I asked the old timer at my favorite pro shop once.... "In all your years of experience, what's the best broadhead ever?" He smiled and said "usually the one ya got your first deer with." And with that he went in the back to fletch some arrows. All these years later, now that I'm older and not so literal I realize he was (as always) right lol. For me it's the bear razorhead. I've shot lots of great broadheads, but that was what got me my first. And for that they'll always be my favorite. So how bout you all?
I didn't kill my first deer with a Bear, but I consider the Bear a great broadhead. When you look at the history of commercial heads, the Ace must be considered, and the Zwickey. I guess for me, it would also be the Bear because that is what I used to take nearly all of my big game.
I also shot my first deer in the 60's with a Bear Razorhead. Having tried various broad heads over the years, it remains my favorite. I'm lucky I managed to secure a good supply of them about 20 years ago.
THERE IS NONE. Must have tried 100 by now in my journey though and as long as any one is sharp and its place in the battery box you correct the animal.
Bad shots are just that here today and gone today.
When will others learn there just isn't any best!
I have taken many things with Bear heads as well as Zwickeys too and still use them. I don't use any one or 2 heads exclusivley though never did I like to see other results and my finds are the same as all no best BH.
Not even a worse for me if the arrows hit the mark the animal fails quickley if not you the education to pursue.
bear razorhead on my first(at that time they were cheep)and like you mentioned I just kind of stuck with them.I did take one cow elk and a black bear with other broadheads but always always came back to the razorhead easy to sharpen and if need be easy to straighten between two flat rocks resharpen and your back in the game......ya gotta love em bd
I've only killed elk with traditional gear, minus a few small game animals. Yes it was the Bear Razorhead! Still use them and plan on using them as long as possible. I just picture Fred smiling down on me as I fill my freezer! DJ
Killed my first deer, Turkey, Bear, Squirrel with a razorhead. Best ever....not even close, they now reside in a picture frame above my television. Relics
A young guy came up to me at the local archery shop few years Back and asked me what I thought of some broadheads he had just bought. . They were an expandable open on impact head, I don't remember the name! I told him that I thought anybody that would use that junk should be shot with one! He left in a huff! A couple weeks later I ran into him again. He was all full of himself, and pushed a picture of a nice whitetail Buck under my nose!! He asked me what I thought of his broadheads now!! I told him to go shoot about a hundred more Bucks, and then we'll have a discussion!! For me Zwickeys preferable Deltas!!
3 blade Bodkin for my first deer. I like Ribteks but have just a couple left. I have used snuffers, magnus 2 blade, and currently use Ace. I am thinking of trying some Howard Hill soon. I like to try different stuff from time to time.
First deer was an ACE Rocket with a spray painted 24srtx Aluminum, I think it was a 2018. Killed a pile of them with Bears,Zwicky, and the old MA3. Right now Zwickey Deltas are on my arrows.
In 1978 I was unaware of any heads other than Bear razor with bleeders, so that's what killed my first 20 with. I now use Woodsman 145grain, and no complaints
I shot my first deer with a bear recurve bow in 1987 with a MA-3 broadhead on a cedar shaft. when I switched over to a compound in 1990, I shot my first deer with it using a 2219 tipped with a Bear Razorhead. I no longer shoot a compound when hunting but, since switching back to traditional bows, several deer have fallen victim to both brand heads, as well as others. However, I always end up with wood arrows tipped with the MA-3's before the end of the season. The MA-3's just work and, work very well at putting blood on the ground. And, they penetrate and don't bend on the tip like a lot of current three blade heads do. And, they are quite in flight. Which is the utmost importance hunting edgy whitetails. I'm not a romantic. I'm a utilitarian. Which is why I pick the MA-3's as my favorite broadhead. God Bless
Hey Mr. WV Mountaineer, could you give me a hint as to how to sharpen those MA-3s? Lord knows I can get my zwickey Eskimos hair popping sharp but for the life of me,i couldn't get a suitable edge on those Ma3s. I tried to do them like the Eskimos with a file and stone but couldn't bring them around. Thanks!
I got my first confirmed bow kill was with a snare-o, 6+ foot rattlesnake! My next confirmed kill was a grouse with a rubber blunt and then i got a deer the same year with a four blade stinger. Best head so far though is the cutthroat single bevel i took my last deer with!!!!!!!
I killed my first hog with a Bear broadhead with the bleeders back in 1966. But was never a big fan of the head. I switched to Deadheads right after that and killed first whitetail with it.
