Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Elk Hunting => Topic started by: Duckslayer89 on September 16, 2016, 10:02:21 PM

Title: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: Duckslayer89 on September 16, 2016, 10:02:21 PM: All I gotta say is I will never hunt with mechanicals again for elk. They may be fine for deer. Brother hit a doe at 30 yards broadside and didn't get a pass through, still killed the deer and recovered. Not meant for elk. I highly suggest thinking twice before using mechanicals. I know they fly great and everything but they just aren't as tough and most don't cut on contact
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: tgomez on September 16, 2016, 10:08:13 PM: Did you lose an elk you hit?
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: DaveMonti on September 16, 2016, 10:20:31 PM: I've never had a problem with them. I've not shot an elk with one, but have killed plenty of deer with clean pass through shots. There are plenty of stories out there and it's hard to determine if the "problems" are truly due to the broadheads.
I'm glad you recovered the deer.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: Duckslayer89 on September 16, 2016, 10:27:14 PM: Quote from: tgomez on September 16, 2016, 10:08:13 PM
Did you lose an elk you hit?

Perfect direct 60 yard broadside standing still shot. The kind you dream about shooting at the flat range. Saw the arrow directly behind the shoulder with pretty much the whole arrow sticking out. Didn't go in after her because I was worried about penetration and was hoping I got a lung and she would lay down that night. Followed blood for 150 yards the next morning and she never laid down. Pretty sure she's still alive and well. I've killed 4 elk with shuttle T's and always had pass through never wounded an elk before. My dad was super super bummed never seen him so excited and then let down. Anyways bad experience and I just don't think they are made for thick hair and hide. It was a perfect shot

#depressed.... Anyways worked our asses off in a wilderness unit just to get a shot and that happened we are done with mechanicals. I have 12 Ulmer edge broadheads I will give to anyone on this site for free with 3 rage cage broadhead cases

Will meet up and give away or trade for anything else you wanna give away

Seriously free or they go in the trash
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: bowman on September 16, 2016, 10:54:10 PM: You weren't by chance in the Colockum were you? I found a dead cow that was shot by an expandable. It had been dead a couple days and the coyotes were all over it.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: JM on September 16, 2016, 11:25:19 PM: I shot a bull maybe 4" high right behind the shoulder at 15 yds last year with a G5 montec and never found it. 3 days later I shot another bull in the exact same spot with a rage hypodermic and it barely made 50 yds down a steep hill.

I guess that both of my shots were within 14 yds, but I will never shoot a fixed blade head again if I don't have to.

Sorry about losing an animal. Never a good feeling
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: shadowless_nite on September 17, 2016, 12:30:18 AM: Quote from: JM on September 16, 2016, 11:25:19 PM
I shot a bull maybe 4" high right behind the shoulder at 15 yds last year with a G5 montec and never found it. 3 days later I shot another bull in the exact same spot with a rage hypodermic and it barely made 50 yds down a steep hill.

I guess that both of my shots were within 14 yds, but I will never shoot a fixed blade head again if I don't have to.

Sorry about losing an animal. Never a good feeling

I don't think your results had anything to do with "fixed blades" but more so the Montec g5, I know a guy in our group that has lost numerous elk using that same broadhead, He finally switched to mechanicals but has yet to have the chance with them on a elk since they were legal. General online reviews would agree on the montec's spotty performance over the years.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: kentrek on September 17, 2016, 12:34:28 AM: G5 Montecs are way way to dull.....

I don't see any advantage to mechanicals....any good fixed blade will be absolutely devastating to anything you shoot
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: Reidus on September 17, 2016, 12:38:02 AM: With that little of penetration it seems like you'd have to hit some major bone. I killed a bull couple years ago with a rage hyperdermic. Perfect broadside at 35 yards hit a rib and didn't penetrate very well. Took a while for him to die. Maybe 10-12" of penetration.....i wasn't very impressed. Mechanicals can be devastating on animals with perfect shot placement. I try to stick to fixed blades now for elk.

If you put a montec through an elk and didn't kill it.......it wasn't the broadheads fault :twocents:

