In this review, I tested the Cold Steel Cheap Shot broadhead.

It’s a real value price head that’s advertised primarily for small game because it’s made out of plastic.

Plastic?

That’s right, plastic. So, obviously I was excited to test it!

I did not test the Cheap Shot head in all the ways that I normally test big game broadheads, because they market this as being a cheap head (hence the name, Cheap Shot).

The Cheap Shot Broadhead Up Close

The Cheap Shot broadheads by Cold Steel cost about a buck each.

That’s right, one dollar!

They say they’re for non-trophy animals. So, you wouldn’t want to shoot at a deer with these, but could try these on small game animals or maybe hogs.

Let’s see how it performed!

So here, you get a good look at the Cheap Shot. It’s a little over 3 inches in length. The cutting diameter is 1 and 5/16″, so just a little bit over one and a quarter inches. You can see the serrations that they have here, which is going to aid in its penetration and its edge retention. Since this head is plastic (they call it space-age polymer), it’s not going to have the edge retention that steel would, but you can make up for that with really good serrations.

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02/23/2025 06:05 am GMT

Cheap Shot Flight Testing

I tested the Cheap Shot head for flight. I shot two of the heads and one field point for comparison.

Here was the Cheap Shot from 40 yards. You can see where the field point hit near the center, but the two broadheads were not very close.

Since the flight test at 40 yards didn’t go too well, I moved in to 20 yards and shot them again…

They fared much better at 20 yards than they did at 40…

Out-of-the-box sharpness Test

I tested (or attempted to test) the head’s sharpness, but I couldn’t get the head to cut the wire… that’s a first.

I couldn’t get the Cheap Shot to cut the wire on my sharpness tester, so no result to report here.

Cardboard Penetration Test

I shot the Cheap Shot into layered cardboard to see how many layers it could penetrate.

In this test the Cheap Shot penetrated through 43 layers of cardboard.

Ballistic Gel Test

I shot the Cheap Shot into FBI ballistic gel that was fronted with 2/3″ rubber matting and 1/2″ MDF.

The Cheap Shot penetrated 4-1/2 inches.

I know it looks like it penetrated 5 inches into the gel, but when lined up straight, it was actually only 4-1/2 inches.

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02/23/2025 05:58 am GMT

MDF Penetration Test

Next I shot the head into MDF. Check out the pictures below…

Here’s the head and the hole that it made in the MDF. It’s a decent size hole there.

As you can see, it broke off at the ferrule and left the threading portion of the ferrule inside my arrow. So I had to work a little bit to get that out.

Here you can see in this picture the distance that it penetrated through the MDF. It didn’t even make it all the way through but it did make it most of the way through.

Cold Steel Cheap Shot Broadheads | Final Thoughts

So what do you think of the Cheap Shot?

I love the creativity and I like that Cold Steel is trying something different.

I also love the price point. I mean, they’re only one dollar for a head. I mean, if you are just starting out with bowhunting and just need a head to shoot smaller animals with, it’s an option. It will definitely work and wallop whatever you shoot it at.

But, I just kind of go, “Huh? Why?”

I mean, I’d much rather use an old broadhead or a field point with a judo point or something like that. I just think there are a lot better choices for small game.

But for something fun to try, yeah, I think it’s worth a look for that. So check out the scores. The score sheet is a little bit different because it’s not the typical kind of broadhead that I test. And also, check out my Lusk grade for it.

In this review, I tested the Cutthroat Broadhead. I really like this company. Everything is made in the USA and they have a great reputation.

Cutthroat broadheads have fans all over the world and I have long considered them to be one of the best two blade, single bevel heads made.

In this review I’ll cover the Cutthroat 2-blade as well as the Cutthroat 3-Blade broadheads.

• Cutthroat 2-Blade Review
• Cutthroat 3-Blade Review

I tested them for long range flight, penetration, durability, and edge sharpness and retention. And, as always, I shot with my Bowtech SR6 set at 72 pounds with a 27-inch draw length, and I’m using Bishop Archery FOC King Arrows, with a weight of 460 grains.

Cutthroat 2-Blade Broadheads specs

The cutthroat broadheads lineup ranges from 125 grains to 250 grains.

There’s a lot to like about the Cutthroat. In some ways, it’s just a simple 2-blade single-bevel design. But, in other ways, there are some unique things that make it extra special.

First of all, Cutthroat broadheads come in several different weights, ranging from 125 grains to 250 grains (which can be great for higher FOC arrows). In this test, I shot the 125-grain version.

Here, you can see the specs for the Cutthroat Broadhead.

The Cutthroat is machined from a single chunk of 41L40 tool steel, which is really a high quality tool steel. And it’s brought to a Rockwell hardness of 55. It’s a good balance between being soft enough to sharpen and yet tough enough to be able to hold its edge well.

