So it's my first year bowhunting and I'm trying to finish getting set up. It's time to pick a broadhead. I'm leaning towards a mechanical, specifically the Grim Reaper Razortip Whitetail Special. It's a 2" cutting diameter. I thought I remembered reading awhile back that a cutting diameter that big needed enough energy to properly deploy and still get adequate penetration. I'm shooting a Bear Arena 30 at 60 lbs and 27" DL. Arrows are Beman ICS Hunters. Will this setup work with this broadhead or should I look for something different? Any recommendations for something better?
That might be a little light. It will kill and the GrimReaper does have the springs that eases opening the blades. The cam action of the Killzone or Rage would take less energy in theory. Or maybe consider a smaller cut on the 3 blade. Just a thought.
So maybe the standard Razortip as opposed to the Whitetail Special? Is there a better option? It seems like there's a bunch of options, maybe too many?
At 27", you have a pretty light arrow and a large mechanical is going to need a lot of KE to do the job. Remember that a light arrow is going to lose KE very quickly. You might be better off with a smaller mechanical or my preference, a good fixed head.
You could try a heavier arrow but with your set up you are going to be a little under bowed for a mechanical, a fixed head will work great for you and for your first shot at a deer you want the best odds of success.
Just a little more. The GrimReapers in question will certainly kill. The ideal situation is that you get a pass through. The momentum in the setup described is adequate but marginal. I have the same draw length but shoot 72#. I have wen through lots of broadheads over the last few years. As you get to the MAX cut expandable 2"+ the number of pass throughs decline significantly, especially if the animal is mature and close to 200 lbs. I have killed deer with the 2" GrimReapers and gotten pass throughs on most occasions the variance here being 10 more pounds of draw weight. As said the 2" cut will work but my personal opinion would be a 1.5 inch cut 3 blade with the current setup.
Thanks for the responses. Based on what's been said if I go with the Razortips I will use the standard diameter instead of the 2". The question now is if I use this mechanical head or figure out how to tune arrows to a fixed head. Which is better?
I would definitely tune to a fixed head. A lot of guys out there will go to a mechanical because it doesn't show the flaws in the tune compared to a fixed head. If you have a good used head it should work as well. If you tune to that, your mechanical should work fine. A lot of it has to do with getting your centershot correct and then broadhead tuning it. You might already be familiar with it but I would look up Walk back tuning and/or French tuning. Both methods help tremendously. There is also a modified French tune as well. A lot of knowledgeable guys on here can help with that if needed as well. I commend you on wanting to get it tuned correctly. Too many guys slap on a mechanical and go
Like Kurveball said I always tune to a fixed blade head first. I usually have some Slick Tricks or QADs laying around and use those. Most of the time once I get those tuned I have no issues with the mechanicals. The better you tune the more efficient it will be too.
Everyone has a favorite. I did taxidermy a long time. At one point I was mounting lots of bears and some deer brought in by the same group. They always seemed to have decent holes n were raving at a head made by wasp called a jackhammer. Im a stubborn old school guy n always the last to try anything but I did try them. Let me tell you something, As a taxidermist you hear every war story, more than once, often more than once each time you see customer. Ive never once even heard of a failure, can't say that bout many other mechanicals. The guys were shooting 60 lbs 15 or so years ago w older bows n blowing through. I myself prob killed 100 deer w that head, never been a problem. One time I tried the Grim Reapers, first practice shot the blades broke. Second shot the blade bent on another one. These were tied shut n that shouldn't have happened. Want a big cut the jack hammer comes in 1-3/4", pretty close to the grim reaper 2". Ill add, I shoot beman ics n have a 27" draw, I shoot 400s. Normally at 70 but last year or so due to shoulder probs I was closer to 60. As long as you don't hit a shoulder the arrow is going through. Blades are fine, you'll hear a pop n watch a deer pinball for 30-40 yards n fall over. No tracking involved
One of the top choices on my list for a fixed blade is the Wasp Drone. I'm impressed with all I've read about it. Maybe I ought to stick with that. As I stated, my biggest concern is appropriate tuning but better to get that done and shoot a better head for my setup.
I understand the tuning aspect if it. My understanding is that once your tuned to field points you have to then retune for fixed points? That's where I'm stuck is how to get fixed points and field points shooting to the same point