Maybe some elk are tougher than others....maybe sometimes your broadhead finds a path through the kill zone with less arteries and vessels.... i dont know but their lungs are about the size of a beach ball and they aren't going far with any broadhead through both lungs.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: Hibbsr on September 17, 2016, 07:12:28 AM: I have always been a slick trick standard 125 guy and still use them. Last year I started using Grim Reaper Razortip 125s. Last year shot a bear and a blacktail, both animals went less than 30 yards with massive blood trails. "Not that they were needed" this year I shot a a really nice bull at 51 yards, he ran 10 yards a fell over dead. Double lung complete pass through. I will continue to shoot both until the Reapers fail me. You gotta love the Tricks, they fly true and are also devastating. Everyone has their own story and own experience, shoot with whatever you are confident in. I have used every broadhead out there and my top head would be the Tricks. I do like that the Reaper heads come in 125.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: Reidus on September 17, 2016, 08:03:17 AM: Tough to beat the slick tricks for the money! I've really been digging the qad exodus lately.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: ffbowhunter on September 17, 2016, 08:41:54 AM: I agree with the guys talking about slick tricks. My bull made it 30-40 yards then dropped, the amount of blood coming out of him was impressive. I also didn't have to adjust anything on my sight like I usually did for my montecs.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: Bullseye108 on September 17, 2016, 09:17:19 AM: I shot a buck and a bull this year with grim reaper broadheads. Both animals left huge blood trails. Buck was at 53 yds and bull was at 51 yds. Short easy track jobs.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: MtnMuley on September 17, 2016, 09:58:49 AM: I only use fixed blades for big game animals. Although I feel expandables are suitable for deer, I don't think they should be used for elk. With proper broadlead tuning, fixed blades preform like field points. I see no benefit in an expandable. :twocents:
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: Duckslayer89 on September 17, 2016, 10:52:25 AM: Quote from: bowman on September 16, 2016, 10:54:10 PM
You weren't by chance in the Colockum were you? I found a dead cow that was shot by an expandable. It had been dead a couple days and the coyotes were all over it.

No I was in 249 alpine unit backpacked in. Ya I guess everyone has their own opinions on broadheads but I don't think I hit a bone at all, possibly a rib bone but there is no way it was a shoulder shot or high in the backstrap/spine from where I saw the arrow. I hit a rib with my Shuttle T's on a bull and it sliced all the way through double lung and broke a rib on the way out. Complete pass through. I heard slick tricks were great, I loved my shuttle T's though and I already have 9 of them think Ima stick with them.

The design of this particular head makes it to where the beginning of the blade is covered up by these little dull pieces of metal that make the blades slip open. I'll post pictures. Honestly probably my fault for not really thinking hard how they open up but they fly so nice and group so well I was sold on them.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: jackelope on September 17, 2016, 11:11:06 AM: Seems like this is not the first time I've read this same story. Always seems to be the case with elk. That's not to say they don't work. I think they're not as "forgiving" if the shot isn't perfect and I also wonder if it's got to do with the thick skin and maybe the range? I was a Slick Trick guy, but I think next set I buy will be RAD heads. I definitely will never use mechanicals.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: Duckslayer89 on September 17, 2016, 11:20:38 AM: Quote from: jackelope on September 17, 2016, 11:11:06 AM
Seems like this is not the first time I've read this same story. Always seems to be the case with elk. That's not to say they don't work. I think they're not as "forgiving" if the shot isn't perfect and I also wonder if it's got to do with the thick skin and maybe the range? I was a Slick Trick guy, but I think next set I buy will be RAD heads. I definitely will never use mechanicals.

I think it's the thick hide and 3-4 inch length hair that the blades have to cut through, plus thick rib muscle and everything else I guess. RAD broadheads look sweet too
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: Duckslayer89 on September 17, 2016, 11:32:25 AM: Notice how the little tangs that get pushed open to let the blades expand cover up the blades until it's basically all the way open? Idk my fault for not going over it over and over again and just assuming everything was good to go.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: j_h_nimrod on September 17, 2016, 11:55:13 AM: I decided to jump on the mechanical bandwagon last year with the Rage Hypodermic and without actually harvesting anything I switched back to conventional (Radical MadMan HPV :tup: ) after doing more research, hearing others issues, and having consistency issues. I don't sit in a stand so having a broadhead that will open up going through brush or if I turn it wrong on my quiver is an inconvenience to say the least. I was also having random issues of inflight opening during practice that just really made me doubt. I think if you are sitting in a stand shooting whitetails they could be just great, but for still hunting and heavier game I'll stick with a conventional.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: cliffordingles on September 17, 2016, 12:57:27 PM: I took my elk opening morning, ran less than 50 yards. Im shooting grim reaper razorcuts. They work amazing! It was a clean pass through double lung at 28 yards. Theres alot of people that dont think about the other parts of the shot, like speed, arrow weight, and energy. I trust my setup to 90 yards, i wouldnt take that shot but i trust it to deliver enough energy to penetrate. I see alot of people with package bows for cabelas or whatever and think they can shoot to the moon, thats not the case.

So in my opinion, mechanicals work amazing and fly perfectly. But thats my experience with my setup.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: Duckslayer89 on September 17, 2016, 01:05:43 PM: Quote from: cliffordingles on September 17, 2016, 12:57:27 PM
I took my elk opening morning, ran less than 50 yards. Im shooting grim reaper razorcuts. They work amazing! It was a clean pass through double lung at 28 yards. Theres alot of people that dont think about the other parts of the shot, like speed, arrow weight, and energy. I trust my setup to 90 yards, i wouldnt take that shot but i trust it to deliver enough energy to penetrate. I see alot of people with package bows for cabelas or whatever and think they can shoot to the moon, thats not the case.

So in my opinion, mechanicals work amazing and fly perfectly. But thats my experience with my setup.

I'm shooting a 2015 Hoyt Carbon Spyder draw weight 73 pounds with 300 spine gold tip hunter pros. Definetly not a package bow. I think it's the design of this broadhead. I probably shouldn't generalize all mechanicals but I lost any faith in them that I had.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: cliffordingles on September 17, 2016, 01:35:16 PM: Thats fine to loose your faith in them, everyones got thier own opinion. Just like politics lol. But for the record i am a Trump supporter.

My hunting partner shoots some G5 mechanicals, and he swears by them. He is also was way better shooter than i am. But he has lost 2 deer that i know of with those broadheads. I personally do not like the way those G5's open but for some reason he does. All mechanicals are different, just like fixed blade, all that matters is using what works for you. For me, im sold on the Grim Reaper Razorcut mechanicals. Biggest thing is shot placement, and that doesnt matter what broadhead a person i shooting.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: gonehuntin68 on September 17, 2016, 07:48:20 PM: Shuttle t lock is the way to go.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: BGhunter on September 17, 2016, 09:29:34 PM: My brother and I switched to mechanicals last year. We ended up calling a bull into twenty yards broadside and he slipped an arrow right behind its shoulder. It turned and ran out to fifty yards and stopped. My brother hit the bull on the opposite side. When we tracked him down we were surprised to see neather arrow penetrated both lungs. It was double lunged but it took two poorly penetrated arrows to do the job. After seeing that we both switched back to fixed blades.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: hogslayer on September 17, 2016, 09:47:53 PM: The part I don't like about mechanical heads is that when they expand they seem to transfer a lot of energy into the heads opening up. This causes penetration issue like people have said. And when they broad head is inside the elk, the blades are just flopping around relaxed or go back to there original position. The elk I shot last year was a Texas bullseye and the arrow disappeared. I knew that it was inside just causes hell on the lungs and organs as it ran. It went 40 yards and tipped over.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: Jonathan_S on September 17, 2016, 10:02:15 PM: The elk I shot this week would have been a disaster with a mechanical. Very steep downhill shot and I hit high. The RAD broadhead crushed through the shoulder and straight through a rib. Still totally intact and razor sharp enough to wreak havoc on the lungs. He crashed 50 yards downhill. Show me a mechanical that will do that every time.

Heck that broadhead still spins true and is on my next arrow downrange :tup:
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: Reidus on September 17, 2016, 11:03:26 PM: Quote from: BGhunter on September 17, 2016, 09:29:34 PM
My brother and I switched to mechanicals last year. We ended up calling a bull into twenty yards broadside and he slipped an arrow right behind its shoulder. It turned and ran out to fifty yards and stopped. My brother hit the bull on the opposite side. When we tracked him down we were surprised to see neather arrow penetrated both lungs. It was double lunged but it took two poorly penetrated arrows to do the job. After seeing that we both switched back to fixed blades.

Had a similar experience and seen it happen on videos as well.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: biggfish on September 18, 2016, 02:17:41 AM: Quote from: cliffordingles on September 17, 2016, 12:57:27 PM
I took my elk opening morning, ran less than 50 yards. Im shooting grim reaper razorcuts. They work amazing! It was a clean pass through double lung at 28 yards. Theres alot of people that dont think about the other parts of the shot, like speed, arrow weight, and energy. I trust my setup to 90 yards, i wouldnt take that shot but i trust it to deliver enough energy to penetrate. I see alot of people with package bows for cabelas or whatever and think they can shoot to the moon, thats not the case.

So in my opinion, mechanicals work amazing and fly perfectly. But thats my experience with my setup.
What size blade are you shooting? I've got 1 3/4" I'm not sure if the energy lost in deployment is enough to pass through.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: Thefisherman83 on September 18, 2016, 08:48:46 AM: I killed my bull this year with a Rage hypodermic. He went 10yds and face planted. 65yd shot and the arrow made it all the way to the offside shoulder blade. Nearly split the heart in half, I could almost fit my fist in the wound channel. The doe I shot last year was at 55yds and I had a full pass through, blood trail was insane. Killed a cow last year with one as well, full pass through. Not a great shot, hit back quite a ways and she still only went 150yds. I will never use a fixed blade again, the wound channel and blood trail are insane on the expandables.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: MtnMuley on September 18, 2016, 04:19:10 PM: I'm sure 75% of the archery kills I have had mechanicals would have been fine. Same results as the post above with fixed blades. Is it worth losing one animal because I chose a mechanical over a fixed blade when they both shoot the same? Never. :twocents:
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: johnnyaustin44 on September 19, 2016, 09:59:48 AM: I'll take those broad heads if you wanna ship em. Top favorite of mine.
Title: Re: Elk with mechanicals
Post by: niceshot on September 20, 2016, 09:26:56 AM: They do lack penetration BUT they make up for it in massive internal bleeding. Shot a bull at 40 yards this year and it made it maybe 40 yards and died within seconds. I got a good 20" of penetration. If your shooting lighter draw weight go with the smaller rage 1.5" and it will do the trick. This is what I shoot and will continue to shoot.