Hey Bigcountry...
 

Just got back from BPS. Needed some Rocky snake boots for scouting/early season on the new lease (we have a rattlesnake problem there). I also picked up two Cyclops clip on hat lights. They're the best I've ever used (and they were on sale:biggrin:).

But I also bought.....

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Don't pass out on me now....

I still say that the Grim Reaper is probably the best mechanical head out there and they kill very quickly, but I do have a few issues with them.

First, I was extremely disappointed with the blood trails I got even though it's a 1 3/4" head. It kills quickly, but the blood trails are poor. My real reason for shooting them was always for the extra blood a bigger head would deliver. That never happened. That's probably because of reason two.

Second, they're not very sharp and those little blades are really hard to get super sharp. Well, I actually never managed to get them super sharp.

Third, I usually only got one shot and then the blades needed to be replaced.

It's about time that BPS decided to carry tricks.

You'll never regret making the change to Slick Tricks.

Good man. Now just got to get a few of those rattler skins.

I actually came out of bass pro a few hundred lighter myself.

Excellent heads, you won't be disappointed! I saddle Slicks and Reapers in my quiver actually. 3 of each. Can't commit to either one for some reason, and actually, i've killed an equal number of deer with each. Enjoy your heads! DO NOT handle them like Reapers, you'll be sliced to ribbons!

Question on slick tricks...do they have practice heads, or do you simply resharpen the actual broadheads after shooting them into a target? I have considered trying them, but wondered about that. Also, what do you all use to resharpen them to get them as sharp as factory? I have tried sharpening heads and can never seem to get them quite as sharp as I would like them...i like hairs to pop off my arm when seeing how sharp they are. I use Muzzy's now and like how you can simply buy replacement blades, but so many of the ones I admire most on here rave about Slick Tricks, leading me to think that there must be good reason to consider them.

Its real hard to get back to surgical sharp. I use a magnus sharpener and it works well. But I would just buy new blades.

I keep 3 slicks for practicing and 6 slicks for hunting.

hows the blood trail with these slick tricks?

I also just have a few heads that I use for practice. And, the replacement blades are cheap, so you can always keep those on hand as well.

As for blood trails, they are very impressive. They do some serious damage. There is not a head out there that is more durable, and no need to worry about blades breaking when passing through an animal, retaining its full cutting surface on entry and exit. I've had several hits through ribs on both sides with not so much as a scuff on the blade. I've also not shot a head that gets pass throughs like a Slick does. It seems somewhat counter-intuitive because the originals (which I have more experience with) are non a COC head, which we usually associate with pass throughs, or low poundage bows. My wife shoots 42 pounds and shoots original slicks in 100 grain and has passed through all three deer she has shot. I could get a pass through with a blunt tip, shooting 585 grains at ~273 fps, so my experience on pass throughs may be a bit skewed.

Now that's what I needed to hear to make me feel even better!:s4:

That's a new concern for me now, even though it's a very minor one. I was getting full pass throughs with 1 3/4" mechs and I was pulling the arrows out of the dirt That's where they always got damaged. Now I'm thinking about what all of that excess energy is going to do to these heads as it drives it WAY down into the dirt. I'm not too concerned about that though. I just want a good blood trail for once. Remember, I'm colorblind. I can follow a good blood trail, but not a bad one.

Almost 2.5" of cutting surface, four blades, what do you think?

Honestly, I have shot deer with no name k-mart crap, to ones that were serrated like a steak knife back in the 80's to thunderheads for 15 years, to montecs, to spitfires, now slicks. If you hit any deer in the boilerroom, blood trails never been an issue with any of em.

i was looking into sharpeners for my bloodrunners and i thought about going with a diamond plate that i saw at the store, its supposed to be for knives but it looked like it would work well.

Just buy new blades for your tricks. I made a tester out of a square and some elastic bands. You push your broadhead through and when the rubber bands get cut off, you know they are sharp enough.

I use sanding paper, grid 1000 and then grid 2000, just strike any blade a few times both sides and they get sharp.
There's some good tutorials on sharpening blades on youtube.
But best way to sharpen is to use japanese waterstones but they are expensive, same as belgian cuticole claystone....

I wouldn't worry too much about it. For what the replacement blades cost, you'll be ok. I've reshot several of them that have driven wayyyy into the ground, same blades and all. Tough to predict whats under the leaves though. If there's a rock, no head is going to be pristine after that. The ferrules will generally be unharmed though, so only new blades are necessary. You won't be disappointed!

I didn't know if they had replacement blades...now that I know that, I will more than likely be purchasing some in the coming days. Tips on tuning with them? Any different than with other heads, or easier ways to go about it?