I always love it when new broadheads come out. And, there was a new one from a company I had never heard of… Exact Archery.
I reached out to them and they sent me a pack. They sure do look cool and I was eager to put them to the test!
The Exact Archery Broadheads Up Close
Let’s zoom on in and take a look at the Exact Archery Broadheads…
Here’s a good look of the Exact Archery Broadhead here. This is 4-blade, as you can tell and it’s the 100-grain model. Now, I will note that just for a few bucks, you can pick up some of these little washers and they just slide on to the back; and, they don’t make it any longer. They don’t take up any of the threading because that little slot just slides over the blades and makes it a 125-grain. So, you have the same basic broadhead in 100 grains or 125 grains. Now, it does add a little bit of a lip that’s going to have a little bit of resistance to some mediums as it impacts, but not very much. So, it’s nice that you have some modularity there between 100 and 125-grain.
The Exact Archery broadhead is all steel. The ferrule, and the blades are both stainless steel. Each of the blades are 0.040″ thick, so these are some of the thicker blades on the market for a replaceable blade broadhead.
The cutting diameter in each direction is 1-1/8″. So the total cut is 2-1/4″. That’s no slouch! It’s like a Slick Trick Magnum head.
You’ll notice that there’s no tip other than this blade. It’s a true cut on contact tip.
Notice that it has an an extremely short overall profile.
By my measurements, the head measurement comes out to 0.85″ long. So, that’s one of the shortest broadheads that I know of. But, even so, you’re getting a decent size cut. So, I would imagine it’s going to minimize surface area and maximize flight forgiveness and penetration.
I wondered a little bit about the durability on a hard impact with this cut on contact blade since it doesn’t have a chiseled tip (more on that below). I thought the ferrule would probably be pretty durable because it’s so short.
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Exact Archery Broadheads Testing
It’s not very expensive broadhead, but seems really well-constructed. I was eager to see how it performed!
In the following tests, I used my Bowtech CP28 set at 72 pounds. I’m using Bishop FOC King Arrows for most of the shots and Bishop FAD Eliminators for the shots into the concrete, because they can handle it like no other arrow that I’ve ever tested.
Flight Forgiveness Test
For the flight forgiveness test, shot 1 field point and then 1 broadhead at a distance of 40 yards. It had excellent flight!
Initial Sharpness Test
It took 200 grams of force to cut through the wire. That’s a 10 on a 10-point scale!
Penetration Test 1 (2/3″ rubber mat, 1/2″ MDF, FBI Gel)
When shot into the ballistic gel fronted by a 2/3″ rubber mat and 1/2 MDF, It penetrated 9 inches (MDF and rubber mat not shown in this pic, but it was 9 total inches).
Edge Retention Test (sharpness after Penetration Test 1)
It took an extra 75 grams of force to cut through the wire, which is an 8.5 on a 10-point scale.
It was in excellent condition after going through the MDF three times.
Durability Test (22 gauge steel plate max 2 shots):
Check out these holes in the steel plate (left). Man, these are really nice holes. They are like square chunks. If you compare it to these other holes that were made by a broadhead I tested right before this (right side), you can really see the difference (both are 4-blade heads). But man, what a difference in the wound channel it opens up. And the head is in just fantastic shape. There’s a little tiny chip that was taken off the very tip. You can’t even make it out on this picture. But that was just really minor, and otherwise, the head stayed in excellent shape.
So here is the Exact Archery broadhead after all the durability tests. I did not expect it to hold together as well as it did (through the MDF 3 times, the steel plate 2 times, and then into the concrete). Man, it stuck so deeply into the concrete!
As for durability, after the concrete test, it had a slight bit of wobble to it.And, the tip got a little bit dinged up in the concrete, but it showed really impressive durability for this type of design.
Man, the Exact Archery broadhead really, really surprised and impressed me!
When I first saw it, and looked at the price point (7 bucks a head), I was thinking, “OK, I’ve seen designs like this. The blades are probably going to separate on hard impact. Maybe they’re going to break. Maybe they’re going to roll over.”
I was wrong!
The Exact Archery broadhead scored 10 out of 10 golden arrows… wow!
This head is impressive in every area. It flew super well. It penetrated really well in every medium. It held together well in MDF, the steel plate, buried into the concrete… wow! And, this is just the 100-grain version. You add that extra washer down there at the bottom, to get up to 125, it might do even more!