In addition, these broadheads are Teflon coated to protect the blades. It also has a really nice Tanto tip to help prevent blade rollover at the end.

The blades are 0.060 inches thick so a nice good thickness to them. And the single bevel is a 25-degree bevel.

I was eager to put this head to the test and see how it performed.

I have found that a 40-degree bevel is superior when it comes to how much a broadhead rotates in flight. So, the rotation of a steeper edge is going to produce a better bone splitting ability and more damage internally. At a 25 degree bevel angle with the .060″ blade thickness, the Cutthroat head should still do fairly well.

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02/23/2025 05:10 am GMT

Balloon test

The Cutthroat head was able to pop a balloon from 70 yards out.

Out of the box sharpness test

In the out of the box sharpness test, I test how many times a broadhead can still cut through paper after a stroke of an arrow shaft across it. I give 5 points for the first cut and then one point for every cut thereafter.

The Cutthroat broadhead was able to still cut paper after three strokes of the arrow, giving it a total score of 7 points.

The Cutthroat 2-blade head cut paper after three strokes of the arrow.

Penetration testing

In this penetration test, I shot the Cutthroat into ballistic get that was fronted by 2/3″ rubber mat and 1/2″ MDF board.

In ballistic gel test, the Cutthroat penetrated 7-1/4″ with 45 degrees of rotation.

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02/23/2025 07:02 am GMT

Steel plate test

I shot the Cutthroat five times through a .22 gauge steel plate. The head held up very well.

The head did have a bit of edge folding on each side, which would take a little bit of work to sharpen those out. But, overall, the head fared pretty well for five shots through the steel plate.

The “S-cut” made by the Cutthroat makes it more difficult for entry wounds to close up on an animal after impact. The S-cut also aids in prying bones apart on big game animals like whitetail, mule deer, elk, etc., to allow an arrow to slide through.

The Cutthroat 2-blade provided a good “S-cut” that you get from a single bevel broadhead.

The Cutthroat 2-blade had some dinged blade edges on each side after the test.

Final Thoughts on Cutthroat 2-Blade Broadheads

So, overall, the Cutthroat is a very nice head. I’ve long considered it to be a great head and putting it through these tests just proves it all the more.

It has a great price point, it’s made in the USA, and it flies super well. It keeps its edge well and is durable.

If you are looking for broadheads that are 2-blade and single bevel, this is definitely worth a look.

Great job, Cutthroat.

Cutthroat 3-Blade Broadheads Review

I was also able to test the Cutthroaght 3-Blade from Rocky Mountain Specialty Gear. This is a 3-blade double bevel head.

I was excited to see how it performed. But first, let’s take a close up look at it.

Here’s a good close-up look at the Cutthroat 3-blade. This is a wicked looking broadhead. Notice the convex design to the blades, how they’re curved. You don’t see that in many 3 blades. That’s supposedly going to aid in penetration and the way it cuts the tissue. I was eager to see how that plays out.

The Cutthroagth 3-Blade head is machined from a solid chunk of 41L40 tool steel, which is a great steel to use in a broadhead application, due to its impact resistance.

The blades are 0.035 inches thick and the cutting diameter is one and one-eighth inches. This is the 125-grain model. So it has got a relatively short overall profile and you notice the tip there is designed for extra reinforcement and durability to prevent curling and rollover.

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Sharpness test of Cutthroat 3-blade

I tested the 3-blade on the Edge-On-Up Sharpness tester. Results below:

The 3-blade took 500 grams of pressure to break the wire on the sharpness tester.

Ballistic gel penetration test of Cutthroat 3-blade

I shot the 3-blade in the FBI-grade ballistic gel fronted by MDF and a foam rubber mat.

The Cutthroat 3-blade penetrated 7-3/4 inches into the ballistic gel.

Sharpness re-test post-ballistic gel test

The 3-blade took 575 grams of pressure to break the wire on the sharpness tester after the ballistic gel test.

Cardboard Penetration Test with 3-blade

The 3-blade penetrated through 62 layers of cardboard.

Steel plate durability test of 3-blade

Below is the Cutthroat 3-blade head after going through a 22-gauge steel plate five times.

The Cutthroat 3-blade was in perfect condition after shooting it into the steel plate 5-times. You can’t even tell it has been shot other than my fingerprints on the blades. Man, this thing really, really held up well.

Cinder Block Test of Cutthroat 3-Blade

I shot the 3-blade into a cinder block to see what would happen.

Here is the Cutthroat 3-blade after impacting the cinder block. This was the same head that also went through the steel plate five times. It’s in excellent shape. You can see the discoloration from the concrete and chips of concrete embedded in it. But the edges, even where it went into the concrete, are still in good condition. The tip is still very sharp. No doubt this can be re-sharpened and reused many times over.

