Archery Broadheads
The 'Fixed vs. Mechanical' broadhead debate is the most toxic thread on any archery forum. You have the 'Heavy Arrow' crowd who insists that mechanicals are 'pre-deployed failures' waiting to happen, and the 'Speed' crowd who wants the 2-inch entry holes that only a mechanical can provide. In 2026, the data has mostly settled the score: if you're shooting a high-poundage bow with a heavy arrow, a mechanical is a lethal 'hatchet' from the sky. If you're shooting lower poundage or hunting elk-sized game, you better stick to a fixed blade that can punch through bone.
What Separates Good from Great
Field Point Accuracy
The biggest selling point for mechanicals is that they fly exactly like your practice tips. Fixed blades often require 'broadhead tuning'—fiddling with your rest and yokes—to make sure they don't 'plane' off target at 40 yards. If you don't have the time to tune, go mechanical.
F.O.C. and Momentum
A 2-inch wide mechanical head requires a massive amount of energy to push through a deer. Forum experts (the 'Ashby' followers) argue that a narrow, cut-on-contact fixed blade preserves more momentum, ensuring a 'passthrough' even if you hit a rib or the shoulder blade.
The 'O-Ring' Anxiety
Every mechanical hunter has a nightmare about their blades opening in flight or failing to open on impact. Modern 'rear-deploying' designs have mostly solved this, but for the 'survivalist' hunter, a solid piece of sharpened steel with no moving parts is the only way to sleep at night.
The Call
The 'NC' stands for No Collar—it uses internal spring tension to keep blades shut. It creates a 2-inch 'slug hole' and is arguably the most popular head in the woods today.
The 'Buy Once, Cry Once' of broadheads. Made of A2 tool steel. They are surgically sharp and designed to spin through bone rather than stopping. You can sharpen them and use them for life.
A 3-blade fixed head with a small profile. It flies like a mechanical but gives you the peace of mind that it will never fail to 'open'.
The forum's favorite 'Value' pick. They have a lifetime replacement warranty—if you bend it on a rock, they send you a new one. Period.
A one-piece, non-vented stainless steel head. It's quiet in flight and incredibly easy to re-sharpen on a flat stone.
More Picks below - Many of the best brands are now on Amazon. We sifted through the unreliable garbage and kept the gems.
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