And, here’s the thing. This head got a score 10 golden arrows! There are not many heads that get 10 golden arrows, but this one did. And it’s 7 bucks a pop. Man, that’s really impressive!
So hey, Exact Archery, you’re doing something right. Welcome to the ballgame. I look forward to seeing more stuff that you come out with in the future!
In this article, I’m covering a re-test of the 125-grain Annihilator Broadhead.
When I originally tested this broadhead, it performed extremely well in terms of penetration, (i.e., draining a water jug) and in terms of the hole that it produced in a layer of MDF.
It also flew really well out to 50 yards. However, beyond 50 yards, there just seemed to be a drastic drop in velocity, causing an incredible drop in the point of impact.
I decided to re-test the Annihilator after talking with multiple people that had not gotten the same results as I did in my original test.
However, after making a video of that test, I was contacted by some friends who had also tested this broadhead at longer ranges, but did not see the drastic results I had seen.
I then visited with the designers of the Annihilator broadheads at the Archery Trade Association (ATA) show. They also said that their tests had not shown the drastic drop. In fact, they had seen really consistent flight, even at longer ranges. So, I told them I would very gladly test it again.
The backstory to my original test of the Annihilator broadhead
The day of the re-test, it was sub-zero temperatures (with the wind chill). When I re-tested the head, I found that the people I had spoken to were exactly right. It flew extremely well, even at longer ranges.
I realized that in my original test, I had made a two-fold mistake.
My two mistakes
Before I tested the Annihilator broadhead the first time, I was talking to a friend about it. He told me that when he shot it at longer ranges, there was a really large drop due to the wind resistance of that big surface area that they have. And so, that was already in my mind.
So, then when I shot it and tested it and there was a big drop, and I thought, “Oh, this just confirms what my friend had said.” I didn’t retest it or question my test results enough. That was my first mistake. I shouldn’t have had that in my mind.
The second mistake that I made in the initial test is that I had made adjustments to my site tapes and I didn’t take that into consideration when I was testing the Annihilator.
So, I felt really badly. I went back and made the adjustments in my site tapes and… Boom! Dead on!
I feel really badly that I made both of those mistakes, and both of those mistakes adversely affected the reputation of Annihilator (as well as my own reputation for doing a poor job in testing the broadhead).
I want to give a sincere apology to the makers of Annihilator broadheads, to their loyal fans, and especially to those who I turned off from these broadheads after my initial test, because it actually does fly very well even at longer ranges.
So, that’s why I wanted to do a completely new test. I’ve got new test mediums for 2020 that I’m using anyway. So it’s a good way to do those.
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02/21/2025 06:09 am GMT
The Annihilator broadhead | The specifics
So, let me explain this broadhead just a little bit for those of you that aren’t familiar with it.
When I first heard about it, I wasn’t that interested in testing it because the cutting diameter is sub-1 inch. It’s 0.91 inches of cut. To me, that’s just so small.
I thought, “Why would I want to test the head that has that small of a cut?”
However, what I wasn’t understanding was the design of this head has a “scoop” feature to it. So, while it has a small cutting diameter, when it presses through a medium like animal tissue, it actually displaces an incredible amount of it. (Note: As of the publishing of this article, I personally have not tested the Annihilator head on an animal).
So, the hole that it creates, and the tissue that’s displaced, is in theory far greater than if it was just 3 crossblades of 0.91 inches. It has an incredible surface area. (That showed in a test that I had done originally. The Annihilator drained a water jug in record time. It also put a big hole through MDF. And so, in the retest, I wanted to show that).
The Annihilator is designed to put a much larger hole than the head size suggests. The small surface area allows it to fly really well, but then displace a lot of tissue. And so, it makes a really nice hole.
Another cool thing about this head is that it’s a solid piece of 4140 tool steel. That is a really high quality of tool steel. So, it’s way more resistant to impact and much tougher than stainless steel, for example. It has a Rockwell hardness of 52, which is a pretty good balance of being soft enough to resharpen and hard enough to keep its edge.
You can just lay it flat on a flat stone or any kind of a flat edge surface and it is very easy to sharpen to a razor-like edge.
For penetration testing I used MDF board, foam padding and ballistic gel.
In my re-test, I used a half-inch layer of MDF surrounded by 1/3 of an inch of rubber foam mat. Beyond that was a gel block by Clear Ballistics, so you can see what happens to the broadhead once it enters the gel. (I will be doing this for all the broadheads I test this year).