Final Thoughts on Cutthroat 3-blade broadhead

So what do you think of the Cutthroat 3 blade? Man, it performed very well.

Go through the score sheet below and see how it measured in each of the areas that I tested and compare it to other heads and see how it performed with them.

There are many really good things about it this head. I especially love the durability of that chiseled tip. I also love the steel that they’re using (the 41L40.)

I’m not really sure why they went with a curved convex design, although it looks really cool. Maybe there are reasons that don’t bear out in my testing. The convex design makes it a little bit more challenging to sharpen, because you can’t just lay it flat like you could with a normal 3 blade, 60-degree head and sharpen two edges at a time.

So, overall, I think the 3-blade Cutthroat as well! It’s a great head.

In this review I tested the the Ozcut Elite Series 3 Blade. It’s a really cool head and I was eager to see how it performed.

But first, the box!

First of all, I’d be remiss if I didn’t show you how cool the box is for the Elite Series 3-blade broadhead… Ozcut really went all out!

The Ozcut Elite Series 3-Blace box has a 3D hologram on the front between the elk and the target.

When you open to box, it has lights behind the broadheads that illuminate them in gold and red. Very cool!

Now, a closer look at the Ozcut Elite Series 3-Blade Broadheads

Below is a look at the Ozcut Elite Series 3 head. As you will see, the overall length of the Elite Series 3-blade is much shorter than most of its competitors.

Here, we get a good look at the head close up. Of course, it spins very well. This is 125-grain model. It has got a 1 1/8-inch cut. The blades by my measurement are 0.52 inches thick. This picture was taken AFTER I had already shot it through a steel plate 5 times! So, you can see where the durability test results might be heading!

If you look at the VPA 3-blade broadhead (top), compared to the Ozcut Elite Series 3-blade head (bottom) you can see the length difference.

If you look at the Cutthroat 3-Blade (top) compared to the Ozcut Elite Series 3-blade (bottom), you can see the length comparison. The Elite Series is simply one of the shorter single-piece 3-blade heads that I’ve ever seen. That’s going to make it extra durable as well as aiding in flight, because there’s less surface area to it.

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02/23/2025 05:58 am GMT

Sharpening

Now, this being a 3 blade like this, it can easily be sharpened on any flat edge.

However, because they have this extra tanto tip, there’s a bit of a different angle. The bevel angle on the tip is still 60 degrees, but it’s at different angle than the long edges of the blades, so it doesn’t lay flat.

If you were to lay it flat to sharpen it, the tanto tip would not get sharpened. So, you have to angle the broadhead just a little bit extra in order to sharpen that.

The tanto tip of the Elite Series 3.

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02/23/2025 03:23 am GMT

You can sharpen it on any flat stone, or as I’ve noted in a recent test that I did of the Annihilator, you can also use the Stay Sharp Guide 344 sharpener, which changes the bevel from 60 degrees to 44 degrees (still very stout and strong, but much sharper.)

So, I’m going to sharpen this head up at the end of the review using the Stay Sharp Guide just see how sharp I can get it.

But overall, I love the design of this head, as well as the simplicity. It looked like it was going to be durable and fly well. So, I was eager to put it to the test.

I will cover some details on the tests I performed, but you can click the links to jump straight to the test results:

• Flight test results
• Penetration test #1 results
• Penetration test #2 results
• Sharpness testing results
• Edge retention test results
• Durability test results
• Re-sharpening results
• Cinder Block test results

The tests I performed on the Ozcut Elite Series 3-blade heads

I want to explain a bit about my tests on this head.

I do these tests to try to make them as relevant to hunting situations as possible, but I want to provide you with data points as well.

You can determine whether those data points are important to you or not, but I’m going to give you those to gauge or judge a broadhead’s effectiveness. Then, you can make the best broadhead selection for you and your hunting setup and your hunting situation.

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02/23/2025 06:09 am GMT

Flight Test

I did a flight test where I shot two broadheads and a field point at 40 yards, just see relatively how well they group together and then I score them accordingly.

Penetration Testing

I did two penetration tests. In penetration test #1, I shot them through a half inch layer of MDF surrounded by two 1/3-inch layers of rubber foam mat and backed up by Clear Ballistics FBI Grade Gel.

In penetration test #2, I shot it into layered cardboard just to see straight up how many layers of cardboard the broadhead could penetrate through.

Here is the layered cardboard that I used for penetration test #2.

Sharpness Test

I did a sharpness test where I used the Edge-On-Up Sharpness Tester.