The Bear heads flew real good but I always liked bigger broadheads and used Gashawks and Deadheads for many yrs. Best I've ever used I use now the Simmons Tree Shark 190 grs 2" wide.
My first deer was killed with a super hibre but its definitely NOT the best ever made,lol. It's just what came on my arrows that came with my new bow. The best ever made to me is a tossup between zwickey and Ace. And they've more than stood the test of time.
I killed my first deer with a 4 blade Satellite back in 1986. Even at 14 years old, looking at the thin replaceable carbon steel blades that were broken and missing after the shot, I realized this was not the best broadhead ever!
Hmmmm. Don't remember what I killed my first deer with. My have been a Bear, but I've been shooting Zwickey 2- and 4-blade Deltas for so long that I'd have to rank Zwickey the best broad head ever. For another reason as well. Zwickey made broad heads for Bear before Fred came out with the Razorhead, which is closely patterned patterned after the Zwickey Eskimo.
And Ace made commercial brodheads before Cliff Zwickey. That said, those are all top notch heads...one likely not better than the other. Seniority though shows that a head has stood the test of time...Ace and Zwickey still going strong.
I shoot Razorheads and WW, they are my favorite. I have used a lot of other heads but these have given me my best flight and the deepest penetration. Shooting an animal in the right place is a must and it does make a difference what you shoot it with. Wev'e had several deer go over 300 yards with a double lung hits, you need something to open up the hole to give a blood trail or you wont find the animal that travels some distance even when hit well.
My first bowkilled deer in 1994 with a Bear Razorhead. Bears got too hard to find so I switched to Phantoms before Muzzy bought them. Muzzy made a few minor improvements to the Phantom and made it better. I've been shooting Muzzy Phantoms for a long time now. They are a tough head and I can get them very, very sharp on my bench grinder. I am going to shoot a VPA 3 blade out of my longbow this year. They look like a well made, tough head. I was able to get them very sharp using diamond stone and leather strop.
I bought in to the the replaceable razorblade craze back in the '70's and shot the 4-blade Satellite. Shot one coyote but missed a big muley buck. Looking back, I'm glad I didn't hit him and lose him due to a poor head design.
I remember being told that the carbide "pencil-point" of that head helped stretch the skin on impact, leaving a larger hole as the blades initiated the cutting action. We now know that is bunk, and causes a lot of pain to the animal and longer recovery distances.
An article about broadheads in the last Trad World magazine discusses this problem. I'm all for a quicker, painless death and short recoveries.
Bear Razorheads are just plain cool-looking. But I have to admit to being disappointed with the way the tips curled and sometimes separated where the blade is welded to the ferrule.
Went with Zwickey Eskimos due to the triple-layer blade at the tip.
Yea as mentioned ive tried lots. Muzzy, phantom, Magnus, buzz cuts, snuffers, eclipse, zwickey, interlocking, and even mechanicals.(can you tell I worked at an archery shop lol) I've had great luck with phantoms,interlocking, and snuffers. And all the others fly great and are tough. Wouldn't knock a one except for the mechanicals lol, but as luck would have it those three were what I happened to be armed with when the critters cooperated. But I still load up some razor heads from time to time. Is purely nostalgic for me. Just love em.
lol...the story of the the kid with mechanicals... Maybe, instead of being a jerk, you should of explained to him why maybe a coc head is better. And I'm not a fan of the Bear Razorhead, seen to many curl and bend. And if you've shot them long enough as some say they have, you've seen it too. Think I'd rather shoot a good mechanical over a Razorhead!
Shot a lot of heads, but the Muzzy Phantoms always did what was asked without any failures. But the best head? Too many options, too many heads to pick just one.
Killed my first deer with a Bear Razorhead....and my last. And everyone in between except two ... which were longbow kills. One with an old Ace,and one with a Zwickey Delta.
You guys must not be watching enough hunting shows on TV or you would clearly all know the best broadhead of all time is the RAGE!!! LOL!!!
I started out with Thunderhead 100's, moved to Zwickeys, but my latest love is the Ace...mainly because I can get them heavier for shooting on stiffer/heavier woodies...they pack a wallop!
I'll disagree. My first bowkill was with a Thunderhead 125 "Magnum" - a bit wider than the standard, and my preferences have shifted toward COC ever since.
the only head i have ever killed large animals with is the ace express. some have killed more than 2 dozen animals over the years. they have never broken, and the bent ones are easy to peen straight and resharpen. all of mine were bought before 1958.
