A new mechanical king? Rocket Nail Driver results
 

Rocket Nail driver 100grain.
Plywood 5 points
Steel drum 6 points
Orange 3 points
Cutting diameter 3 points
Accuracy 5 points
Blades 2 points
Total score: 24, with a blade sharpness rating of C.

The Rocket Nail driver is a two blade swing open style mechanical broadhead. It is very similar to the Steel head in both size and shape. The blades are held in the close position by tiny rubber bands. The cutting diameter is 1 1/8”. This is one of those “surprise” heads. I really thought it was a two blade Steelhead, nothing more or less. I fully expected it to perform the same as well. I was wrong. Yes the heads do look alike, and operate in the same way. The blades also appear to be the same, but I can’t say for sure. The difference is the Nail drivers penetrate better than the Steelheads, and they hold onto there blades in every test material!
I found the accuracy to be excellent, just what I expect from rocket mechanicals. In the orange test the head had fully opened by the time it exited the back. In the plywood the Nail driver fully penetrated, and the blades were in good shape. The steel drum is the test to end all tests. It will destroy poorly made heads, and no broadhead has fully penetrated both sides and been able to keep all of it’s blades intact. That is until now. The Nail driver fully penetrated both the front and back of the drum, and the blades were fully serviceable. They were bent up some, but the cutting surface was intact on both blades. I was very surprised to see the head sticking out the back of the drum, with 2” of arrow shaft, but I was even more surprised to see both blades still attached! Rocket makes some very good mechanicals, but their weak link has always been the blades. The Nail driver seems to have solved this problem. The blades are still not as sharp as I believe they should be, but many people use Rocket heads as they come out of the package with excellent results. I was very impressed with this head. It doesn’t have the huge cutting diameters of some of their other heads, but it has out penetrated every other broadhead I have tested, including fixed blade heads. That is saying something. I would love to see a 4 blade 1” version of this head, but as it stands now, those looking for a super accurate, and great penetrating mechanical broadhead will not find a better one than the Rocket Nail driver!












TAKE YOUR KIDS HUNTING AND YOU WON'T BE HUNTING FOR YOUR KIDS

Edited by - PABowhntr on 10/01/2002 08:05:48

RE: A new mechanical king? Rocket Nail Driver results
 

Chris,

I know you wanted to be proper in putting an equipment review thread in the equipment review forum but this place just doesn't get the traffic that the bowhunting and/or technical forums get.

If you don't mind, I am going to send it over to the bowhunting forum for a little bit and then I will move it back here. Just so folks see it....:)

RE: A new mechanical king? Rocket Nail Driver results
 

Wow, penetrated both sides of the barrel, I'm impressed. Just wondering if you shot the barrel more than once. Thanks for the report.

RE: A new mechanical king? Rocket Nail Driver results
 

"A new mechanical King?" Well, is it? :)

5-shot, based on it's performance, would you recommend this head for lower ke bows? What would be the ke threshold?

The knock on fixed two blade heads has always been that they cut a slit that may seal up, preventing an adequate blood trail. Do you think the nail driver will mirror this potential or leave a good hole like the other rocket heads?

[Deleted]
 

[Deleted by Admins]

RE: A new mechanical king? Rocket Nail Driver results
 

Anyone have any pictures of these heads?

RE: A new mechanical king? Rocket Nail Driver results
 

Lets see if I can get this to work. I could only get a picture of all of the Rocket heads, of which the Naildriver is listed.



















Edited by - PABowhntr on 10/01/2002 12:54:35

RE: A new mechanical king? Rocket Nail Driver results
 

5 shot,

First off, I want to say that I'm NOT trying to poke holes in your test methods or any of your data. I'm sure that you've established these tests to try to bring some level of sanity to an oft-debated topic. Without having to go back and search for any tests you've performed in the past, I want to run my thoughts by you.

My experience would tell me that penetration distance (depth) would depend on how quickly KE is dissipated in the target. That would have a direct correllation to the surface area of the broadhead. I would immediately assume that a 2-blade head would effect less area (and therefore lose less energy in the target) than would a 3- or 4-blade head of the same diameter. Also, I would think that a 4-blade head would penetrate a solid target medium half as much as a 2-blade head would (assuming the individual blades were the same size on both heads.) The only reason this might not actually be achieved is that the 4 blade head doesn’t have exactly twice as much surface area, because the area atributed to the body/point of the broadhead is not being doubled in the 4 blade head (only the surface area of the blades is being doubled.)

Anyway, I might have misunderstood your statement. Clearly, you find several benefits in the design of this head compared to other mechanicals, but I was just wondering if you were saying you would expect to see the same amount of penetration in a 4-blade version? Do my thoughts on penetration match the results of your other tests to any degree?

RE: A new mechanical king? Rocket Nail Driver results
 

You know I've always used Fixed. Maybe this year I'll try a mechanical. I've always heard they are far more accurate than the fixed but not as reliable. Of course that was years ago when the bugs of mechanicals hadn't been worked out. That "Buckblaster" looks like one mean mother doesn't it!?!

Ok - probably the stupid question of the week but... can you use mechanicals more than once? Can they be resharpened? Or would you not for fear that they wouldn't expand on impact? Signed curious in Illinois

RE: A new mechanical king? Rocket Nail Driver results
 

Rangeball,

Quick question: I've never heard your statement floated before that the nock on mechanicals was that the openings they produced would seal up... Why? What would make a wound produced by a mechanical more apt to "seal up," as you put it? Once the head has passed through the object, it's through -- period. The object doesnt' know if it was a mechanical or a fixed after the fact.

In fact, due to the wider cutting diameters most mechs offer, I've usually seen the opposite -- that they open up devasting holes! My experience would certainly bear that out as well; any well-placed shot has produced extremely quick kills, and the blood trails have looked as if they were poured out of a five-gallon bucket!

Discipline -- not desire -- determines destiny.