If you like to go out for a weekend hunting trip every once in awhile but can’t stand the hassle of owning or using a gun, a nice hunting crossbow is a great thing to have. However, while a crossbow is relatively easy to use with just a little bit of practice, finding the best crossbow broadheads to use can be a real challenge. Let’s go over some of the crossbow broadheads currently on their market. We’ll list their pros and cons, and then decide on which one is the best and which one gives the most value for your money. Let’s get started!
Crossbow Broadheads Overview
What are crossbow broadheads? To put it simply, they’re the things you put on crossbow bolts that actually pierce the carcass of the animal you’re hunting. A crossbow broadhead can be made from a variety of materials, but plain old steel is the most common. When you’re shopping for crossbow broadheads, you’ll need to consider a variety of factors besides just accuracy. Durability, aerodynamic stability, penetration ability, and how big of a mess the broadhead will create on the carcass are all factors that should be carefully considered. Before we start reviewing individual products, lets go over the two main categories that modern crossbow broadheads fall into: mechanical and fixed-blade.
Mechanical Versus Fixed-blade Broadheads
Mechanical (or expandable) crossbow broadheads are kind of like the hooked teeth you’d find on a great white shark. Once one of them penetrates an animal, two blades on the sides of the broadhead will automatically expand to ensure that the bolt will stay attached. Even if the animal is still alive and running around, the bolt will stay stuck in the wound, creating a clear and obvious blood trail. Mechanical broadheads have two main disadvantages, however: they’re more expensive than their fixed-blade counterparts, and they have a tendency to cause a lot of damage to the animal’s flesh (making it much harder to harvest and cook the meat).
Fixed-blade broadheads are recommended for beginners because they’re cheaper and easier to use. However, if you’re totally committed to your hunting hobby, don’t feel bad for bypassing them and going straight to mechanical broadheads.
Broadhead Grain
A broadhead’s grain is simply how much it weighs. So if, for example, you buy a 90 or 100 grain broadhead instead of a 125 grain broadhead, you can expect your bolt to fly through the air a little more quickly. However, the lighter the grain you use, the less penetration power your bolt will have.
Therefore, the animal you’re hunting should determine the type of grain you use. A bear will require the heaviest grain you can find at your local outdoors shop, a deer can be dealt with using a standard 125 grain broadhead, and using anything but the lightest grain available on a rabbit will deal irreparable damage to the carcass.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|
|
Check Price |
|
 |
|
|
Check Price |
|
 |
|
|
Check Price |
|
 |
|
|
Check Price |
|
 |
|
|
Check Price |
Other Considerations
There are a few more things you should know in general about crossbow broadheads. For one, it’s possible to get crossbow broadheads with snubbed noses for target shooting. This way, you won’t have to wear down the sharp edges on your normal bolts. Second, you can get broadheads with up to four blades for extra penetrating power. Finally, consider how often you want to sharpen your broadheads. If you already have a specialized broadhead sharpening kit on hand, this isn’t much of an issue, but if all you have is a normal knife sharpener, consider cutting down on the number of blades you have to worry about on your prospective broadheads. Now, on to the products under review!
Rage Crossbow X 2-Blade Review
This pack of 3 2-blade broadheads is a great thing to get if you’re just starting out with your hunting hobby. The Rage brand is especially known for creating crossbow broadheads that are very precise, and this particular product is no exception.
Even better, this crossbow broadhead comes equipped with Ferrule Alignment Technology. Ferrule Alignment Technology, or FAT for short, is a new aerodynamic technology that ensures that all the blades on the broadhead remained fixed exactly in place. Like the wings on a plane or the fins on a helicopter, the blades on this crossbow broadhead will guide and steady the object while it’s in flight, greatly increasing the chance of a critical hit on the animal you’re hunting.
Shock collar technology is another thing on the blade that will help the broadhead to stick to the animal. Even if the animal tries to dig out the blades of the broadhead by rubbing its hide on a tree, the bolt should still stick.
This is a mechanical broadhead. One practice broadhead is also included.
