Broadhead penetration test
 

After reading a thread earlier about the lack of penetration from the Rage 2-blade heads I began to think if there were any penetration comparisons between the different brands. I'm not talking about a test where they're shot through a steel drum or any of the other demonstration videos. What I’m thinking about is a machine that can measure the force required to push an arrow through a medium that simulates flesh and bone. I'm thinking along the lines of a 2" thick block of leather. A test like this would take into account the sharpness of the blade and the angle of the cutting edge. Today’s broadheads are made shorter in effort to improve their flight capabilities but the steeper angle that this generates greatly hampers its ability to penetrate. A lot of people on this site debate how much KE is necessary for adequate penetration and particularly for pass through on various animals. This could be used to rate broadheads before we bought them; similar to an IBO rating on our bows or a spine rating and weight for our arrows. I’m not talking about proving that a broadhead is bad or that one is better than another. I am suggesting that we have a method of determining if we are using the proper equipment.
Considering the fact that we archers tend to analyze the heck out of everything we do and we never seem to stop tinkering with our equipment, it would only seem natural to do this with broadheads as well. We know exactly which spine to use for every poundage bow and every length arrow, why not have a way to determine a heads resistance to penetrate.

RE: Broadhead penetration test
 

Allot of Broadhead company's would be embarrassed at some of the results! There's BH's out there that shouldn't even be on the shelf.

RE: Broadhead penetration test
 

Which ones?

RE: Broadhead penetration test
 

I agree!! There is a better selection now of top quality Broadheads than I can ever remember in the 40 years I've been slingin arrows:D

Dan

RE: Broadhead penetration test
 

Absolutely there is a better selection now then in the past! There's some BH's out there that to me shouldn't be out there, you look at some of them and think who the heck came up with this and how is this going to hold up? I'm not talking about your BH's you sell Dan, just some others that there design just blows me away.

RE: Broadhead penetration test
 

I know what you mean! I was at my Distributor last week looking at some of the New broadheads they were carrying, and even though there are a lot of quality heads available, some unfortunately are a joke. Bordering on a Gimmick;)I like gidgets, and gadgets as much as anyone but I learned the hard way no gadgets on the Killin end of my Arrow:D

Dan

RE: Broadhead penetration test
 

I'm not suggesting that any of them are bad, I just believe that they all can't be good for all situations. You can kill both pronghorns and grizzly bears with a 30-06, but you wouldn't even dream of shooting a grizzly with a 125 grain thin jacket bullet or take a 400 yard shot at an antelope with a 220 grain round nose. We have no way judging broadhead performance other than guessing.

RE: Broadhead penetration test
 

I go by whats worked for me and what I've seen my BH do, there's no guessing for me as i've used the same BH for 13 years now and know exactly what it will do. There's no need to switch up if there doing there job. I understand where your coming from though Centaur.;) You made some good points in your previous post.

RE: Broadhead penetration test
 

I think you bring up a very good point. Other factors to consider in penetration is the weight of the arrow, the diameter of the arrow, and tune of the bow - so that the arrow enters the target on a very straight plane. Ifbroadheads are anything like rifle bullets, however; the longer slimmer ones are going to penetrate better than the shorter wider ones. And the wider ones are going to cause more bleeding. SO maybe the broadhead that wins the penetration test would be a poorer choice for whitetail, but the best head for African game.

RE: Broadhead penetration test
 

It's not a matter of winning a penetration test but rather a baseline to help make an educated decision. A broadhead that generates more resistance should probably be used with heavier arrows and higher poundage bows. There's nothing wrong with the Rage 2 blade but it would probably bounce off of a deer if shot out of a 40 lb recurve. This happened to a buddy of mines kid. He thought that he was doing the boy a favor by buying him expandables and it bounced off, i'm sure it left a 1 inch deep hole in the deer where it hit. I'm all for causing as much damage as possible with the equipment that we're using.