Just was wondering what the predominant broadhead was used by the majority of bowhunters. 2 blade vs 3 blade vs 4 blade. Make and model optimal. Bow poundage might also be interesting.

I'm using a 2 blade since I weblnt down to 50#. The blood trails were better with the 3 blades. I would have gone back to the 3 blades if I hadn't traded them away.

I am shooting 2 blade.

Personally, I shot 160-190 grain Snuffer, VPA 190-200 grain 1 1/8" or 250 grain 1 1/4", Grizzly Instinct 200 grain. Two blades are Ribtek 190 grain, Magnus Mag I at 160 grains, ACE 160 grains. Bows 63-71#.

Stickbow shooters tend toward 2-blades because they work and they’re “traditional”.

Wensel bros are fairly traditional and they built a 3-blade.

Fred Bear is felt by many to be a major Hero and he sold a head that could be fitted with bleeders to make a 2-blade into a 4. He was not alone in that.

And the consensus view here is that it’s “what gets cut, not cut with what”….

I would guess that “most” bowhunters use 3 or 4 blades, along with their compounds. Exceptions are the dangerous game heads, which are most likely to be 2-blades.

JMO, Stickbow shooters should avoid the short, wide heads sold to compound shooters as “flies like a field point”. Something a bit longer and narrower has a mechanical advantage in penetration.

I am a 3 blade fan, Woodsman or VPA. I’ve been hunting with a 58lb Stewart Slammer.

two blade always. From 40# to 95# bows

I shoot two blade single bevel broadheads. Grizzly Kodiaks @ 225gr. or Abowyer Brown Bears @ 300gr. from bows between 47 to 53# depending upon which species I'm hunting.

I have been using Woodsman Elite 3 blade but this year I switched to Simmons Land sharks 2 blade 1 5/8inch cut. I have been shooting 50 to 51lbs on my fingers but this year 48lbs on my fingers. My 452gr arrows are going 186fps and I shot a buck already and was seriously impressed with them so far. I had the best blood trail I have had in I don't remember when a blind man could follow it. Widow

Two blade

8 blade LOL.

All kidding aside I did shoot some 5 blade Razorbacks a long time ago.They flew well and put a nice hole in a deer.Cool head actually.They made the Thunderhead as well.

I pretty much shoot 2 blade heads these days.Stinger 150s.

2 Blades out of stickbows, I've lowered pondage to around 46# these days. I can shoot lower 50's but trying to save shoulders because I don't need more for deer/hogs.

Two blade and four blade.

Bear Razorhead, Magnus Classic, Zwickey Eskimo and Delta, Journeyman, and Tusker.

55# to 65# bows.

Two blade, 35# to 40# bow.

2 blade stingers. #40 bow

Eskimos, Deltas, and Buzzcuts all 4bld. I do have a few 2 bld Eskimos but don’t usually use them. All bows are 55 and above at my draw.

MP

I have no doubt about the lethality of two blade heads, especially those of the Bear Razorhead, Zwickey, or Magnus BUT I tend to favor a 3 blade style when I can get away with it. Currently I have some arrows made up with a set of Razorheads, AND a set made up with Barrie Rocky Mountain Broadhead Supremes. Shooting them from a BEN GRAHAM Hummingbird 58# @ my 27 in draw.

-Bones

3 blade snuffer or woodsman for me. Fly great big hole, good blood.

3 blade VPA. 53lb bow

2 blade

2 blade are magnus,ace standards & simmons land shark. Bow wt is from 41# to 47,507 to 535 total grain arrow. 3 blade are woodsman,snuffers & VPA'S. Bow wt above 47# to 53 #'s 556 to 562 total grain arrow wt.

I use 2 blade Hunter's Heads and 3 blade Muzzy's almost exclusively these days. Subject to change tomorrow.

3 blade woodsman or 125 Snuffer,4 blade Razorhead with the bleeders or a wide 2 blade like the Simmons Tiger Shark. Never a narrow 2 blade . To many dead end bloodtrails !

I use all three, depending in part on the bow I'm shooting and the game I'm hunting, and also just whim. This year, I'm shooting two-blade Hill and Hunter heads, 2-blade Zwickey No Mercys and three-blade Woodsmans.

2 blade Zwickey Eskilites. I've toyed with the idea of switching to 3.

For deer I like the Palmer Extreme cut 4 blade head, 3 blade razorcap, 3 blade snuffer, 4 blade muzzy phantom and 3 blade woodsman. For hogs I like the 2 blade simmons land shark and interceptor, two blade muzzy phantom (with bleeders removed). I'm shooting a 47lb Palmer recurve, Heritage 150 haft with brass insert or without depending on the weight of the head which come in around 540 grains give or take.

