Broad Head for plains game

MarkCZ

AH enthusiast
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South Africa, Finland, Estonia, C.Z. Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Scotland , England, Namibia
Hi all,
Next year I will be off to Namibia for my first bow hunt.
I have a compound bow of 55 lb. shooting Easton Gamegetter 300 arrows. These arrows are very accurate and group well if I do my bit so I dont want to change.
What broad head should I use? Biggest animal I am likely to encounter would be a Kudu but most definetly Oryx. I would most like a red Hartebeeste.
I like the look of "Grizzly Slicks" but any advice would be great.
Many thanks, MarkCZ
 
What broad head do you use to get your "accurate groups" now?
 
What broad head do you use to get your "accurate groups" now?
I am using 125 grain field points to practice, I have some hoyt top cuts but not sure they would be robust for African game.
MarkCZ
 
I like the look of "Grizzly Slicks" but any advice would be great.
Many thanks, MarkCZ

Hi @MarkCZ ,

We recommend that our hunters choose any number of non-expandable broadhead styles that are heavy-duty and compact, that fly well from your set-up. Not to endorse any particular brand, but broadhead designs like SlickTrick, Muzzy Trocar, G5 Sstriker, and Wac'em are all proven performers on African plainsgame... If you prefer 2-blade designs, I would recommend designs like Magnus, VPA, Helix, and the Grizzly Stiks... Make sure to select designs with all steel ferrules bodies, and at least .035 steel blade thickness.

Please keep in mind that any broadhead you choose is only as good as the entire arrow build behind it. Considering that you are shooting 55 lbs., I would also check your total arrow weight and try and shoot an arrow that is at least 500 grains with 18% or greater foc. Lower draw weights require a heavier arrow and more foc to get the amount of penetration you will need to be successful with most African plainsgame. We also do not recommend using any expandable broadhead designs especially shooting 55 lbs. or less. All other issues with expandables aside, you simply will not get enough penetration with those designs. Good luck and have a great hunt!
 
Hi @MarkCZ,
Personally I have had very good success with the Muzzy Trocar HB's. They are a hybrid between a fix and a mechanical broadhead.
Do some research on them. They are very effective and fail safe.

Take Care and good luck,
Marius Goosen
 
.........choose any number of non-expandable broad head styles that are heavy-duty and compact, that fly well from your set-up. .................

What he said!

I use G5 Montec and would certainly use the Striker (if it flew well with my set up)

Good luck.
 
I shot G5 Montecs ...as what has been previously posted ... go with a cut on contact broadhead that shoots well out of your system ...tho you do want to get your arrows up to about that 450/495 grain area .
Good luck , play safe and looking forward to lots of pictures !
Glen
 
So many good choices. If the Top Cuts can stand up to North American animals they can stand up to plains game. My two choices for 125 grain head of current manufacture are the Slick Trick Magnum and the Muzzy Trocar HBX hybrid. The Slick Trick is fixed bladed and built like a tank. They've always shot like field points for me. Lots of good reports with them here. The Muzzy is a hybrid, or partially mechanical, but I can say they built well and worked great on a nyala and a bushpig. The HBX is supposedly for crossbows (hense the X) but honestly it's just heavier, at 125 instead of 100 grains for the HB version. But as everyone has said, there's plenty of good choices.

I just looked up the Gamegetter 300 shaft. That's the old 2317 shaft. 13.3 grains per inch. One of the heavier aluminums on the market when I used them. Probably making your arrows in mid 500 grain range. If they shoot well out of your bow stay with them.
 
Please keep in mind that any broadhead you choose is only as good as the entire arrow build behind it. Considering that you are shooting 55 lbs., I would also check your total arrow weight and try and shoot an arrow that is at least 500 grains with 18% or greater foc. Lower draw weights require a heavier arrow and more foc to get the amount of penetration you will need to be successful with most African plainsgame.

Could not agree more with this. :S Agree:

I started shooting 2-blade broad heads a while back, and I have had really good results with the Helix by Strickland Archery. I shoot a 60lb. draw and an average total arrow weight of 575 grains with just about 20% of that weight front of center. The penetration I get now compared to the lighter arrows I was shooting is night & day. With the heavier arrow I had to go up one class in spine to get the proper tune, and my accuracy at longer ranges has increased dramatically.
 
I can't claim any experience in Africa with the bow yet, but it is on the agenda for this year (pandemic permitting). I am running 70# with a thin-shaft 300 spine arrow (I have a short draw length) and arrows are 200 grain Valkyrie Jaggers with a 25 grain outsert. They are pretty wicked. I think the total weigh is around 460gr. Took it down to hunt with @gizmo a couple months ago and we took a European boar. Tough critters. Had 2 pass-throughs and then the finishing shot was strongly quartering away and pretty much diagnonaled through and ended in the throat. We had good blood trail as well. I was pretty impressed with the performance.
 
The thing about Africa as well as global extra-big game is this: every setup is under powered.

the most important thing is penetration. Cut on contact two blades, no bleeders, out penetrates everything else. The tanto tip is the least likely to curl so that reduces drag. The 100gr Magnus stinger is the optimal design for penetration. $300 broadheads for elephant are just custom made, 300gr copies of Magnus stinger 100gr.

Magnus
German kinetics
Grizzly sticks

all the same. All superior to 3-4 blade options for several reasons. Read Dr. Ashby’s study on penetration and cutting efficacy before setting up your Africa rig. African game is much tougher than American game, leaving less margin for sub-optimal equipment. And read anatomy books, the vitals are bizarre on all African game.
 
I’d highly recommend kudu points. I took 12 animals with these last summer. Biggest being an eland in which I got full pass through using a 570g arrow.


https://www.kudupoint.com
 

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@MarkCZ

We have been preaching the remarkable results of using heavy arrows with high f.o.c. and heavy duty, fixed blade broadheads for many years to our hunters. According to our own experiences, there is no denying that heavier arrows with fixed blade broadheads consistently out-penetrate lighter arrows and/or those with expandable blades. This has proven true for both plainsgame and larger dangerous game species.

Below is a link to some of the most recent data on terminal arrow performance that explains the application of physics behind the findings... Regardless of whether you are a whitetail hunter, or planning a bow hunt for dangerous game, I think every hunter can take away something useful from this information. I can personally attest that the application of several of these principles has dramatically improved my range, accuracy, and lethality as a bowhunter.

https://dangercloseoutdoors.com/12-factors
 
I also shoot Valkyrie Jaggers, a fantastic broad head. I shoot a heavier arrow and also use the 25 gr outsert for a total weight of 630 gr. After taking elk with them i wouldn't hesitate on any African plains game. They are field tip accurate if you shoot their matching weight field tips. Definitely not cheap but worth every penny.
 
Thank you all very much for your input chaps. I have tried to use the Hoyt top cuts but they just dont shoot well from my bow. I also had some un branded triple bladed heads and they to were not good. I liked the look of the "Helix" so I bought some copies (they are expencive if they dont fly well) from ebay and they are bloody accurate almost arrow on top of arrow.
So now I need to find the cheapest place to buy the original Helix. just out of interest have any of you tried the Helix copies and what did you think?
MarkCZ
 

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