- Well-rounded set of broadheads for beginners
- Even comes with a practice broadhead for easy training
- FAT technology will keep the crossbow bolt steady in the air even if the shooter wasn’t very accurate
- Shock collar technology will startle and mentally disarm the animal when contact is made
- Will make for an especially precise bolt, even at long ranges
- Mechanical blades can be difficult to maintain
- These broadheads are significantly more expensive than average
- The bright color of the broadhead could scare away animals, especially after you fire and miss
Final Verdict
Overall, this is the kind of crossbow bolt you want to get when you’re just starting out or want to get one of your kids into hunting. It’s an all around good broadhead that comes with few disadvantages. If I had to give it a rating, I’d rate it four and a half stars out of five. So is this the best crossbow broadhead you can possibly buy with your money? Read on to find out.
Carbon Express Quad Pro Review
This crossbow broadhead set is a little more, shall we say, “advanced” than the preceding broadhead set. Instead of two blades, each broadhead comes with four. While this means the bolt won’t fly through the air as quickly (thus decreasing the effective range of your crossbow), the quad blades are very useful for digging through the tough hides of large animals like wolves, bears, and elk.
On the other hand, this is still far from the heaviest of crossbow broadheads that you can find. So even if you’re inexperienced, don’t be too afraid to try this one out. While it might not be the best crossbow broadhead that money can buy, this set should serve you very well for medium-sized game hunting.
The front parts of the blades on these crossbow broadheads are designed to sit as close to the main shaft as possible in order to maximize the bleeding edge. This will result in a wound that’s fairly small but very, very deep. Unfortunately, this product does not come with a practice broadhead. This means that you’ll have to wear down the blades every time you go to a practice range.
- Four blades will ensure a great wound and blood trail on the animal
- 100 grain is at least adequate for most animals, whether you hunt big game or small game
- The blades on these broadheads are extremely sharp, and they should stick to the animal fairly easily
- Not the most accurate broadhead set on the market
- Not a mechanical broadhead
Final Verdict
It’s hard to say that this crossbow broadhead set will give you the best crossbow broadhead on the market. However, the quad blades on this set are very effective and very nice from an aesthetic point of view. I give this product four stars out of five. If you decide to buy, make sure that you also buy a case for the broadheads so that you don’t cut your fingers on the blades.
Keep in mind the main disadvantage of this broadhead: the high number of blades means that the accuracy of the bolt is going to be significantly reduced. Therefore, stay away if you’re someone who is easily frustrated.
125 Grain Fixed Review
Now we’re on to the heavy stuff. These three blade broadheads are great for hunting in a very thick patch of wounds where it’s very hard to get in more than one shot on an animal.
Unlike the previous two crossbow broadheads, these broadheads come with screw-on tips. This way, you can adjust the shape of the broadhead as you want to better account for wind and other climactic conditions.
These broadheads are very sleek and easy to clean. The heads are so sharp that they may be able to completely go through an animal like a pig if you’re shooting up close. Therefore, these bolts are ideal if you’re planning on using a crossbow primarily to protect a farm or garden from intruding animals.
- Screw on tips make these broadheads very versatile in different weather environments like rain or snow
- Not very expensive
- Good for close range target practice
- Very good looking
- Not very good at long ranges
- Not a mechanical broadhead
Final Verdict
While these aren’t the absolute best broadheads you can get, the low price of them means that they’re a great value. As long as you keep them locked up in a warm room at all times (except for when you’re using them), these broadheads should last a long time as well. I would give these broadheads three and a half stars, but their low price forces my hand. Four stars.
Pack of 3-3 Blade Review
These all-metal broadheads are not meant for hunting animals, but for practicing martial arts. They will only fit onto a very heavy crossbow and the range on them is not very far. Do not try to hunt with these bolts, because you will only wound the animal and the blades will probably not stick.
Many people would think that these aren’t the best crossbow broadheads on the market. Some people might even think that these broadheads are junk. However, the price on them isn’t very high, and there are many people out there that are interested in crossbow shooting for historical reenactment or martial arts purposes. Especially in the case of someone who wants these broadheads for martial arts purposes, it’s not always desirable to get the best product if you’re only going to be using it for a few short exercises.
On the bright side, the simple design of these broadheads should mean that you won’t need to get replacements for them for a long time. You should also be able to store them in a gym locker for a long time without running into any maintenance issues.
- Very durable broadheads
- Easy even for a beginner to understand how to use
- Great piercing ability at close ranges
- Not ideal at all for hunting
- Might have a hard time keeping these blades sharp
Final Verdict
Overall, I give this product a rating of three starts out of five. Even though these broadheads are cheap, you’re not exactly getting a great deal for your money. However, since the broadheads are perfectly functional for non-hunting purpose, it would be unfair to give them a rating lower than the one I am giving.
