How to Choose the Best Deer Hunting Broadhead for You
When you are looking to make the best buying decision for you, you want to take many aspects into consideration. As I talk about the different aspects of the best deer hunting broadheads, think about the aspects that you need in a broadhead.
Flight
The flight of a broadhead can be severely different than the flight of a field point. There are many different ways that an arrow can fly off.
But when it comes to the flight of different broadheads, you want to look at the amount of air that will be affecting the trajectory of the arrow. For instance, a blade that has no way of ventilating air may be more affected by wind conditions. The less air resistance that you have, the more consistent your broadhead will fly.
Weight will also play a factor in the flight of your arrow with a broadhead. But, I will talk more about the weight of broadheads in another section.
Click Here to learn more about arrow flight
Penetration
The penetration of a broadhead will have a huge effect on the blood trail. With more penetration the better the odds of having a good blood trail to successfully recover your harvest. If the arrow gets stuck in the larger game, it will have significantly less blood than a pass-through shot.
The surface area and weight of the broadhead will affect the penetration. The more surface area increases (amount of blades) the amount of friction during the flight and while passing through the deer will also increase. The heavier broadhead will penetrate farther with the same number of blades, but the trajectory will dip farther at longer ranges.
I like to find a happy medium between weight and surface when thinking about the penetration of my broadheads.
Cutting Diameter
In theory, the bigger the cutting diameter the better broadhead. Right? Not necessarily.
The cutting diameter does need to be big enough to make a significant entrance and exit wound on the deer. However, too big of a cutting diameter can hinder the amount of penetration through the deer causing no exit wound. Too small of cutting diameter and you risk not clipping one of the vitals creating an ethical shot.
Weight
The weight of your broadhead will directly affect the flight of your arrow and the penetration. The heavier the broadhead – and entire arrow build – the more it will drop at longer distances. A heavier broadhead will penetrate farther into a deer but the long shots will be much more difficult to make. Most fixed broadheads and mechanical broadheads are weighted at 100 grains or 150 grains.
Personally, I shoot 100-grain broadheads because they are the exact weight of my field points. This makes it much easier to broadhead-tune my arrows when hunting season rolls around.
Click Here to learn more about the weight of an arrow
Materials
The materials that make up the broadhead are a minor factor in your ability to make an ethical shot on a whitetail deer. However, the materials of the broadhead start to play a factor in the ability to cut through the deer’s ribs and shoulder blades and reusability.
I like to use razor blades that are thinner but extremely sharp. I do have to replace the blades after a successful harvest. My dad, on the other hand, likes a fixed-blade broadhead that only has two blades. He can resharpen the edges of his broadheads after every successful harvest.
It all depends on how you want to replace the broadheads after shooting a whitetail deer. I would also say stick to stainless steel blades because that is the best material for a sharp and durable broadhead. The thickness of the broadhead of your choice depends on how you would like to replace your broadheads.
