In this review, I took an in-depth look at the Muzzy Trocar broadheads.

I know, the Muzzy Trocar head is not new. It has been around for a long time, and I’ve used it in some of my other tests, but I’ve never done a comprehensive test on it alone. So, that’s what I did.

Muzzy Trocar design specs

The Muzzy Trocar and it’s a pretty cool-looking head. And as you can see, it has a short overall profile, which is going to aid in flight.

It also has offset blades. In the above picture, you can see that the blades are arranged in a right helical offset pattern, which helps with rotation and aids in flight, keeping them more accurate, due to a spinning effect. This feature makes it different than many other 3-blade broadheads.

And, then within the animal or any medium it hits, the blades will continue to rotate. It’s going to create a decent wound channel inside the deer or other animal as well.

The ferrule of the Trocar is one-piece construction of steel, with a really nice, small, but stout tip.

The blades are all steel as well and they’re 0.035 inches thick, with a cutting diameter of 1-3/16 inches.

So, it provides a pretty decent size cut, just one 1/16 of an inch bigger than the standard 1-1/8 inch cut. This head is 100 grains.

Now, another thing about them is they have a 3-point blade retention system. The blades are held in place at three different points just to make sure that you don’t lose a blade, even on hard impacts.

They have a nylon washer at the bottom just to help secure them snuggly to your arrow.

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10/30/2024 08:18 pm GMT

Performance tests

I was eager to put these to the test. I tested them for long range flight, edge sharpness, edge retention, for penetration, and durability.

As always, in these tests, I used my Bowtech SR6 set at 72 pounds. I used Bishop Archery FOC King Arrows in 460 grains.

All right. Let’s see how the Muzzy Trocar performs.

Long-range flight

the Muzzy Trocars flew great at 70 yards. I was able to pop a balloon with no problem.

Out of the box sharpness test

In the out-of the box sharpness test, the Trocar was able to cut paper after five strokes of an arrow shaft. And, I will add that by the way they cut the paper, they are some of the sharpest blades that I’ve ever tested.

Ballistic Gel Penetration Test

I shot the Muzzy Trocar through ballistic gel to test penetration. The Trocar penetrated 9 inches, which is pretty impressive penetration. See picture below.

Steel plate test

In the steel plate test, I shot the Muzzy Trocar through .22 gauge steel plate five times.

As for the holes themselves, you can see below that it really does make three “slits” rather than three big triangles.

You get a little bit of an extra curl because of the offset blades, but it’s not the most impressive wound channel compared to some others like the Exodus broadheads. (That one opens up much more of a triangular hole than it does three slits). But, in terms of durability, the Trocar did very well.

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10/30/2024 07:28 pm GMT

Muzzy Trocar broadheads review | Final Thoughts

So what do you think of the Muzzy Trocar?

I’ve got to say, it’s a performer.

I know this head has been around for awhile, and it can easily be overlooked by many, with all of the new heads that are coming out. But, this head definitely has a lot going for it.

This is a pretty stout head.

It flew fantastic. It penetrated really well, made a nice wound channel, and held up pretty well.

So, check out the scorecard below and see how it compares to other similar heads like this and see if it’s the right head for you on your next deer hunt.

In this review, I tested a mechanical called the G5 DeadMeat broadheads.

Right off the bat, I was very impressed by the design. First of all, it’s a 3-blade head and it has a cutting diameter (when blades are fully depoloyed) of 1 and 1/2 inches, which is nice.

That cutting diameter is perfect for whitetail deer, turkey, smaller hogs, and so forth.

I’m typically a fixed blade guy, but I’m constantly looking at the latest and greatest broadheads, and always willing to try some new mechanicals.

The G5 Deadmeat broadhead at first glance

I like the configuration of the blades on this head. As you can see, it’s really stout. It has a super short profile, and when the blades are in the closed position, it’s very small.

This is the G5 DeadMeat in the deployed position.

Flight

These heads fly incredibly well. They come with a ballistic match point which looks just like the regular head’s shape that’s basically a practice head. It flies just like the regular head would fly.

