It really dosen't matter what mech. you shoot a well placed shot by any of them will do the job. As far as durability I have only a few that I can speak on, The best by far were the spitfires. If I had to choose one it would be a spitfire. Don't forget about the cut on contact blades, now a days they fly just as good as a mech. Magnus heads from what I've heard fly real well, steelforce makes a unbelievablely sharp head ( sharpest out of the box made today) and they fly real good but there is a little noise when going thru the air. If it were me, for a cut-on-contact head , 75 or 85 grain head in a magnus stinger or a steelforce tit. hellfire or a steelforce sabertooth serrated. Good luck

The best advice I can think of is to visit 5Shot's website. That guy is really cool and hastested darn near EVERYTHING regarding broadheads.

Click below:
http://www.broadheadtests.com

I am using Magnus Stingers 4 blade. They are fantastic and fly amazing like field tips and are lethally sharp. They are so sharp, it makes you wonder what keeps them inside the package!

You say you draw 72 lbs , what draw length? in other words how much Kinetic Engery do have leaving the bow?

Rules of thumb that I follow. My set produces 58 ft of KE at the bow. I can use a 1.5 inch cut if I limit myself to 20 yards, any farhter than that I may or may not get a pass through that is the largest cut I will use. the 1 3/4 inch and larger needs KE into the 70 + ft lb range to push them the way they are supposed to be pushed. keep in mind the farther the target the less KE there is when the arrow gets there.

If I want to shoot to 30 yards I go to a 1 1/4 inch size, I feel more confident about the pass through thing. So I use a 1/1/4 inch most all of the time. I find that size large enough for any deer. and it works really well inside 20 yards. that's three blades, now if I'm useing 2 blades I will go with the syniper out to 30. and a gator if I am inside 20 yards.

If I expect to shoot out past 30 yards I'll go with a fixed broadhead. I used magnus stingers last year. I found some 3 blade muzzy's in the box the other day so I suppose I'll use them this year if I run low on the stingers..

So if your going out west for a lope I imagine it will be a 30 plus yard shot more than likely so I would have 1 1/4 inch mechanical and fixed ready to go.

some states out there don't allow mechanicals at least that is what I've heard on these boards.

A couple of years ago my rig produced 54 ft lbs and I hit a deer in the heart at 27 yards with a 1 1/4 inch size 3 blademechanical. The heart was meaty enough to stop the arrow, did not get a pass through, deer went down quick but no pass through. Also if you try to pass through from the back rib out the front with a larger mechanical at 35 yard range you might not get a pass through.
You have to learn there are some limitations with a mechanical and decide if your hunting style can work within the limitations of the device.

Biggest mistake I hear when you get the shooters to fess up is that they tried to shoot a larger cut at a far distance with too little Kinetic energy to begin with. hence no pass through and another mechanical broadhead failure report that isn't really a mechanical failure at all.

Good luck out there, I would make sure my bow would shoot a magnus stinger 4 blade out to 50 yards at least if I were going out west. then hope I could get a shot between 20 and 35 yards..

good luck to ya.

If you like mechanical heads I can suggest (as others have) the Spitfires I have used them as well as a fixed head and found no difference in the two as far as pennetration goes. I did find the mechanicals produced better blood trails, probablydue to the larger diameter.
I have never had one fail to open and have yet to have one fall apart or even break a blade for that matter.

My opinion, if you go back to a mechanical, you're asking for a repeat of the same problems you had before. I've been guiding bowhunters for years and have seen way too many problems with mechanical broadheads, especially when being pushed by a light weight carbon arrow. They spend too much energy opening and not enough energycutting. If your bow is tuned correctly, and your form is consistent, you should have no problem shooting respectable groups out to 60 yards. Stay away from the mechanicals. They're the devil! [:'(]

Hey Bees, I am cursed with a 27.5" draw length so my arrows are right about the same. I am not against mechanicals, but for larger game at longer distances out West, I much prefer the fixed blade heads. I have not shot the Stinger, but it looks like a great head. I am getting extremely great flight out of either the Rocket Ulitmate Steelheads or the Sonic Heads from American Broadhead Co. Although they only have the legal 7/8" cutting diameter, they still do the job extremely well. The deer that I have shot with these heads have al died within sight of my tree. The holes the head made looked like a larger head when through them. I am sold on the super short broadhead "fad" if you will. They fly great, most always match where your field points do from a well tuned bow, have incredible penatration, and are very, very tough. I shot mechanincals and had pass throughs MOST of the time, but not always. Since I have been shooting the SSB's (super short Broadheads), all have not only passed through, but gone a long way past the deer or been buried in the groung 12" or better below where the animal stood.

My plan for going out West is to be able to hit a 3" circle with three arrows at whatever yardage. Last time I went I could do that out to 60 yards due to many, many practice sessions. So far this year I'm only up to 50 yards, but my practice time has been cut in half so far. I am going to double up over the next 6 weeks and hopefully 60 yards will be as comfortable as 20 in short order. I always practice with my broadheads and practice blades and not field points. I shoot field points to get the bow tuned, then switch to broadheads right away. Some people have told me that a 60 yard shot on an animal is unethical. I say only if I have not practiced at that range and sure, if I were out in the Aspens tossing out "Hail Marys" at a nice Bull, I ought to be shot myself! But my hope is to get within 30 yards of the animal, and put the arrow where I want it.

BTW, I am not disagreeing with anything in your post, I am just stating my point of view. Mechanicals are not just for me anymore!

Thanks for all the help guys! Looks like im going to get some magnus and muzzy's to try out.
I'll be trying them this weekend, i'll post my results when i do. Only 1 month left!!!

HuntingEd....yes try those out. I prefer Magnus heads.
There is absolutely NO reason you can't tune your bow to shoot excellent with fixed heads out as far as you will probably ever shoot. I've never been able to understand why people say they can't.
Now if you personally cannot , that's ok...just find someone that can. Although many folks have alot of success with mechanicals, my opinion is they are still a band-aid for folks that can't tune their bows. As soon as someone has trouble with broadhead flight, the immediate fix is "I'm going to switch to mechanicals". Regardless of the head, you need your bow tuned correctly. And yes, many folks have properly tuned bows and shoot mechanicals with much success, but personally my money is on fixed heads every time.

Sounds good WV. I have 0 experience in tuning a bow, always thought it was difficult. Just boughtmyVTECa week ago, so i would hope its well tuned, as far as i can tell im getting good groups w/ clean arrow flight (any arrow movement has been a jerk or flinch on my part). I want to learn how to tune it, any good tips, websites, or guidelines for making my bow as accurately tuned as possible?

I shoot Muzzy's and absolutely love them!!! IMO, you will be making a mistake not sticking with the fixed blade head. If you MUST go to a mech. I like the Goldtip Gladiator. Many moons ago I shot the Gladiator. It was devestating on deer. The reason I swtiched to a Muzzy was I liked the cut on impact tip. I have yet to lose a deer with Muzzy's. Try the Gladiator if you want a great mech. head. Better yet, stay with the Muzzy!!!!