Broad head question

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Dorkus

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Apr 16, 2021
Messages
1,140
Reaction score
3,519
Location
Canadian County
I need some thoughts from you archery experts. I have two packs of the almost exact same mechanical broad heads. The only difference is I made a mistake when buying them and one package says "crossbow" and the other does not. They look the same by description and branding other than a different color head and package. They are Rage if that makes a difference.

My question is, does that matter? Can I use the non-crossbow one on a crossbow and the crossbow one on a compound? I am not sure what the difference is but was hoping to figure it out from here. I figured it is just marketing but not sure.

Let me know your opinions please.

Thanks.
 

Shinneryfarmer

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Oct 10, 2020
Messages
2,599
Reaction score
10,708
Location
Western Oklahoma
The only difference I can think of is blade retention strength. Crossbows are generally faster fps than conventional bows which may cause the non- crossbow blades to open prematurely in flight catching air then redirecting flight path. On the other side shooting the crossbow blades in a conventional bow they may fail to open sufficiently on impact due to velocity causing minimal damage.
This is just my two cents.
 

swampratt

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Nov 3, 2010
Messages
12,812
Reaction score
19,589
Location
yukon ok
I sent arrows over my chronograph and one compound went 310fps. Some others were in the 265-275 fps area.
Crossbows I measured were 275-330 fps and a heavy bolt weight can remove 30 fps from one.
Without the package stating fps I do not see where the difference would be.
 

Dorkus

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Apr 16, 2021
Messages
1,140
Reaction score
3,519
Location
Canadian County
Are the threads the same?
I just looked at the boxes and it looks like the non-crossbow blades have a smaller thread than the crossbow. It is hard to see and my eyes suck but I think they are a different size. I don't want to open the ones I don't want so I can try to return them, no receipt so that may be hard. Thanks for pointing that out.

To all: Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated.
 

OKRuss

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Jan 12, 2017
Messages
1,966
Reaction score
4,149
Location
Tuttle, OK
From the article:

What about mechanical broadheads?​

If you want to use mechanical broadheads with a crossbow, we would highly recommend that you use crossbow-specific heads.

Because the increased kinetic energy generated by a crossbow is so much higher, it can result in the premature expansion of a mechanical broadhead. This will affect the flight of the arrow increasing the chances you will miss your target.

Manufacturers have gotten around this problem by using higher tension mechanisms that only open on impact. This way you can maximize the benefits of using a mechanical broadhead.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom