Fixed or Mechanical

[SilverPharmer]

Ok, so I really am not trying to start a massive debate, but......... I am really on the fence on which to use. I have Muzzy 100gr fixed and Rage Crossbow X 100gr mechanicals.  I could not be any happier with the placement of my field tips and the Rage practice tip flied just as true.  I guess my my fears are:

1) Mechanical failure

2) Fixed will not fly true.

For what it is worth, shooting no more than 40 yards in my shooting lanes. Thanks in advance

 

[nyslowhand]

Anything mechanical will have a failure, at some point! Mechanical BHs might not get the desired penetration with a questionable shot placement, ie; shoulder blade. Angle of impact might influence a mechanical BH's performance.  Some fixed blade BHs do need tuning to the arrow/bolt &/or with certain vane types. Some don't. Most mechanical BHs fly the same as their counterpart field point. Most fixed blade BHs do not. Fixed blade BHs generally have more dependable performance. Mechanical BHs typically produce a bigger wound & blood trail! Okay, so these were your very questions, right?

BTW - What advice you'll get from this forum, strictly about NYS Xbow hunting has a max of 2-3yrs experience. Sorry guys, just the truth. There are other forums, specifically about Xbow BH use that have a longer history, larger membership and across numerous states discussing your very question. IE: archerytalk or a couple of specific Xbow forums immediately come to mind.

[SilverPharmer]

Great answers, thank you!  Within 40 yards do you believe there would be an appreciable difference in flight with the fixed BH?  OR is this something that extrapolated over a larger flight distance will become more distorted?

Pressure is on as of this AM I've seen one of the biggest bucks in the woods while visiting my mock scrape.  Hunted all my life (firearms only), but this is  my 1st year with the XBow.  

Thanks again to you and in advance to anyone else.

[Robhuntandfish]

i shoot muzzys on my xbow.  (Grim reaper whitetails on compound) Shot a deer last year and it went 20 yards and fell over.  I think its the same debate as the bow and same answer.  A spork on the end of an arrow will kill a deer if your shot is good.  If you already have both i would target practice with them and see how they shoot.  The muzzys made no difference on my crossbow at all.  Just a preference for each person and what they like to use.  Mechanicals yes make a bigger opening if a good shot , fixed are tougher for penetration and bone you may hit.  I think you will find either are sufficient, although i am not a big fan of the rage on the compound bow due to the blades come loose if bumped in the brush a lot and dont like how they perform quartering away.   Best of luck and welcome to the bow season! best time of year!    

[mowin]

I've used both fixed and mechanical on both my xbow and conventional.  I've had a shoulder joint stop a muzzy from a xbow at 35 yrds.  I've had rage heads do the same thing out of a conventional.  

I've used rage for many years on my conventional setup. Love the things. 

Only tried the muzzy because they were already set up on the xbow I purchased from a buddy. Wasn't impressed.

 

The fixed, mechanical debate will go on forever.  BTW.. I've switched to rage for both bows.  

[chas0218]

9 hours ago, SilverPharmer said:

Ok, so I really am not trying to start a massive debate, but......... I am really on the fence on which to use. I have Muzzy 100gr fixed and Rage Crossbow X 100gr mechanicals.  I could not be any happier with the placement of my field tips and the Rage practice tip flied just as true.  I guess my my fears are:

1) Mechanical failure

2) Fixed will not fly true.

For what it is worth, shooting no more than 40 yards in my shooting lanes. Thanks in advance

 

If your bow is properly tuned no issue with them flying true. Mechanical failure is very low with the heads nowadays. With the Rage heads I have noticed that even if the blades did not deploy they would still cut a 7/8" hole with the way the blades are designed. Made the switch this year to the Rage from my fixed 1" cutting dia. heads. The rage seem to have a little more air noise when flying but nothing a deer will notice. I have never been a mechanical fan after shooting front opening blades and having them deflect clean off the deer. I bought the Chinadermics and have shot them at 3 different angles into 1/4" luan the only time I had deflection was when I was almost shooting parallel to the board. After all of that I shot my field tips into my target then the rage and both had same amount of penetration with one of the Rage arrows going slightly further (3/4"). My fixed would get about 4" more penetration than my field tips so take it for what it's worth.

In my opinion the size of the hole the Rage leave outweigh the 4" of penetration. Below is my setup.

Bowtech Tribute 398gr. arrow (including BH) 62lbs. draw weight.

Edited November 3, 2017 by chas0218

[The_Real_TCIII]

I shoot a mechanical with a large cut on contact leading edge, best of both worlds.

[TACC]

I shoot a mechanical with a large cut on contact leading edge, best of both worlds.

What BH is that?

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[Jeremy K]

I switched back to muzzy this year from a mechanical last year ,although I'm shooting a different bow this year that Jeff from niagara outdoors has tuned like a Swiss watch ,my fixed blade fly like my field points.

[The_Real_TCIII]

What BH is that?

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Carbon Express Torrid. I just noticed this is a crossbow thread but I don’t see why you couldn’t use them. These are one and done heads but they’re only $15 for three at Walmart. I’ve taken a whole lot of deer, two bears, and several hogs with them


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[chas0218]

2 minutes ago, The_Real_TCIII said:

I just noticed this is a crossbow thread but I don’t see why you couldn’t use them.
 

Opps guess I should have looked at the section. Sorry OP but I think what I added is viable bow or crossbow.

[SilverPharmer]

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to weigh in, I really appreciate the insight etc.  In the end I called Bass Pro (where I bought my gear) spoke to the archery department and they highly suggested I stick with the mechanicals.  So, since I've only shot field tips and the practice points for the mechanical, I'll take my muzzys down for the season.  Hoping the buck I saw this am is there tomorrow!

[SilverPharmer]

Just wanted to offer a final word of thanks for all those that responded.  I did not get the big guy, but was not going to pass up on this one either.  Best shot I had was on a diagonal (if you look above his back you can see the frothy blood).  Would have liked the shot to be about 6 inches forward, but that was most likely user error in the excitement.   You can see on his ears that he's been fighting with someone who I hope to meet during the regular season.  Thanks again , and in the end the mechanical did the job it was supposed to but was destroyed by the tree this guy was standing in front of.