Broadhead debates are pretty funny when you think about it. Imagine going on and on about the best way to kill something where they can both get the job done. Nah on a real note, I can see why it’s still talked about a lot.
There’s a lot of factors when it comes to different broadheads. Even between other fixed broadheads compared to each other by the same company. Some might have better flight or penetration or whatever. Even if it may seem to the common person. This stuff does matter when it comes to getting on the field and letting it rip.
Today, I wanted to go over the topic of mechanical versus fixed broadheads and see the difference between the two for myself. See which one is better off for you as a hunter in the coming season. Let’s get started.
ACCURACY
Accuracy is crucial when it comes to shooting off an arrow and the broadhead can impact this as well. Both mechanical and fixed broadheads strive to be as accurate as possible. From my experience. The smaller and simpler the broadhead is, the more accurate, more aerodynamic it can be. And that usually turns out to be a mechanical broadhead more times than not. However, that’s ignoring a huge factor. Tuning.
Tuning plays a huge part in your bow hunting adventures. You can buy a mechanical broadhead all you want and even though you’ll have to do less tuning with them, you’ll still need to do it. Mechanical just makes it easier to get away with it more. If you do an excellent job tuning your bow with a fixed broadhead, it’ll practically be the same difference in all honesty. Even though mechanical has an advantage slightly, I’d really call it even since if you just put in some extra work, they’ll more or less fly the same.
PENETRATION
The meat of the discussion. But to be honest, it’s not much of a discussion to be had. On average most fixed broadheads will have stronger penetration power and if they do hit bone, they have a more of a likelihood to not get completely ruined by the hit. The main issues with mechanical broadheads in this department is that they lose some of their kinetic energy opening their blades and that causes them to lose out on some of the penetration they need.
Now let’s be honest, even though it’ll lose some energy, it should still have a good likelihood of passing through the animal. However, it’d still lose in this department because of its special gimmick.
CUTTING DIAMETER
The cutting diameter portion matters more than you think it would. Mechanical broadheads have a pretty steep advantage in this department and it’s not close. The blades of Mech broadheads can have 2 inches of extra space for the broadhead to cut through. This’ll help a lot in case you’re slightly off with your shot placement with hitting a vital point. It’s even better when you need to follow a blood trail. Sometimes it’s hard finding the animal after they run off but having the 2-3 blades of a mech broadhead allow for more, “leakage’, for you to follow. Fixed broadheads don’t have this advantage so it would definitely be a advantage for mechanical broadheads for this.
DEPENDABILITY
This is arguably a combination of factors, but you should choose a broadhead you can count on. If a broadhead has to do work to deploy when it hits the target, there’s a chance it wont deploy correctly or that it won’t deploy at all. We have all heard the horror stories of an expandable that veered when it hit its mark Now factor in accuracy, penetration and cutting diameter. Which factors are the most important for choosing a dependable broadhead? For many of us, the opportunity to shoot deer in the fall is what keeps us sane the rest of the year. So choose a broadhead that blends the factors to create a lethal combination that leads to stories of success and meat in the freezer. For me, dependability relies on consistency in performance. So broadheads that hit the target without having to open, hit the target accurately, and penetrate through and through are ones that I choose.
Conclusion
Plain and simple, a broadhead you can trust is the broadhead you should choose. If you have had great experience using a fixed or mechanical in the past, why change a thing? In fact, if you have had continued success using a specific brand or type of broadhead, I’d like to hear about it. I lean towards more fixed broadheads but what about you, tell me in the comments below! I’m interested in hearing what others think! Have a great rest of your day!