They are also  extremely forgiving. Now, I realize that a lot of heads fly very well. My bow is really well-tuned. I can pop balloons with fixed blades out to a 100 yards, but this is on the extra forgiving side for sure. So, I love that.

Head Construction

On the downside, I don’t like that it’s just a metal injection molding. I’m not a huge fan of that. It’s still good, and it’s better than a lot of aluminum heads, but it’s not as good as machined heads (of course, it would cost a lot more if it were a machined).

However, it is still a solid steel and it has a two-piece ferrule. It is a few different composite pieces of steel, but it is, in essence, 100% steel.

The DeadMeat also has a cool retaining clip that is replaceable, which allows the blades to lock in place. When they lock in place, they make a little snap sound. I like this much more than a rubber band. I also like it more than the retaining clip that Rage uses, where you’re hoping it’s really in there, but it doesn’t have that little dimple to lock it in place. This blade should not come apart when they’re bumped and they shouldn’t come apart in flight at all. I also like that it’s also a solid steel construction. That’s a big plus. Everything is steel.

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10/30/2024 06:28 pm GMT

In the first test, I shot the DeadMeat through a 3/8” piece of plywood. This is my favorite thing to do with mechanical broadheads, so that I can see how well they deploy upon entrance. It also helps me see how well they penetrate and hold up to the plywood. In many ways, it’s similar in consistency to bone.

If they don’t hold up to plywood then I’m not going to be hunting with them for sure.

So let’s see what happened with the DeadMeat in the 3/8-inch plywood.

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10/30/2024 08:54 pm GMT

In the testing, I used a footed Hexx 330 arrow with a total weight of 500 grains and I shot it out of a Hoyt Carbon Spyder 30 at 73 lbs.

Plywood penetration test

After shooting into the plywood, the blades were not near as sharp. So, they dulled significantly such as metal injection molded blades will often do.

The blades fully deployed on impact. However, while two of them deployed all the way, one did not have deployed quite as much. That’s interesting. Maybe because it was going with the grain of the plywood.

On the other side of the plywood, you can see it certainly made a nice hole. Penetration was very good.

Although the blades dulled after the plywood test, they did, however, hold up remarkably well. The only problems was that one of the blades had a little bit of a bend to it.

Something to watch for

I have known someone who had one of the three heads in his pack that had blades that would not deploy at all. Upon further inspection, he found that there is a groove that the blades slide up and down in.

This groove can contain small burrs, which is what was preventing his blades from opening. He talked to G5 about it, and of course, they replaced them. But, that would be something to test before you shoot them to be sure the blades are sliding and opening effectively. 

G5 Deadmeat Broadheads | Final Thoughts

These heads have good durability. I’m impressed with that. They have a really good cutting diameter size for a 3-blade and it will really make a nice hole.  

In addition, flight is extremely good. You should always have a well-tuned bow. But, this head would be extremely forgiving, even with a bow that is not optimally tuned.

The only thing that is a little concerning is the blade angle. You can see here that it is really steep when the blades are fully deployed; it’s almost horizontal. Because of that, it won’t get as good of penetration as if the blade angle were more streamlined. Although that is somewhat of a concern, I don’t believe it would be a problem at all with deer, smaller hogs, or turkeys. So, if that’s what you are hunting, I think this could be a winner of a broadhead.

While this head would not be my first choice on an elk (those bones can be really tough, and I would want to be sure to use a fixed blade head on an animal like that), I’m sure it would take an elk if you hit it in the right place.

But, it would be great for hunting whitetail deer, turkey and small hogs.

Overall, I give this head a thumbs-up.

In this broadheads review, I tested the Magnus Stinger Buzzcut and the Magnus Black Hornet… and I tested them head-to-head!

Needless to say, I was really excited about this broadheads battle.

I tested the Magnus Stinger Buzzcut broadheads previously, but wanted to put them through more testing.

I wondered if I should call it, “The battle of the Magnuses…. or maybe “The battle of the Magni!”