Carbon Express XT Crossbow Broadhead Review
This is one of the fanciest crossbow broadhead sets you can get on the market. You can order the broadheads to be either 100 grain or 125 grain. The blades on these broadheads resemble shark’s teeth, ensuring that any animal that gets pierced with them will never escape. Even better, these broadheads aren’t that much more expensive than the cheapest broadheads you can get. But are these the best crossbow broadheads? It’s difficult to tell.
On the one hand, all the advantages I just listed are very considerable. These broadheads are designed to spin in the air as smoothly as possible, ensuring accuracy at very long ranges. Plus, while serrated blades wear down faster than normal blades, they will stick in the animal much more easily.
- Serrated blades
- Will fly very straight in the air
- Will leave a great blood trail for deer
- A little more expensive than average
- Low relative durability (difficult to store and maintain the broadheads without causing corrosion or other types of long-term damage)
Final Verdict
I give this product four out of five stars. While it’s a very great set of broadheads, it’s a set that would be very difficult for a beginning hunter to use and maintain. But compared to all the other broadhead options out there, it’s hard to make a mistake when you’re buying these.
The Best Crossbow Broadhead For 2017
For 2017, I would have to say that the best crossbow broadhead for my money is the Rage Crossbow X 2-Blade Broadhead. Though it might not look like the fanciest broadhead on the market, it’s often better to go for a product that’s well-rounded rather than a product that’s specialized for one area but isn’t good for much else. The Rage brand of crossbow broadheads is always reliable, and all the special gadgets on this particular broadhead come at a price that’s affordable for most people who are new to hunting. Plus, even if you want to use this broadhead for another purpose, such as exhibiting it at a renaissance fair or a martial arts meeting, the main blades on the broadhead should hold up for a long time at all ranges.
Don’t sweat the negative reviews for this product too much. As long as you follow the instructions for using a mechanical crossbow broadhead carefully, you shouldn’t have any major problems.
The Best Value For A Crossbow Broadhead For 2017
Though many people out there are only interested in buying the “best” product out there regardless of the consequences, there are certainly some more prudent people who are mainly interested in getting the most value for their money. For these people, the crossbow broadhead I would recommend is…wait for it…the Carbon Express Quad Pro Broadhead. You get a lot of blades for a low price, and the relatively simple design means that maintenance won’t be a huge issue. For a 100 grain broadhead, you also get a lot of cutting power, making bolts with this broadhead ideal for a relatively light crossbow. Overall, whether you’re on a tight budget or have all the money in the world, it’s hard to go wrong with the carbon express brand.
Conclusion
When you’re just starting out with a new hobby, figuring out what all the inside lingo means for different products and specifications can be very daunting. Even worse, the people who write reviews for the products you may be interested in typically don’t explain the terms they’re using. Therefore, even if you have a little bit of experience with buying outdoors or martial arts equipment, it always pays to read detailed information before you set any money down on the table.
None of these crossbow broadheads are a terrible choice: while some might be better for some things than for others, all of them are at least functional for hunting, practice shooting, and other recreational activities. Therefore, don’t feel bad if you like one product in particular that didn’t receive a very high rating. After all, everyone has a different perception of how valuable a particular product is to them. As they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
If you want to learn more about either crossbow broadheads in particular or the other parts of a typical crossbow set, www.crossbowexpert.com is a great resource. They have both youtube videos and text articles that should help you to learn all the information you need to know.
Another tip for discerning which crossbow products to buy: if you’re shopping on amazon, give more weight to reviews that are properly formatted and grammatically coherent. If a review is just spouting off technobabble without giving detailed information, you can never tell for sure how much the reviewer was concentrating during writing or even whether the reviewer was a real person. In general, exercise good common sense and pay attention to the tone of each review you’re reading.
That’s about all that can be said about these particular sets of crossbow broadheads. Good luck with your outdoors equipment shopping spree!
Related Sources:
- Making Field Tip and Broadhead Hunting Bolts for the Pistol Crossbow
- Choosing The Right Bolt For Your Crossbow Setup
The post The Best Crossbow Broadheads Review 2017 appeared first on Best Archery Tips, Reviews and Products - PimpMyBow.
Source: http://pimpmybow.com/crossbow-broadheads/
No comments:
Post a Comment