HuntingNet.com Forums - Snyper report....NOT GOOD!!!

Heres a reply from a broadhead company to my question. My question shows up first.....
Hi I am confused by all the different stories about expandables. I am
spending a lot of money to go on an elk hunt and want to have no trouble
with killing. As a manufacturer please enlighten me on your recommendation.
I dont want to make judgement from stories on the web because they rarely say
what they are using for a bow, or KE abilities. I am sure you have done some
research on the capabilities of elk killing with your hrads so please tell
me what you think and have found.
I shoot a Mathews MQ1 with 390 grain head/shaft combo arrows. I shoot at
72lbs at a speed of 285fps for a KE of about 70lb. The arrow is pretty light
so i am worried about momentum and long range shots.
I plan on using a mechanicle because last year i used a small diameter
fixed blade and had very little to no blood trail on a huge bull and never found it.
Please advise on what broadhead is your recommendation from your research
and field results. I want a good penetrating head, with good blood. are
expandables for me, or just something to worry about
Thank you, Schmalts
His reply...

First, The Spitfire is a friction fit broadhead that has some very unique
properties. Spitfires open every time regardless of angle but can also
close either by suddenly stopping the arrow, by clamping pressure inside the
animal or by having the blades pivot forward as the arrow backed out. By
using retention clips instead of rubber bands Spitfires have the potential
of resetting the blades. If you would like to see this for yourself try
this experiment. Find a foam target that you can shoot through, but one
that will also stop the arrow somewhere along the shaft so that the point of
the arrow protrudes the back side but the fletches are still on the front
side. Tape a piece of paper on the BACK of the target and then shoot an
arrow. You will find the Spitfire closed, but the paper will indicate that
it was completely opened as it passed through the target. Reliability is
always a concern. Like all things there are nay sayers that claim that
mechanicals will not open.

Mechanical heads in general have both pros and cons. The Spitfire is the
straightest ((0.002) of all broadheads (fixed, replaceable or mechanical) on
the market today and is a very good choice for use on just about any game so
long as attention is paid to the conditions surrounding the hunt. The
ShockWave is almost as straight ((0.003) and has the added consideration of
a more wallet friendly price point. The straightness is a contributing
factor to the accuracy of the head which when combined with an aerodynamic
ferrule and blade design make both broadheads ultimately easier to group and
tune than a standard Thunderhead. In fact Spitfires shot from a shooting
machine at 60 yards will hit the exact hole as a field point (I have not yet
performed this test at 60 yards with ShockWaves only out to 40 yards so
far).

Reliability is always a question. Like all things there are nay sayers that
claim that mechanicals will not open. While I cannot speak for other
brands, I have done extensive simulations and testing to determine which
conditions could prevent the Spitfire/ ShockWave from opening and have not
found any which prevent the blades from opening. I have even frozen the
broadheads in water in one case and dried the heads in mud in another. In
both cases they opened. One advantage of the Spitfire is cutting diameter.
The ShockWave is 1.25 cutting diameter the Spitfire is 1.5. Considering the
average deer chest cavity is 18 inches wide, the ShockWave would cut 22.5
inches of tissue on a broadside pass through while the Spitfire would cut 27
inches on the same shot. Bowhunting relies on hemorrhage to bring the
animal down. The Spitfire provides a 20% greater chance to cut blood
vessels than the ShockWave and 24% greater chance than a Thunderhead.

Spitfire along with Thunderhead blades are the sharpest in the industry.
Our Diamizing process take blade sharpness to the ultimate edge with an
ultra polish that perfects the edge.

On a separate note, few people realize that broadhead penetration has very
little to do with broadheads. Rather, penetration has almost everything to
do with arrow flight. A well tuned 50 pound bow with arrows that fly
without wobble penetrates better than an 80 pound bow with aberrant arrow
flight. Probably the greatest disadvantage of Spitfires or mechanicals in
general is that as a group they tend to be much more critical of arrow spine
than replaceable or fixed bladed broadheads. Because there is a loss of
energy of about 1 to 3 ft/lbs. when a Spitfire contacts a target, and
because this energy loss is directly opposite the direction of travel, an
improperly spined arrow will have an additive effect. Generally an
improperly spined arrow fails to penetrate well regardless of broadhead
style because the energy is partially lost in some direction other than
straight forward when the arrow strikes an animal. A standard broadhead in
this scenario would most likely penetrate and stick in the animal with
enough of the shaft inside to lodge it until the animal does something that
causes the shaft to break or possibly get pulled out during escape.
Spitfires along with most other mechanicals will almost instantly back out
because of the additive effect of the spine related energy loss, reverse
energy of opening the blades and the fact the blades can close easily
preventing any anchoring effect. Our records indicate that 86% of all
customers that have had bad luck with mechanicals are using an improperly
spined arrow for their hunting adventures. Arrow flight is especially
important on high angle shots. If the arrow is wobbling back and forth or
up and down, then when it hits the target/animal the energy continues to the
side rather than straight forward. On a mechanical this would have the
effect of pivoting the broadhead and reducing penetration. Keep in mind
that if your arrow flight is good then increased angle has NO effect.

