A precisely machined part is somewhat of a work of art and by that standard Golden Key Futura's Lil' Devil broadhead is a masterpiece. When I received the package of Lil' Devils my new bow was not yet in, which gave me plenty of time to intensely scrutinize each head. What I found was consistent and flawless machining from head to head, five in all. The little details that separate good machining from mediocre machining were positively represented in the Lil' Devil. Along with the Reaper and Demon, the Lil' Devil completes Golden Key's lethal new expandable line-up for 2000.

Lil' Devil

Reaper

The Lil' Devil is a 3-blade, expandable broadhead with .030" thick blades that are offset. Offsetting the blades increases both the penetration and cutting area. The Lil' Devil weighs in at a mere 75 grains thanks to its aluminum ferrule which is brown anodized. Brown anodizing the ferrule does two things: First, it protects the head from corrosion and second, the dull brown color keeps it from "standing out" in the woods. The head employs a replaceable Trocar style tip made from black oxide steel. Trocar tips are famous for their bone crushing abilities. Also included in this design is a respectable 1-½"cutting diameter which opens from the front. While in flight the blades are held in place with a rubber band retention system and each blade is "dog-legged" at the forward most tip to ensure consistent opening hit after hit.

Now that we are through with the basics lets get down to the nuts and bolts of the matter. Several tests were conducted using my Darton Maverick set at 65 lbs. and shooting approximately 281 fps.

The first was a simple flight test with excellent results. Every Lil' Devil flew exactly like my field points and passed the "paper tuning" exam with flying colors. 

The second test involved a small section of a whitetail deer rib cage, which was saved solely for special occasions -- such as this! A piece of tanned hide was placed in front of the rib cage and both were pinned to my foam target. When the hammer came down the results were good. The blades began deployment almost immediately as noted by the diameter of the cut, slightly larger than the heads "at rest" diameter, through the hide. Out of the four shots put through the rib cage a rib was cut each time. The diameter of the exit cut, which averaged 1-1/4", was measured on the backside of the rib cage with digital calipers. 

The next test amazed me, quite frankly. I secured a ¾" board at 20 yards with nothing in front of or behind it and fired two arrows through it. The penetration, measured from the back of the board to the tip of the broadhead, was 10-3/8"! What was even more amazing was the efficiency of the head.

The diameter of the entrance cut was just above the "at rest" diameter and the exit cut was a full 1-1/2"! That means that the blades deployed within ¾ of an inch and all inside a board! In all of my testing the blades never failed to open and open quickly.

Expandable heads are sweeping through the industry and Golden Key-Futura has entered the game with their best foot forward in the Lil' Devil. This head's performance can be attributed to GKF's attention to detail in design and manufacturing. A job well done! The MSRP is $38.00 for a package of three. This places the Lil' Devil head in the "average" category for affordability.

Design: 4 of 5
The results of the tests conducted on these heads prove the design to be a good one. One improvement recommended in the design is a tip that does not come loose as easy. This could be achieved in several ways, one being non-permanent Loc-Tite.

Durability: 4 of 5
After seeing what this head did with the ¾" board I considered giving it a "5" rating however one broken and two bent blades prevented it. Considering the grueling tests and number of shots each head was put through a broken or bent blade is not a great concern. One of the bent blades occurred while shooting into the rib cage and both the second bent blade and the broken blade were the work of the board test. The board test was the last, so the heads were already abused at the time the blades failed. At no time did the ferrule bend or break.

Handling: 4.5 of 5
These heads were simple to install and remove from the arrow shafts. Replacing blades also proved to be an easy chore.

Golden Key Futura: www.gkfarchery.com
(970) 249-6700