I shoot a mattews bow at 70 lbs. with a 28 in. draw. I currently use Rocket Sidewinder mechanicals. I am going elk hunting in Sept. and was hoping that someone might have used the Rockets on elk and could tell me how they performed. I would also like to hear if anyone has had good luck with mechanicals on elk. On deer size game I have had great luck with the Rockets, although I usually never get a complete pass through. The broadhead makes it out the other side but only once did the arrow make it through. Hope someone can help me decide on what to shoot this year!

If it don' t make it through a deer you can be sure it won' t come close to making it through on an elk. Get a good fixed blade or cut on contact head for elk.

I use Muzzy 100-grain 3-blade broadheads on Elk, Bear & Deer.

Leave the mechanicals at home.

Ive been bowhunting for over 30 years and guiding elk hunters for the past 15. I will not allow any of my clients to use mechanicals. Try a good 3 balde. I can recommend Thunderheads and Muzzy.
Just my .02 worth

Shooting 60 pounds & came out the other side on Elk, Caribou & Black Bears-big ones. 3 Blade Rocky Mountain Razor. fixed 3 blade for sure. Good Luck.

Alot of GOOD advice above. I prefer Thunderheads for Elk, and Deer, and
Bear, and everything.

Sorry but I agree with those who say leave the mechs at home when you take after Elk this fall. Penetration is key to larger game with larger body cavities, thicker hide, muscle and bone. I would suggest a good quality fixed but more preferably a cut on impact style head (like Magnus, etc). I will tell you I have been tinker with my Elk BH medicine for this fall and even though in the past the 3 blade Muzzy & TH have done the job, I am not 100% satisfied with the penetration. I am shooting a Martin Cougar Mag at 70lbs with 28" carbons, while my bow maybe a bit faster, they should be pretty close. I picked up some of the 100gr magnus stingers 4-blades (2 bleeder blades added to standard 2 = 4 total) to try, my own tests prove that the magnus cut on impact style penetrate much further than my 100 gr 3 blade muzzy' s. They also group right with my field points, fly great and are way sharper than the muzzy out of the package. I think they should perform great on all game, but will give me more punch on the Elk & Moose sized critters, which is what I want.

Another fixed BH 3 blade with a cut on impact style to take a look at Montec G5' s They appear to be another great head and 5 shot has some test data to prove that fact, as do others in the bow forum. The only knock I have heard is the original ones did need some additional sharpening before heading to the field, apparently this issue has been or is suppose to be solved with the newest version of the head. However I really don' t see that to be a big draw back, as I always sharpen my heads before placing in the quiver for the season. (Main reason is I shoot each arrow and bh to ensure they are grouping and good flight) Montec sell a diamond sharpener design to hone their heads as well.

Good Luck on you hunt for elk and the right BH!

I' m not sure what your problem is with deer, but between myself and the 6 guys I hunt with in the Northeast shooting Spitfires (100gr) we' ve put over 30 deer down in the last 2 years. I' d say 80% complete pass throughs, the other 20% was a far shoulder. We all shoot 65-70lbs with different makes and models of bows and arrows. In the last 3 years as a group we' ve taken 8 black bears, only 1 was not a complete pass through and that was a far shoulder, and not tiny bears either a 400lber, a couple of 300+' s and the rest were 200lb' s up.

My 2 friends have hunted elk in New Mexico the last 2 years with an outfitter, and they' ve got 3 elk with Spitfires. 1 shot was a complete pass through, 1 was 3/4 out the other side and 1 was buried in the far shoulder. All died within 100 yards of the shot.

Mechanicals will kill any animal as cleanly as a fixed blade broadhead if put in the right spot with the right set up. That being said, if you are not getting through a deer like butter with your current setup I' d agree with every person here that a fixed blade set up may be better for you. I' d also look into why a 70lb bow isn' t getting your broadheads cleanly through deer as that is not normal, not by a long shot.

I mentioned this somewhere else. A long time close friend of mine who has been involved with archery and related equipment for over 50 years had lunch last year with a " very" well know icon in the archery world and this person adamantly stated that " especially" on larger game, a mechanical is not a good choice. One of the biggest concerns is that if the animal is quartering a bit too much, the mechanicals tend to " flip" out before cutting the hide. I can see where this could defintely be a legit concern.
I have never stuck an elk, but I have always used cut on impact heads for deer. I am currently using the Steelforce blades. Tough as nails and the serated edge can do some serious tissue damge.