Global Sports: Today's Broadheads For Bowhunting

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Today's Broadheads For Bowhunting

By Brian Stephens

Traditionally, broadhead arrows were, as their name suggests, broad and flat. They were used in the middle ages for battles. Today's broadheads for bowhunting are essentially similar except that they are made of lighter and more durable steel.

They assumed varying shapes which were essentially variations of the basic triangle. The arrowheads that children are accustomed to draw are broadheads. They could be perfectly triangular. At other time, they could be diamond-shaped with line at the base of the triangle separated into two segments both pointing upwards from where they began at the shaft of the arrow.

Often, additional teeth or blades would be encountered along the long sides. Sometimes the blades would resemble hooks which could be found either on the long sides of the triangle or at the base line on either side. The hooks resembled inverted fins. The extra teeth and hooks were meant to lacerate the wound when a person attempted to pull the arrow out.

Broadheads still find use today, although no longer as weapons of war. Aficionados of bow hunting (they use bows and arrows to hunt) are partial to using boradheads for their arrows because of the fact that it either kills the animal quickly or it leaves a blood trail that is easy to identify for tracking the wounded animal. That is because if the arrow penetrates without killing the prey, in the act of fleeing, the animal's wound is further lacerated. However, to minimize the agony of their prey, today's broadheads are made of durable metal that stays sharp for a long time, thus increasing the chance of killing rather than just wounding the prey.

Additionally, todays broadheads for bowhunting are made of better materials giving them the ability, if aimed correctly, to kill an animal on the spot mercifully rather than allow it to run away in pain. Most old broadheads were fixed on the shaft.

The newer designs of today's broadheads for bowhunting may have blades on four sides instead of the traditional two. This increases the chances of disabling the animal from flight if not killing it outright. The prey stands to experience less pain in the process.

In today's broadheads for bowhunting the insides seem to have been carved out such that the arrowhead is formed by the edges of the triangle. Being hollow, they are much lighter and can be propelled much faster. The traditional teeth-like structures on the sides can still be encountered as also can the hooks that are curved inside;

The reason for that is that those which are fixed in shape may sometimes be deviated from their target by strong gusts of wind. They sometimes miss hitting the target in the right position or fail to make contact altogether.

Borrowing from shaving equipment, some producers of broadheads have made models whose blades are detachable and are therefore replaceable. This arrangement eliminates having to sharpen blades.

Doc # BS-823-ULT5-g4r2

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment