Best Mechanical Broadheads for Crossbows

To Determine the Best Mechanical Broadheads for Crossbows, what matters greatly is how your tip balances with the rest of the bolt. However, more aspects must be considered to have a better idea on how to determine the top rated mechanical broadheads for your own setup. 

Before explaining why the balance matters greatly, there are 4 other basic aspects you should look before buying any Broadheads while you read reviews about them. Let's see together which one. 

 

Quality

Of course, if you never had the broadhead in your hands, it is difficult to determine its quality. This part is more about your personal preferences, however, you can assign a score according to the perceived quality of construction. Usually, quality is reflected in fit-and-finish, design and weight deviation. Follow your instincts toward the fit-and-finish and, the design. Weight equal to momentum, this is why weight deviation becomes important. For instance, broadheads that deviated from their 100-grain or 125-grain advertised weight will have a huge impact on your bolt setup. Find reviews telling you which brands are more susceptible to respect broadhead weight with consistency. It Is not an issue toward well-known manufacturers. It is rare that they fluctuate that much. 

 

Integrity

Related to its durability and determined by its ability to remain intact or sustained damage when shot through different targets. This information is usually available on forums or hunting platforms.

 

Sharpness and Penetration

Concerning the sharpness and penetration factor of the broadhead (the expected cutting diameter and its thickness), these numbers are usually always written in the products description. These elements are responsible for the wound channel and the blood trail of the broadhead into your target and are the keystone elements to successful hunts.

Therefore, based on how well they perform with regards to the following factors: shooting accuracy, target penetration, blood trail, and wound channel, you can analyze yourself how we can determine which is best Mechanical broadheads for crossbows.

There are 4 testing metrics to determine if the sharpness and penetration of a broadhead suit your needs:

1. Shooting Accuracy: How close to field point accuracy does it perform? You clearly want something that gets close to your field points practicing shot. You don't want to spend all day adjusting everything when switching from field point or practice broadhead to the real thing.
2. Penetration: How well/easy does it penetrate and pass through an animal without deviating.
3. Blood Trail: How much blood is left on the ground after the animal is shot. The larger the blood trail, the easier it is for a hunter to track its prey.
4. Wound Channel: The amount of damage that it causes to the shot animal’s vitals. How lethal is really your shot?

Tip: Consider buying a broadhead wrench to make the screwing-in process easier and safer. Using such a wrench will significantly decrease the chances of hurting yourself while screwing in the broadhead.

 

Value

At a reasonable price, if it encompasses all previous elements, this particular broadhead should receive your attention as the best value for the price. 

Tip: Buy yours from an established manufacturer that is well known for its quality and reliability. It’s not worth it to save a few bucks on an inferior product that may cause personal harm.

 

But why balance matters greatly?

Mechanical broadheads cutting ability doesn't differ remarkably from a brand to another one. They can differ in the previous four aspects you just saw above but all of them are subject to Kinetic energy (KE) consumption and Aerodynamic drag and retained energy. This is why balance matters greatly. How your tip balances with the rest of the bolt determine its efficiency. In general, you want your bolts working for you and not against you.

Crossbow bolts are shorter, about 20 inches from nock to insert. Because of that shorter length (consider that a compound arrow stretches around 28 inches), bolts aren't as aerodynamic as longer shaft arrows. That means balance has a huge influence on flight trajectory, and it means you will get the most consistent flight by moving your balance point forward.

Physically, a weight-forward balance gives bolt's vanes more distance along the shaft to exert their influence. And the front-heavy shaft flies straighter and hits with more authority than lighter, more balanced bolts. 

By simply shooting heavier broadheads you will move your weight forward. Plus, using heavier brass inserts in your crossbow will result in a remarkable accuracy and penetration with your bolts. Of course, combined with modern crossbow velocities, this factor is even truer. However, you must adjust the overall weight of the bolt accordingly to the velocity that your crossbow delivers.

No matter what style of broadhead you prefer. Heavier setups should lead to more accurate shots and more penetration as you increase the momentum of the bolt. Have a look on our kinetic and momentum calculator to fully understand how bolts overall weight can change kinetic energy and momentum when shot at the same velocity.

Tip: Don’t use broadheads with your crossbow that are lighter than what your crossbow manufacturer recommends because doing this may lead to damage to bow and even severe personal injury if you don’t follow proper precautions and correct safety tips.

