Archery Elk

[esaabye]

I've been out getting all my gear, trying to keep it under the 60lb limit is killing me. We are going in on horse and are limited to 60lbs each plus our person.

I have my light and mid weight base layers, an ASAT suit, pack, 2-3 calls and some odds and ends. Still working on the heavey layers as no way to know what the weather is going to do.

[Colorado Luckydog]

Nice shooting with you the other day Bryan!!!

Back at ya! I'n going again on Thursday if you want to go. I felt really good to 30 yards but I need to move out a bit. I'm picking up my new backup bow tomorrow night and I need to dial it in also!

I'll send you a PM.

[Mtn.man]

100 grain thunderheads for the last 20 years , mechanical crap is a gimmick to make $$$ for the maker.
Shot a bull with my thunderhead went 35 yards and expired. Buddy i know that buys all the latest shit shot one last year with a Rage after harping on it for a year about how great they were, they wasted 2 days tracking it. It only partially opened and would have been a double lung, but was a half rib entry instead.

[King]

100 Gr. 3 balde Muzzy's are what I shoot on my Easton ST epics. Im not a fan of mechanical BH's. I would rather tune my bow for a fixed BH and never have to worry about blade deployment. I tried out a mechanical f15 and it poked through my block target without deploying My muzzy's shoot just fine

[SA Friday]

I was a huge bow hunter when I was stationed in MD. I still shoot now and then, but haven't hunted in years due to ....... Thunderheads and Muzzys, spin tune them and just kill shit. Leave the mechanical garbage on the hook in the store and walk away. I prefer the Muzzys with the carbons. Once it's spin tuned, you don't have to pull the shaft to replace the blades.

[mx'r]

I was a huge bow hunter when I was stationed in MD. I still shoot now and then, but haven't hunted in years due to ....... Thunderheads and Muzzys, spin tune them and just kill shit. Leave the mechanical garbage on the hook in the store and walk away. I prefer the Muzzys with the carbons. Once it's spin tuned, you don't have to pull the shaft to replace the blades.

Really? I've shot muzzy for years. Last year I swithed to mechanical with great results. My 150 class buck dropped in his tracks when hit and kicked a few times on the ground. Looked like he'd been rifle shot. I'm sure just lucky shot placement. But what are the downfalls of the mechanical? I use the o-ring retained ones. They seem to fly a bit straighter, and produce a larger cutting diameter. Do they fail often? Penetration seems to be no different, arrows pass clear through with no problem.

[trlcavscout]

Is anybody ready for Archery Elk season? What type of broadhead are you using this year. I'm sticking with "The Rage\3blade\100Grain". I only wish they would stay together better when placed on my bow. I may switch next year to a traditional broadhead.

I use Gold tip 7595's with Rage 125gr 3 blade for deer/elk and 2 blade for gobblers. Never had any problems since I started useing them. I like Muzzys for prairie dog/coyote cause their cheap.

[King]

Really? I've shot muzzy for years. Last year I swithed to mechanical with great results. My 150 class buck dropped in his tracks when hit and kicked a few times on the ground. Looked like he'd been rifle shot. I'm sure just lucky shot placement. But what are the downfalls of the mechanical? I use the o-ring retained ones. They seem to fly a bit straighter, and produce a larger cutting diameter. Do they fail often? Penetration seems to be no different, arrows pass clear through with no problem.

Mechanical blades will fly straighter for most people. This is because a fixed blade needs to have a properly tuned bow to fly true. Most people just dont take the time to really tune their bows. The major disadvantage to mechs is the possibility of blades not deploying 100% of the time. Most people never have an issue, but look around on archerytalk and you will find more than a handful who have lost a kill due to blade deployment issues. I wouldnt say they fail often, but they can.

[SA Friday]

Really? I've shot muzzy for years. Last year I swithed to mechanical with great results. My 150 class buck dropped in his tracks when hit and kicked a few times on the ground. Looked like he'd been rifle shot. I'm sure just lucky shot placement. But what are the downfalls of the mechanical? I use the o-ring retained ones. They seem to fly a bit straighter, and produce a larger cutting diameter. Do they fail often? Penetration seems to be no different, arrows pass clear through with no problem.

Angular hits can be problematical with the mechanicals, I've tracked one down that had this happen, it was an angular hit and was like the arrow hit and opened on arm and then just died after a couple of inches of penetration. Saw another one that hit shoulder blade on a deer and the blades never made it through the shoulder blade. When we picked up the arrow, it was obvious the arrow his solid and all three blades opened, but never made it in more than just past the broad head shaft. We lost that deer. It was shot from a Mathews at 280 FPS with a 395 gr arrow, plenty of energy, but the mechanical seemed to just suck up the energy when it hit the shoulder.

I've seen the damage from them when they work, and they are definitely devastating. I've just never seen a Muzzy or NAP Thunderhead fail when it should have been effective. I just can't say that about the mechanical, and had multiple Muzzies through the front shoulders of a whitetail.

A well spin tuned muzzy or NAP is going to fly just as straight as the mechanicals as long as you are not pushing them over aprox 280 fps. I've seen them get wind plane off of the blades at faster velocities. The NAPs seem to handle the 280+ velocities better than the Mozzy 3 blade heads. The 4 blade heads are better at the higher velocities out of the Muzzys.

Spin tuning carbons is a serious PITA, but I learned to do a dozen at a time and the ones that I can't get to tune before the epoxy hardens become practice arrows. The rest stay set up for hunting. I make my own arrows, and the better the production process, the easier and better they tune.

Yep, now I'm rambling...

[King]

This year will be my first hunt of any kind, so why not start with Elk and Bow? I have been hitting the range a few times a week, feeling pretty ready. Sept 16th here I come.

Well good luck and dont be discouraged. Hopefully you have put in some scouting time tho.