alwyshntn

I'm not sure what the min. speed would be and I'm not an expert on the subject but my nephew is shooting a Parker Challenger at #50 and is using the 85gr. Reapers and killed two does last year with them and both were pass thrus. I'm not sure of his speed but would think it to be similar to your setup. I know that when I first started using expandables that I was shooting bows pulling #70 and wasn't gettin much more than 235 fps out of them with my short DL and heavy aluminum arrows. I think you'd be fine shooting a good sharp expandable with a reasonable cutting diameter.

ijimmy

marden , vortex ,100 grain pro hunters , they are 2 blade 1 1/2" cut .

Leverdude

I shot 3 mech's last year to see what the fuss was & they all worked fine. Grim reaper 100's, Tekan's on deer & Rocky mountain Revolutions on turkeys, I'da shot a deer with them but when it was their turn turkeys came by.
Anyway I had a weird experience with steel heads the year before & was leary of jacknife type heads. The grim reapers made it thru deer fine, I'm only getting 220FPS or so with a 55o grain arrow.
The tekans IMO will open alot easier tho & were just as deadly. They open on writing paper. One of mine hit the spine & lost a blade but I drilled it & honestly think most expandables would have broken/bent blades.

The new Tekan2's suposedly adress this anyway. I know if I was shooting lighter tackle & wanted a mech head I would use em.
Mostly I use fixed heads anyway but I still have some flippy ones to use up.

Lefty26

I will give the Snypers another vote. I have been hunting with them for 3 years now and have had great success with them. Here is a picture of an entrance wound from a Snyper, it's hard to tell in the picture but that hole is over 3" long. You get better entrance wounds with those rear sliding blades than you do with the heads that flip back.

Dubbya

I would recommend Spitfires as well. Also the Rocket steelheads are a short, strong and solid head. I also recommend the Eastman ST3 cut on contact head, they may not last like the others but they are cheap and do an excellent job.

As for the speed question, more importantly you should check your kinetic energy. A heavier arrow anda good pace will provide more effective results than a lighter arrow that is a little bit faster. For example

450gr arrow at 250fps creates 62ft lbs of KE

vs.

350gr arrow at 270 creates only 57ft lbs of KE

Others please feel free to correct me, but I think that 55ft lbs of KE is the low end of acceptable KE or mechanical heads.

Hotburn76

I have been praticing with these this summer and they fly like field points to the tee. And buy the marks in my block target they are open all they way as they go in.

CLOUD 9, MN

partsjay........I wouldn't shoot a reagular mechanical with your set-up. You could should a Rocky Mountain Snyper Mechanical or a Rocket Steelheadbut otherwise I'd stick to fixed. You really want to have a High KE (Kinetic Energy) to shoot a expandable head. I think Spitfires are 1 3/8" diameter. You definetely wouldn't want a bigger diameter head. I like to see people have a KE over 60 to shoot mechanicals. I'm guessing your rig isaround low 50's for KE. If you can weigh you arrow(in grains)and get you actual F.P.S (feet per second) you can find out your KE.

GoodLuck!

ijimmy

After reading your specs , Id recomend magnus stingers 100 grain 2 blade .

hillbilly17

I used spitfires for a year or two until I had a friend tell me about Vortex broadheads. They are unbeleivable. I can not say enough about the really. I have never had a deer run more than 30 yards with them and for turkey they are by far the best I have ever used. Good stuff for sure. I used the Blue 100 grain Vortex. The reason they so much better is that the blades are much stronger than spitfire and they fly much better

BGfisher

It's not a matter of speed. It's a matter of Kinetic Energy and momentum. For that you need a moderately heavy arrow and decent bow weight. I usually recommend a minimum of 65# depending on the setup.

As for which broadheads. I don't usually recommend certain brands, but I would not shoot any broadhead that the blades "flip" back. The ones that slide back are going to be more reliable in the long run. Snyper, Rage and Tekan are a couple that I'd go with if I shot mechanicals at all. They'll take a little less energy to deploy the blades and reduce the tendency of the arrow to cartwheel on a quartering shot, whic reduces penetration a bunch.

To that end I don't shoot mechanicals due to low bow weight and light arrows that shoot 270 fps. I've never, in 30 years, not been able to get broadheads to fly like field points. Learning how and taking the time to properly tune a bow for broadhead flight is the answer to this. To that end I'm a nitpicker.