Then, I shot it through a 22-gauge steel plate 5 times. (I like to shoot it through the steel plate until there begins to be significant damage to the blades. So, I basically see how many times it can be shot into the steel plate without facing significant damage. But, I stop at 5 because with some heads, I could keep going forever).
In terms of penetration through the MDF and gel, the Annihilator did very well. It did not do as well as some other broadheads I’ve tested, but it still had good penetration and made a nice hole in that MDF, as well as the gel.
Below, you can see the penetration of the Annihilator after going through the MDF and the rubber foam mats and into the gel. It penetrated 8-1/4 inches.
The Annihilator, through MDF, foam pad and ballistic gel.
Below is a steel plate after I shot it 5 times with the same head. You can see the Annihilator really does make nice holes. Thus, it should displace a tremendous amount of tissue.
The Annihilator, shot into a 22-gauge steel plate.
Edge Retention
In terms of the durability of the edge (edge retention), the Annihilator is pristine. There is not a mark on it. It doesn’t quite shave hair, but it still bit into my fingernail… very impressive.
So, it’s durable as they come. It went through 5 layers of steel back-to-back-to-back with zero damage. That’s what that 4140 tool steel is going to do. It kept its edge really, really well.
The Annihilator kept it’s edge incredibly well, even after being shot 5 times through a 22-gauge steel plate.
The water drainage test was just other otherworldly. I don’t know any other word to describe it. It drained the bag in .40 seconds!
The reason I used the water bag drainage test instead of a water jug drainage test is that I felt that in a water jug, because the plastic is pretty stiff, sometimes the plastic folds in, sometimes it comes out, sometimes it stays in place. And so, the results are very inconsistent. Even with one head, I get different results.
But with water bag drainage test, and I fill it up 10 cups the same amount that the line is the same in all the tests that I do, try to shoot it in the same spot every time.
It’s much more consistent and much more like an animal because the bag is a little more nimble, like the tissue or the hide of an animal. And so, what you see is kind of what you’re going to get in terms of the drainage.
Water drainage test.
The Annihilator goes into the bag and displaced so much water so readily, it actually created a back-pressure to the water. When I looked at it in super slow motion, I could it make the hole and suck the water right out of the bag.
It was just amazing to see that. It’s an indication of what may happen with blood-letting and tissue damage within an animal as well. I can’t wait to test it on an animal at some point in the future.
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02/22/2025 04:48 am GMT
Conclusion on The Annihilator Re-Test
I’m really grateful that I was encouraged to retest the Annihilator, because I knew it was a great head before. It tested really well in all categories except long distance.
However, now knowing after the re-test that it actually flies extremely well, even at long distances, it has gone from a very good head to a phenomenal head.
So, now I have confidence in this head at longer ranges. It gets a 10 out of 10 in terms of accuracy at long range.
The Annihilator re-test report card.
The Annihilator did excellent in all of the test categories. This is a winner of a head and it’s something to really consider for pretty much any animal you are going after. Give the Annihilator a look. Great job, Annihilator!
And now a Battle! [Annihilator Original vs. Annihilator XL]
Let the battle begin between the Annihilator Original head and the larger Annihilator XL!
I was really excited to battle the Annihilator Original vs. the Annihilator XL. The XL is basically just a bigger version of the Original.
For my flight and some of the penetration testing, I used the Bishop FOC King Arrow from Bishop Archery. For some of the more harsh durability tests, like shooting through steel, I used the Bishop Frozen Fire Arms Dispatch (FAD) Eliminator. It has a nice footing on the end and that prevents the steel from cutting through the shaft.
And then for some of the concrete tests, I’m using a tank of an arrow by Bishop Archery. It’s called the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). The Goat with a 125-grain tip weighs 1300 grains. Just the shaft is like a weapon in and of itself. It feels like a giant tent stake or even a spear. It is the best of the best when it comes to arrows.
Here’s a good look at both models of the Annihilator heads below. The Original has a cutting diameter of 0.91 inches and the XL has a cutting diameter of 1-1/16 inches or 1.06 inches. So, 0.91, 1.06, about a 17% difference.
The Annihilator XL (on left) is a larger, beefier version of the original (right).
Flight comparison
For my flight comparison, I shot two broadheads of each model as well as a field point, to compare.
Here’s the Annihilator Original size. You can see the two broadheads there on the left. The field point is dead center, but I dropped just a little bit.
Here are the Annihilator XL’s. The field point is in the middle at the top and then the XLs are on either side.