 

Pros and Cons for Mechanical Broadheads

Mechanical broadheads have blades that are hidden during flight and open at impact. There are two types available on the market, front-opening designs and rear-opening.

Pros

• It shows great stability toward ballistic curves and fly like field points,
• It increases the cutting diameter leaving greater wounds and possibly more intense blood trails making tracking easier,
• It shows more aerodynamic properties. Hidden blades during flight are less affected by the wind, increasing its accuracy.

Cons

• Generally more expensive than fixed-blade broadheads,
• More movable parts can make them weaker tips if hunting anything bigger than a whitetail. There is a potential of failure on tougher games,
• Maintenance can cost you more because you have to change blades on some models instead of simply sharpened them. Specific hardware is necessary to do so.

Mechanical Broadheads are really efficient on any games from Whitetails to smaller games. There are no doubts that mechanical Broadheads are the best crossbow broadheads for deer hunting. The blood trail left by mechanical broadheads is the keystone of tracking your hunt. However, for bigger games, I would recommend you have a look at the Best Fixed-Blade Crossbow Broadheads.

 

Best Mechanical Broadheads for Crossbows

Penetration, accuracy, and devastation are the three main factors you should look for when you want to purchase a good broadhead.

Penetration is related to the tip of the broadhead. You basically want something with maximum bone splitting capabilities. That said, mechanical broadheads are not meant for bone crushing (Fixed blades are way more efficient in these situations). Blades from mechanical broadheads rarely survive the penetration into any bones. However, a longer mechanical broadhead might increase the splitting before the blades deploy and save them a little.

Tip: Shooting with an angle on the deer or any other targets may result in a deflected shot because of the lack of penetration from the tip of the broadhead.

Accuracy is determined by its capacity of flying like a field point and keep its trajectory without deploying or deviate from targeted zone. A balanced Broadhead is then more than appropriate.

Devastation is the wound channel of the broadhead generated by the cutting diameter of the blades when deployed into the animal. In other words, the blood trail and internal damages left after impact. Blood trails are a combination of three things:

• Entry wound
• Internal damage
• Exit wound

That being said, I rounded up few broadheads that pass all the previous elements and are worthy of your attention. 

 

NAP Spitfire Broadheads

Among NAP crossbow broadheads, the Spitfire and the Spitfire Maxx are probably the most popular. Their popularity is built around the fact that they are harder to open during flights so they keep their efficiency for the animal. You can't ignore the fact that the cutting diameter of the Spitfire Maxx is tremendous. 

The Spitfire and the Spitfire Maxx produce entry and exit wounds that maximize the blood trail. It's increasing the chances that the blood ended up at a dead deer. This is the most important aspect of all, the NAP Spitfire Broadheads will produce a lot of successful tracking projects.

 

NAP Killzone Crossbow Broadhead 

This 2 blades rear deployment broadhead has an enormous cutting diameter of 2 inches wide at the exit and about 1 1/4" at entry. It gives no chance to internal organs. The Killzone was designed to open only at impact with animals. The Spring clip system will work with low kinetic energy so you keep all the efficiency of the blades no matter what. This is the most important aspect of knocking down any animals. Since its only opening at impact carrying them in a quiver is easy.

The NAP Killzone supports crossbows shooting up to 400 FPS and maintain the same accuracy as shooting field points.

 

G5 T3 Broadhead

 According to me, the best mechanical broadhead for crossbows on the market. The penetration factor of the G5 T3 Broadhead stays the same no matter the angle of impact which is a tremendous advantage on other mechanical broadhead tips and opens only at impact. The Front deployment blades leave no chance to internal organs and the 1 1/2" cutting diameter at the exit of the wound channel generates a nice blood trail making recovery much easier. The head generates a perfectly balanced bolt so it flies like a field point.

Let's simply say that, to let the blades working properly, the broadhead need to penetrate any surfaces without any deflection. Its specific design is made to dig into anything.

 

G5 Deadmeat Broadhead

The evolution of the T3, the G5 Deadmeat broadhead took 3 years to be designed. The cutting diameter is 1.5 inches. And even if, the blades didn’t deploy, they would still slice with the exterior angled blades. No matter what is happening while shooting, the wound channel will be deadly.

The T3 had a metal “spider lock” which was replaced by the blue Snaplock. Easier to manipulate and to change. With one of the most compact heads on the market, the Deadmeat offers a level of penetration that will exceed your expectation.

Considered barb-less, making it legal in all states that allow mechanical broadheads. Designed to be re-used, the blades are replaceable. 

