Product review for broadhead extractor
02-05-2007, 08:09 PM
#1
Giant Nontypical
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Jackson, Missouri
Posts: 7,051
Product review for broadhead extractor
It's been some time now since I've done one of my product reviews -- the last being the Zero Effect by Muzzy -- and I haven't seen anyone really do a full-fledged review in quite some time, which was the original intent of this forum. So...
The topic of today's write-up is the broadhead extractor offered by Flinch Outdoor Gear. Even though I've never personally put a broadhead into a tree after almost two decades of bowhunting (that result more because I hunt from elevated treestands than anything), I found the design and workmanship of this product to be very intriguing, and am hoping this thread will help someone who spends more time on the ground or chasing after animals out West.
The unit itself is shipped fully assembled, and looks like a large "T" when removed from the packaging:
Backing out the set screw pictured near the "T" underneath the main body allows the T-handle to be screwed out, which also releases the threaded insert from the front as well. The whole unit is comprised of three parts:
First off, you'll notice that the housing, or body, of the tool is immacutely machined. The body is made of aluminum, and both the decorative relief cuts and the functional blade slots at the end are machined and cut with laser-like precision. The stainless-steel pieces housed within were given a generous amount of lubrication at the factory, which helps to assist assembly of the unit when putting it to action.
Speaking of action, this is where the fun part came in testing this product. I picked out a tree behind my house about 20 yards away, and sent an ACC tipped with a brand-new Muzzy MX-4 out of my Allegiance on its way. Here's the result:
So now I'm presented the "problem" someone could find himself in at some point... Let's see how the extractor performs. First, I unscrewed the shaft off the Muzzy. You can see here that two of the four blades are completely buried beneath the bark, and would present an impossibility to otherwise get out:
I unscrewed the T-handle from the body and took out the rod which screws directly onto the broadhead:
After screwing the rod on as far as it would go, I slid the body of the unit over the rod, making sure the nipple slid inside one of the grooves. That nipple serves to ensure that the broadhead is broughtback exactly straight into the body of the extractor.I also made sure that the four slots were lined up with the four blades of the broadhead:
After that, I simply slid the T-handle on and began tightening it down:
Simply spinning the T-handle clockwise began the process of pulling the broadhead out of the trunk with amazing ease:
Here the broadhead is freed after probably less than 30 seconds after I started the process:
After the broadhead is free of the trunk, simply screwing the T-handle counter-clockwise lets you take the unit apart:
And... voila! A perfectly intact Muzzy, ready to touch up and reuse again:
Hopefully, I've captured how easy this device is to use. It extracted the broadhead so neatly and precisely that not a single mark was inflicted to any of the four blades. Other types of extractors I've seen on the market have always removed the head using a leverage-type principle, and were prone to bending the ferrule or the blades. This device backs the head out exactly the way it went in. It's simple, slick and way over-engineered in quality. I tried out the four-blade extractor, which has four slots for the blades to back up into. There's also a three-blade version available.
If you're interested in purchasing one of these, you can call 801-400-4211 to reach Flinch Outdoor Gear. Their address is 153 South 300 East, Springville, Utah 84663. The unit retails for $35.95 shipped to your door, and Flinch accepts checks, money orders, paypal and cash. They are in the process of building a website, and will be able to accept credit-card orders after that.
I know Muzzys are "Bad to the Bone", but I've got to give credit to thisdevice for extracting it so precisely that you almost can't tellthat MX-4 was evershot into a tree. The quality of the machining on this tool is amazing, and if you were able to save just a couple broadheads over the course of a few years, the tool would pay for itself.
The topic of today's write-up is the broadhead extractor offered by Flinch Outdoor Gear. Even though I've never personally put a broadhead into a tree after almost two decades of bowhunting (that result more because I hunt from elevated treestands than anything), I found the design and workmanship of this product to be very intriguing, and am hoping this thread will help someone who spends more time on the ground or chasing after animals out West.
The unit itself is shipped fully assembled, and looks like a large "T" when removed from the packaging:
Backing out the set screw pictured near the "T" underneath the main body allows the T-handle to be screwed out, which also releases the threaded insert from the front as well. The whole unit is comprised of three parts:
First off, you'll notice that the housing, or body, of the tool is immacutely machined. The body is made of aluminum, and both the decorative relief cuts and the functional blade slots at the end are machined and cut with laser-like precision. The stainless-steel pieces housed within were given a generous amount of lubrication at the factory, which helps to assist assembly of the unit when putting it to action.