Out of the box sharpness comparison
In the out-of-the box sharpness comparison, I used a sharpness testing machine, by Edge-On-Up. This tester holds a wire and measures how many grams of pressure it takes for the blade of a broadhead to break it.
The Annihilator Original took 450 grams of pressure to cut the wire.
Annihilator XL took 475 grams of pressure to cut the wire.
I shot both the Original and the XL into ballistic gel, fronted by rubber matting and 1/2″ MDF.
The Original penetrated 7-1/2 inches and the XL penetrated 7-1/4 inches.
I decided to test the sharpness of the heads after the ballistic gel penetration test. The original cut the wire on the tester with 475 grams of pressure.
The Annihilator XL took 525 grams of pressure to break the wire after the ballistic gel test.
Cardboard penetration comparison
I shot both heads through layered cardboard to determine how many layers each could penetrate.
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02/21/2025 06:32 am GMT
Steel plate penetration test comparison
I shot both the Original and the XL through a steel plate five times each.
Here, you can see the holes that the Annihilators made in the steel plate. On the left is the Original and then on the right is the XL. And you can see they made great triangular chunk holes, not just 3 slits like some heads will do.
Those all make triangular holes really similar to this. But, I do prefer those to just 3 slits. I mean they make a lot more internal damage and cause a lot more blood-letting than just the 3 slits do.
Here’s the Annihilator Original after being shot into the steel plate five times. It spun true and was still in fantastic shape. You really can’t even tell it has been shot, let alone shot through a steel plate five times.
And here’s the XL. It too spins perfectly true. And like the Original, you just can’t even tell it has been shot, let alone shot through steel plate five times.
Cinder block test comparison
I shot both the Original and the XL into a cinder block to see how they would hold up. The XL showed out! See picture below.
Look how deeply the Annihilator XL embedded into the cinder block! I couldn’t believe how stuck in there it was! It wasn’t budging at all!
Here’s the Original after being shot through the steel plate five times and into that concrete block. Spins perfectly well even with a bunch of concrete still embedded at the end. It’s just in excellent shape. Even the tip is intact. The edges are intact as well.
Now, let’s look at the XL. Spins perfectly well even with all this concrete stuck to it. If there was any wobble, it was because of the concrete. The tip on this one is still super sharp and not blunted at all. The edges remained in perfect condition.
How to sharpen the Annihilator broadheads
Now, you saw how durable they are and how they hold their edge really well. But, if you want to get them really sharp, one method of sharpening is super easy.
Because the Annihilator heads are 3-blade solids at a 60-degree bevel angle, you just one flat on any stone or any surface and just stroke it gently. Just be sure you have the same number of strokes on each side.
Do this until it comes out just like you got it from the factory. It’s super easy to do. You can even do it in the field. Again, you can do it on any surface. I love that about these 3-blade, 60-degree bevel heads.
You can also use the Stay Sharp Guide. They come out with individual sharpeners that are not very expensive at all for different styles of broadheads. And, in most cases, they put an edge on those heads better than how you got them from the factory.
They have a sharpener especially designed to put an extra sharp edge on these 3-blade, 60-degree heads. This is super helpful, because one of the drawbacks is that you can only get it so sharp with that 60-degree bevel.
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Conclusion of Annihilator Original vs. XL battle
What can I say about the durability of these Annihilator heads? They are absolutely fantastic!
Both of them performed really well and both had some great strengths.
My only critique of the Annihilator Original is the size of the cut. It has got some really cool features and it’s incredibly durable. It flies super well, penetrates exceedingly well, but I just have a little concern about that small cut.
And then you have the Annihilator XL. Even with it’s larger surface area, it still penetrated and flew very well and it was just still extremely durable.
So, for me and my hunting purposes, like hunting whitetails and hogs and stuff like that day in and day out, the broadhead battle winner of the Annihilator Broadhead battle is… the Annihilator XL! (check out the scorecards below).
Annihilator Original scorecard.The Annihilator Original received a 9 Golden Arrow grade.Annihilator XL scorecard.The Annihilator took home the trophy with a 10 Golden Arrow grade!
In this review I tested a broadhead by Lone Wolf, which has traditionally been know for manufacturing deer stands.
Now, they have made a foray into the broadhead market with a really unique design.
