I've killed several deer with mechanicals, mostly rockets. I have had only 2 kills out of 10 that were not complete pass-throughs, but in those cases the broadhead still passed through both sides of the deer. I have had only ONE deer make it out of my sight with mechanicals. I think its because of the wider cutting diameter mechanicals usually have.
I have been shooting rocket steelhead xp's for the past few years, and have seen entrance holes on all the deer that i've killed with them. I shot NAP spitfires before that, and did not always have full size entrance holes, but I did have extremely large exit wounds. Nonetheless, most of the deer hit the ground within sight when I used spitfires.
As far as steep angled shots, I dont think anyone should take them, fixed blade or mechanical. Steep/sharp angled shots are marginal shots and arent a good idea, so anyone who says they wont shoot mecanicals because they deflect, are most likely taking shots that are a poor choice anyway. That being said, I have never seen evidence of mechanicals deflecting.
There are certainly trade-offs when it comes to the 2 types of broadheads. One difference is accuracy. Mechanicals in my experience are typically more accurate, and do not require you to move your sights, so there is no re-sighting session when you switch to your hunting setup. I have shot some fixed blade heads that didnt require me to re-sight my bow, but it hasn't been that easy with most. I have not shot a mechanical that has required me to re-sight in the middle of preseason practice. Another difference with mechanicals, is that you do not have any "flyers". With most fixed blades that I have shot, I have often ended up with a head or two that simply would not fly straight.
Penetration is better with fixed blade heads. There is no denying that fact. If I were to hunt elk or bear, I would switch to a fixed blade, no questions asked. On deer, however, I have pass-throughs with mechanicals often. So, like I said earlier, penetration is not an issue. I do believe that to shoot most mechanicals, you need sufficient energy. I wouldnt recommend using them with a low poundage bow, or extremely light arrows.
Fixed blades are typically stonger than mechanicals. There is no denying that either. That being said, I have not once broke a blade with a mechanical head, or a fixed blade head.
In my experience I have not seen anyone present a good case against mechanicals. All those people that have told me they are bad, have never tried them, or seen their effectiveness.
I have killed deer with muzzys, thunderheads, rocket ultimate steels, steelheads, sidewinders and a few others that I am probably forgetting, and the bottom line is this, they have all killed deer with a well placed shot. No matter what broadhead you shoot, where you hit the deer is what matters most. We can agrue which broadhead is the best for days at a time, but in the end how well you shoot them is probably more important than which one you shoot.
post edited by thedrake - 2007/11/04 11:54:17