RE: Rocket Steelhead....WOW!!!
 

Corey,
I did the same tonight shot some Miniblasters w/ Pathfinder tips into sweatshirts and carpet chunks.........boy its tough finding a material that acts like fluffy hollow deer hair and flexible hide! I thought about the sweatshirt and carpet and figured they should work, but they didn' t on my end either.

I think the key is the fluffy hair and the live flexible skin underneath........real deer hide is tough stuff and those blade tips just aren' t going to bore thru like they are for us on carpet and shirts. I think on an animal the layer of hair gets the blades started and that tough flexible skin and muscle snaps them the rest of the way open. The skin stretches out and around as the blade tips swing, and as soon as the edge passes the outermost (widest) part of the swing the snap open and cut.
I have personally killed over 20 deer with Rocket broadheads and have seen close to that many more shot by friends and they all have had nice full width (actually BIGGER than full width on some) entrance wounds.

I know for a fact that this is the reason the heads aren' t opening quickly on the materials we are trying........these materials aren' t 1. tough enough, and 2. flexible as well as tough.3. They don' t have that thick starting hair layer
Also I think if we are putting these materials tight against the foam target, it makes the effect even worse........the blade tips go straight thru the carpet etc. and just jam into the foam as if there was nothing even in front.
Foam doesn' t act like muscle would.

Oh by the way........if you are shooting these heads repeatedly into these targets you have to check the blades and clean the blade grooves of junk. If when you roll the rubber band down the shaft by hand the blades don' t just fall backwards on their own power , or they stick at all then the head is not functioning properly. Those blades should swing freely.
(The rubber band doesn' t matter either , they are all the same.)


Without a deer hide (and probably a fresh one at that, or at least tanned) its going to be tough to accurately simulate a real animal..........maybe an old piece of leather would be enough? It is an animal hide? I just wonder if there would be enough flexibility left to simulate a live animal. But then again there' s no hair either and that' s probably almost as important as the hide.

I think you understand my point..........we just need the right medium to show it.

RE: Rocket Steelhead....WOW!!!
 

Why take the chance? Your not hunting carpet remnants, sweatshirts, or a deer for that matter, your hunting Moose. Stick to the cut-to-tip or another good fixed blade. Its sounds like your trying to talk yourself into shooting something you have doubts about.

RE: Rocket Steelhead....WOW!!!
 

Matt,

I see your point and trust that you were getting full cut entrance wounds maybe I will email Rocket and ask their opinion.

Maybe I will take my wife' s fur coat to the range and simulate deer hide with it?...[:o][:o][:o]

RE: Rocket Steelhead....WOW!!!
 

I agree with Nub on this one, I`ve heard too many horror stories from moose hunters about mechanicals. A good cut on contact or 3 blade Muzzy or my favourite 125 Thunderhead will hold up to moose and with a well placed shot put them down fast.

RE: Rocket Steelhead....WOW!!!
 

The Steelhead 125' s are the only mechanical head I would even consider for game larger than deer. They do penetrate very well and the blades open fast. The phantoms didn' t penetrate as well becuase of the bleeders. Take the bleeders out and the results will be closer, of course without the bleeders you loose a good deal of cutting surface. Without going into all the reasons why, I would choose the Phantoms for my personal setup, and would probably shoot them without the bleeders. In large aniamals like moose penetration is everything.

RE: Rocket Steelhead....WOW!!!
 

I think I will stick with the Phantoms. Not sure if I will leave bleeders in or not yet, I would hate to give up the extra cutting suface.

RE: Rocket Steelhead....WOW!!!
 

I' ve shot at least a dozen deer with Rocket Steelheads. Every one of them had a full-sized entrance wound. You have nothing to worry about with the Steelheads as far as entrance wounds go.

RE: Rocket Steelhead....WOW!!!
 

I used to shoot Rocket steelhaeds. Now I shoot Muzzy' s. Opinions on the topics are like @#$%^&*' s, everybody has one. Consider the fact that many outfitters for big game do not allow mechanicals after years of bad results. I took steelheads and muzzys to Mexico last year to" test" both heads. After shooting 30+ pigs, I can say that I will never use mechanicals again. If you hit them in the perfect spot, even field points will kill them. If the shot isn' t ideal, pray that you don' t shoot mechanicals. Just my two cents.

RE: Rocket Steelhead....WOW!!!
 

I honestly cannot remember if I had full-cut entrance wounds when I was shooting the Steelheads. I remember the exit wound and the 8 inches of dirt on the other side but not the entrance wound...:D

Seriously though, I think it is going to depend on your individual setup. Having plenty of KE and momentum would make several expandable heads practical for moose or elk in my opinion.....assuming a well tuned bow and proper shot placement.

RE: Rocket Steelhead....WOW!!!
 

I have been thinking about going with Steelheads this year, but I can quite get past the " Jack Knife" effect that can take place at angled shots. Even in Rockets own literature they warn against taking an angled shot. Now in a hunting situation we definately dont get to pick and choose. Would this move Rocky Mtn. Snypers up a notch since they seem to have that problem licked?