canadian_extreme

I've talking with one of my hunting buddies and he has agreed to go after elk with me with are bows instead of our rifle. So now I'm wonder if i should stick with my deer boardheads which are 100 grain rockets or if I should go back to a fixed broadhead which I go to the muzzy.

For guys that say mechanical don't open I took my first bow kill with them and it did wonders to the 175lb deer that I took the doe didn't go 20 yards from where i hit her which the shot was a quarting towards me and I made a complete pass though.

my step up is mathews Lx 70lb
arrows= easton epic 400 at 26.5" 100gr

skeeter 7MM

I have used mechs on deer and while they worked fine, I have switched back to 100gr fixed heads for all my bowhunting needs. I find it easier to stick with one head for the variety of game I may be hunting vs always switching and relearning the tendancies. I will admit I never tried anything but a fixed head for bear, moose or elk, so I can not comment from experience on the mech may provide. Maybe some will chime in with their experiences with mechs on elk or larger game.

I have used Muzzy with good results on Elk, Moose, Deer and Black Bear. I have now switched to cut on impact and love the results for doing so, they fly right with my field points, sharper, easy to tune and all produced clean pass thru's. I have blown through moose, elk, black bear and deer with the Magnus Stingers with bleeder blades(100gr) and Steelforce Premium 100gr (2 blade).

My setup is a Martin Cougar Mag at 72lbs with 300 CXE (28.5") and currently run the SF Premium 100gr heads.

The most important thing is proper tuning of your bow, without this you will have problems on the larger animals. I would personally suggest testing some of the fixed or cut on impact heads for the larger structure of an elk, if for no other reason then one less thing to consider and knowing your bow is truly tuned!!!

BTW, where abouts you guys planning on hunting (WMZ)???

idahoelkinstructor

Canadian_extreme I highly recomend to use a fix blade broadhead. The muzzy is an excellent choice. I have killed elk with both fixed and expandables. In my home state of Idaho they (mechanicals) are illegal. Elk are very tough animals and have a very thick hide so I like a dependable fix blade broadhead. Mechanicals will open just fine, that problem has been long solved, but they just aren't quite as strong. If a big bull has been wallowing and had 1/2" of mud on him and you also hit a front leg, shoulder bone, or even a rib bone. Well that can be a lot to ask of your broad head and I want a broadhead that can penatrate all that and still blow through tha vitals and out the other side. Giving me two holes to bleed through for a blood trail and a quick death. Also I like the heavy arrows to get this job done. When I do my part and everything is perfect and a bull is standing under 20 yards or so and broadside. The last thing I want or need to worry about is will my arrow and broadhead do its job. Just my 2 cents hope it helps.

Wolf killer

I dedicate 99% of my bow hunting season to hunting bull elk. I have killed four elk with my bow over the last 7-years. I have tried other broadheads in the past. I prefer 125-grain Muzzys.

ahunter55

Big animals I have taken with fixed blade 3 Blade Rocky Mountain 125 gr. Razors & Ironheads. Black Bear (2 P&Y), Caribou, Elk, & a est. 900# Buffalo. I am shooting a 60# compound. I have also taken several wild hogs & they a real tough..
Fixed Blade.

gselkhunter

The only broadhead I use is a 4 blade 130 muzzy. It has enough weight forward to have major impact, and on a big animal like an elk kinetic energy is everything. The more weight the longer you hold your energy down range. And I get very good blood trails from both sides of an animal.
Gselkhunter

elknut1

For starters I'll mention that Mechanicals are illegal in some states such as Idaho!

I personally wouldn't go that route, there are so many other quality broadheads on the market today to choose from, no sense in gamblin whether yours is the one that may not penetrate or open properly, it does happen!!

We (our hunting camp) have used both thunderheads and muzzys for years and have taken our share of elk with them. But the more I hunt & mess with cut-on-contact heads the more I'm convinced they out-perform fixed blade heads. I used the Magnus Stinger 4-blade 125 last year and can say they without a doubt did better than a muzzy would.

Any decent head these days can do the job under the right situation just as a 40lb bow can harvest elk, but for those marginal or less than desired hits or distances you're better off with 55+lbs and stout heads as Stingers, Snuffers, or G5 montecs or similar heads, it's taken me a few years to apprecieate this but I'm sold on their performance.

For what it's worth, cut-on-contact gets my vote!! <grin> ElkNut1

Archer18

here in Idaho mechs are illegal and i wouldnt use them anyway, i suggest a fixed broadhead, ive used muzzy and my dad has used muzzy for quite some tome (100 grain) hes brought down 6 pt bulls 6 years in a row, and each bull didnt go but 20-30 yards at the most (robinhood36 is my dad) ive had success with muzzys as well, i shot my spike wiht one and he went about 24 yards, i would also look into 2 blade cut on impacts, such as modocks, or the 3 blade montec. anything fixed or cut on impact is the way to go, muzzys arent quite cut on impact but we have had a lot of success with them

Elkcrazy8

I have used the cut on contacts for several years. One thing you need to remember is that cut on contact 2 blades with no bleeder blades have clean wound channels that can close easier(flap together), I experienced weaker than normal blood trails using this type. The penetration was awesome and each bull went down fast, but the blood trails were weak without the bleeder blades. I shoot around 80 ft pounds of ke so penetration is not an issue. I switched back to the muzzy heads because I wanted an extra wound channel for trailing purposes. If you are shooting a lower ke I wouldn't hesitate to suggest the cut on contact heads because they will give you the best penetration possible. IMO I beleive that a 3 blade cut on contact would be the best. As the wound flexes in any direction, it will open at least one wound channel giving you a trackable blood trail with great penetration.

canadian_extreme

to skeeter 7mm i will be hunting wmz 48 2 miles east of okla i see the elk on a regular basic there because i drive truck on highway 49.

where do you go?