Have settled into the 2 bow/arrow combinations I am going to shoot in the competition at Farmland this month, but was still undecided about arrows for the Broadhead shoot. Tried a bunch of different carbon spine/length/broadhead combinations last night, but wasn't happy with any of them. Since I will be shooting my Northern Mist Sprague, I decided I should probably be shooting wood arrows anyways. Was getting ready to make up some new ones with Grizzly single bevels when I found these 3 arrows with Hill heads in the back of the arrow box. No idea what spine weight they are, but they flew amazingly well for me out of the Sprague. I think we're good for now.
Will admit that after the TAS Worlds, these arrows are going back in the arrow box. Have some STOS and Grizzly Bruin heads that I normally hang on the end of my wood arrows for hunting. Probably watched a dozen YouTube videos and never could figure out how to get the Hill heads really sharp. Just curious, anyone still shooting Howard Hill broadheads as their primary hunting broadheads? I know I have a small bag of them somewhere if there's any interest in them.
Jerry Hill is working on a new prototype of his broadhead...
Bob...after reading your original post, i was looking around the shop for light sheet metal to make up a huge multi blade broadhead to tease you with. I agree with Jerry ( Orion), if you are doing it for competition, ie points, use the biggest, widest 3/4/6 blade head you can find..
Look up Anderson 245
I have a half dozen arrows made up with Hill heads, but haven't used them for hunting. I can get them sharp enough with a file, but I've also found that an inexpensive Rada sharpener also does the job.
Now, I don't get as smooth/sharp an edge on these as I do on my Zwickeys, STOS or Woodsmans, but that's really not necessary. I have no doubt they would do the job. May use them this year. Depends on which bows i decide to hunt with.
Don't know what the rules are for broadhead shooting in the competition you're considering, but back when I used to shoot broadheads at cardboard animal silhouette tournaments, I shot the largest head that would fly well, often 3-blade snuffers. Probably good for 2-4 line cutters per round, about 10 to 20 points, on targets scored 15-10-5. That's a lot.
I'm kind of a nut case on sharp. That's what keeps me from using em. I am also an advocate ( very vocal) of the premise that sharp enough to do the job does not necessarily mean shaving sharp. Talk about mixed emotions.
I’ve never messed with Hill heads but more than likely this fall I will give them a try and see if I can hit em like Howard :)
I agree with you on not being able to get them as sharp as I wanted. After reading about the rough edge that others had success with, I decided to give them a try even though they didn’t feel “sharp enough” to me. I will say that the small doe I shot with it left one of the best blood trails I’ve had from a 2 blade head. They flew great also, but I really struggle with the sharpness factor...
I'm fortunate to have a heat treat oven and I make a copy of the Howard Hill broadheads. Howard Hill broadheads have always flown great for me and I have taken a lot of game with my copies over the last twenty some years. I sharpen mine with a file just like Howard Hill did. The ferral has to be filed down while sharpening to get a better angle on the broadhead bevel.