10 replies to this topic

[Moon]

I was recently in my favorite sporting goods / archery/crossbow pro shop store and while rambling through their broadhead offerings a neat looking head caught my eye. It was the Exodus swept wing head by Quality Archery Designs, located in Madison Heights, VA, the makers of some very popular high quality drop away arrow rests for vertical bows. I picked up a couple packs to play with and to compare to my favorite (to date) head, the Razor Trick 4 blade COC fixed blade head.

The Exodus 3 blade swept wing is a short bodied fixed blade head, available in 85 and 100 grains. Short bodied fixed blade heads tend to be less problematic than longer bodied broadheads for use with shorter, less stable crossbow arrows, at least that’s what I’ve found. Any screw in insert alignment problems, for example, will affect arrow accuracy more so with longer bodied heads. Short bodied heads also keep the head’s weight in the same place as a field point which I believe may minimize possible shaft spine variations and weight FOC changes which can change arrow POI from equal weight field points.

I finally found a few minutes this afternoon to shoot a few arrows so I pulled out the old Rinehart target that is mostly worn out but makes a good broadhead stop because it’s not so tight that the arrows can’t be pulled out without standing on the target. I did have a rubber backstop in place just in case.

I shot the first arrow with a 100 grain field point at 30 yards. I then unscrewed the field point and installed a 100 grain Razor Trick, which I knew would be right there with the hole made by the field point shot… and it was in the same hole. I pulled the arrow and unscrewed the Razor Trick and replaced it with the Exodus swept wing 100 grain 3 blade head. It hit barely ¼” higher and dead on R/L. I repeated that sequence 4 times and I can say the Exodus swept wing will hit in the same spot as a field point at 30 yards. My next step is to continue shooting the Exodus head at 40, 50 and 60 yards to see how it will fare at those extended distances. I believe I’ve finally found another fixed blade head that flies equally as well as the Razor Tricks but I have to shoot the longer distances to be sure.

There are other features about the Exodus heads I like. If you’ll notice, there is a tiny rubber “O” ring that keeps the blade retaining ring in place, like used with the NAP Thunderheads for years. For you folks that have used the Thunderhead with that little “O” ring, you know how straight those heads always go on the shaft:-) The same is true with these heads. I do sometimes get a slight wobble with the Razor Tricks due to the main blade not being perfectly centered with the body of the head. That is not going to happen with the Exodus head.

One little thing that has me wondering is why these heads weigh between 95.6 and 96.1 grains. I’ll be asking. The longer distance testing will tell the tale on that one I guess. I do know that they shoot darn good at 30 yards.

I understand that this head is considered a barbed head and is illegal in some states so you may want to look into that in your area.

BTW, the full blade version of the Exodus impacts 2” to the left of the field point and Exodus swept wing head so if you are looking for fixed blade broadheads to shoot the same POI as field points, IMO, the full blade version is not it.

For you anti Chinese folks, the Exodus is made in the USA:-)

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[H&S Archer]

Flesh test

[Terminal-operator]

Thanks Moon, yet another great review. I wonder if they'll offer any heavier fare?

[Moon]

Update:  I shot the Exodus SW today at 40, 60 and 80 yards. All I can say is wow!  It was a direct comparison with the Razor Trick which has been my favorite fixed blade hunting head for a couple years simply because it shot the closest to the same POI as my field points. I shoot  virtually everyday so that is important to me. For those that just hunt with their crossbows and only shoot a few practice shots from time to time, it makes sense just to sight in the broadheads of choice and be done with  it but when flinging field points daily year round and also hunting with  the same crossbows, I want both to hit in the same spot if possible. So, at 40 yards today, the Exodus  broadheads shot  in the exact same spot as my field points, so I backed up to 60 yards with the same results. My hunting buddy thought I was nuts when I backed up to my 80 yard marker.
I can normally keep my field points in a 2.5" circle at 80 yards on a calm day, shooting from a chair with my elbow resting on my thigh (hunting position) Six shots with the the Exodus SW and all were within that 2.5" circle!! I've never shot that close to field points at that distance with any fixed blade broadhead before. I'm going to repeat the session tomorrow with the SZ 350 and if I get the same results, I'm going  to start all over again on Thursday with the SZ 380.

Edited by Moon, 13 December 2011 - 08:53 PM.

[Moon]

Still have not tested the head using the SZ 380 but I did do a blade retention test this afternoon.
I tested blade retention of the Exodus swept blade head using a piece of 3/4" plywood. I shot it at 15 yards out of the SZ 350 using a 2219 aluminum arrow. 2 blades on the head were already damaged the other day from hitting a head that was embedded in the Rinehart broadhead target so I decided to use it. As you can see, there was no bending of the blades and they were just as tight in the head after the shot as they were before the shot. The arrow went about 6" into the Spyderweb field point target behind the plywood after going through the plywood. I had to cut the fibers of the Spyderweb target to get the arrow back out. I then unscrewed the Exodus head and beat the arrow back out of the plywood with a hammer. Here are photos of the head before and after the shot.

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[Moon]

Photo showing the back side of the plywood and the broadhead as I pulled it out of the Spyderweb target:

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[Cyclonic]

I saw these recently on Lancaster's web-site, and thought they looked good, I didn't know they were made right in my own back yard! Glad to hear they are shooting well. Are they expensive?

[Moon]

The store I picked them up from sell them for $39.98. Yep, they are, just like virtually all the others.

I forgot to post this photo:

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Edited by Moon, 16 December 2011 - 08:40 PM.

[H&S Archer]

It is a very interesting design and the performance combination with your equipment is fantastic. I would be interested in a side by side comparison to the Ram Cat. Testing is a big pain in the butt no wind, good light and time! Thank you for the info.

[Leaf]

H&S Archer, on 16 December 2011 - 11:30 PM, said:

It is a very interesting design and the performance combination with your equipment is fantastic. I would be interested in a side by side comparison to the Ram Cat. Testing is a big pain in the butt no wind, good light and time! Thank you for the info.

Tim, Will you be stocking this product in your store?

[Moon]

I finally got around to testing the Exodus head with the SZ 380. Although the head shoots virtually the same POI as matching weight field points out of the SZ 350, it does NOT with the SZ 380. The head's POI at 30 yards is almost 2" lower than the field point's. I did not go farther with the test. The 380 shoots consistent POI/groups with the head but the bow would have to be sighted in for the Exodus heads. I guess the reason is that the 380's additional speed is having an effect on the laser II shafts. I'm going to continue shooting them (and hunting with them) out of the SZ 350 and after hunting season is over I'm going to shoot the heads out of other crossbows to see if I can determine a pattern or speed limitation where same POI as field points is lost.