Ace 2 blade

2 & 3 blade heads. Bears, Zwickey’s and Snuffer 3 blades. Had good luck with all of them. I never tried a four blade broad head. Used bows in the 45 to 50 pound range.

2 & 3 blade heads. Bears, Zwickey’s and Snuffer 3 blades. Had good luck with all of them. I never tried a four blade broad head. Used bows in the 45 to 50 pound range.

I'm mostly using Bear Razorheads with the insert. I have enough others to outfit an army but I keep coming back to the Bears.

Strickland right bevel 2 blade 40#.

What ever is very sharp

2 blade Eskimos.

Rick, That is a given!

I like bear razorheads, 3 blade VPAs and anything Zwickys. Not a fan of single bevels, I tried the Aboyer heads and the deer only ran 80 yards but it hardly bled.

Razorheads with bleeder or Woodsman. No matter what poundage.

Have been looking at Abowyer Single bevel Bonehead Large at 210 grains. My two blade heads have to be gnarly, wide heads.

My main BH is the wensel woodsman, great BH. I also have some Eskimos whcih are also a great BH.the rest are just knew I play around with, like a Simmons or stinger etc...

Much earlier in this thread someone mentioned a 8-blade broadhead. Don't laugh too hard at that, they were actually produced! Back in the day (in the seventies if my memory serves me correctly) Duke Savora who designed and marketed the Savora Super-S series of broadheads actually did produce a few 8-blade models. They were sent to a few collectors but I do not believe they were ever put on the market. As well, he also produced a few 6-blade models but again I don't believe they were marketed.

I've been using 3 blade snuffers since 1986 , used to shoot 70# down to 61# now

175 gr VPA 2 blade.

2 blade Eskimos

I’m with GUTPILEPA…….whatever is sharp works for me.

2 blades the most last 3 years and before that 3 blade woodsman’s. I prefer the 3 blade blood trails but I get the 2 blades way more scary sharp so been using them.

Wish they made a 125 -145 gr Simmons glue on.

40 years ago when I was getting started an old man told me that I should shoot the biggest head that I thought I could shoot all the way through whatever I was shooting at. That logic still works. For most of my bows over the years that was a 3 blade snuffer. Now that I’m old and broke down I’m leaning toward a two blade with a bleeder.

I know a guy by the name of Bud that shot 8 deer (if I remember right) over 8 years time with the same broadhead and arrow shaft. He was using a Zwickey Eskimo 4 blade. He sharpened the main blades with an Ecco kitchen roller sharpener and I think he sharpened the bleeders with a file.

2 blade bows ranging from 39#-48#

Mostly I have been a two-edge ("single dagger blade") broadhead user. That's 35 +/- years and happy results. Recently I have been using a three-edge (Mowoc Dot) and am pleased with the results. I do see better blood trails with the three-edge but can't really say the deer travel any more or less distance before dropping. I guess my survey sample is too limited.

Ultimately, I would say the one you can shoot most accurately and get a double lung or perhaps heart hit will be the best choice.

3 blade VPA mostly, but, gonna try sum 2 blades on pigs

Sharp 3 blade does just fine on hogs.

I have never heard it suggested that there might be an accuracy gap between 2 blades and 3 (or 4, for that matter). But sharpening… that is one of those things which can vary by operator….

All of that fits with my experience….

One of my Trusted Resources always mounts his 2-blades horizontally (assuming that means perpendicular to the string, if canting) because that prevents any planing during the earliest and largest shaft oscillations by keeping the blade in the same plane…. Which makes sense to me. And ONLY a 2-blade can do that, so maybe that’s something?

2 blade

I mount 2 blade horizontal and 3 blade in a "Y" configuration.

I’ve been shooting 160 grain 2blade STOS. I know somebody a few days ago said they were junk, but couldn’t prove it by me. They fly great, and are easy to sharpen.

Thought I’d try three blade VPA and Cutthroats this year for perhaps better blood trail but they all fly well.

TWO-BLADE!

shot a lot of deer with this head! easy for me to sharpen and leaves a great blood trail!

shot a lot of deer with this head! easy for me to sharpen and leaves a great blood trail!

I also shot STOS 160 grains until the disappeared. Easy to sharpen and flew very well. Liked them and they drew good blood, plus put allot of pigs down. Moved to ACE and Magnus Mag I heads, then back to Snuffer and other 3 blade heads.

The 3-1 ratio worked best for Ashby. That would be like a 3 inch long broad head with a 1 inch wide cut. Never tried them, but the Bear greenie always worked fine when sharpened with a Rada tool.

3 blade vpa.

Under 50# - 2 edge. Over 50# - three edge. Just my personal thoughts. When in doubt use a two-edge. I have had good luck with those up to 60#. But I do find the added damage of a three-edge where you have the energy to get it through the animal and out the other side is a plus. Note that I also taper the last 10" my shafts for added penetration. Foremost is the head that you can present with the most accuracy to the vitals of the animal.

to the op's question, i would say the predominant broadhead used by bowhunters is a 3 blade if you are including those that hunt with a compound.

my guess is a 2 blade is the predominant broadhead for those of us that hunt with a stickbow.

Two blade, 2216 aluminums from a 55 @28 Ghost.

I'm team 3 blade, all day every day. I've dabbled with two blades but have never been satisfied with them always coming back to 3!

MA3, VPA, Grizzly Instinct pretty much covers all my bases...

As Stumpkiller mentioned I also shoot tapered and footed wood arrows. Most of the time with heavy 3 blade heads up front. Occasionally, a big wide two blade will get to play.

Two blade.

I’ve been shooting single bevel 2 blades for over a decade. I’ve shot deer every year and recovered every one I’ve shot in the last decade, but my blood trails have sucked and I’ve spent hours walking grid searches. This year I used a three blade cutthroat and I had 100x more blood on the ground. I’m sold on the three blade and I’m never going back.

Hmmmm….

I whacked my eyebrow un-stringing my bow and left a pretty good blood trail all the way across the parking area to the clubhouse… That was only a”single” and it wasn’t even sharp!!

Glad that works for you. I was shooting Grizzly Styk Massai that were shaving sharp. Obviously hit vital organs as I recover a dead deer. That slit like entry +\- exit just seals up. The big triangle from the three blade does not close and makes a world of difference. That’s what I’m using from now on.

“I cannot believe a heart or lung shot deer with a razor sharp broadhead would not leave blood?“

Better recalibrate your reality, dude

I stitched a buck right through both ventricles and found ONE drop the size of a pinhead where the arrow dropped out after being snapped off. The head buried in the off shoulder and the entrance holes through the meaty part of the near shoulder and the ribcage failed to align in a way which allowed any blood to escape the chest cavity.

That was a Thunderhead 125 3-blade, and those puppies are SHARP right out of the pack.

He piled up in sight, fortunately, but without leaving any blood on the ground even where he fell. Even his muzzle was spotless.

3 blade woodsman 42# supper curve, 2 this season watched them both drop

In 2017 there was a poll about blood trails. Given a sharp broadhead in a vital area, guess what was the next most important. It wasn't the number of blades or the size or the bevel but the presence and/or location of an exit wound. It would be interesting to see what the majority bowhunters would say today...

All my blood trailing has been on hogs. I've shoot Magnus Mag I heads, STOS, Ribtek, ACE, 3 blade Snuffer, VPA and Grizzly Instinct heads ranging from 160 to 250 grains and all from fairly heavy bows. (63-67#) Probably 95% pass thru's and decent to stellar blood trails. Thinking about trying single bevel Abowyer 210 grain Bonehead large.

Two blade Ace.

Lots of blood.

No worries.

Yep, Jim, that’s exactly where I hit the zero-blood buck with the Thunderhead. So I had a bigger hole in a bigger heart.

Conclusive Proof that there are NO guarantees on external bleeding, so it’s worthwhile to learn how to trail an animal without blood on the ground.

Jim Hamilton: you hit a deer in the heart with a fieldpoint it will eventuallt die. What we want is "drop in sight", tough that only happens occasionally. I have had deer turn and look where the arrow struck the ground benind them and then collapse. That is the best.

Organs, like gardens, benefit from proper drainage. Shoot what gets your arrow out the far side. Sharp is much more important that the number of cutting edges. I taper the last 10" of my shafts to reduce resistance to penetration. That's what I am striving for.

3 blade VPA, wood arrow and a 46# draw longbow.

2 or 4 Blade. Bear Razorhead, Zwickey Eskimo or Delta, Tusker, Ace Standard, Journeyman, Magnus Classic, broadheads. Wood or aluminum arrows. 55# to 65# recurves.

Nice picture Stumpkiller.

Great pics as usual Nemo.

Yep 4 blade magnus very very sharp is what I like

So the verdict is in; Sharp!!! is the winner.

Bear Razorheads, Zwickey Eskimo with bleeder, mid weight Ribteks.

3 blade HI Precision.

Mostly 2 blade used Bear,magnus, zwickey & lately ace.Tried 3 & 4 blade broadheads but always go back to 2 bladed broadheads.

Switching from two to three this fall……

Supernaut: "Nice picture Stumpkiller."

Thank you. Pity the shaft broke when the arrow passed through the deer and hit a root, and when the deer stepped forward it broke the shaft. I have one Douglas Fir tail tapered shaft/arrow that has killed two deer and is looking for a third. I don't mind losing an arrow per deer; but being able to clean, steam, straighten and reuse one is a joy.

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