 

Swhacker Crossbow Broadheads

The Swhacker crossbow broadheads usually offer the biggest cutting diameter on the market with a range from 1.75 inches to 3 inches. The Swhacker 150 gr. delivers a 3 inches exit wound to the animal. I don't know if you can picture 3 inches right now but imagine what kind of internal destruction this broadhead must generate inside the animal. 

Sharp blades and a wider cutting diameter are necessary to increase the knockdown of the animal. The more internal organs touched by the blades, the more blood comes out of the target while running away.

Made of a Carbide tip and stainless steel blades for longer durability, the Swhacker is always a good option for deer hunting.

 

Grim Reaper Crossbow Broadheads

Either you choose to purchase the Crossbow Grim Reaper Razortip, the Razorcut or the Whitetail Special. I honestly don't think that you are mistaken. The only reason why I would choose the Razortip over the Razorcut is simply that its penetration factor is, indeed, better. The Razortip has more bone splitting capacity than the Razorcut which is made more for cutting the hide better so might be better at angle shots. However, if you intend to only hunt deer, the whitetail special would be my pick because it encompasses both and has 2 inches of cutting diameter at the exit of the wound channel. This is half an inch more than the two others.

 

Rage Crossbow Broadheads

Rage Hypodermic Crossbow Broadhead 

One of the most popular broadhead years after years. The simplicity of its system and the tough steel used to build them participated in building the legend around the Rage Hypodermic. Crossbows continue to get faster and stronger so they had to redesign the shock collar of the broadhead to make it able to sustain higher velocities without altering the flight trajectory and its blade's deployment.

They kept the same really efficient chisel tip with the 2" blades of cutting diameter for maximum penetration and a massive wound channel. This rear deployment broadhead triggers about 2 inches inside after hitting the hide of the animal leaving an easy to follow the blood trail to harvest your target. The head generates a perfectly balanced bolt so it flies like a field point.

 

Rage Xtreme Crossbow Broadhead

 

If you are more a sure shot, this cut-on-contact tip is for you. Cut-on-contact points are made to open skin (the hide) more efficiently to let the blades be more devastating into the wound channel. However, they are not bone penetrating broadheads. The Rage Xtreme crossbow broadhead is made on the same reliable structure of the Rage Hypodermic ensuring you of its quality. It uses a different type of Rage Shock Collars retention system to sustain higher crossbow's FPS. 

Increased 2.3" of cutting diameter with tough steel blades to cut everything inside and leave a clean exit wound for a maximum blood trail. 

 

Ramcat Crossbow Broadheads

Often left into the shade of more known brands but Ramcat broadheads clearly worth your attention. Its patented deep lobes in cutting tip create an airfoil that drafts the wind over the blades and disallows wind planing. On the top of that, once in the animal, the lobes create a hydrofoil forcing body mass outward and thus removing friction down the arrow shaft; this results in one of the deepest penetration on the market.

The blades are sharpened front and rear to create a back cut if the head does not pass through the animal. It will cut its way back out. No matter what is happening, this broadhead works for you and to knock down your target.

 

Grave Digger Chisel Point

Grave Digger Broadheads come with different tip points and blade sizes. This hybrid mechanical and fixed blades offer the best of both worlds. The Gravedigger is set up with a razor sharp 1″ fixed blade made of 420 stainless steel and 1 3/4″ cross opening curved mechanical blades.  Unlike most mechanicals, there are no O-rings or rubber bands that you have to attach to these to prevent premature deployment. It features a patented blade-retention system that keeps blades closed until impact. In other words, the blades stay in place by tension put on them from a small screw located towards the bottom of the broadhead which is also the pivot point of the mechanical blades.

These specific aspects make this particular broadhead a serious option in your arsenal of bolts head. Sharp entry wound, devastating internal damages, and almost 2" exit wound for a maximum blood trail.

 

Conclusion

Remember that the best mechanical broadheads for crossbows are more efficient on target that doesn't need massive bone crushing or bone splitting capacities. If this aspect is clear in your mind, all the previous broadheads listed above are worthy of your attention.

My personal two best would be the G5 T3 or the Grave Digger Chisel Point for their overall score. Otherwise, I would go for Fixed Blades Crossbow Broadheads for their efficiency, durability and their capacities to support faster velocities.

Do not hesitate to leave any comments below or ask any questions about this Best Mechanical Broadheads for Crossbows article.

Have a nice Hunt!