mechanical or fixed broadheads?

[Flogrown450]

always shot fixed broadheads, any reason i should switch it up?

[h20hunter]

Considering mechanical are illegal.....?

[coachcw]

0h just the law.   

[Flogrown450]

lol seriously? i just moved from florida a few months ago but hey thats why im on this forum

[coachcw]

CabeLas has them all over the self  why ?

[Flogrown450]

yeah thats weird, and why exactly are they illigal? doesnt make much sense

[coachcw]

Read the regs. FIXED UN BARBED ! 7/8 inch min.

[returnofsid]

Mechanicals are legal for Turkey only.

[RadSav]

yeah thats weird, and why exactly are they illigal?

Because the law was written back when expandable broadheads consisted of the Puckett's Blood Bucket and the Punch Cutter.  So failure rate was WAY high!!  Then it progressed to the Rocket broadhead which was better, but still failure rates were high.  And then some expandables came out that did not fully fold forward leaving the head barbed by all manner of speaking.  So the law had no real reason to change.

Currently I think the law hasn't changed because it's just not very high on the priority list of thinks to fight over.
It really is one of those rules that makes little difference.  If we really want to fight for something we should fight to eliminate the 6 grains per pound arrow rule, managing seasons better, controlling predation, or a whole host of more pressing issues that matter.  Worry about the "Who cares" rules later...IMO

[NW-GSP]

Cabelas also carries battery powered duck hunting decoys and they are illegal in this state. Don't assume just cause they carry it that it means its legal.

[RadSav]

CabeLas has them all over the self  why ?

Legal for turkey and hunters headed anywhere in the world other than the pacific northwest.  Plenty of customers out there that just like buying stuff because it's forbidden too

Cabelas also carries battery powered duck hunting decoys and they are illegal in this state.

They also carry muzzle loaders that shoot 209 primers.  Crossbows with mounted scopes.  A shoot pot full of barbed salmon hooks!  And buckshot smaller than #1...Etc...etc...

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

Not only is it all illegal in WA, it's all way over priced!   

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

I'd shoot expandables if they become legal.  I might get a few for Idaho deer and carry this anchor of a bow I got around to try one out.  Then maybe wa elk next year.  I agree more important issues but it sounds like it up for discussion so maybe rhey figure it out.

[RadSav]

I'd shoot expandables if they become legal.  I might get a few for Idaho deer and carry this anchor of a bow I got around to try one out. 

 

Illegal in Idaho and Oregon last time I checked!

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

    Ok well maybe wa next year.  Lol. It's a any weapon deer tag anyways I'll probably have the 30/06.

[gr8whthunter]

Cabelas also carries battery powered duck hunting decoys and they are illegal in this state.

They also carry muzzle loaders that shoot 209 primers.  Crossbows with mounted scopes.  A shoot pot full of barbed salmon hooks!  And buckshot smaller than #1...Etc...etc...
[/quote]

since when did barbed hooks become illegal?

[Come Get Some]

Expandable broadheads while effective for deer and most small thin skinned animals in my opinion would not be a good choice for large animals like elk , moose and even bears. I know of several people who have tried them on elk in other states and the results were not favorable. Anything that has to open mechanically will and does loose the driving force that will produce a deep penetrationg shot and a fatal kill. It can be done but there are alot of bow hunters that are marginal at best for accuracy and ethics. Adding Mechanical broadheads to their arsenal would not be could for publicity or the sport of hunting. Bowhunters already take alot of flack for wounding animals. I believe there are more animals wounded by rifle hunters than bow hunters. Reasons being , there are many more rifle hunters and you get the see the arrow but not the bullet when a bad shot is made.

[pianoman9701]

lol seriously? i just moved from florida a few months ago but hey thats why im on this forum

They're illegal for big game. I believe you can shoot small game with them. Anyone? This'll change pretty soon. WA's a little behind the curve on these but we'll catch up. The technology has vastly improved.

[Tbob]

Saw a guy shoot a bull moose with a Rage mechanical head. Couldn't believe it, went clear through one shoulder and lodged about halfway through the off shoulder.. This moose fell over dead really fast..I was impressed..

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

I think I read on a differnt post that the guys in Montana are using the expandables with great success.   

[pianoman9701]

Saw a guy shoot a bull moose with a Rage mechanical head. Couldn't believe it, went clear through one shoulder and lodged about halfway through the off shoulder.. This moose fell over dead really fast..I was impressed..

