At 260 fps you are generating about 56 foot pounds of KE.
I wouldn't shoot any expandable out there if I were you.
On Whitetails he would be fine with a Rocket Steelhead expandable even with that level of KE. Especially the 100 gr version. But I would advise him not to use any of the really wide diameter expandables.
My friends and I have killed deer with Rocket Steelheads, Snypers, Spitfires, Grim Reapers, etc, etc. We have never had one fail in any way much less fail to open. When we have hit deer where we should they died. This group of friends and the number of deer we have killed is large enough for me to go out on a limb and say that either modern expandables are pretty dang reliable or we are, as a group, the luckiest SOB's to ever sling a stick. And if you had ever watched me play cards you would disregard that second possibility. LOL! But as a group we all know what amount of kinetic energy our bows are generating and our bows are all well tuned. A state of affairs that is IMHO not the case with many who have problems with expandables.
When expandables first came out there was a type called a Pucketts Blood Trailer. It was a weird thing that had blades that popped out when the tip was compressed on contact. It was a bad design and a serious P.O.S that often failed to open. It also launched the reputation that mech heads often didn't open. And the rep has stuck. However I do not think most of the modern types from well know companies deserve this reputation. In fact I would offer this bet to any here. We will shoot 100 expandables through cantaloupes. For every one that opens you hand me 100 dollars. For every one that fails to open I'll give you 1000 dollars. Any takers? Probably not as I would feel quite confident in taking 10,000 dollars off your hands.
As for a fixed head failing? Yep they sure can. I've trashed blades on Muzzy's which are a head legendary for toughness. I had the blades on a 100gr 4 blade Muzzy fold up like tin after hitting nothing but the ribs on both sides of a 90lb doe. She died but only after running 100 yards with virtually no blood trail. I have had two Steelforce broadheads completely shatter to pieces inside deer that thankfully I still found. I'm not trying to say that mechs are more reliable than fixed heads but in the grand scheme of things the modern ones are so close that the difference is insignificant.
Another myth of expandables is that it is the design itself that causes poor penetration for some people. The truth is that it takes very little energy to open even a fold from the front expandable. Even less energy is required for opening the rear deploying types. What makes for poor penetration is the wide cutting diameters. Very few companies, if any, make fixed heads for modern compounds that have 3 blades and are 2 inches wide. But if they did people with low powered bows would sometimes have trouble with penetration on less than perfect shots.
Last edited by Todd1700; 06-06-2010 at 02:01 AM.