I'm not trying to make excuses for them not opening. I'm just saying my experience was just the opposite of yours. If you look at all of the new broadheads they are going to smaller cutting diameters due to people using the large cutting diameter heads with too light a setup, plus the flight characteristics are better. The fixed portion of the head still has a 7/8" cutting diameter which is definitely bigger than a field point and plenty big enough to kill a deer provided that your shot placement is good.

As far as the energy issue is concerned, it sounds to me like he shoots a low energy setup. Mine blew through the deer at a quatering to angle at 8 yards. It went in tight behind the shoulder, came out low in the stomach, reentered the lower portion of the hindquarter, came out the hindquarter and still buried in the ground 6-8 inches. My bow is set at 71#, shooting a 405 grain arrow at 304fps and I have no penetration problems.

After re-reading your post, on one hand you say that Then you say Also you said he shot the deer high and had very little blood but that a "decent boradhead" will draw a lot of blood. I've shot a deer high using 2" Vortex 3 blade mechanical and I had virtually no blood. Regardless of what others say, I belive there is a "no man's land" between the vitals and the spine and more than likely does not result in a lethal hit. I belive that is where your dad hit the deer based on you saying there was very little blood and a lot of fat on the arrow.

I think you are using a less than perfect shot to bash the broadhead. The only complint I had with the one I recovered after my shot was that the mechanical blades could stand to be a little stronger because they bent a little and were dinged up pretty badly either from passing through the ribs or burying in the ground. Otherwise they seem to be a good broadhead to me.