Lone Wolf 100-Grain Fixed Blade Broadhead
Here’s a good look at the Lone Wolf 100 grain broadhead. And wow, there are all kinds of unique things going on here! I’ve never seen another broadhead like it. You notice first of all, that it’s just one piece construction. But unlike a lot of other heads, it’s not one piece of steel. This is one piece of 6061 aluminum (which isn’t the strongest aluminum but it’s still a pretty strong.)
Now, the strength of a broadhead doesn’t just come from its materials. It also comes from its geometric design, like how thick it is, which can affect its structural integrity.
You could have a super-high quality steel, but if it has poor design, it then it could break. Or, you could have something made out of aluminum that a really stout design and it could be really durable.
So, I was eager to see if this will be durable like that or not, given that it’s all aluminum.
With this head being all aluminum, the advantage is it allows the broadhead to be a lot thicker than it would be able to be at this weight (100 grains) than if it were made out of steel. It would be a couple hundred grains at least, maybe 250, if it were made of solid steel.
The Lone Wolf head has a relatively short overall design and it feels relatively sharp. It has a super sharp tip. The backs of the blades are sharpened as well, to make it a little bit easier to pull out of a target or out of an animal. If the animal is moving with the broadhead still embedded, then the back of the blade will be cutting as it is backing out.
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02/22/2025 05:22 am GMT
So it’s just three blades, but the blades are thick! (At the base, the blades are 0.22″). These are some of the thickest blades I’ve ever seen!
And, those thick blades are going to create an incredible wound channel, as well as provide some structural durability.
But, instead of just cutting a neat little slit, it’s going to take a chunk out of the tissue, or whatever it hits, and create a wound channel that would be really difficult to close up, thus displacing a lot of tissue.
It also has a hard, anodized coating over it, which will give it a little extra durability.
They say the coating has a Rockwell hardness of about 60, whereas the aluminum itself is about 45 to 50. So, I didn’t know how durable it was going to be. And, I didn’t know how durable that coating was and what was going to happen when it rubbed off a little bit on the edge.
Nonetheless, I was very intrigued by this broadhead. I really liked the looks of the wound channel that I thought it would generate and I was eager to put it to the test!
Let’s take a look at the various tests I performed with the Lone Wolf brodheads and the associated results!
For the Lone Wolf broadhead testing, I used my Bowtech CP28 set at 72 pounds. I also used Bishop FOC King Arrows for most of the shots, but then for the really hard impact ones, I used the Bishop FAD Eliminator.
Flight Forgiveness (I field pt then I broadhead @30 yds):
As you can see, the Lone Wolf head had good flight versus a field point.
Initial Sharpness Test
It took 350 grams of force to cut through the wire which is a 8.5 on a 10-point scale.
I shot the Lone Wolf head into ballistic gel fronted with a rubber mat and 1/2″ layer of MDF. It penetrated 7-1/14″.
Edge Retention Test
After the ballistic gel penetration test, I checked the sharpness again… It took an additional 225 grams of force to cut through the wire, which is a 5.5 on a 10-point scale.
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02/22/2025 03:49 am GMT
Durability Test (1/2″ MDF max 3 shots):
I shot the Lone Wolf head into MDF three times. It remained in excellent shape.
Durability Test (22 gauge steel plate max 2 shots):
And here it is after the two shots through a .22 gauge steel plate. As you can see, the tip got pretty blunted and the blades got really dulled. But structurally, it held together fine. And, it made really nice holes. They are not just a circular wound channel with three slits, but they are really triangular holes, due to the extra thick blades.
I shot the Lone Wolf broadhead into a concrete block and it actually stuck.
Here is the head after all the durability tests. Now, after the steel plate, the edges got really dulled from that.. very dulled. And, the tips was really rounded as well. But structurally, it held together extremely well and stuck very deeply into the concrete. It still spun true.
Man, I tell you. It has some real unique strengths to it. And, I love it whenever somebody comes out with something different and tries some innovation, because that’s what makes broadheads evolve. Somebody tries something and maybe they hit it dead center and you’re like, “Wow! This is the best thing.” Or maybe it spurs on some other idea.
But, in terms of real performance when it comes to sharpness, edge retention and durability, it proved to be lacking.
So I can imagine it’s going to really put an animal down if you hit it in a good spot, but in terms of prolonged usage and resharpening and so forth, I think you’re going to have some challenges with it.
Here’s the Lusk Grade (7 Golden Arrows) for the Lone Wolf Broadhead.
So, I applaud Lone Wolf for coming up with a really creative design. Be sure to check out the score sheet to see how it did in the areas that matter to you, and see if this broadhead might be a good fit for you.