I tested both the Magnus Stinger Buzzcut and the Magnus Black Hornet Ser Razor in 125 grains.

Both of these heads have the serrated edge. A serrated edge is more efficient than a straight edge. While a straight edge is better at chopping motion, the serrated edge is better for a slicing motion, and it holds its edge better. So, I like that Magnus has integrated that design into their heads.

Why the (Re)-test of the Magnus Broadheads?

Before we get to the results, let me explain why I did this test.

In my earlier days of doing broadhead testing, I was a bit harsh on some of the heads that didn’t utilize the premium steels that some other companies utilize. And, one of those that I was a bit harsh on was the Magnus.

The fact is, these broadheads have taken a ton of animals all over the world. They also come in at a really good price point. They have a lifetime warranty and they have a very loyal following.

And so, in recent times, I thought, “You know what? Let me rethink the way I critiqued them in the past and put them through some more testing.”

So, I purchased two packs of these and put them through the test. Let’s see how they did…

Broadhead Testing Format

I retested the Magnus heads with the same format that I have recently been testing with, so that all my tests have a consistent format. This way, you can look at all the different broadhead reviews and see how they measure up to one another.

1. Long Range Flight: In this test, I shoot the heads on a range to see how well they fly at longer distance.
2. Penetration: For the penetration test, I use a multifaceted medium consisting of ½” layer of MDF, surrounded by 1/3” layers of rubber foam matting, followed by clear ballistic gel. Because the gel is clear, I can measure it precisely to see how well each of the heads penetrated through that medium. I use MDF rather than plywood, because plywood grain can be very inconsistent. And, while MDF is not perfect, it’s much more consistent than plywood.
3. Edge Retention: I shoot the heads through a 22-gauge steel plate for a maximum of five times. During the test, if the edges of the blades begin to get really mangled, then I stop. I give two points for each time the head was able to be shot through the steel plate without significant damage. The maximum a broadhead can get in this test is 10 points.

In this review, I’m using my Bowtech SR6 with a 27-inch draw at 72 pounds. I’m shooting a 460-grain Bishop FOC King Arrow. I’m using FOBs and I’ve got a Nockturnal lighted nock on the end of the arrow shaft.

So let’s learn a little bit more about these heads and then see how they performed!

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Stinger Buzzcut and Black Hornet Ser Razor overview

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10/30/2024 08:33 pm GMT

Long-range flight test results

I shot bot the Buzzcut and the Black Hornet from 70 yards and was able to pop a balloon. The black hornet flew very closely to a field point at this distance as well.

Stinger vs. Black Hornet in Penetration Test

First, I shot the Stinger Buzzcut and then the Black Hornet. Below you can see the penetration results.

Edge retention test results

I shot both of the Magnus Stinger and then the Black Hornet into a 22-gauge steel plate.

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10/30/2024 08:09 pm GMT

Magnus Stinger and Black Hornets Post-Review

So, what do you think of the Magnus broadhead battle? I guess it’s not really a battle, because they are both Magnus heads and they are both great. Each head performed very well. Honestly, they both did better than I expected.

The flight was very good, out to long range.

The penetration was very impressive; 9 inches and 9-1/4 inches. The Stinger penetrated just slightly better than did the Black Hornet.

And then through steel, both of them held up extremely well through the steel plate and kept their edge through five shots.

Final Thoughts and Score Cards on Stinger Buzzcut and Black Hornet

So, I would just say that overall, both of these broadheads are winners. If you’re going to choose one or the other, I would say if you have a lighter setup, where you’re shooting less kinetic energy and less momentum, then maybe you want to go with the Stinger. It has a smaller cut. It’s going to be prone to penetrate a little bit more deeply.

If you have a heavier setup that produces more KE, and you’re looking for that extra cut, you’re getting an extra 1/8-inch cut in both directions with the bleeders and the main blades in the Black Hornet. They are also much thicker blades. So, they should be less prone to bend if they hit a heavy bone.

These are both great heads for my purposes. But, if I’m taking one out in the deer woods, it’s going to be the Black Hornet.