Broadhead Myth Buster

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Grim Reaper Broadheads - The Cutting Edge
Broadhead Myth Buster - Part 1
By Wade Nolan
Jan 9, 2007, 06:32

BROADHEAD MYTH BUSTERS: Part 1
By Bowhunting Biologist, Wade Nolan

A few weeks ago in an Orem Utah based shooting lab I participated in what may be the most extensive broadhead testing session ever conducted in our industry. The testing was funded by Grim Reaper Broadheads. The goal was to determine broadhead performance against a number of criteria including; integrity, penetration and dependability. Throughout my career I have been fortunate to participate in over $25,000 worth of high speed camera shoots in the bowhunting industry. Tests I've been involved in using slow-motion photography have revealed amazing data. I was honored to have been selected by Grim Reaper Broadheads to help conduct this research.

During this testing over a quarter ton of Military Spec. ballistic gelatin was cast into shooting test blocks and hundreds of broadhead tipped arrows were shot. A $70,000 high speed slow-motion computer driven camera captured the results of the tests. Arrays of production lights were placed adjacent to and behind the blocks so the results could be observed. Two video cameras recorded the testing in real-time. Over $1000 worth of our industries best broadheads were selected to be part of the tests. And what did we learn? Well, let me say that, like us…you are about to be educated!

The testing was the idea of Jay Liechty, president of Grim Reaper. It was organized and filmed by Wade Nolan of Whitetail University. Wade's son Reed also participated in the filming. Sequences were planned by Jay, Wade, and Dave Coldwell. Marvin Carlston, president of Gold Tip, was the technical advisor during the tests and added more than a bit of expertise from his deep background in engineering.

SCIENTIFIC TESTING STANDARDS

All tests were conducted under a strict regime of standardization to limit any bias in the results. One characteristic of a scientific test is that it is repeatable by a third party. The arrows used (Gold Tip 55-75 Hunters with 3 vanes at 105-degree right helical) were each weighed and labeled. The arrow shafts weighted 398 grains with insert. The bow selected for the shooting was Bear Archery's new CODE bow. We selected the draw weight of 65# because it represented the average bowhunters draw weight. We shot each arrow from a Hooter Shooter drawn at 28 ½ inches. Our selected sight was a red laser dot that could cast a beam onto the hide/target to insure accurate arrow placement. All broadheads tested were purchased right off of the shelf at a sporting goods supplier in Salt Lake City, Utah. Each broadhead shot was represented as weighting 100 grains by the manufacturer. If the broadhead required any assembly it was assembled per the manufacturer's instructions.
I remember teaching my students in biology class an important fact concerning their lab experiments. Simply stated, any scientific test that has creditability must have standardized criteria so the results can be replicated by others. During this testing we embraced that principal as a goal. We invite interested parties to replicate our testing. Let's consider some of the criteria used.

THE TEST MEDUIM

Jay Liechty carefully measured the gelatin powder for each test block.

Ballistic gelatin is a word that we have all heard. This medium is far from jello! Wade and Jay mixed ballistic gelatin for two days to generate enough for the testing. Ballistic gelatin must be mixed under specific conditions to be standardized and uniform test gelatin. Ballistic gelatin is the brain child of the US military and the FBI. The gelatin we used was the same gelatin used by the FBI. The resulting test block, if mixed and cured to specifications, replicates human or animal flesh. Far from "jello jigglers", if you were to aggressively drive your pointer finger into the face of a block of Mil. Spec. ballistic gelatin…you'd break your finger! Ballistic gelatin is stiff and resembles a partially flexed muscle.
We mixed a weighted portion of mil. Spec., gelatin powder into a measured volume of water that was between 160-175 degrees Fahrenheit.

Test blocks were poured and cast into 6x6 inch by 20-inch blocks.

It must be mixed by agitating and stirring so as not to create bubbles. Once blended clear, an antibacterial agent was added. The blocks were cast in 6X6 inch forms 20 inches long.
The ballistic gelatin must cool to room temp before being refrigerated at 38 degrees for 48 hours. Gelatin blocks must be kept cool, in the 40's during testing. We kept the test blocks refrigerated until testing.