Another thing to consider is momentum. Momentum is often disregarded in
archery because people tend to concentrate on kinetic energy. Let me
explain the difference. Kinetic energy is the impact energy of the
projectile. It is a very good way to determine how efficient your bow
transfers stored energy in the limbs to dynamic energy in the arrow. For
the most part kinetic energy in the 50 ft/lbs. to 60 ft/lbs. range is ample
for taking animals in the deer to elk range. Kinetic energy in the 60
ft/lbs. to 70 ft/lbs. will effectively take any animal in North America.
For example, Chuck Adams took his 1400 pound Kodiak Grizzly Bear with about
65 ft/lbs. of kinetic energy. I believe he used an arrow in the 630 grain
range that traveled about 220 fps. While there are several arrow/speed
combinations that would produce 65 ft/lbs. of kinetic energy, Chuck opted
for a heavier slower arrow because of the momentum. Momentum is the ability
of the projectile to continue in motion. Momentum is a linear function of
mass. The idea is the greater the mass the more resistance is required to
slow or stop the object. Think of it this way if someone were to pitch a
baseball and a bowling ball to a batter, and both balls had the identical
amount of kinetic energy even though one is traveling very fast and the
other is traveling very slow. The batter would be able to hit the baseball
and move it in the opposite direction very easily while the bowling ball
would most likely break the bat. The bowling ball has tremendously greater
momentum and therefore is much more difficult to stop or slow down.

I'm including the equation to calculate your kinetic energy. My suggestion
is this. Go to an archery shop that has a chronograph and a supply of
arrows that weigh from 350 to 550 grains. Shoot these arrows through the
chronograph to determine the speed. Then calculate the kinetic energy for
each speed/weight combination. This will also allow you to hear the noise
associated with each arrow. Then choose an arrow based on the game you
intend to hunt. Faster, lighter arrows work well for deer sized animals.
Medium-fast, mid-weight arrows work well for large deer to elk sized
animals. Slower heavier arrows work well for elk and larger. Also, ask
your archery shop what they would suggest for your specific hunting niche.
I personally have light-weight arrows (320 grains) for 3 D tournaments,
Slightly heavier arrows (420 grains) for deer and moderately heavy arrows
(535 grains) for elk.

To calculate the kinetic energy of your bow use the following equation:

(Arrow Weight in Grains)(Velocity)2 = Ft/Lbs.
450240

Spitfires have been used to take all sorts of North American game including
caribou, elk, moose and even kodiak brown bears. The performance of the
Spitfire and penetration results exceed any other broadhead in the same
class. As far as we can tell the heads open every time and they are the
fastest opening mechanical on the market (0.0008 seconds). However, because
of the retention clips they also close when stopped suddenly. This is
because the direction of the blades reverses as the arrow stops, and as the
blades swing forward there is sufficient energy to close the blades back
into the slots. The retention clips then hold the blades in place in the
closed position. Additionally, retention clips use less energy than rubber
band or o-ring systems. ShockWaves incorporate an o-ring/guillotine system,
which efficiently holds the blades shut but allows the blades to easily
slice through the o-ring with minimal energy expenditure. ShockWaves are
relatively new but have already proved themselves in the bowhunting world on
animals as large as moose and bison. From the results we've seen so far we
believe a lot of animals will fall when faced off against ShockWaves in the
woods.

I would hesitate to recommend any broadhead prior to knowing that your bow
is tuned and that your arrows are flying well. However, if you feel that
your set up is working well, then I don't think you would have any trouble
with either Spitfires or ShockWaves. From the results we have seen in the
past during our own hunts and the high number of letters and calls
supporting Spitfires, our confidence is 100% that they will perform well in
any circumstance.

If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to call me at
800-323-1279.

Thanks for contacting us regarding mechanical broadheads.

Cary J. Pickands
Technical Support Specialist
New Archery Products, Corp.

Edited by - schmalts on 09/09/2002 21:09:36