13 Best Broadheads [Sharp, High Penetration & Silent Flight]

Archery and the science of broadheads have come a long way since prehistoric times when primitive man hunted with fire-hardened tips or flint arrowheads.

The next innovation was bronze, certainly better than plain wood or stone, but still not as good as steel. Both points were reused unless they broke, but steel had the distinct advantage of being stiffer. Bronze bent easily.

The next innovation was multi-blade broadheads, usually with stainless steel blades, which are what most modern bowhunters use. This led to broadheads with removable razors and vented blades. The vents or holes in the broadhead serve two purposes.

1) It reduces weight. Lighter arrows fly farther and faster. At the same time, weight is a factor in kinetic energy, which is very important when hunting. Kinetic energy is how many foot-pounds of energy the arrow has when it strikes a target. Any Calculator has a chart showing foot-pounds and what's needed for hunting. Archery Calculator has an easy calculator to help you figure kinetic energy.

2) It reduces drag. Less broadhead surface means less air pressure to slow the arrow down. This eventually reaches a point of diminishing returns. Make the metal too thin and it will break apart instead of penetrating.

So what makes the best broadhead? That depends on what you are hunting. The simply HUGE four-inch cutting diameter of the Turkey D-Cap blade heads are perfect for Longbeard. Shoot a big bear with it and the bruin may look at you as his next lunch.

The kind of bow does not matter much. Crossbow broadheads are the same as compound bow broadheads or longbow broadheads.

Weight Matters

When slinging sticks, weight matters. Heavier arrows will not fly as far as light ones. Stone arrow tips are cut small to save weight. Mechanical broadheads sacrifice durability by reducing blade size to save weight.

Trailing

Moving into the Medium, Big and Dangerous game categories, bowhunting is all about the blood trail. Well-placed shots will create a good blood trail.

So does the cutting size matter? Mossy Oak Pro Staffer Joey Thiel has hunted around the nation and killed prey from rabbits to whitetail to bears. He hunts with 100-grain broadheads. He said the hole size doesn't matter. "When you let the air out of the ball, it's only a matter of time until game over," he said.

Types Of Broadheads

Broadheads come in fixed blade or expandable (also known as mechanical), meaning the razor blades fold tight against the ferrule then open or expand on contact with the target. The advantage to a fixed blade is you don't worry about a failure to expand. 

Fixed blades break through bone, like shoulders, better than mechanicals. Some fixed blades come with practice blades that are not sharpened. Since fixed broadheads perform a bit differently in flight than field tips, practice with the dulled blades is recommended. The drawback is these are often heavier than mechanicals.

Mechanicals shoot more like field tips than fixed broadheads, meaning you can practice shooting with field tips or your mechanical with the blades removed. And because the folded design has a lower blade profile, they are also slightly more aerodynamic. A failure to expand is rare, but it happens. The thin blades of the mechanical are not as sturdy as a fixed blade. 

A distinct advantage is a mechanical offers a greater cutting area than a fixed blade when comparing broadhead weights, through the tradeoff is that good pass-through requires more energy and momentum. There are also both rear and front-deploying arrows to consider, though in my experience neither has a major advantage of the other and which one you pick will likely just come down to personal preference.

The hybrid broadhead model has a small fixed blade and much longer wings that expand. This is a relatively new type of broadhead and while they're an excellent compromise between fixed and expandable designs, they do come with some downsides - most notably, the flight paths are more inconsistent and the broadheads require more maintenance.

Here is a rundown of the best broadheads grouped by animal size.

13 Best broadheads [Hunter's Choices]

Small Game

Bowhunting points designed for small game range from slightly modified field tips to true broadheads. The field point and blunt tips rely on a lethal punch to stop the intended target, rather than full penetration.

1. Shrapnel

The Shrapnel is a hybrid. Out of the box, the blades are filed flat and swept slightly forward. In this configuration, penetration is minimal. The blades pop open, just like in a mechanical broadhead, to minimize ground penetration. With enough draw weight on a bow and getting close enough, the arrow may still go all the way through small game.

