Some interesting data on Mechanicals VS Fixed

[BowmanMike]

Damn,wish you hadn't posted this. Now i have to go and buy some mechanicals even though i have some brand new montecs in the box still.

Just kidding,i don't know that i have the energy for mechanicals,i shoot the halon x pro,it is a target bow and under 300 fps. Set at 60# and 29.5" DL i will use fixed heads for sure. 

Interesting article for sure,not what i would have expected.

[Hunter007]

My theory is they all work good if you do your part practice take the shots you should take and let them walk if  you can't. 

Just like with a gun no such thing as a magic arrow or bullet that is  going to make up for a really bad shot .  That being said You buy the best ones you can afford . 

 

 

 

Edited August 8, 2019 by Hunter007

[tarheel95]

Interesting read and contrary to the results I would have expected. Just remember though that 72.4% of statistics are made up.

 

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[Culvercreek hunt club]

15 minutes ago, BowmanMike said:

Damn,wish you hadn't posted this. Now i have to go and buy some mechanicals even though i have some brand new montecs in the box still.

Just kidding,i don't know that i have the energy for mechanicals,i shoot the halon x pro,it is a target bow and under 300 fps. Set at 60# and 29.5" DL i will use fixed heads for sure. 

Interesting article for sure,not what i would have expected.

I used the Montecs with my Hoyt Carbon Express. I was truly impressed with their toughness and ease of sharpening. I had 5 deer on one arrow and broadhead and one shot was through a shoulder bone and another took out 2 ribs. The only thing I did not like about them was it always seemed like the blood trails sucked. Now I use to shoot thunderheads too and they aren't that much different in size then the Montecs. Just never remember them having as little blood as the Montecs. I had not personally seen the rage broadheads in action but had tried a fold back style mechanical and I was very under impressed with penetration on those. Then a couple years ago my buddy put Rages on his Crossbow. The two blood trails I witnessed were hideous. So I tried them and the the deer I have taken with them looked like I was hunting with an ax.  

[sodfather]

2 hours ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

I like simple things. A fixed broadhead is simple. I would never shoot a mechanical just for the fear of it not opening or working properly on a buck of a lifetime. I have no complaints with fixed heads so i'll never change.

You like simple things -

Single pin sight on your bow that you adjust with yardages 

A ranger you control from your phone

A cat you groom like a lion 

A blue wallet.... 

Ya you like simple I can’t believe your not living in Amish country 

[BizCT]

43 minutes ago, sodfather said:

You like simple things -

Single pin sight on your bow that you adjust with yardages 

A ranger you control from your phone

A cat you groom like a lion 

A blue wallet.... 

Ya you like simple I can’t believe your not living in Amish country 

I never adjust the pin sight. It still has demo tape on it. 1 pin is simpler than multi pins.

Edited August 8, 2019 by Biz-R-OWorld

[steve863]

56 minutes ago, sodfather said:

You like simple things -

Single pin sight on your bow that you adjust with yardages 

A ranger you control from your phone

A cat you groom like a lion 

A blue wallet.... 

Ya you like simple I can’t believe your not living in Amish country 

 

[BizCT]

 

Nice screensaver you got! You told me you use this one though

 

 

[steve863]

 

 

I think the Amish lifestyle would be good for you, Biz.  You'd go from a BMW to a Ford Truck to horse and buggy. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 8, 2019 by steve863

[BizCT]

22 minutes ago, steve863 said:

 

 

I think the Amish lifestyle would be good for you, Biz.  You'd go from a BMW to a Ford Truck to horse and buggy. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The heavy clothes wouldn't work for me. I like to walk around home in boxers even in the winter. 

Fun Fact - I watched Red Sox win 2013 WS in PA Hunting Camp with an Amish guy. He loved playing with my cell phone.

Edited August 8, 2019 by Biz-R-OWorld

[Eric J]

4 hours ago, Culvercreek hunt club said:

I have been on this base for work. Service members move in and out. All of them have to qualify in a shooting test. 

Is the land like West point where the public can hunt it?

[dbHunterNY]

Really? I didn't read the article. I would think a mechanical loses penetration speed when it opens at impact. But I'm not a physics guy. My bow shoots well under 300fps, so i'm sticking with fixed. I'm not a good source of info. My only fixed broadhead kill was 18 yard shot, double lung, and the buck made it 5-7 yards before dying.

Mechnaicals will work just fine with your setup. Also of note a hard quartering away shot sometimes means deflection and a wounded deer. Know it to be true with both mech and fixed. Bottom line though if you're shooting broadhead X accurately and you're confident in it... well just stick with that broadhead. No reason you need to be thinking or worrying about your setup when a deer shows up. Just thinking about steps needed to send that arrow on its way is more than enough to deal with.

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[turkeyfeathers]

1 hour ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

The heavy clothes wouldn't work for me. I like to walk around home in boxers even in the winter. 

Fun Fact - I watched Red Sox win 2013 WS in PA Hunting Camp with an Amish guy. He loved playing with my cell phone.

He was surfing the web on farmers only . Com   Did you check web history? 

[BizCT]

32 minutes ago, turkeyfeathers said:

He was surfing the web on farmers only . Com   Did you check web history? 

I cannot list the sites for fear of 2-week ban from this forum. We are too close to hunting season for that.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

40 minutes ago, Eric J said:

Is the land like West point where the public can hunt it?

No. Fenced base and only service members. I am not sure they even let the Federal employees that are non-service hunt it. There are some freaking brutes in there. 

