Posted by Archery Country on Sep 13th 2019

Best Fixed-Blade Broadheads

If you are a bowhunting fanatic odds are over the summer months you have shot countless arrows prepping for hunting season. You have tinkered and tweaked your bow setup making sure everything is dialed in. After shooting what seems like countless arrows, we all have to make the hard decision on what broadhead to use. With the broadheads of today we have more selection than ever. Various blade configurations, angles, cutting diameters, and grade of steels it is really easy to get lost.

Broadhead Penetration

Having a short draw length or lower weight poundage can limit selection for a proper broadhead. Penetration is going to be one of the major factors in picking a broadhead for your setup. Typically a smaller cut on contact broadhead will out penetrate other broadheads. A cut on contact broadhead means that the blades are in the same plane as the tip so as soon as the arrow enters it is slicing. Number of blades is also something to look at, having more blades or blade surface area is going to hamper penetration. Some really good broadheads to look at if you fall under a shorter draw or lower poundage would be a Slick Trick Vipertrick, G5 Striker, or a Muzzy Trocar.

Slick Trick Vipertrick

The Slick Trick Vipertrick is 2 Edge cut on contact design with a solid steel ferrule. Slick Trick has been known for their scary sharp German Stainless Steel Lutz blades. Available in 100 grain and 125 grains the Vipertrick has a cutting diameter of 1 1/16” by ⅞” for a total 1 15/16”. Slick Trick has been around for several years and developed a strong following. The Vipertrick is one of their newer designs with penetration in mind.

G5 Striker

The G5 Striker is a three blade cut on contact blade broadhead. G5 also uses a German Stainless Lutz blade like Slick Trick. Boasting an all steel design the Striker is a bulletproof broadhead built to withstand the toughest of punishments. The cutting diameter of the Striker is 1 ⅛” while the blades are kept in place with G5’s Anix blade locking system ensuring the blades stay put.

Broadhead Accuracy

Generally for whitetails and other similar sized game most bowhunters will zip through their quarry with ease shooting a fixed head. If you draw above 50 pounds and have an average draw length or longer there is more options. Accuracy is probably the most important factor, and some broadheads when shot 300 plus feet per second can act erratic. Nothing can be more frustrating than practicing all summer long getting dialed in with field tips just to realize that your broadheads are not flying true. Some of the flight issues could be in the tuning of your bow, which most pro shops should be able to take care of. That being said some broadheads are a little bit more forgiving than others when it comes to accuracy due to tuning, form, or even wind drift.

Broadhead Materials

Probably the next most important factor would be the quality of material that is in the broadhead. Today more and more manufacturers are offering premium grade steels that only used to be found high end knives and cutlery. These higher grade steels have a higher edge retention that translates to those blades staying sharper longer throughout that animal. Having a sharp blade is vital and can mean the difference between a great blood trail and terrible one. A clean cut is more apt to bleed and not clot. Probably the next important factor would be total cutting diameter or total cut. There is a fine line between cutting diameter and penetration, we all need to find a happy balance. You want something small enough to get good penetration and a pass through but still want a good cutting diameter. Some of the top broadheads on the market are the Solid Legend, QAD Exodus, and Wac’ Em Original.

Talking to other bowhunters you will get several answers on what broadheads to use and which to stay away from. It seems like every year a revolutionary broadhead comes out that promises to be the most accurate and lethal. While some of the most popular designs have been around for over decade, there is nothing wrong with picking a tried and true broadhead. Each broadhead has its own advantage and disadvantage for certain setups and hunting situations.

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