PETE WARD
"WELCOME TO MY OUTDOOR WORLD"
PETE WARD
"WELCOME TO MY OUTDOOR WORLD"
 "PRODUCT TEST RESULTS FOR ROCKY MOUNTAIN BROADHEADS" BARRIE ARCHERY,LLC PO BOX 482,WASECA,MN 56093 WEB SITE WWW.ROCKYMTBROADHEADS.COM TELEPHONE 507-835-3859 FAX 507-835-5097 E-MAIL BARRIE@CLEAR.LAKES.COM The next task was to weigh each one and check to see just how close to the advertised weight they were. I weighed 6 of each type on a powder scale that is sensitive to 1/10 of 1 grain. For those not familiar with grains there are 437 grains in 1 ounce. The results of the weigh in were better than most others that I have looked at. TI 100..98.6, 99.4, 97.9, 98.2, 99.5, 98.6 .THE MAXIMUM WEIGHT SPREAD ON THESE 6 WAS 1.6 GRAINS. This is near perfection. TI 125..126.2, 127.1, 125.7, 128.4, 127.0, 127.4.These had a weight spread of only 2.7 grains which is still well within normal tolerances and most likely your arrows will have a greater weight spread than this.. SNYPER 100..100.0, 98.5, 99.1, 101, 99.0, 99.4.These had a total variation of 2.9 grains which is again very acceptable considering a 3grain variation in 6 arrow shafts is hard to get. Spin testing produced perfect results with all 18 broadheads spinning true at slow and hi speed. At the range the broadheads were screwed onto carbon shafts and blade indexing was not done. Each of the TI 100 and snyper 100-grain models were shot at 301 fps while the TI 125 's were shot at 290 fps from a single cam bow. All arrow shafts were fletched 6 degree helical right fletch with 4" vanes. All three shot very accurately out to 40 yards, which is as far as I tested them. Tuning was not needed to produce 2" groups at 40 yards with each set of broadheads. {A well-tuned bow is necessary to accomplish good arrow flight with any broadhead/arrow combination.} The TI series have the sharpest cut on impact tip that I have seen other than on some fixed blade cut to the tip models. The blades lock behind a hollow ground tip that is extremely sharp and are held in place by the self-centering rings that come with each package. Another feature that I liked was the satin finish on the blades, a feature that will definitely reduce the reflection from the sun striking the broadhead. With the inherent strength titanium has, these will definitely be a tough broadhead that will not fail when it is put to the test on that trophy.The complete body and threaded stem is machined from a single soild stock of titanium.I shot the ti 125 into 1/4" thick sheet of aluminum plate at 290 FPS to see just how strong the titanium 125 would be.Amazingly the broadhead remained intact, straight and the point was still like new after it was recovered, which took a lot of effort to accomplish. The carbon shaft was destroyed when the TI 125 was driven 6” into it. Never in a hunting situation will an arrow/broadhead combination be expected to take this kind of abuse. This test was done purely as a means to test these broadheads to the max by shooting them into a medium that they could not possibly survive or completely penetrate. In this case it preformed extremely well, the TI 125 is still straight and the tip is still sharp. The snyper's are a new concept in expanding broadheads both in the caming open of the blades and with the added cut on contact front blade. The caming open blade action reduces the cartwheel effect that swing open blades can have on steep angled shots,and enter much like a fixwd blade would. Although small, this little blade is strong and razor sharp. Good entrance holes should be no problem here as well as deep penetration with the true cut to the tip design. The blades opened flawlessly on all mediums tested, from a deer hide, that was hung loosely over a frame to a broadhead target box and plywood sheets and did not bend or break. For deer size animals the snyper is sure to prove itself as an accurate and reliable broadhead dispelling the notion that expandable broadheads are not reliable. For those that prefer a fixed blade broadhead I feel that the Titanium series in either 100 or 125 grain are possibly the last broadhead you will have to buy. I will be using them this fall on my moose and elk hunts. This review was done without any remuneration from Barrie Archery/Rocky Mountain Broadheads or any other party. These are my true findings and are placed here to serve as a guide to those who want to read a gear review that was not paid for. I will be using these broadheads this fall and at that time, luck permitting I will write a follow-up on how they performed on wild free ranging Alberta game animals hunted under fair chase ethics and conditions. I DO NOT support condone or take part in PET SHOOTS and HI FENCED HUNTS! PETE WARD WELCOME TO MY OUTDOOR WORLD  This year was started with almost Immediate success.On the second day of hunting I was able to arrow this fine moose with the TI 125 broadheads.He went down only 30 yards from where he was first arrowed with a low lung passthru shot. As darkness was aproaching I made the mistake of walking up to soon to look for the arrow and see what the trail would look like.I know better than this but I did it anyway.To my horror he was laying in a slough bottom 30 yards away with no chance for a clear shot to anchor him because of the willows between us.He got up and fell 3 times before finaly moving off.I knew I had just made my life hell for the night. After going to the truck for a nights suply of tools and returning to the scene I found a massive blood trail leading to where he was bedded to die.There the pools of blood were huge.I began tracking him on a trail a blind man could follow.Now,knowing the trail would be short, in another 70 yards he had gone down again and to my disbelief he raised his head from chest high grass at 10 yards.As this was the only target available I burried a TI 125 into his skull to finish him off.