Rangeball

How long do they last and or remain effective? I know the blades can be replaced easily like on the Muzzy and Rockets, but do you need to sharpen the tips? Can they be sharpened? How many times can the same tip go through a deer and remain effective?

In short, how many times will you sling one of these type tips through a deer before buying new heads, not just replacement blades?

Rangeball

No one using these?

amosgreg

Sorry Rangeball I missed your post yesterday.
I have tips that I used on my Antelope or deer.
I shoot them until I lose them and go from there.
The Muzzy tips (I shoot 130 grain 4 blade) can be laid on stone and sharpened to a razors edge 2 edges at a time 3 total times. Since they are tool steel unless you hit a rock dead on they are not going to bend. I have had a bent ferrel or two mostly by me when trying to pull a broadhead out of a tree. The tip was still usable, I just used it on another body.
Hope this helps


Greg

"Getting close to the game is the joy of Bowhunting for me, the harvest is a bonus."

Live 15 ft Python after eating a small Antelope!

PABowhntr

I missed it yesterday too Rangeball. My apologies. As you may know, I use the Steelheads and Muzzys on occasion. I have never had to replace the tips on either...but then again I do have two packs of each which means roughly 12 individual heads all together. Considering I shoot roughly 2 to 3 deer each year that means that I might not use all of the heads, at least once, until after 4 years. At that rate those heads should last me quite some time.

Basically, unless you are shooting one head repeatedly and it is hitting shoulder or other bone on a regular basis then I really wouldn't worry too much about the need to replace or even resharpen them unless the tip look blunted in some manner.

Illini

I'm not sure about the Pathfinder tips, although they look similar to the Muzzy's, but I also sharpen my trocar tips on a stone. I like the point to be like a needle! This requires very little work. They are normally pretty pointed right out of the box but I go ahead and hit mine a couple of times on a stone. You really want to remove very little material just a couple of passes and they're ready.

After I've taken game, I'll give the whole broadhead a careful inspection. As long as the tip looks good and hasn't impacted rock, etc. I will hit it with a stone a couple of times and replace the blades and use it again.

Rangeball

Frank, if push came to shove and you had to choose, which of those two broadheads you mentioned would you pick, and why?

I'm wrestling with this right now. Rocket has a titanium steelhead version called the meteorite, at 75 grains. I'm shooting the steelforce titanium 75 grain head currently. The steelforce fly like a dart and penetrate deer like crazy, but with all the glowing reports on the rocket penetrating equally well and flying like a field point, I'm wondering if mechanicals offer any inherent advantages to a fixed blade, besides blades are closed in the quiver so they should stay sharper longer.

What do you think?

Stealth_Force

If you found that head on Rockets web page...forget about it. It's discontinued!!! They make a GREAT head....but suck at updatign their webpage.

PABowhntr

Rangeball,

As I stated in your other thread...the steelhead would get the nod from me every time. I just dont' see any advantage to using a fixed blade head any more...especially on deer sized game.

Probably the only advantage that an expandable head will give you, in your situation, is its resistance to being affected by wind drift. That is about it.

I would be curious to see a meteorite, or steelhead for that matter, shot next to the steelforce you mentioned just to see which penetrated better and deeper...<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>