Well my archery season is officially over. This is really my first season experimenting with mechanicals. I started out with 2 mechanical heads (RM Snypers & GT SilverTips) and 1 fixed (Muzzy 100 gr. 4-blade). I had all three heads shooting the same spots so they were interchangeble. Well the first failure was on and elk that a buddy shot and I already posted about it. Perfect shot, perfectly broadside. Tip of the Snyper sheared off. Luckily the elk fell on the arrow and caused the arrow to penetrate both lungs resulting in the recovery of the 5x5 bull. (I shot a spike elk the next weekend with the muzzy. Complete pass-through 60 yard recovery.) The next animal was a coyote called in to about 20 yards and was shot in the neck with a Snyper tipped arrow. The tip of the Snyper was bent fully 90 degrees and penetrated about halfway throught he neck of the coyote. Coyote was recovered because the near side Jugular was severed. The third animal shot with a mechanical head was a coyote called in to about 8 yards and was shot just above the right eye. The Snyper penetrated the front of the skull and was indbedded in the back of the skull. The Snyper was completely intact and was actually used on an "attempt" (read miss) at another coyote the same day. The final animal shot with a mech. was a 5x5 mule deer last weekend. The broadhead used was the GT SilverTip. The deer jumped the string and was shot high in the rib cage. The deer was tracked over the next 2 days for about 4 miles. Yesterday, I shot the same deer on the opening day of rifle season. Inspection showed the broadhead was imbedded in the far rib UNOPENED (yes I tested the head before using it)! The top of the lungs had been hit but it was more of a tear than a cut (obviously..the blades didn't open)and had started to form scar tissue. Three of the four mechs that were shot into animals failed in respect to construction but 3 of the four animals shot were recovered. However I would definately say at least one (the first elk mentioned above) of the recoveries was a total fluke and another of the non-recoveries was partly my fault due to shot placement/animal movement (mule deer) BUT what if the blades had opened???. Now I know that somewhere along the lines of this thread I'll be called a liar, a poor hunter, a muzzy rep, or something worse I'm sure, but this is my experiences with mechs and I can say I'm not impressed. I will not say I'll never shot mechanical broadheads again. I truly believe that the Snyper is a fantastic design and will be a VERY good head when the issue with the tip strength is addressed. When this issue is fixed I will definately give that head another try. Until then I will shoot only fixed blade heads. The only reason I put this thread on is so people can see some real world application of mechs. I'm sure for my story there are a dozen that have killed every animal shot and performed flawlessly. To them I'm glad for their good fortune. My experience was not good and you can take that for what it is worth.

"What we do in this life echos an eternity"