2. G5 Outdoors Small Game Head Up

This is another hybrid-type point. The three blades, more accurately arms, are fixed and not sharpened, and work like a form of bleeder blade by creating "shock and rip" wound channels that are particularly effective at stopping small game in its tracks. If you miss, the arrow will not bury into the ground. The arrow relies more on the force of impact than penetration. Shooting through the animal is possible with a strong enough bow.

Turkey

Medium game and varmint broadheads have taken plenty of turkeys over the years and will continue to do so. We'll cover medium and big-game broadheads below. For the bird-specific hunter, multi-blade broadheads that have a cutting diameter measured in several inches are perfect. These broadheads are meant to decapitate a longbeard instead of penetrating the body cavity. The huge diameter is added insurance for aiming at a turkey's neck instead of the body.

3. Savage Village

Leading the pack is the Savage Village turkey broadhead, which for my money are some of the best fixed blade broadheads you can find for turkey hunting. A four-inch cutting diameter is the same as most of the others. The four blades have a slight edge, no pun intended, over a three-blade broadhead.

As with all the light-blade turkey broadheads, it is best to change the blades after a shot. A slightly warped blade can throw the trajectory off just like a badly mounted vane.

4. Turkey D-Cap

Take out that gobbler, or hen if you are lucky enough to be able to hunt turkey in the fall, with this fixed-blade point. Weighing in at 200 grains, this is both a benefit and a drawback. The drawback of more weight is going to limit your range. The heavy blades can be sharpened and will not warp or deflect when slicing through a bird's neck.

5. Sinbadteck Archery

Four blades are mounted behind a sharpened field point. Unscrew the field point to remove the blades. The cutting area is just under four inches. The four blades mean you stand a better chance of better getting a good whack on the neck v. a three-blade broadhead.

Sinbadteck says the blades are good for more than one bird. Given the light and thin nature of the replaceable blades, it is best to change, especially if you miss. Unfortunately, Sinbadteck does not sell replacement blades. They should.

Varmints

If you are a varmint hunter, the same broadheads that work on medium game do just fine on larger varmints like yotes, fox and hogs. If you are shooting furbearers, then using broadheads is not a good idea. The razors will slice through both sides of the animal, lowering the value of the pelt. Stick to guns for fur harvesting. If you are hunting for control purposes, then use standard, light-weight broadheads.

Hogs are slightly different. While most broadheads work perfectly well on a typical hog, the really big boars need more. Boars have a thick shield over their chest. The boar shield can stop lighter bullets and buckshot. You need enough kinetic energy to punch through that and reach the vitals. Use big-game broadheads on the trophy hogs.

Medium Game

Medium game is deer-sized critters with thin skin. This includes the various deer species, pronghorn, aka speed goats, actual goats, sheep, wolves and many of the exotics found in Texas and high-fence enclosures. Medium game broadheads with chisel tips are also good on big game.

6. Muzzy

I shoot and prefer Muzzy. It puts meat on my table. Muzzy touts itself, with proof to back it up, that it is a bone-busting broadhead. The hollow ground steel chisel tip easily punches through shoulders and even skulls, if you are good enough to make that shot. The three-blades offer a 1-3/16-inch cutting area.

7. RAGE Crossbow X

Rage broadheads are some of the most popular on the market and the Crossbow X is a top seller. Rage said this is designed for a crossbow, but it works just as well on other bows. The two-blade design delivers a two-inch wound channel. The tip is not quite as tough as solid chisel point, but it should break through the shoulder of most deer. If you are going after a truly monster buck, this is not the broadhead for you.

The two blades have a rib structure to them, making them tougher than many other mechanicals that are only a thin straight piece of metal. The blades fold down, not back, and are activated by plungers.

8. Rage Hypodermic

Rage says this one is a hybrid, but it is not quite. Why it is called hybrid is the long dart-like tip. It is steel, but the long, slender point is more likely to blunt than a chisel tip. Like its sister broadhead, it uses plunger arms to expand the blades that deliver a two-inch cut. The blades also have reinforcing structure on them to make them sturdy.

