Thunderhead 125 Problems?

[archerjustin]

Last month I was hunting Elk in New Mexico and after tagging out successfully on the third day a guide asked me to help by calling for his client. That night we called in a bull and the bowhunter placed a perfect shot on it at 17 yards. The animal staggered and allowed for another shot. This happened 5 times! Honestly, they were all good shots. The first would have killed him in time but the guide ordered shot after shot as they presented themselves. I noticed not a single arrow passed through although the hunter was shooting 65lbs. Upon approaching the Elk all the arrows but one were pulled out with the broadhead snapped off at the base! The threads were still tightly screwed into the inserts! That night the hunter asked to shoot my G5 Montecs and said he was going to switch to them. Has this ever happened to anyone else?!

[Ranger Ray]

I have used nothing but Thunderheads for like 25 years and never had one issue with them.

[tjfishinboy]

my dad has been using thunderheads for 15+ years no problems. me for 3 years no problems. i wonder why that happened

[Chuck]

I have shot 2 elk with thunder heads 125 grains. Both cpmlete pass threws with a quick death. One elk ran 70 yards and the other went 50 yards. The second elk the arrow went threw the opposite shoulder even. Both arrows stayed intack. Both double lungers and the first one I shot at 30 yards.

My buddy shot a bear the first year too and it was a steep quarting too shot. It went threw the front shoulder and shattered the rear leg bone. His arrow was busted in 4 pieces but the broad was intact with about 3"s of arrow still attatched to it.

He shoots 70 pounds with carbon express 300s and I shoot 68 pounds with the same arrows.

I have shot plenty of deer with these heads too with great results. I once burried the head in the oppsite shoulder and the arrow was in pieces but the head stayed intact.

I would have saved the heads and sent them back and got a refund or replacements.

Do you know what kind of arrows he was shooting? It seems if his set up was right then he shouldnt have any problems with penitration. Especially with it breaking at the insert.

[archerjustin]

He did save the heads for just that reason. Steve (the hunter) had mentioned that he had used them for years with no problems. Unfortunately I have no way of contacting him to see what happened when he contacted the company. Strange.

[kingfisher 11]

I have never had a problem with the 125's. Did he use blades that were used for target practice. Some guys will tune the arrows with the broadheads they shoot and not change the blades. Also the new 125's have a special washer to go with the carbon arrows I beleive?

[Banditto]

I have broken some on hard bone impact but again they did go through teh shoulder and did in fact kill the animal quickly both times. I blew through both shoulders on a 12 yard shot once and the body of the broadhead looked great still.

Something strange happened to that client with the elk...

[Ninja]

Were these Thunderheads purchased within the last year or so???

[SevenMaryThree]

If I understand from the description, the aluminum ferrule failed as exhibited through lateral shearing at the point where the base of the ferrule meets the insert when fully seated.

Sound accurate?

It would be quite easy for a technician to determine cause of failure through an investgation which included a physical examination of the recovered broadheads and the undamaged head from that box.

To wildly speculate based upon conjecture from a first hand account, that type of failure in that material can be had from over tightening. Hard to imagine that in a braodhead/insert combo, though.

The lateral stresses applied to the arrow as the animals muscle and bone moves as the arrow passed through can be very substantial and cause lateral shearing, even though the arrow's momentum and subsequestly its force is being directed longitudinally along the spine. Hard to imagine it happing five times in a row and have the failure in the same spot, though.

One thing is certain....these broadheads were made by a man. 'Nuff said.

I use, and will always use, Thunderhead 125s. :)

[Burksee]

I suspect some type of "operator error"..............


I have used nothing but Thunderheads for like 25 years and never had one issue with them.Me too! :yeahthat: :woohoo1:Were these Thunderheads purchased within the last year or so???Ken - ???? :confused: ????

............I use, and will always use, Thunderhead 125s. :):bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

[Ninja]

Burksee,
Thunderhead changed their manufacturing process about a year and a half ago.....I have heard constant complaints of weaker blades and breakage.

[454casull]

If the arrow was not flying true a sideways impact could easily snap the broadhead off. I've seen it happen to arrows on 3D targets. Combine that with Ninja's comments and it could start to make more sense....

[Burksee]

Burksee,
Thunderhead changed their manufacturing process about a year and a half ago.....I have heard constant complaints of weaker blades and breakage.Thanks for the reply. Glad I have a bunch of NOS heads and blades! Do you know if this being addressed by Thunderhead? Take care - Greg

[Chuck]

Ninja,

I have used the same heads for about 8 years now. I bought 2 packs and have about 6 left if you count the one in a log that i have to go get. I buy new blades every year and havent seen much differnce in these but as you say I have seen a difference in the new broadheads. My Nephew bought some lastyear for his first hunt and soemthing about them looked different than mine.

Why do companies have to change something for the better when the only better that comes of it is there pockets getting lined??!!

I dread the idea of trying to find a new type of broadhead.

Any ideas on how to get a broadhead out of a tree or log without messing them up? Thats how I lost the other 6, trying to get them out of a tree after a complete pass threw. Now thats penitraiton. ;)

[michigansnorkeler]

I would bet that it had nothing to do with the arrow and EVERYTHING to do with the bow...I injured TWO bucks last weekend (one of them snapping the broadhead like mentioned), and found that my arrow was leaving the bow on an angle (though I could accurately hit a target), as well as my cables were not on correctly. This happened having the wrong people work on my bow last year when I had a string replaced. I would paper shoot that bow and find out if the arrow is flying at an angle before I would change broadhead brands.

[archerjustin]

Thanks for all the replies. This was still the strangest thing I have seen, concerning equipment, while hunting. I guess it was probably a combination of a lot of things. I'm glad it wasn't me! As for michigansnorkler's comment, this guy was a good shot - from 20 to 50. We shot together every day durring the hunt. If his bow was that out of whack his long range shots would have been noticeably off.

[stp524]

I use to really like my Thunderheads, actually Thunderhead 125's, but NEVER had a pass-through. They have taken many deer and shot very acurate. But, after not having good penetration on a 120 class two years ago and loosing it, I changed to cut on impact heads. I have never been happier. Since then, I have had many pass-throughs and have not lost one animal! In my opinion, the cut on impact broadheads are the way to go.