{Later I discovered the arrow had missed the brain but was about 3" into the skull.}I could not believe it when he stood up.Another arrow was placed into the rib cage exiting thru the far shoulder for the second double lung passthru shot.He stood there bleeding profusely and turned around.The sucking chest wounds were loud and unmistakable.I loaded another arrow and launched it into his neck where the head meets the spine.This finaly put him down for good. The performance of the TI 125 was superb,my performance was not.The shots were good and the blood trail was massive.This moose just had a will to live and I made the dumb mistake of following up to soon and pushing him.The first shot was a double lung pass thru that left a massive blood trail and put him down in 30 yards.Had I gone for a coffee in the camper and resigned to the fact that my night would be spent packing and quartering a moose in the dark,thru bear country by the light of a coleman lantern I would have found him dead where he first went down.I guess that the fact I was in Grizzly country and packing a moose out after dark made me do a very regretable thing. As you know by now the bears didn't get me and the moose was succesfully retrieved.This was much to the delight of my wife who helped me gut/ quarter and pack out the beast.Each trip back to the carcus was full of anticipation as to what might be awaiting us in the shadows.Armed now only with a coleman lantern we jokingly talked about what might be into the moos as we returned each time.I think the real reason for the joking and talking was to scare off any company that might have arrived. We packed till 3AM before giving in to exhaustion and trusting the animals would not find the kill we slept for a short while.At 7AM we started the day by packing out the remaining meat and a final trip in to retrieve the velvet rack, a first for me. This account may have seemed long winded but it is how things went down.I could have merely commented on a masive blood trail and a passthru shot,with a great Broadhead{TI 125} but thats not exactly how it hapened.All of my gear was performing exactly as it was supposed to.The reason for not having a one shot kill was because I was to impatient to let the moose expire without being disturbed.I know better and after reading this account I hope you know better too.Had he not been bleeding so profusely I could have easily lost him.There was realy no reason to go in so quickly, I was in for an all nighter anyway. I want to thank Bruce Barrie for supplying me with a very capable broadhead .The TI 125 is definately a good moose broadhead.     PETE WARD WELCOME TO MY OUTDOOR WORLD    This update will be featuring the superb little 75 grain ROCKY PREMIER broadhead. Bruce was kind enough to supply my wife with some 75 GRAIN ROCKY PREMIERS for her light weight setup. The blades are as sharp as any blade that I have seen and are ready to shoot without any sharpening. Also the rocky broadheads come with a base washer that fully supports the blades eliminating the need to buy special adapters to keep the blades in on impact with bone etc. This is a common problem with other broadheads when used on Carbon shafts. I am a firm believer that to effectively hunt with a bow the complete setup must be matched. With this in mind I set up the KODIAK KO 32 for her that I have for testing. The bow is set at 50# and the arrow weight with the Premiers is 315 grains. This gives her a speed of 248 fps and a relatively flat trajectory that helps out with range estimation. I was concerned that I would have problems finding a strong light weight broadhead to use and Bruce Barrie came foreword with some Premiers to test. We started the testing at the range and found that flight was the same as with her field points and we did not have to do any re-tuning for ranges out to 40 yards, which is the maximum for her setup. Every Rocky broadhead that I have tested so far has spun perfectly on my arrows, which also adds to the accuracy of the rocky line.{Don't be misled by this statement, as most bows are not tuned this well and you may need to retune your particular setup if you want the same results. Every bow should be properly tuned and always test shoot your broadheads to confirm this.} The point here is that they fly perfectly from a well tuned bow. Pat has been hunting diligently all fall as well as last year and up to this point she has not been able to connect with her first Deer. hats all in the past now. As the pictures above show She has taken her first deer, a nice White Tail doe with the Rocky 75 Grain Premiers. The deer was shot at her maximum range. 40 Yards and she made a high hit,breaking one rib,taking out one lung and imbedding in the spine. The doe dropped in its tracks, so we can not comment about a blood trail, only the wound. The entrance hole was large and clean and the lung was cleanly sliced open by the blades, with the premier lodged in the spine. When we recovered the Premier it was in like new condition. The point was undamaged and the blades are still razor sharp. This broadhead is only in need of being washed off and it is ready to reuse. With the reliability of the PREMIER 75 I am confident that Pat will be taking more game in the future. These are a very well made broadhead that flies well and cuts cleanly. The premier's are a good choice for any setup you have whether it is a light weight 75 grain up to the heavy weight 125grain. Thank you Bruce for the opportunity to work with another superb broadhead from the rocky line up. Pete Ward "Welcome to my outdoor world." |
| Copyright © 2002 PETER WARD |
