Three Deadly Broadheads for the 2020 Season

The phrase, “dead deer tell no tales,” is not entirely true. Often, dead deer (and other species of big-game animals, for that matter) do have one story they’re able to tell very clearly – that of how they died, especially if the wounds that led to their demise were inflicted by one of a hunter’s many tools of choice.

The mechanical broadheads topping off your archery setup should open on impact and penetrate deeply, creating wide wound channels that spill ample amounts of blood and leave a large, obvious blood trail behind. Your fixed broadheads should smash through shoulder blades and penetrate deeply through tough shoulders of big game species. And as the one letting the arrow fly, you should be confident your broadheads are making the cut – not only flying and landing accurately, but also penetrating and cutting as they should.

When Broadheads Don’t Make the Cut

1. Your arrows don’t fly straight. Faulty broadheads or lopsided blades cause arrows to have goofy flight paths, ultimately impacting your accuracy and impact, which can lead to missed opportunities and lost, often fatally wounded, animals. For any hunter, when it comes to equipment, unpredictability is the ultimate enemy. That’s why you should always make sure you’re shooting the ideal broadhead for your archery setup.
2. The holes they cut leave something to be desired. Whether you’re shooting fixed or mechanical broadheads, large cutting diameters and deep wounds that leave easily identifiable blood trails are must-haves. When mechanical blades don’t open on impact or open prior to impact, the damage they do to the animal is drastically reduced. And if the blades open too soon, it will impact the arrow’s trajectory, causing it to wobble, stray, or be otherwise off-target.
3. Bad blades mean little blood. A substantial blood trail is paramount to successfully completing a hunt and tagging your kill. Without one, a hunter might wound an animal, fatally at times, only to let it go crashing off through the trees, never to be seen again. In these cases, weak broadhead blades can sometimes be to blame. Weak blades can bend or break off inside the animal, resulting in little blood loss and a whole lot of work on the hunter’s part. To ensure enough blood is drawn to effectively trail an animal, broadhead blades should be tough and sharp, but also topped with a piercing ferrule that drives through muscle, connective tissue, and even bone, and delivers a complete passthrough.

With that, here are three deadly broadheads you should consider for this upcoming bow season.

Super Freak

If gaping wound channels and heavy blood trails are what you’re after, then your quest for the ideal addition to your existing archery setup ends here, with our adjustable two-blade Super Freak mechanical broadhead.

The perfect match for many big game species you’re pursuing, our 100-grain Super Freak broadheads boast two adjustable hand-sharpened stainless-steel blades that let you pick your preferred cutting diameter between 1-3/4” to 2-1/4”. Add those no-fail slicers to the T-6 aluminum ferrules and bone-shattering chisel tips, and you’ve got a real game changer on your hands – one that packs a serious enough punch to leave massive blood trails in its wake.

Other notable stats:

• Universally compatible with most bows and crossbows
• Sold as a three-pack

The Surgeon

Mechanical broadheads are not for everyone. In fact, some would argue that fewer moving parts equals a smaller chance for error. Ultimately, however, when the goal is to shoot the shoot the blade that works best with your archery setup, the fixed versus mechanical debate matters very little – you use whatever you find delivers the best results, period.

The Surgeon is designed to do just that – deliver deadly blows that bring big-game animals down quickly. Plus, its rock-solid one-piece carbon steel construction ensures it can withstand the abuse that comes with tougher big game animals. Incredibly durable and insanely sharp, its 0.06” blade thickness combined with 100-grain weight and 1-1/16” cutting diameter culminates in the perfect fixed-blade package. It is smooth-cutting, hard-hitting, and delivers serious damage, making the follow up to any shot accurate and efficient.

Other notable stats:

• Sharp and durable tip busts through bone with ease
• Sold as a three-pack

Freak Nasty

Fixed or mechanical, mechanical or fixed? Still can’t decide? Well, thanks to our one-of-a-kind Switchback™ technology, the Freak Nasty is a hybrid that’s as unique as broadheads come. This versatile broadhead, built on our patented SBT blade retention system, features interchangeable collars that let you choose between setting it up as a 1″ fixed blade broadhead or 2″ mechanical broadhead, without ever having to swap out parts and pieces – delivering the best of both worlds.

Freak Nasty’s three 0.32” hardened stainless steel blades are fitted in a T-6 aluminum ferrule and paired with a stainless steel Trocar tip, making the impact devastating and unstoppable, no matter where your shot lands.

Other notable stats:

• Hybrid fixed/mechanical system varies between 1” fixed and 2” mechanical cutting diameters
• Sold as a three-pack

Regardless of which broadhead that you find to be most compatible with your archery equipment – whether two-bladed or three-bladed, fixed, mechanical, or a hybrid blend of the two – the most important thing is that you have confidence in their ability to get the job done. That confidence in the reliability of your gear is what matters most.

Still not quite sure which direction you lean in the great broadhead debate? Don’t sweat it. Plenty of archery hunters spend years swapping fixed blades for mechanical ones and vice versa, never settling on a true preference, but rather choosing the product that performs best and delivers the results they desire afield. Fixed blades may work better for tougher big game animals (e.g., moose, elk, bear, etc.) for maximum penetration, while lighter mechanical blades create bigger wound channels for medium to smaller big game animals (e.g., antelope, deer). If you’re still on the fence, do some experimenting with a few different options until you find what works best for you.