Get the point?
There's much ado about the pointy end of a broadhead these days. It seems that a certain broadhead study was performed in the mid 1980's on tough African game and certain conclusions were reached about broadhead design. We'll dive into that subject on a later discussion, but for now, let's get straight to the point.
Somehow, despite being touted as inefficient arrow launchers, medium weight straight-end longbows have been pushing medium weight arrows through big game for a very long time. What contributes to that efficiency? In my opinion, the first thing to touch an animal is the most important. The tip of the broadhead.
In my glass business, we drill a lot of glass and tile with special drill bits. These bits are somewhat arrowhead shaped with a pointy tip. We've learned through the years that the most important part of the drill bit is the first 1/16" of the tip. If it is sharp and pointy and stays that way, it leads the rest of the bit through the material being drilled. If the bit tip is the least blunted or dulled, it makes the drilling process very difficult if not impossible even if the rest of the bit is sharp.
The Ashby study referenced above was about shooting large African animals with heavy bone structure protecting the vitals. It seemed that a broadhead with a 25° tanto shaped tip out of a heavy bow and with a heavy arrow, was the best for splitting bone. I'll not disagree. But for shooting animals on the rest of the planet, can there be an alternative that does as well... Or even a better job?
The old-fashioned way of sharpening a broadhead to a relative point has worked for a long time... Until the manufacturing of somewhat softer steel broadheads came along. Heads that were easy to sharpen but soft enough that would bend if a hard object was hit (aka ribs or shoulder blades). Having a sharp point on those heads spelled disaster a lot of the time if a bone was struck,.. disaster being a curled head. So the heads were made with a chisel tip for strength.
So let's look at what Hill used in shooting his phenomenal record of big game with a broadhead. It was quite pointy by today's standards. Sharp and pointy, which met with little resistance going through tough hide, hair and bone. Penetration was very adequate and lethal, even considering his slower speed bows and longer shots he took coupled with shot angles from front and rear angles rather than always perfectly broadside.
Hill in action, sharpening one of his famous heads. Notice the point. No tanto tip design but rather a tip that screams easy penetration.
Here's for comparison some modern broadheads with a solid reputation. The factory tanto tip angle and a tip I've filed to mimic Hill's old fashioned successful tip shape. Just a casual observation would expect that the middle head would penetrate better because the tip is angled better. Not so blunt a tip as the factory angles. The middle head just looks more lethal and streamlined to aid penetration in any medium. Those steeper angle tips would necessarily rob some energy from the arrow that could be used for increased penetration.
We're not splitting ribs 1/2" thick or scapula bones of African game for the most part. If that is the quest, then using a heavy bow and arrow configuration with the bone-splitting tanto tip may be better for success. But the vast majority of hunters in North America shoot deer. That tanto tip isn't needed and in a lot of situations may actually impede penetration because of that blunt tip angle. Specifically thinking of bows under 45 or 50 pounds.
This is an example of the way I sharpen my broadheads to the tip. Like Hill did and others before and after him. These broadheads are a cross section of popular types, using spring steel or harder laminated steel tip designs. I've never had this pointy tip bend or curl with any bone hit. And that's up to the size of moose. Also in testing these heads by shooting them into 55 gallon steel drums, they've never bent or curled.
The stories of a broadhead bending from being pointy and hitting bone were in my opinion caused by soft steel, not the pointy tip. But thinking about how to maximize penetration in a large deer, hog or elk with a 50# bow (or even lighter) my first recommendation would be to lead the way with as sharp a point as possible to pierce that hide and hair and encounter as little resistance as possible.
Food for thought for sure
. For Hill, and also me and other successful hunting archers, we get the point of good penetration and I'm trying to point you readers seeking enhanced penetration in the right direction as well. Point taken?
Shoot Straight.
as George D Stout used to say "past history is the best indicator of future performance"
ReplyDeletewhat worked for those like Hill /Schulz etc will still work just as well today
Had an older experienced fella once tell me that you dont really need a lot of force (#) to kill a deer-and stated that if you put an arrow with a sharp broad head on the top of your bear foot and stacked weight on the arrow you wouldn't get to 5 #'s- always remembered that
Another interesting topic, Nate. I have mainly shot three broadheads over the years, with some side trips with a few others. They have been Bear in the old days, then Magnus, and moved to Ribtek. I don’t recall ever curling a Bear tip, but rolled two Magnus heads on the trip of my lifetime to Africa. One of them was nearly 180 degrees from a one in a million shot that hit the fang tooth on a baboon male from an attempted neck shot as he dropped his head to eat. Barry Wensel caught it on video and asked if he could have the broadhead, as they were developing their three-blade design at the time. I tanto shaped my Magnus heads after that for a while, but never really like them as such. My belief, now, is that I was thinning the tips too much with a file. Switching to softer steel Ribteks eliminated any curling since, except slight bending from hitting lava rocks while hunting rockchucks, which is easily straightened with a Leatherman. I also changed my sharpening techniques to take less material off the tip, which may be the biggest culprit in curling points on scapula shots and such. Please keep up your discussions and thoughts. I find them very informative.
ReplyDeleteI have found that normal weight arrows (9-10 gpp) are more likely to get the job done. They tend to be bloody and stuck in the ground while heavier arrows (12-13 gpp) spend their time lolly-gagging over the backs of our wily southern deer. This is another advantage of the arrow design you discuss.
ReplyDeleteGlad to finally see a post on this subject, and I think you made several excellent points. I certainly agree that broadheads designs with 1:3 mechanical advantage (long and pointy) appears to be underrated in the sense that it is only the fourth of the twelve factors in Ed Ashby study, — at least in the context of hunting non-African big game animals where bone density is less of a concern. Modern tool steels are also far more robust now, which is another good point. The problem is that it is hard to find broadheads like the ones TuffHead used to make. I hope more hunters get your point so that manufacturers eventually follow up with products. I know that a lot of great hunters and bowyers, such as Clay Hayes, still swear to this type of broadhead and have taken a lot of game with them over the years.
ReplyDeleteVery good post Nate!
ReplyDeleteI remember years ago Paul Brunner,I think,would do tests with broadheads and green skin hides. He'd use a scale at the nock end,and drape the hide over the tip of the broadhead,and see how much force it would take to penetrate thru the hide.What it came down to is his comparison of heads like modular heads like Thunderheads,Muzzy,etc to Zwickey,Magnus,etc. I remember he almost broke an arrow trying to get it thru the hide with one of the 3 blade heads where heads like Zwickeys would go thru with very light pressure.