I bought nearly 100 Razorheads off Ebay this year. I love the ease of sharpening and the 1 1/8 inch wide vented head. Killed a few deer with them in yesteryear.
but then as traditional archers we all know really ? a sharp pointed field tip will work just fine to dispatch a critter if the sharp pointed field tip is delivered to the correct spot on said critter.Shot placement and nothing else is the key to a short blood trail.If you have the best sharpest most expensive broadhead ever manufactured hell I seen some that cost over 100 bucks for 3 of the durn things (what a joke) and then you hit some big massive buck or bull right square in the butt.Wow that spendy little pack of 3 broadheads she ai'nt so hot now huh ? bd
Would a replacement blade broadhead like the g5 striker or cabelas copperhead work good with a recurve? I can't sharpen a blade well at all. Is it a must to stick to coc 2 blades with trad gear?
No, COC is NOT mandatory, but there are good modular heads which are COC.
The Magnus Stinger 4-blade is crazy-sharp. NAP really knows how to put an edge on a blade as well- though not all of their designs are all that Trad-friendly. And something like a Magnus 4-blade lets you sharpen your own and use a factory-sharpened bleeder as a confidence booster- the main blades need work, but the bleeders are fine right out of the pack.
The coupla deer I killed with Thunderheads went down plenty quick (550 grain arrows drawn to nearly 27" out of a good, #55 @ 28" recurve) and I honestly can't fault the penetration. But I do think I could have gotten a few more inches with a COC and in one case that MIGHT have gotten me a useful exit wound.
But you get right down to it...
A lot of Neotrads act as if anything invented since Fred Bear died is inherently Evil and Deficient, and that's Crap. For me, it's like the difference between tying my own flies or hucking a Rattle-trap. A hand-sharpened 2-blade is more aesthetically pleasing and brings a certain level of satisfaction, but anybody who says the plastic lures won't catch plenty of fish is full of something that falls short of Useful Information!
In my 46 years of bowhunting and serious broadhead collecting, the best broadhead made IMO is the Zwickey.
I have shot hundreds of big game animals with traditional bows and agree the Bear is probably the most widespread. In the 1960's I used them extensively but did have a point curl on rib shots on two occasions, and had one ferrule separation. Bears are easy to sharpen and I still like them, however today I use Zwickey Deltas.
Ace made some excellent heads too. I have seen collections of thousands of broadheads and there are many that will do the job. Bear, Ace and Zwickey had excellent marketing for many years, all great heads and have withstood the test of time.
NEOTARDS now what in the hell is a neotard ? you got me on that one.I do have an idea but help me out here would ya ? I did not see them listed on 3rivers or any other sight for sale.No one said anything invented after Fred's passing was inherently evil and deficient.Its just some folks personal choice of broadhead.I personaly think there are many many broadheas on the market today that are 10 fold better then a razorhead but my personal choice is the razorhead somewhat easy to sharpen somewhat easy to straighten which equals out to somewhat easy to bend(food for thought is all).However the price on razorheads is right on for me.I CAN affod to hunt with razorheads and have some dough left over for things like some food a can of coffee and some Kodiak chew not the bows.But I can not afford to hunt with those 100 bucks plus for 3 broadheads.Sad but true I would NOT be going hunting if I were to use the expensive broadheads.But again as mentioned shot placement is the key to a short blood trail bd
Doc - here I thought you were an old hand who knew about all this…
NeoTRADS are the self-appointed Trad Police who are morally opposed to such modern, revolutionary Evils as metal risers, elevated rests, plunger buttons, clickers and sights (never mind that all of these items were available and widely used in the 50s!) yet who nonetheless shoot fast flight strings and carbon arrows and can talk EFOC all day long with the best of them. Most of all, the surest away to offend these volunteer dieties of Toxophilia is to recommend something outrageous such as actually aiming ones arrows in order to hit the mark beyond the officially sanctioned 17.4 yards.
A NeoTARD is the peculiar style of undergarments worn by these self-appointed elites - easily distinguished by the narrow rear panel, which is associated with frequent, severe and uncontrollable bunching, and the shoulder straps which prevent easy removal which might alleviate the discomfort caused by said bunching.
It is not an easy life, and - God bless them - they do it all for free!
