If you plan on archery hunting for big game you will want to tip your hunting arrows with razor sharp broadheads. Finding the right broadhead can be difficult and you may experience some trial and error until you find the broadhead that works the best for you. Your archery gear will give you some clues to which broadhead to use. For instance, broadheads are sized by weight measured in grains. Your arrow speed and size will help determine the weight of your broadhead. The game you are hunting will also factor into the weight as well as how many blades and the type of broadhead for your archery style.

Broadheads are available with 2, 3 or 4 blades and come in 3 common styles, Fixed-blade, Replaceable-blade and Mechanical. No matter which style you use, the razor sharp blades will cut through just about anything your arrow hits. The following explains the different types of broadheads and the features they offer to fit your archery hunting needs.

• Fixed-Blade Broadheads:

  Fixed-blade broadheads were the very first types of arrow heads ever made. They are a simple one piece design with two and sometimes three cutting blades. The sharp blades generally start at the very point of the broadhead to create a tip that starts cutting on impact. This design allows for greater penetrating power than any other broadhead making them the arrow head of choice for archery hunting thick skinned animals like elk or moose.

  The drawback to the fixed blade design is the fact that the blades have to continually be sharpened to remain effective. The arrow flight may also be affected with a fixed blade broadhead when fired from faster shooting hunting bows.

• Replaceable-Blade Broadheads:

  Replaceable blade broadheads have several different components that are put together to form one unit. Available with 2 to 4 blades the body or shaft of the broadhead is slotted for the blades to slide into and they are held in place by a chiseled or pointed tip that screws into the end of the body. There are many different blade designs and configurations for this style broadhead and they perform well from most hunting bows.

  The removable blades allow for them to be changed easily when they become dull or damaged and most broadhead manufacturers offer replacement blades. They are not as durable and they do not penetrate as well as the fixed blades but improved tip designs make replaceable blade broadheads more than adequate for most archery hunting. Some manufactures offer models with “bleeder” tips that are razor sharp and start cutting on impact.

• Mechanical or Expandable Broadheads:

  Mechanical broadheads were created to fly like field points for better accuracy from fast shooting hunting bows. The design allows the blades to tuck into the body of the broadhead and remain in place by tension or a rubber “O” ring until impact. Mechanical broadheads also offer the largest cutting diameter of any broadheads. Some two blade models will cut a whole up to 2 inches whereas most fixed or replaceable blade broadheads only cut up to 1 ¼ inches.

  Mechanical broadheads are not recommended for the thicker skinned animals as there is the possibility that the broadhead will fail to open on impact. They also require a good broad side shot for maximum penetration and to prevent deflection when entering on an angle and they do not provide the bone cutting power of the other types of broadheads. Mechanical blades are very popular for archery hunting whitetail deer because of the increasing hunting bow speeds and superior cutting diameters.

A final thing to consider is practicing your archery hunting skills. Although many 3D foam and block style archery targets are made to be broadhead friendly, they do not prevent the blades from becoming dull. Some replaceable blade broadheads offer plastic replacement blades for target shooting as do some fixed blade models offer a plastic head in the same weight as the hunting blade. If you are shooting mechanical blades you can practice with field points as they are designed to fly the same. You will also need to be sure that your field tips, practice tips and hunting broadheads are all the same grain weight so that accuracy from the archery range translates into the hunting woods.