WKP Todd

The closest thing I've tested to a failure on a variety of mechanicals is when the blades shear off on some of the cheaper (thin-narrow blades) ones. I use an old "block" tarket to test mine. If I can't put the head through the target multiple times without loosing blades or causeing a major failure, I won't use it.

Shot placement is the biggest thing. I also know of a buck that was shot this past season with a fixed head at a hard quartering-away angle, and the broadhead deflected off the ribs, basically going through the arm-pit without entering the rib-cage of the buck. It left a major wound, but the buck survived and was killed during gun season. Would you consider this "head failure"? Anything can happen with any head. You don't believe me, how would you explain lost animals before the advent of mechanicals?

I use mechanicals because it reduces my tuning time, increases my forgiveness and accuracy at greater distances. I've killed something like 12 or 14 different deer with my heads only loosing one to a low brisket shot, which wasn't the heads fault - it was only following my aim!

HuntingBry

I'm not here to tell anyone how to shoot or what shots to take, but I think we will all agree that a spine shot facing directly away is a very low percentage shot and that hitting the spine directly can destroy many broadheads. While the fact that your broadhead came out looking like you had shot it into a wall should not be dismissed because any broadhead that is well made, fixed, mechanical, whatever should not fail like that. I think that your example shows a combination of a poorly made head and a less than optimal shot selection. That's not to say that you could not make that shot, but losing that deer cannot be attributed solely to the broadhead.

I have used mechanical heads for 15 years and at times have switched to fixed blade heads. I have lost several deer with fixed heads, due to poor shots. I have only lost one deer with a mechanical and that too was a poor shot. This does not mean that one is better than the other, it just means I need to shoot better.

quiksilver

Put it this way Bry, I know I'm not the first or the last guy here to take a straight-down, walking straight-awaychip shot (10 yds or less) into the spinal column. A couple inches left or right puts it straight down through the chest cavity. A dead center hit crushes thevertebral bodies at impact, separating the spinal columnand immobilizing the deer in its tracks. The vitals from directly above areclose tothe same size as they are from abroadside treestand shot. There's really not all that much less to aim at.

Not everyone will admit tointentionally taking a spineshot. But, there are plenty of readers out there who will read this post, take a quick glance up onto the wall at a rack with a bent-up aluminum shaft hanging in the points and givea nodacknowledgment that it is quite effective.

Believe me, if I think I'm about to get an 18 yard quartering shot, I'll wait. But if I don't, then I won't. It's that simple. Every opportunity is different.

My Muzzys, at 76#, 29.5" will reliably chew through a spinal column like a hot knife in butter at close range. I learned the hard way that some broadheads (at least the Trisk SK125) will not. Like I said before - complete mechanical failure.

So, I'm sure that if you want to hunt with a quiver full of Triska's, and wait for a perfect broadside 20 yarder, then by all means do. I'm sure they'll perform wonderfully, and you'll be left with a bloodtrail that a blind man could follow. All I'm telling you is not to expect it to reliably crush/penetrate the spine in all circumstances, because there was at least one circumstance where it failed miserably.

Ijust won'twait for a perfect shot to present itself if I don't think it's going to happen. Maybe that makes me unethical, maybe it doesn't? I just expect my broadheads to be able to decimate a vertebral body at close range and separate the spinal column after a well-placed spine shot. I expect them toshatter an adult whitetail shoulderblade en route to the vitals, or saw through a couple ribs on impact. That's why I hunt at 76# instead of 56#. That's why I threw away the Triskas.

atlasman

I never had a "failure"............but I had a less then optimal performance with the WASP JAK-HAMMER.

Shot went right between the ribs, right through a lung and dead center through the heart...........what it DIDN'T do was pass through the opposite side hide.

I had one HIGH hole in the deer and scattered drops of blood..........then it started raining. One of the more difficult track jobs I have done and the deer only went 100 yards. It was early and the woods were thick so it was a long, hard, slow job finding him. If I had gotten a pass through I would have found him in 1 minute............instead it took almost 3 hours and 4 guys.

From that day forward I made it my primary goal to get a pass through so I didn't have to go through that again.

The head performed EXACTLY as designed though so no knocking the WASP.

passthru79

My one and only failure. I did recover the deer so I dont count it as a complete failure. Scenario was 40 yard shot at a doe, she was perfectly broadside until some squirells made noise underneath my stand and then she faced me. I had been at full draw for quit some time and decided to take the shot. Frontal shots are deffinetly not my prefered shot to take but I was more than confident that I could put the arrow where it needed to be. Anyway at the shot the deer jumped the string. One of the blades nicked her chin and kicked the arrow down. It entered the white patch on her throat hit the neck bone and slide down and exited just above the chest coming out the front just like it went in.

bigzombee69

Mechanicals fly great BUT! If anyone has hunted in the snow or frezzing rain those blades are frozen shut or you hit that off shoulder and dont know that you broke part or all of that blade off and go to guttin and find it the hardway or forget to put new o-rings on the next season and wonder why the head opened in flight. Those are just some of the problems I've had with them. Now I shoot Muzzy 4 blade 100gr or 100gr shuttle T which do unspeakable damage and I dont have to collect those tiny little rubberbands anymore.

Justin

If this is the same buck I know about, it was shot with a fixed blade head. If it's not the same buck, I'm in idiot.

Either way, it's win-win.

TEmbry

just the possibility of this makes me stick with the trusty muzzys. they probably wouldnt fail me if i got some, but who wants to take a chance if you get good flight with fixed blades?

passthru79

I had the same problem of deflecting off the ribs a few years back when I shot a doe at a steep quartering angle, fortunately the arrow did penetrate the chest cavity but didnt do it until just in front of the heart. The arrow entered at the last rib, and luckily all the arteries coming out the front of the heart got cut when she took off runing with the arow still in her. That was a 100grain 3 blade muzzy.

buck-i

never had one fail shot many of deer with older slow bows the VORTEXS performed great.shooting a carroll intruder and high country excalabur.
a head with 2 inch cut does the job. if the head would fail it would still have a 7/8 inch cut.