Speaking of action, this is where the fun part came in testing this product. I picked out a tree behind my house about 20 yards away, and sent an ACC tipped with a brand-new Muzzy MX-4 out of my Allegiance on its way. Here's the result:
So now I'm presented the "problem" someone could find himself in at some point... Let's see how the extractor performs. First, I unscrewed the shaft off the Muzzy. You can see here that two of the four blades are completely buried beneath the bark, and would present an impossibility to otherwise get out:
I unscrewed the T-handle from the body and took out the rod which screws directly onto the broadhead:
After screwing the rod on as far as it would go, I slid the body of the unit over the rod, making sure the nipple slid inside one of the grooves. That nipple serves to ensure that the broadhead is broughtback exactly straight into the body of the extractor.I also made sure that the four slots were lined up with the four blades of the broadhead:
After that, I simply slid the T-handle on and began tightening it down:
Simply spinning the T-handle clockwise began the process of pulling the broadhead out of the trunk with amazing ease:
Here the broadhead is freed after probably less than 30 seconds after I started the process:
After the broadhead is free of the trunk, simply screwing the T-handle counter-clockwise lets you take the unit apart:
And... voila! A perfectly intact Muzzy, ready to touch up and reuse again:
Hopefully, I've captured how easy this device is to use. It extracted the broadhead so neatly and precisely that not a single mark was inflicted to any of the four blades. Other types of extractors I've seen on the market have always removed the head using a leverage-type principle, and were prone to bending the ferrule or the blades. This device backs the head out exactly the way it went in. It's simple, slick and way over-engineered in quality. I tried out the four-blade extractor, which has four slots for the blades to back up into. There's also a three-blade version available.
If you're interested in purchasing one of these, you can call 801-400-4211 to reach Flinch Outdoor Gear. Their address is 153 South 300 East, Springville, Utah 84663. The unit retails for $35.95 shipped to your door, and Flinch accepts checks, money orders, paypal and cash. They are in the process of building a website, and will be able to accept credit-card orders after that.
I know Muzzys are "Bad to the Bone", but I've got to give credit to thisdevice for extracting it so precisely that you almost can't tellthat MX-4 was evershot into a tree. The quality of the machining on this tool is amazing, and if you were able to save just a couple broadheads over the course of a few years, the tool would pay for itself.
02-05-2007, 08:57 PM
#2
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 6,006
RE: Product review for broadhead extractor
Excellent review, as always.
How do you think they would work with Stingers, Greg? I've decided to try them this season rather than my tried and true Muzzy's. They're the two blade version with the bleeder blades.
How do you think they would work with Stingers, Greg? I've decided to try them this season rather than my tried and true Muzzy's. They're the two blade version with the bleeder blades.
02-05-2007, 09:06 PM
#3
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: PA
Posts: 9,085
RE: Product review for broadhead extractor
great review greg! thanx. i coulda used one of them this summer. i was in the backyard practicing..and was thinking "what do i do if my release breaks or i loose it or forget it on a hunt and need to improvise?.." hmm ill practice with my fingers for a while! close up i wasnt shooting tooo terribly bad. then i went back to 15 or 20yds..WHACK. uht ohhh. now i was shooting BHs(3blade 100gr muzzys) and KNEW i hit wood. HOPED that i didnt miss my WHOLE back stop and hit the wooden fence. i got i big wall made out of hay bales..made a right angle with them long ways..3 high and 2 deep behind my target..behind that is a huge apple tree. behind all that is my big wooden privacy fence. got up there and theres my arrow. muzzy blown deep into the wooden pallet i sit my targets and hay bales on. hmm how to get it out?? i got out the saw and chopped up the pallet around the BH and got it free. a blade DID break though. it broke on a thick nail going through the pallet boards. (also bent the nail!! and the head went in passed that nail!) i would loved to have a product like that to use..sawing that pallet up was a bit of a chore in 90 degree heat in the dead of summer with a old beat up hand saw..and i had to cut about 10 diffrent cuts to get enough wood from out around the BH. a tree would been impossible..
02-05-2007, 09:17 PM
#4
Giant Nontypical
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Jackson, Missouri
Posts: 7,051
RE: Product review for broadhead extractor
Dan, if memory serves me correctly those bleeder blades come out at 90-degree angles from the two bigger blades. If so, this four-slot extractor would work perfectly, as it would draw the two bigger blades up inside it and the bleeder blades would slip into their respective slots.
It's really a very slick principle, and this little unit is machined to such exacting tolerances it's almost ludicrous. I felt like I was holding and unscrewing some piece of German engineering when I was using the tool. I'll definitely have it in my pack when I go on my elk hunt in Colorado in August.
It's really a very slick principle, and this little unit is machined to such exacting tolerances it's almost ludicrous. I felt like I was holding and unscrewing some piece of German engineering when I was using the tool. I'll definitely have it in my pack when I go on my elk hunt in Colorado in August.
