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We took the top broadheads on the market and ran them through the most extensive test you'll find

The post The Best Broadheads of 2022 appeared first on Outdoor Life.

                   

 

   
     
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Best Fixed Blade	alt="The Iron Will S100 is the best fixed blade."                  width="250" />	Iron Will S100	Check Price
Best Mechanical	alt="The SEVR Titanium 1.5 and 2.0 is the best mechanical broadhead."                  width="250" />	SEVR Titanium 1.5 and 2.0	Check Price
Best Budget	alt="The Magnus Stinger is the best budget broadhead."                  width="250" />	Magnus Stinger	Check Price

 

Lethality with archery equipment depends on a good tune, accurate shot, and sharp broadhead. The broadheads are a key part of that equation because if they aren’t accurate, won’t keep an edge, or they break on impact, you get the wound channel and penetration needed for a clean kill.

That’s why I tested 23 broadheads from top manufacturers with the help of Cody Greenwood of The Trad Lab. We tested the heads for accuracy, durability, sharpness, spin runout, edge retention, and wound channel. They were measured for push force, which measures how much force it takes to push each head through different types of media. In addition to those data points I also talked to bowhunting experts Aron Snyder and Tyler Freel, who have killed many big-game animals with a variety of broadheads, to get their feedback on what they’ve seen in the field. 

The testing revealed several standouts from a field of good broadheads. Here are my reviews of the best broadheads from the test.

• Best Fixed Blade: Iron Will S100
• Best Mechanical: SEVR Titanium 1.5 and 2.0
• Best Budget: Magnus Stinger
• Sharpest: Day Six Evo 100
• Best Mechanical for Whitetails: G5 Deadmeat V2
• Best Single Bevel: Cutthroat S7
• Best Hybrid: Ramcat Diamondback Hybrid
• Best 3-Blade: Cutthroat 3-Blade
• Best for Turkey Headshots: Magnus Bullhead
• Annihilator 100
• Magnus Black Hornet
• QAD Exodus
• Ramcat Hydroshock
• Muzzy Merc 
• Slick Trick Torch

How We Tested Broadheads

Spin Test

If you mount a bent broadhead onto your arrow, it will never hit with your field points. To find if the heads were straight, we mounted them onto an Easton Axis arrow, and used a Ram Spine Tester to measure the spin runout, which is how far off the head is from perfectly straight. We used three broadheads from the same package, and the runout from all three heads was averaged. 

Spin Test Control 

• Field Point: .005 inch 
• Bent Broadhead: .057 inch

Push Force

If you’re hunting large game like elk and moose, you’ll want a head that will easily passthrough those tough animals. Predicting how well a broadhead will penetrate an animal isn’t possible, since every shot on a wild animal is a dynamic situation. But what we can do is measure the amount of force it takes to push a broadhead through different media. With those measurements we can infer if a broadhead will penetrate a live animal well.  

We measured the push force test with a NIST certified FG-3009 digital force gauge that operated on a test stand, which allowed for a controlled rate of force to be applied. The push force instrument measures in pounds, and two measurements were taken to rule out any variation in the testing.

There are many options for media, but Greenwood chose: doormat, closed cell foam, and faux leather. These media were picked for their consistency and their ability to isolate certain portions of the broadheads. Greenwood used the doormat first to test each broadhead’s edge drag. He used closed cell foam to shows the effect of ferrule design. Faux leather was used as a hide simulator and is a great indicator of tip design. It is important to note that these media types take more force than is required to penetrate an actual whitetail. It’s also important to note that each piece of media used in testing was uniform in size because different size pieces create different results.

Sharpness and Edge Retention

Greendwood tested sharpness by seeing how much force was needed to cut Double X+ media (measured in grams). He used an Edge-on-Up Industrial Edge Tester to do this and kept cutting angles consistent. He also took two measurements for each head to rule out variance. 

Out of the box sharpness ranged from 147 grams to 924 grams. Any broadhead that required less than 400 grams to cut the medium was deemed sharp. Broadheads that required more than 400 grams were not sharp. 

For edge retention, we put the heads through the sharpness test after going through the push force test. Heads that were still below the 400 gram threshold or within 50 grams of their original measurement are considered to have good edge retention.

Accuracy

I shot three broadheads from the same package at 40 yards, along with a field point. I chose the 40-yard distance  because it’s far enough to see a variance and close enough to reduce human input. The broadhead group was measured using calipers. The group variance from the field point arrow to the center of the broadhead group was also measured. This process was done twice for each broadhead model. 

During normal practice, my groups at 40 yards range from under 1 inch to 3 inches. I considered any broadhead that shot under a 3-inch group to be accurate. All except one broadhead shot under a 3-inch group, and nearly all grouped with field points. 

The G5 Montec M3 did not shoot a 3-inch group due to a flier. Two of the three heads were consistently under a 2-inch group, but one head was also consistently 8 inches outside the group.  

The Magnus Bullhead did not hit with the field point arrow, and was consistently 6-inches low. It did shoot 3-inch groups, though. Another head that did not group with field points was the Slick Trick RaptorTrick, which shot good groups just below the field point by 3 inches.

Bow and Arrows 

We used a 60-pound Mathews Traverse shooting 250 spine Black Eagle Rampage arrows fletched with three TAC Driver 2.75 in a helical configuration. The setup was bareshaft tuned prior to the accuracy test. The setup’s speed is about 260 fps.

Wound Channel

I shot one broadhead of each model into a 10 percent clear ballistics gel block. The wound channel width was measured with calipers. For three and four-blade broadheads the sum of each blade’s cutting width was used.

Durability

I shot one broadhead of each model into a 3-inch PVC pipe. The pipe’s shape and hardness are meant to simulate a bone impact, but is more consistent than using animal bone. This test was rated as a pass or fail. If the broadhead impacted the pipe and the blades remained intact, it passed the test. 

The SlickTrick Raptor Trick failed this test with bent blades. The Rage Hypodermic NC +P also failed the durability test with a broken blade.

Deflection

I placed the ballistic gel block at a 75-degree angle to simulate an extreme quartering shot. An aiming point was placed on the block and two high-speed cameras recorded each impact. This test was to see if a head impacted the aiming point but did not enter the gel at that point. Most of the broadheads entered the gel at the aiming point. But the Swhacker Levi Morgan Series hit the gel at the aiming point and entered the gel 8 inches forward. That was considered a failure.

Best Fixed Blade: Iron Will S100

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Scott Einsmann

     

             

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