment

Broadhead Review 2017

So I have been recently conducting a broadhead review on my own just to see if I was leaving anything on the table. I think its important that even though I support Swhacker broadheads that I don’t get complacent and overlook what’s new on the market… Broadhead review 2017

My test consisted of the follow parameters, Accuracy, field tip to broadhead comparison,  penetration, durability, failure rate (mechanicals only), and quartering shots:

I tested the following using Goldtip Platinum Pierce 300 out of a 72# Mathews Halon 6:

Mechanical : Swhacker, Grave Digger, Rage Hypodermic, Slick Trick Raptor Trick ii , and Grim reaper fatal steel

Fixed Blade: Northern Broadheads Little Evil single bevel , DRT double bevel , Grim reaper Hades, And QAD Exodus  

Broadhead Review 2017 Results

So here is my two cents take it or leave it….

Mechanical Broadhead review: Swhacker was the clear winner for me on the mechanical side although they scored very low in durability they scored high where it counts for me. I never use the same broadhead to shoot through an animal over again anyway( except for coyotes). The Grave digger I chose I was unimpressed however looking at the design of their chisel point I feel it would have been a better performing broadhead then the cut on contact. I suppose if you were shooting lower poundage and needed the big blade up front to make a bigger entrance hole it might be a good choice for you.  The Slick trick scored high but my biggest rub with it other than the fact they basically created a swhacker is that the deployment blades did not have sharp edges so if for some reason you get a defective head and the blades don’t deploy you don’t have that back up, where the swhacker if the blades didn’t open you still make a 1″ hole. The Grim Reaper my opinion too many moving parts although they are very durable to me that’s not as important as the areas it fell short. Lastly Rage Hypodermic is middle of the pack for me super accurate, good all around broadhead but I feel it was designed solely for whitetail hunters it falls short for me for spot and stalk, long distance and bigger animals. But if I only hunted whitetail out of tree stands at under 50 yards I’d probably be shooting them because the entrance hole is as big as the exit.

Fixed blade broadheads Review:  The winner for me was the Lil Evil By Northern Broadheads they were the best all around performer, although was pretty impressed with the QAD Exodus as well. Contrary from their appearance I figured since both these broadhead have solid blade designs I figured they would plane much more then the other two competitors. But they out shot the open blade design in field tip to broadhead comparison and long range accuracy. Grim Reaper again not too impressed for my style of hunting and what I lay my confidence in.

Consequently this whole broadhead test started because I was looking for a new fixed blade to shoot out of my longbow and at slower speeds and shorter ranges I thing I’m going with pure brute force and choosing the DRT. It Performs well out of my long bow and seemingly does the most damage to the target.. I will let you know late this season on whitetail and javelina…

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