OK GF things are much much clearer now wow that was a curve with no re in front.Talking neotards I can't even spell neotrads much less know what it is.Man oh man I was thinking it was some new and really really no I mean really the best broadhead ever designed .......... I can see the full page ad in TBH now.Be the first on your block to shoot our new NEOTRAD broadhead nope nope no way nothing better on the market today thank you for looking Frank Bartel and Ed James founders of the neotrad broadhead ...... bd
Actually, the best broadhead ever wouldn't be the one you shot your first with; it would be the one you have in your quiver today. It only makes sense that you would move up to a better head as the years go by. Any of them will kill quickly if they are sharp and delivered accurately. The "best" head will be easily available in a roadside bait-n-tackle shop where you are hunting; affordable; relatively easy to sharpen to a truly scary edge; accurate shooting; leave a good blood trail; durable for shoot-throughs ('cause after all, we never miss!); and consistently manufactured.
I started out, like most old duffers, with Razorheads. I still have a few, but don't use 'em anymore because they have a tendency to bend which makes them windplane something awful, and bleeder blades are fragile and hard to find. I shot Satellites, briefly. Not good. I don't think I ever killed anything with them. I tried Thunderheads, but surprisingly they windplaned worse than anything I ever shot out of my Oneida.
Right now all I shoot are Snuffers. They are far from perfect. They're a bugger to sharpen. They are somewhat erratic in quality. However, they are accurate, durable, moderately affordable, and leave an impressive blood trail. They work with wood, aluminum, and carbon; and equally well from a recurve or a compound.
But it's not all logic, either. I'd dearly love the opportunity to take a deer with a Browning Serpentine or a Deadhead, although neither is a particularly great broadhead. I know a lot of folks who love Muzzys, and their reasons make sense. I just don't like 'em. No real reason, just taste.
Bottom line, if you are at full draw, waiting for that monster buck to take one more step into an opening, you are worried about clipping that branch five yards in front, about the wind switching, about whether you accidentally grabbed the arrow with the questionable fletching; but if it doesn't cross your mind to worry about whether your broadhead will do the job, you've probably got the right one, no matter which one it is.
I don't know about it being the BEST... but I sure am looking forward to trying it out this year.
It was made by a friend of mine, as I am sorely lacking in the skill required to pull this head off, but it seems to look like it just belongs at the end of one of my bamboo arrows...
Killed my 1st with a Wasp Cam-loc 4-blade in '86 but I certainly don't consider those the best.
I've killed a few with Razorheads but have had the separation problems with them mentioned above, and tip curl with the "newer" stainless Razorheads.
Probably the "best" heads I've used were 2-blade Magnus Journeyman heads. Very quick clean kills, easy to sharpen and durable. Every time I lose one it makes me mad because they are really hard to find these days.
Funny you mention those Satellite heads RD. I also killed my first couple of deer with Satellites. They worked, but are far from my favorite....... Rarely ever recovered one from an animal that did not have at least one or two blades broken. Very thin blades.....010 or something like that. Smoked a lot of critters with Muzzy three blades too. They just plain work. I really like the Magnus Stinger 2 blades best now. They work and are tough, but the Zwickey Eskilite 135 grain two blade seems to be the best bang for the $ now. My 12 year old son killed his first longbow deer last year with one of those. He was shooting a Jim Reynolds Thunderstick Mag and it burned right through her. Fell out on the other side. That means more to me than my first deer....so I would say the Zwickey Eskilite is my favorite broadhead......for sentimental reasons as well. Take care and God bless!
GF that's why I'm not trad n never will be. I shoot stickbow cause its what I started with n it worked so saw no reason to change. I shoot Ace cause its the first good head I owned and again, saw no reason to change. I have tried a few that were given to me and they were fine but no better than what I already owned.
The best broadhead is subjective, but to me it means original Wensel Woodsmans. I've used them for a long time and they've never given me a reason to want to use anything else. When they eventually get to the point that I don't want to shoot them at big game any more, they do double duty as small game points, so I get a lot of mileage out of them. They come with a lifetime guarantee, but I don't ever remember sending one back.
The best I ever used would be rated on cost, not the best in regard to how they kill. That would hands down be the old Bodkin broadheads which could be bought for $4 a dozen when I first started hunting.
There is only one answer to this question...The best broadhead ever is the one you have the most confidence in and that of course will be different for each of us. For instance..I despise 3 and 4 blade heads.The business end of my arrows always carry Bear Razorheads without bleeder blades(the best ever IMHO) however.....This might smack of hypocrisy but I recently started experimenting with Simmons for no other reason than an experiment.Perhaps there will be a new sheriff in town.... Just sayin'.....