This tester has a small little clip that’s made out of aluminum with copolymer wire that’s engineered to be super consistent and to break in a certain way, rather than to stretch just to test edge sharpness.

This test measured the amount of grams of force it took to cut through that copolymer wire.

Edge Retention Test

Then I also did an edge retention test where after penetration test #1, I also did a sharpness test to see how much of the sharpness has been lost.

Durability Test (Steel Plate)

Then I did a durability test where I shot the fixed blade head through 22-gauge steel plate up to five times (When I test mechanicals, I only shoot through a half inch layer of MDF because they’re not quite as durable typically. And I shoot them five times through that layer of MDF just to see how well they hold up through that.)

Cinder Block Test

Finally, I shot the heads into a cinder block, just to see how a zero penetration exercise like this tests the overall structural integrity and durability of the head (plus, it’s just fun!)

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02/23/2025 05:14 am GMT

Scoring

Once I finished all the tests, I took all of those scores and, based on how I think the broadhead performed, gave it a “Lusk Grade”, a score of 1 to 10 golden arrows, based on how effective that broadhead was at accomplishing what it set out to accomplish.

For all of these tests, I used my Bowtech SR6 27-inch draw, at 72 pounds. I lowered it to 65 pounds for the penetration test through cardboard, just because I didn’t want to shoot it all the way through and go into my wall! Then for most of the tests, I used the Bishop Archery FOC King Arrow. It’s super straight, flies extremely well, and is very durable. (For the harder impact tests, I’m used the Bishop Archery Firearm Dispatch Eliminator (FAD). It’s footed, so it’s extra durable.

Ozcut Elite Series 3 Test Results

So, now that I’ve explained a bit of the testing that I did, let’s get to the test results!

Flight Test Results

Below you can see the results of the flight test.

Here’s the Ozcut Elite 3 from the flight test. That one on the far right was the first shot (field point) and I pulled that shot, but I figured I’d just go ahead and finish shooting because I knew that was my error. The other two (broadheads) grouped extremely well.

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02/23/2025 05:10 am GMT

Sharpness Test

I tested the Ozcut Elite Series 3 on the Edge on Up Sharpness Tester…

It took 400 grams of force to break the wire using the Ozcut Elite Series 3.

Penetration Test #1 – Ballistic Gel Results

You can see the results of shooting the Ozcut Elite Series 3 into the ballistic gel, fronted by foam matting and 1/2″ MDF.

The Elite Series 3 penetrated 7-1/2 inches into the ballistic gel.

Edge Retention Test Results

After penetration test #1, I tested the sharpness of the Elite Series 3 on the Edge On Up Sharpness Tester. It took 450 grams of force to break the wire.

Penetration Test #2 – Layered Cardboard results

Here, you can see the results of shooting into the layered cardboard.

Here, you can see it penetrated through 65 layers of the cardboard.

Durability Test Results

I shot the head through the steel plate five times. See below…

Here’s the head after going through the steel plate five times. It’s in excellent shape. There’s a slight nick in the edge right near the tip of one the blades. That would be very easy to file out. It held together extremely well and spins very well also.

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02/23/2025 06:24 am GMT

Re-Sharpening

OK. I took one of these dull heads and spent a little bit of time sharpening it with the Stay Sharp Guide 344 just to see how it would do. I didn’t spend much time on it, but let’s see how it did…

Man, the Stay Sharp Guides really work well! It only took 275 grains of force to break wire… better than new!

Cinder Block Test Results

This test is always one of my favorites. Look what happened below when I shot the Elite Series 3 into the cinder block…

This head absolutely buried in the concrete. Man, this is the deepest I’ve ever had a broadhead go I think and it’s definitely the most stuck. I’m going to have to get out my chisel and hammer and work to get this thing out.

Here’s the head after I finally got it out of the concrete (I had to use a chisel and a hammer… It took about 20 minutes to get it out!) But man, it did very well. Still spun super well. You can see that the white part there is mostly just the concrete. The tip is still in perfect condition and very sharp. That Tanto tip is impressive. One blade got some nicks in it here. I don’t even know if you can make that out. But this head could definitely be resharpened even after being shot into the concrete.

Final thoughts on Ozcut Elite Series 3 Broadheads

So what do you think of the Ozcut Elite Series 3-blade?

I ahve to say, it performed really well. You can check out the score sheet and see the summary of all the different tests that I did below. But, this is a head really worth considering, especially if you are looking to maximize penetration.

For whitetails and so forth, I tend to prefer a head with a bit more cutting area than this with a 1-1/8-inch cutting diameter, though it will certainly get the job done.

It makes really nice holes so it will do it. I personally like something with a little bit wider cut. However, for bigger animals where you’re really going after deep penetration, this is something really worth considering.

Great job, Ozcut!