A side note on Rage mechanical broadheads: do yourself a favor and invest in a pack of Rage shock collars, which help with blade retention during flight / handling and ensure that you don't have a premature deployment. Not only is it safer, you never have to worry about missing a trophy buck because the blades expanded to early and threw off your shot.

9. Sinbadteck Hunting Broadheads

The biggest advantage to these fixed blade broadheads is the packaging. You get 12 per purchase. You have plenty to hunt with and plenty to practice with. The three blades deliver a cut just over an inch across, which is OK, but not as big as some mechanicals. These are best used on smaller deer. Get a more cutting surface if you are after a monster buck. However, if that lifetime trophy walked out on me and I had these in my quiver, I'd take the shot if given a clear line at the vitals. These are also excellent for most wild hogs.

Big Game

Elk, moose, bison, bear and if you get lucky, musk ox are North America's big game. Other continents usually have bear and many have moose and elk.

I am even less of a fan of mechanicals on big animals. For one, you often have to slice through wads of hair (wolf, musk ox, bison, bear) before entering the breadbasket. That hair will open the blades. For another, big critters have bigger and stronger bones that require more force to break.

10. G5 Montec

The G5 Montec series of classic cut-on-contact tip, fixed blade broadheads comes in black, pink and silver. A carbon set is for practice. The three blades deliver a 1-1/16-inch cutting area.

G5 also sells a blunted practice tip that performs just like the hunting tips.

11. Muzzy Trocar

The Trocar is a hybrid. It sports a pair of 1-inch fixed main blades and then a set of 1-5/8ths mechanical blades. You must pay attention to the blades because they are offset and will cause some spin on the arrow. If your fletching rotates the opposite way, it could destabilize and ruin your shot. The big draw here are the Trocar tips, which are excellent for punching through bone and thick hide.

Dangerous Game

The first time I watched someone hunting Cape Buffalo, AKA the Black Death, with a stick and a couple sharp blades on the end, I was stunned. I was sure this was some Hollywood fantasy. It was not. People have hunted and killed Cape Buffalo, lions, elephants, giraffe, hippos and everything else in on the Dark Continent with a bow and arrow. People also hunt grizzly and Kodiak bear with an arrow. They do have backup, a PH or guide with a large-caliber firearm in case the intended target takes offense at being stuck with an arrow.

Forget even the best mechanical broadheads. You need heavy, fixed blade broadheads with no moving parts to poke through really thick skin and work through heavy ribs. You also need heavy arrows to maximize the kinetic punch. Sure, some dangerous game is taken with expandable broadheads. You can also kill any animal native to North America with a .22 long rifle. That does not mean hunting a bear with a .22 is sane or responsible. (And it is illegal.)

12. Solid Broadhead Dangerous Game

This is a broadhead you'll need to shoot at the range before hunting with it. As noted, broadheads perform differently than field points. When your life is literally on the line, you have to know your hunting gear intimately. The solid steel broadhead offers superior penetration and 1 3/8-inches of cutting surface.

It comes in two sizes. The half-inch has two blades. The .75-inch adds a side blade for four razor-sharp cutting surfaces.

13. Feyachi

The Feyachi is cut, entirely, from a single piece of stainless steel. It is not quite a chisel tip and far from a dart point. With the right bow, this tip will penetrate the toughest hide and still get through bone. The cutting area is 1.15-inches. The one-piece design means Feyachi does not have a bulb or ball behind the blades, unlike some competitors. This is a real advantage because that knot is more surface area to slow the arrow and reduce penetration.

Final Thoughts

The best broadhead in the world is not going to make up for being a poor shot. You need to practice. If necessary, buy two packs of broadheads and use one for practice. As you move up to bigger animals, you also need to increase the draw weight of your bow. While 45 pounds is good for deer, it is not recommended for bear.

Reference

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