Arthur P

I like 5shot' s tests too. Too bad there wasn' t someone doing something like that back 20 years ago when I decided to try my first batch of replaceable blade heads. I wouldn' t have bought those crappy Satelite Aeroheads, I know that. It' s nice to know that a head will hold together when shot into the stuff he uses. At least I know I' ve got something that will stay together.

Instead, I got to pick up all the blades that fell out of the Aeroheads, before I got two steps from the truck, when the bottom came off my Catquiver and my arrows fell onto the pavement.

But, I do agree with the original point. Too much garbage being overhyped, overpriced and oversold.

Turk_man

C903, I`ve had the misfortune to have a buck jump a log the second I released my arrow from 30 yards away and the arrow hit the ham of the Back leg. Although it was the farthest thing from the shot I wanted because I was using a heavy arrow and a good broadhead (125 Thunderhead) the arrow shattered the femur and went into the second leg were it severed the fermortal artery. This was not the hit I wanted or planned for but since I am only in contol of everything on my side of the bow things can go wrong. This deer only went 30 yards and i can guarantee that if this would have been a light weight arrow and a less than optimum broadhead this animal would have been coyote food.

BOWFANATIC

All that money your wasting on new broadheads![] Could have bought yourself a few scent-lok suits by now

3 Blades

I like 5 shots test too. You can' t accuratly test the strenght of a broadhead in a hunting situation, its not possible, there are way too many variables like range, bow poundages, arrow weights, deer size, ect. The only way to compare differant heads is in a controled environment the way 5 shot does. I am very thankful that he shares this informanion with us, because personaly I don' t have the cash to buy all the those heads to test myself... Thank you 5 shot

c903

Most fixed broadheads on the market will do the job. It is not difficult, at least for me, to spot a poorly made broadhead once I have it in my hands.

I am not coming down on " 5 shot," however, the system that he has indicated that he uses, be it " 5 shot" or anyone else, is not a true and reliable controlled system, nor test. When testing and/or comparing, there are many conditions, too many to list, that must be met and must be exact from shot to shot with each brand and type of broadhead to meet the requirements of a true " controlled test."

You cannot shoot one broadhead one time into a medium that the broadhead was not designed for, and then determine quality and performance, and comparative quality and performance.

Regardless of the reported results of such test and comparisons, the experienced bowhunter will (still) discriminate. The inexperienced bowhunter will consider the results to be the gospel, and pass on good broadheads for less cost.

However, it is the individual' s call.

wrongway

Has anyone tried to put a real deer shoulderbone on a target to see what happens when it gets hit by the broadhead & arrow? I work at OLIN Winchester Ammunition,and I have heard that we test new big game ammo by shooting thru animal hide & they put a shoulderbone inside the gelatin block. Maybe 5-shot could work some shoulderbones into his broadhead & arrow tests.

5 shot

c903 God Bless you buddy! if nothing else you sure don' t have a problem telling it as you see it.[:-]

wimp

I have broken bones in a deer' s shoulder on several occasions. Mostly they have been the opposite shoulder, but they were broken none the less. I' m talking that thick bone with the ridge, and the other cylindrical bone, I' ve broken both. I don' t see how you can say that broadheads don' t bust bone. They do, maybe not all of them, but thunderheads sure do.

c903

5 shot, it is not a personality issue. When making claims and/or providing information that can affect a person' s belief and decision, whether the person' s conclusion is for or against, personality and popularity should not be part of the process. To integrate personality and popularity in the process is to base opinions and decisions on politics; not on facts and not what is seemingly genuine.

Surely, you realize, regardless of your personal disclaimers, you have surpassed the level of just a personal opinion based on personal experience, and have set yourself up as a " quasi-expert" in testing, comparing, and evaluating commercial products. In doing so, what you report and what you say about a particular product, affects the opinions that many readers will have about a particular product (broadheads) and the choices they will make regarding a particular product (broadhead).

Therefore, like it or not, you have put yourself in a position of having to demonstrate that your skills in testing and evaluation and the methods and materials you use are appropriate -consistently appropriate, and that your findings are credible and objective.

If I were a manufacturer, having invested incredible amounts of money in salaries, research and development, manufacturing costs, and advertisement, I would not be happy if I were to discover that the integrity and sales of my product was being negatively affected by (possibly) a " backyard" operation.

Wimp

Never said that a broadhead cannot break or fracture a bone. I am disputing any direct or implied claim that a particular broadhead is capable of " busting" ANY bone at all times, even completely penetrate the bone, and that a broadhead is inadequate if it cannot do so.

Such a claim and belief is erroneous, leads to rejection of good broadheads that are not advertised as such, and can mislead some people into believing that a shot at a deer can be less than as perfect as is possible.

Arthur P

Well, at least 5 shot isn' t biased. That' s more than can be said for practically every ' broadhead test' I' ve ever seen in a magazine. The only one I' ve seen that' s been worth a flip was the one in ' Bow and Arrow Hunting' last fall. Fair, unbiased and factual. All the rest seemed to have some kind of agenda - proving that mechanicals are superior to fixed - proving fixed are superior to mechanicals - or any variation thereof. Gotta keep the big advertisers happy, ya know, and you don' t do that by proving them out to be liars. I was very impressed that B&A Hunting magazine had the cajones to print it.

Frankly, as an experienced and discriminating bowhunter , I was very happy to see that several broadheads I have long preferred (Muzzy, Bear Razorheads and Magnus) happen to have come out quite well in 5 shot' s tests. And some that I' ve rejected as junkers before ever taking them to the woods also flunked his tests. In other words, test performance of the heads I' ve tried have correlated very closely to my experiences.