FLESH, BONE AND HIDE

Some of the test blocks were designed for specific tests involving flesh, bone and hide.

Test blocks were poured and cast into 6x6 inch by 20-inch blocks.

Fresh whitetail shoulder blades and rib cages were used for a number of the tests. The fresh bones were cast in to the ballistic gelatin. They were spaced an authentic distance from the surface of the gelatin so as to replicate the shoulder or ribs of a broadside standing whitetail deer. Care was taken to replicate actual angle and position of the bones. When multiple shoulder blades were tested we allowed room for internal organs between the ribs or shoulder blades. The intervening space was filled with ballistic gelatin. A yardstick divided into inches was permanently attached to the base board beneath the gelatin to gauge penetration. All blocks were stationed at the front most edge of the base platform before test shots were fired. If some parameters of the test were less than perfect, we repeated the test.

Fresh whitetail shoulder blades were cast into the ballistic gelatin for testing.

Because all whitetail deer come with hide attached, we used green whitetail deer hide as the first test medium that the broadheads would contact. The hide was fleshed so that each panel of hide would be the same throughout testing. A metal device was fabricated to hold panels of deer hide against the gelatin block. The frame holding the hide could be adjusted to that each panel of hide would remain taught over the frame through successive shots.

INTEGRITY, DEPENDABILITY AND PENETRATION

Integrity and dependability are characteristics that are very important to the performance of any broadhead. In this case we are trying to determine if a given broadhead's blades will remain attached to the ferrule in the manner in which they were designed when shot into varying surfaces. When penetrating a whitetail for example a broadhead may pass through ribs and or shoulder blades. Failure of blades to remain attached in the angle and manner designed would result in poor penetration, and in the real world…lost wounded animals. In some cases the integrity of a given broadhead will relate to the tip design and if the tip stays aligned and attached after contacting a test medium. Test mediums that we selected consisted of ½ inch plywood, bones of a whitetail, and a 55 gallon steel drum. The steel drum test is a tough test that results in the destruction of some broadheads. The steel drum test is especially brutal to some mechanical broadheads as the blades are extremely stressed when penetrating steel. The limiting factors that cause a broadhead to fail may consist of poor selection of steel blade material, i.e.; too brittle or too soft, inefficient blade contact angle, inefficient engineering.

Penetration is an arbitrary criterion if you don't first set some parameters to measure it by.

We shot each head into the same test medium, military spec. ballistic galatin. We recorded its performance and measured its penetration. Sometimes the results are different than you might think. For example, we would expect a 1-inch wide traditional head to out-penetrate a 2-inch wide mechanical…but don't jump to any conclusions. We learned that preconceived notions, like fishing stories can be unraveled with scientific testing. Our testing turned us into a new brand of broadhead "Myth Busters". What we learned will make some of you squirm and doubt our results…but they are authentic results. For the naysayer's, we urge you to duplicate our test methods and find out for yourself.

Wade Nolan and Marvin Carlston set up the Bear CODE bow on the Hooter Shooter in preparation for the tests.

We surveyed the field and found that some broadheads have varying designs and varying blade width. It is difficult to compare some of the new low profile fixed blades with wide fixed blades and them to mechanicals. Rather than dictate the design of various heads we tested all broadheads based on penetration performance when shot into the same medium. This way we compared broadheads against other available heads. After all they are all designed to kill whitetail deer at a minimum. This means we tested fixed 3 blade heads against other fixed blade heads and against an assortment of mechanicals if penetration was the criteria tested. We did the same for integrity tests. We will allow you to determine how they performed when you see the results in the upcoming DVD.

Grim Reaper President, Jay Liechty, operates the computer driven slow motion camera. The shutter speeds ranged from 4000-10,000 FPS. The cutting edge camera which is routinely used by the military and is capable of filming a grenade coming apart as it explodes.

A word of caution: We believe that all heads tested will probably kill a white-tailed deer with proper shot placement. These are the best broadheads in the world that we tested. Through comparative analysis testing our results will give you more data than you previously had to work with.

Like us…you are going to be educated!