steel force 85's

[kt]

Well im am pondering a switch in broadheads, not that muzzy hasnt been close to perfection but in 6 deer i have never seen a drop of blood until i was within steps of the downed deer. A couple people including my friend at the pro shop have recommended the steel force 85's as they are near in weight to my 90 muzzy's. They cut on contact have four blades as well but the two big ones are serrated! i gotta say they look bad ass, on the down side they are a little longer than the muzzy's, maybe a difference on my little 27 inch arrows? i dont know. and they are 23 dollars per 3! wow
so im curious if any one likes them, do they fly where the field points do and how are they on bone?
thanks
kt

[wildwings]

I'm a rookie hunter, so take or leave this advice. Last year, I shot a doe with a mechanical broadhead. Not much blood, never found the deer or the arrow, so I don't know how much damage there was. A vetran bow hunter gave me a little hunting "seminar", and basically swore up and down on steel force. He has hunted over 30 years, and said he has tried almost all the broadheads on the market, and still goes back to steel force. There durable, consistant, and the little bleeder blades make a huge difference by causing a big blood trail. He worked years as a state meat inspector, and these are also the first blades that he can't get sharper than they come from the factory.

Enough about his opinion, here are my experiences. I shoot the 100 grain, and the broadhead shoots about 8 inches high at 20 yards. Slight re-aiming of my bow for height, but the left/right was fine.

I shot a big doe a few weeks ago, and found her about 100 yards from where I shot her. There was a nice blood trail to follow (my first ever deer, so I'm a total rookie at tracking also). The broken arrow (she fell and rolled over when I shot her) was covered in blood. I never found the broadhead, but it went through both shoulders, both lungs, and the heart. There was still a perfect + shape in the heart where it passed through. For being a rookie hunter and seeing my success, I'm definately using them again, and again, and again,................. Sometimes you DO get what you pay for. I'll never use the $3 mechanicals again, they look like an old pop can after using steel force.

[Rustywreck]

Unless you are shooting dull blades in the muzzy's, they aren't the reason for lack of a blood trail. My guess is that you are making a good shot at the midline of the deer - 10 ring on a 3-D.

Consider how much blood must accumulate inside the chest before it reaches the level of the hole. Most likely it will die before it gets to that level.

How far are the deer traveling before dropping? If they are consistantly under 100 yards, you can't ask for much more. A deer travels 100 yard in 4 seconds - that's a pretty quick death.

Steelforce may be good heads (i haven't used them). I personally have my reservations with serrated blades. I'll take a new muzzy any day.

If you are really concerned about blood trails, a larger cutting diameter will help. Otherwise, if you are shooting the 90grs accurately, I'd stick with them. Sometimes its just fun to try something else - I do that a bit. I wouldn't be too concerned about the ability of any of the broadheads on the market being able to kill. Getting them to fly well is another question.

[WT Kevorkian]

I shoot the 125 steelforce serrated blades, have killed I don't know how many deer with them, most die within sight of my stand. A friend and I were bear hunting this fall, he shoots muzzys we both have the exact same bow ( parker ultralight 31's set at 70 pounds) his draw length is 1" longer than mine. Anyway we were shooting a 3d bear target at camp, shooting it in the neck at a little orange dot because the vital area was shot out, my arrows were going all the way through and coming out the other side a good bit, his was not even coming out of the target. Better penetration???? I would say so, and he noticed it before I did and said something about it. As far as bone is concerned there isn't a broadhead out there that will penetrate the shoulder bone on a big animal it is just bull. I have broken plenty of ribs and even the leg bone on an average size doe with the steelforce broadheads, they are bad ass!