by Kevin Reese
New Broadheads for 2016
United States -(AmmoLand.com)- Aside from bow itself, arrow setup, including choice of broadheads is the most important aspect of bowhunting success once your arrow takes flight.
Some of the most heated debates among bowhunters revolve around broadheads — fixed or mechanical, head weight, cutting diameter, front- or rear-deploying, hybrids, field point accuracy or tuning for broadhead accuracy, etc. Many even chime in, with a completely true statement, that even proper shot placement with a standard field point produces quick, ethical kills – nobody ever debates that fact but, certainly, other factors are at play with broadhead technology that place bladed broadheads far and above field points in terms hunter ethics.
In our bowhunting world, devastating wound channels produce blood flow more rapidly, quicken death and most assuredly lead to exponentially better odds of recovery; of course, broadheads do not replace the need for year-round practice or hunt preparation. To that end, I hunt year round, practice and take broadhead performance dead seriously, especially in terms of field-point accuracy, given today’s technology, and hunt-proven results. If you’re on the hunt for a new broadhead, here are three that had people talking on the 2016 ATA Show floor.
Xecutioner Broadheads
Xecutioner Broadheads
Xecutioner Broadheads ranked among the top broadhead companies cutting a swath across the 2016 ATA Show Floor.
From their most popular 100-gr Xpandable, newly launched 75-gr Xpandable and even 125-gr Kinesis Fixed and Hybrid heads, Xecutioner has established itself as a force to reckon with because of outside-the-box, razor-sharp innovation, results-driven consumer testing and a commitment to stand behind their heads with unfettered resolve. The Xpandable itself is quite extraordinary, featuring a brutally sharp and intimidating 2.5” cutting diameter, cut-on-contact tip, precision machined 3-grooved ferrule for varying poundage options from light to crossbow, and tough .040” steel blades.
What could make the Xpandable a more robust offering? Perhaps add the Tim Well’s Slocker Small Game Collar to your Xpandable setup for the perfect spring turkey setup! Or, you could simply opt for Xecutioner’s new 4” 4-blade turkey broadhead, perfect for precision headhunting. On a couple of recent hunts, I used Xecutioner Xpandables on feral hogs. The wound channels and penetration, even at a hard-quartered-away angle, produced incredibly quick results, my longest tracks have ranged between dead-right-there and 40 yds. Hogs have a reputation for being hard to kill. Xecutioner Broadheads continue to challenge that reputation one blood trail at time.
Slick Trick Broadheads
Slick Trick Broadheads
While it took quite a while for Slick Trick Broadheads to gain overt brand recognition, the company created quite a loyal following of serious, discriminating bowhunters for a reason.
In previous years, admittedly, when Slick Trick still flew under the marketing radar of sorts, I followed many a short blood trail to game animals using Slick Trick Magnums. Slick Trick has always held its own against even the biggest names in the broadhead world and, in recent years, has worked hard to prove that not only is Slick Trick one of the most respected and trusted broadhead brands in the industry, it can innovate its ass off without abandoning the fundamental head design and patented Alcatraz BladeLock system behind Slick Trick’s primary success.
The 2016 RipTrick is the company’s latest proof that innovation is alive and well. This shock-inducing, bloodletting small game head delivers devastating results with Slick Trick’s original Alcatraz BladeLock design, ultra-short Super Steel ferrule, and intimidating, rip-curl-style, razor-sharp HC Steel blades. The SlickTrick RipTrick is available in 100-gr, 100-gr Deep Six (D6) and 125-gr, and promises field-point accuracy.
Hunga Munga
Hunga Munga
I’ve always been a fan of small businesses.
Often, the only way for small companies to survive and thrive in our highly competitive industry is to first become a master of outside the box thinking, and then follow up with raw, real, bare-bones marketing. They don’t call small business a grind for nothing.
It’s gritty, incredibly tough and chock full of highs and lows. Fortunately, for those who survive, thriving is often the next step and Hunga Munga Broadheads appears to be mid-stride with an amazing mechanical head. Hunga Munga boasts a feature-rich patent responsible for stronger hold, straighter flight, and ultra-reliable, independent blade deployment. In perfecting this single proprietary technology Hunga Munga solved a couple major problems plaguing competitors, vibration noise and unreliable deployment. The Hunga Munga features a devastating 1 7/16” cutting diameter, minimal blade exposure and a unique tip-forward design for deeper penetration, even for steep-angled shots, while reducing wind plane and improving overall flight.
The result? Consistently repeatable shooting, precision field-point accuracy, shorter blood trails and the kind of reliability you can hang your buck of a lifetime on. Hunga Munga Broadheads are available in 100-gr and 125-gr.
Cutting into Deep Pockets
Whether we’re talking about ground blinds, knives, lighted nocks or broadheads, some of the industry’s most innovative, reliable products come from small companies bent on cutting into the profits of industry giants.
Few companies within our industry challenge these mega giants as well as small broadhead companies like the innovation-driven, hunt-proven Xecutioner Broadheads; time-tested, bowhunter-trusted Slick Trick; or blood-spilling, problem Hunga Munga. How do they cut into heavy-hitter competition? Perhaps because these smaller broadhead companies are heavy on fist-full-of-dirt bowhunters and short on those who “just don’t get it.”
As a result, the wants and desires of diehard hunters sometimes become diluted in product development and at other times, altogether ignored. Where does that leave these small, hungry, different-than-the-rest companies cloaked by the shadow of the big boys? Full of opportunity and cutting into deep pockets.
For more information on these amazing broadhead companies and their product lines, visit:
- www.XecutionerBroadheads.com
- www.SlickTrick.net
- www.Hunga-Munga.com
About Kevin Reese:
Kevin is an award-winning outdoor writer, photographer, videographer, speaker, host of Global Outfitters TV Show’s GO Tips and a Marine Corps veteran. He owns and administers www.mainbeammedia.com and Main Beam Blog at blog.mainbeammedia.com. The Main Beam Blog offers great articles, press releases, outdoor industry news and reviews.