Fixed Blade vs Mechanical

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Oct 18, 2022
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Chattanooga, TN
Hey guys, this is my first year bow hunting and I've been extremely lucky to tag 4 deer with my bow so far. I've used fixed blades, QAD exodus 100g to be exact, on Easton axis 340 arrows. They've performed exceptionally well with full pass through on every deer and had good blood trails on them all. I had a friend shoot a buck in the money spot this past weekend and his mechanical broadhead failed and barely penetrated. The buck still went down, and was recovered, so in the end it did the job I guess, but mechanicals just seem high risk and I'm wondering what the benefits are over fixed blades that would entice people to use them.
 

batten_down

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Clarksville
Hey guys, this is my first year bow hunting and I've been extremely lucky to tag 4 deer with my bow so far. I've used fixed blades, QAD exodus 100g to be exact, on Easton axis 340 arrows. They've performed exceptionally well with full pass through on every deer and had good blood trails on them all. I had a friend shoot a buck in the money spot this past weekend and his mechanical broadhead failed and barely penetrated. The buck still went down, and was recovered, so in the end it did the job I guess, but mechanicals just seem high risk and I'm wondering what the benefits are over fixed blades that would entice people to use them.
I shoot mechanicals. Rage Trypan 150gr. They've performed perfectly for me. But at almost $20 per now, I think next season I'll be going back to fixed blades. The Rage heads, in my experience, are done after going through one animal. I think generally speaking the fixed blade heads lend themselves to repeated use. And in the long run, work out better economically. So that's the deciding factor for me.
 

batten_down

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Hey guys, this is my first year bow hunting and I've been extremely lucky to tag 4 deer with my bow so far. I've used fixed blades, QAD exodus 100g to be exact, on Easton axis 340 arrows. They've performed exceptionally well with full pass through on every deer and had good blood trails on them all. I had a friend shoot a buck in the money spot this past weekend and his mechanical broadhead failed and barely penetrated. The buck still went down, and was recovered, so in the end it did the job I guess, but mechanicals just seem high risk and I'm wondering what the benefits are over fixed blades that would entice people to use them.
Oh. And congrats on the four deer with a bow your first year. Good stuff.
 

clwg97

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Arlington
Hey guys, this is my first year bow hunting and I've been extremely lucky to tag 4 deer with my bow so far. I've used fixed blades, QAD exodus 100g to be exact, on Easton axis 340 arrows. They've performed exceptionally well with full pass through on every deer and had good blood trails on them all. I had a friend shoot a buck in the money spot this past weekend and his mechanical broadhead failed and barely penetrated. The buck still went down, and was recovered, so in the end it did the job I guess, but mechanicals just seem high risk and I'm wondering what the benefits are over fixed blades that would entice people to use them.
Truer broadhead flight with minimal tuning. You can get more consistent broadhead flight with a mechanical and it flies closer to a field point. I shoot muzzy 100 grain 3 blade fixed heads for the reasons Batten_Down said, but have shot a little mechanical, grim reaper, rage, NAP.
 
Joined
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Chattanooga, TN
I shoot mechanicals. Rage Trypan 150gr. They've performed perfectly for me. But at almost $20 per now, I think next season I'll be going back to fixed blades. The Rage heads, in my experience, are done after going through one animal. I think generally speaking the fixed blade heads lend themselves to repeated use. And in the long run, work out better economically. So that's the deciding factor for me.
Dang $20 per is pretty pricey. Bow hunting being the addiction that it is, always has me wanting to try new things, but at that price I'll just stick with the exodus, as they've held up for multiple kills. Thanks for the input man!
 

holstonangler

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I've shot mechanicals for over 10 years and have shot most brands out there. What initially lured me was the notion that they shot right with field tips and had large wound channels. After shooting dozens of deer I went back to shooting nothing but fixed blades. Mechanicals fail too often for me, tiny blades break, doesn't open, opens prematurely in flight, etc.
 
Joined
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Truer broadhead flight with minimal tuning. You can get more consistent broadhead flight with a mechanical and it flies closer to a field point. I shoot muzzy 100 grain 3 blade fixed heads for the reasons Batten_Down said, but have shot a little mechanical, grim reaper, rage, NAP.
That makes sense that the flight would be better and probably more forgiving of form mistakes. Fixed blades really seem to reflect any imperfections in the shot heavily.
 
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QAD Exodus are my go-to for a fixed.. if you are dead set on mechanicals I'd take a look at 1.5" or 2.0" Sevr..
Ah nah, I don't think I'm gonna swap. The Exodus fly with my field points, and I've not had any problems with them at all. I think for reliabilities sake I'll avoid mechanicals. Even if failures are rare, I'd hate to lose a deer over one.
 

TheLBLman

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I've experimented for many years with some mechanicals vs. fixed.

Mechanicals are simply less reliable, and you are less likely to get a complete pass thru with them.

I shoot fixed.
My current go-to head is the 4-blade Slick Trick Viper.
And you will not go wrong with the original Slick Trick.


Another thing, most mechanicals hit a deer much like you might sideways with a knife blade; whereas, most fixed blades have a much more gradual sloping blade, actually sticking the deer rather than slapping it. Kinda like the difference between sticking a deer with a sharp-pointed spear vs. hitting a deer with a hatchet.

By comparison, not only are fixed blades more likely to pass thru, but deer often don't notice they've been hit, whereas they do more notice the mechanicals (more likely to run quickly compared to just walking off with fixed).
 

deerhunter10

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maury county tn
I have shot both. If I were truly trying to shoot 50 plus I would stick to mechanical strictly because they fly better at distances in my experience. Fixed in my set up has almost always taken tuning to get to fly right. Except slick tricks they always seem to be very true. With mechanicals I've had great luck with rages and g5 mega meats. My go to fixed is slick tricks. It's a lot of preferences. Failer with bowhunting can happen with all kind of things.
 

SinningSaint33

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west tn
Fixed blade only for me. I've never shot a mechanical but I've heard and read too many stories of failures. Fixed blade has less moving parts. Fixed blade will amplify problems in shooting form, which in turn, make you a better archer. Fixed blades can be re-used. I just started bow hunting this year as well, I've tagged 2 does so far. Both were pass throughs and both ram less than 20 yards. Both of those heads I re-sharpened and put back in my quiver to kill another deer with. Too many advantages of a fixed to even consider mechanicals in my opinion
 

david k.

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Oct 11, 2011
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Rossville, TN
I'm sure I'll get blasted for saying this but the only reasons for someone to shoot mechanical heads is if they don't have the knowledge, skill or time to tune their bow to shoot fixed heads. And it's really pretty simple to do.

I shoot 3 blade VPA broad-heads...they are very easy to keep razor sharp with nothing more than a flat file or even a piece of sandpaper...and so durable that I'll be able to leave them to my grand-kids when I die.
 

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