[wolc123]

I thought it was a good read and a good study, very "scientifically" done.  It was especially interesting how the data disproved the author's "pre-conceved" notions.  I am not at all surprised that the crossbow with mechanical broadheads came out on top for recovery percentage, compared to compound vertical bow / fixed or mechanical or crossbow / fixed.   That definitely correlates well with my own personal experience although I have yet to try fixed broadheads on deer with my crossbow (and probably never will after reading this study).    I see no reason to mess with my current 100 % dead deer within 40 yards that I have enjoyed since picking up the crossbow in 2014.           

[moog5050]

22 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

I see no reason to mess with my current 100 % dead deer within 40 yards that I have enjoyed since picking up the crossbow in 2014.           

Wait a minute, didn’t you kill one with the xbow at 59yds through the heart?   I have a very vague recollection of you mentioning that once.  

[Marion]

it's messed up that i know someone who hunts whitetails with a 375 H&H so i find your comment totally relevant and not out of context one bit. lol

Better off with .300wby like me

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[Lawdwaz]

9 hours ago, dbHunterNY said:

it's messed up that i know someone who hunts whitetails with a 375 H&H so i find your comment totally relevant and not out of context one bit. lol

So now you know two (we are just internet buddies as far as I know) guys that hunt or have hunted with the 375H&H.  I'm sure they're are others including Dinsdale that have used the chambering on eastern whitetail.

Circa a long time ago.....

Edit to add: Can you believe that there is probably a 80-85lb dressed buck?

Edited August 8, 2019 by Lawdwaz

[crappyice]

Posting this pic so we no longer need to see Steve863’s screensaver pic of Biz...your welcome!


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[crappyice]

Posting this pic so we no longer need to see Steve863’s screensaver pic of Biz...your welcome!


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Drats...didn’t seem to remove it?!?


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[BizCT]

Drats...didn’t seem to remove it?!?


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Sorry, bud! The algorithm chose me


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[WNY Bowhunter]

I've used nothing but mechanicals since 2011. In that time, I have lost two deer. One was a dead center shoulder hit and the other was a super alert doe that jumped the string causing my arrow to hit through the backstraps. Both were poor shots that would have resulted in the same outcome with a fixed head.  This season I will be carrying mechanicals once again...

[coonhunter]

I killed a lot of deer with Rocket mini blasters. They were fold back mechanicals and were only 75 gr.  My bow speed was only in the 235 -245 range. Unless I hit the off shoulder blade, all were clean pass thrus with blood trails that you couldn't miss. Majority of shots were between 15 and 25 yards, but a couple were 39 and 42 yards. The 39 yard shot went through, the 42 hit the off shoulder and came back out the entrance hole. Both were still easy blood trails, although the longer shot took about 20 yards for the arrow to come back out. Now this is just a quick review for the Rocket mini blaster with the arrow speed from a chronograph.

Now I use plain ol Muzzy 3 blade in 75 gr. The only reason I switched is because I am cheap, not because I thought the mini blasters had problems. For the most part, the mini blasters are one and done unless you miss bone completely. Whereas the muzzies I can resharpen or change blades. 

I can shoot just as far with the Muzzy fixed blades as I could with the mechanicals, and I get good blood trails from them as well. All I can say is practice killing deer. Get used to having deer in range so you can make a good shot whether it is a doe, young buck, or a big buck. When you make a shot, follow the deer with your eyes and mark landmarks in your head that you can walk to because sometimes they may run 20-30 yards before they start pouring blood.

For those of you shooting 60 pounds and are uncertain about using a mechanical, I can recommend the 75 gr mini blasters. But remember to change your field points to 75 gr as well. People always ask me why I shoot such light heads, and all I can say is that is what I had when I started. Then, a buddy and I got a deal on a bunch of the mini blasters that kept us in broadheads for years. It always worked fine for me, so I never switched.

[wolc123]

4 hours ago, moog5050 said:

Wait a minute, didn’t you kill one with the xbow at 59yds through the heart?   I have a very vague recollection of you mentioning that once.  

Good memory, that was back in 2014.  My range estimate was a bit off and what I thought was a 50 yard shot was a lot closer to 60.  That made the bolt strike lower than I intended.   Considering that the penetration of the mechanical broadhead from my 300 fps, entry-level crossbow was a paltry 8", it was only the strike in that location (center of heart) that put the 1-1/2 year old buck down within 40 yards from where he took the bolt (that is the 40 yards that I meant), such that I could "hear the crash". 

 

 

The range was far on that one, but it was not the toughest shot I have made with that crossbow.  Range is just one variable of many that can make or break a shot.   60 yards is no big deal for a broadside shot at a standing, distracted deer, from a rest, with a telescopic sight, across an open field with no wind.  My toughest shot was on this 3.5 year old (43" chest girth) slob that might be the heaviest buck that I have ever taken.   The shot was around 20 yards, quartering away but he was walking thru some "unseen" branches in a poor light situation.   The bolt held true to course however, and drilled him diagonally thru both lungs, once again letting me "hear the crash" and dropping him dead after a sprint of less than 40 yards.   

 

My other two crossbow/mechanical bucks were basically "chip shots" at about 15 yards, but one was a less than ideal "quartering to angle".  That was the only one that I watched fall after he staggered off about 30 yards, dragging the hind leg from which the bolt exited, after passing diagonally thru both lungs and some gut. 

My overall range works out pretty close to the 19 yard average of the OP's quoted study.   Confidence in your equipment no doubt plays a big role in recovering deer, but the biggest factor for me has been staying on good terms with He who controls the fate of all living things.