Mechanical Failure
06-21-2007, 05:26 PM
#33
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location:
Posts: 469
RE: Mechanical Failure
ORIGINAL: Cay4redneck
I have a good reason. My cousin was hunting last year (I was there at his house) and a doe walked out at 30 yards. He was using a PSE and was shooting mechanical broadheads (ill have to check which kind), when he shot, the blades opened up in mid flight and the arrow started swirving around and it fell to the ground. This is a good enough reason for me not to use them.
I have a good reason. My cousin was hunting last year (I was there at his house) and a doe walked out at 30 yards. He was using a PSE and was shooting mechanical broadheads (ill have to check which kind), when he shot, the blades opened up in mid flight and the arrow started swirving around and it fell to the ground. This is a good enough reason for me not to use them.
06-21-2007, 05:28 PM
#34
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location:
Posts: 469
RE: Mechanical Failure
ORIGINAL: Windwalker7
I just read the post above mine.
I really liked those Rockets.
Yeah, they were usually only good for one shot but they did kill deer.
I read somewhere that they were designed to bend or break blades as not to impede penetration. That way if a blade hit bone, it would just shear the blade and keep on penetrating.
I've even shot through a few shoulder blades with them on really close quartering toward angles.
Check out this entrance wound with Rocket that was taken at a sharp angle
I just read the post above mine.
I really liked those Rockets.
Yeah, they were usually only good for one shot but they did kill deer.
I read somewhere that they were designed to bend or break blades as not to impede penetration. That way if a blade hit bone, it would just shear the blade and keep on penetrating.
I've even shot through a few shoulder blades with them on really close quartering toward angles.
Check out this entrance wound with Rocket that was taken at a sharp angle
OH...................MY....................GOSH! Rambo 90# bow quik?
06-21-2007, 06:49 PM
#35
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Where the ducks don't come no more
Posts: 4,420
RE: Mechanical Failure
ORIGINAL: markj
WOW! What was the cutting diameter on that bad boy? Was it a boat propeller?
WOW! What was the cutting diameter on that bad boy? Was it a boat propeller?
) and NEVER had one not open. Awesome broadhead.
06-21-2007, 10:44 PM
#38
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Sturgis, SD
Posts: 1,983
RE: Mechanical Failure
I have witnessed one failure with mechanical heads on an antelope shot by a buddy. I was sitting inthe blind with him when he shot it and I dissected out the broadhead.
I don't remember which brand they were, I think a NAPbutmaybea Rocky Mountain. Whichever they were they had the rubber bands holding the blades closed. This was about 6 years ago. Maybe someone can help me out with which ones they would have been. Anyway, small buck antelope broadside at 22 yards. Shot through the window in a DB blind so the mesh had no effect. He hit the buck high and spined it right behind the shoulder blade. Went down like a rock but had to hit him in the chest with another to finish him as expected.
We thought it would be a good test to see how the broadhead held up when hitting bone so I dissected it out very carfully. Going through the hide and epaxial muscles it looked like a field point wound. When I got the muscle cleaned off, the broadhead was stuck in a vertebral body about half an inch and all three blades were still closed and embedded in the bone tight to the ferrule. The head never opened, even when going into the bone. The rubber band was still intact and pushed back up the arrow shaft about an inch and a half.
I really have no explanation as to how the blades could remain closed in this situation. We took pictures of it and sent them, with a letter, to the company. I even took the piece of bone with broadhead still in it and put it in the freezer and offered to forward it if they wanted to look at it. Never heard from them.
The broadhead was not defective as neither of us had used Mechs before so we had opened themall up and bascially been playing around with them in the blind for 2 days prior to him shooting the antelope. All of them opened and none of the blades seemed sticky or hard to open.
Complete mechanical failure of the head of which I have no explanation. Fortunately we didn't lose the animal so the head did the job. Had it been a chest hit and not opened we not have recovered him?
I don't remember which brand they were, I think a NAPbutmaybea Rocky Mountain. Whichever they were they had the rubber bands holding the blades closed. This was about 6 years ago. Maybe someone can help me out with which ones they would have been. Anyway, small buck antelope broadside at 22 yards. Shot through the window in a DB blind so the mesh had no effect. He hit the buck high and spined it right behind the shoulder blade. Went down like a rock but had to hit him in the chest with another to finish him as expected.
We thought it would be a good test to see how the broadhead held up when hitting bone so I dissected it out very carfully. Going through the hide and epaxial muscles it looked like a field point wound. When I got the muscle cleaned off, the broadhead was stuck in a vertebral body about half an inch and all three blades were still closed and embedded in the bone tight to the ferrule. The head never opened, even when going into the bone. The rubber band was still intact and pushed back up the arrow shaft about an inch and a half.
I really have no explanation as to how the blades could remain closed in this situation. We took pictures of it and sent them, with a letter, to the company. I even took the piece of bone with broadhead still in it and put it in the freezer and offered to forward it if they wanted to look at it. Never heard from them.
The broadhead was not defective as neither of us had used Mechs before so we had opened themall up and bascially been playing around with them in the blind for 2 days prior to him shooting the antelope. All of them opened and none of the blades seemed sticky or hard to open.
Complete mechanical failure of the head of which I have no explanation. Fortunately we didn't lose the animal so the head did the job. Had it been a chest hit and not opened we not have recovered him?
06-22-2007, 09:07 AM
#39
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location:
Posts: 469
RE: Mechanical Failure
I would say they are like anything else, some good ones and some cheap bad ones.
Possibly some of the older ones that use rubber bands to hold the blades until impactwould failif the rubber bands got old and cracked. It does not take long for the bands toget brittle. I can see that heppening in flight or as the string pushes that sucker forward.
Possibly some of the older ones that use rubber bands to hold the blades until impactwould failif the rubber bands got old and cracked. It does not take long for the bands toget brittle. I can see that heppening in flight or as the string pushes that sucker forward.
06-22-2007, 10:22 AM
#40
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: ELK GROVE CA USA
Posts: 1,251
RE: Mechanical Failure
i only have one mechanical error....last year buck standing broadside at 43 yards....hit just a tad low right behind the shoulder ( i was still hunting) deer went about 30 yards and layed down. Upon skinning him i looked at the pass through and noticed that only 2 blades opend out of the 3 blades...upon exit all 3 where open.....it is a shockwave 125......i have shot that same broadhead into 3 other deer with it opening each time, no broken blades either.....