There's nothing wrong with them. The technology is there. Some states just need to catch up it. WA is one.

[bullfisher]

Several laws would need to be put in place to make mechs leagal in WA. You can't expect WA to let anyone hunt roosevelts with a 40lb bow/ 300grn arrow and a grim reaper on the end of it.

[SeeThru1987]

Read the regs. FIXED UN BARBED ! 7/8 inch min.

a little off topic, but cant you use expandables for coyote? since they are unregulated species?

[Russ McDonald]

Read the regs. FIXED UN BARBED ! 7/8 inch min.

a little off topic, but cant you use expandables for coyote? since they are unregulated species?

You can use mechanicals on anything other then deer and elk if I read the regs right but don't quote me on that.

[steeleywhopper]

I watch a few hunting shows from time to time and I don't ever see anyone shooting fixed blade heads anymore. Washington really should allow our sport to move forward. As someone else said already, "the technology is already there."

[RadSav]

They would probably use them more often on TV if manufacturers of fixed heads paid as well as RAGE

[Netminder01]

Saw a guy shoot a bull moose with a Rage mechanical head. Couldn't believe it, went clear through one shoulder and lodged about halfway through the off shoulder.. This moose fell over dead really fast..I was impressed..

There's nothing wrong with them. The technology is there. Some states just need to catch up it. WA is one.

 

And it's not the only area WA needs to catch up on

[WSU]

So what's the verdict?  Do they penetrate as well as fixed blade heads or not?

[h20hunter]

 

Whole lotta' critters killed with mechanicals in other states.

[washelkhunter]

Whole lotta' critters killed with mechanicals in other states.

And thats where they need to stay.

[RadSav]

So what's the verdict?  Do they penetrate as well as fixed blade heads or not?

Not many 1.5 - 2" diameter fixed heads on the market.  So hard to measure apples to apples.

[WSU]

So what's the verdict?  Do they penetrate as well as fixed blade heads or not?

Not many 1.5 - 2" diameter fixed heads on the market.  So hard to measure apples to apples.

Why?  It seems like penetration would be easy to compare.

[RadSav]

So what's the verdict?  Do they penetrate as well as fixed blade heads or not?

Not many 1.5 - 2" diameter fixed heads on the market.  So hard to measure apples to apples.

Why?  It seems like penetration would be easy to compare.

Penetration between a 1.5" cutting diameter 3 blade head and a 1.125" diameter 3 blade head isn't really a comparison.  The smaller diameter is always going to penetrate better.  In this case near 25% better assuming blade angles are equal.  Over the top swivel expandables might lose another 2-3%.  Some bad ones maybe another 5%.

But penetration among adult male bowhunters is rarely the issue with expandables.  Reliability of function and remaining unbarbed are the more important issues.  Rage probably fares as well as any expandables in that comparison.  But, one would have to legalize some and not others if such performance was a defining solution as to whether they are legal or not.  That would be a nightmare!

Always better to have a fragile expandable that penetrates 25% less but is sharp than a fixed blade that is dull.  And since we can not control the use of properly sharpened heads then all non-barbed heads should be legal regardless of fixed or method of blade deployment.  Trying to regulate stupidity out of society has never worked before.  So why then should it work on the select few bowhunters?  Increase minimum draw weight on elk to 50# then legalize expendables and be done with it, IMO.

And while we are at it let's throw out the ridiculous 6 grains per pound arrow rule too!

[WSU]

Realizing that a bigger cutting diameter is going to penetrate less, my question was intended to figure out how they penetrate compared to fixed heads.  I've never shot any and have only shot one big game animal with a bow.  The elk I killed didn't result in a pass through on a quartering away shot.  I'm curious if expandable heads would provide sufficient penetration on elk?  Our critters are much bigger/tougher than the whitetails shot around the majority of the country.

[Russ McDonald]

Realizing that a bigger cutting diameter is going to penetrate less, my question was intended to figure out how they penetrate compared to fixed heads.  I've never shot any and have only shot one big game animal with a bow.  The elk I killed didn't result in a pass through on a quartering away shot.  I'm curious if expandable heads would provide sufficient penetration on elk?  Our critters are much bigger/tougher than the whitetails shot around the majority of the country.

My aunt and uncle from Minnesota have shot expandables in MT for elk even quartering shots with success every time.