Show Notes
Solid machined broadheads have resurfaced in popularity recently, and one company making a big impact is Vantage Point Archery. This week on the Pennsylvania Woodsman, Mitch chats with Alex Christianson and Ryan Corkwell about the ins and outs of VPA broadheads. Last year at the beginning of the season, Mitch decided to test out some single bevel broadheads. However, he quickly learned he needed help understanding what style head, what type of metal, how to sharpen, and how to implement these heads into his bowhunting setup. This year, he plans to do his preparation well in advance, and what better way to begin then discussing with the experts themselves. We address all of Mitch's concerns about adopting these broadheads into his quiver and many more. Hopefully this will help you determine if you are ready to make any changes to your set up.
Show Transcript
[00:00:00] All right, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman Podcast. I'm your host, Mitchell Shirk, and it is finally here tomorrow. Strikes opening day, and I hope you guys got your rain gear, your umbrellas, your ground blinds, whatever, because it looks like good chunk of the state, at least here, over on the eastern side of the state looks like it's gonna be.
Pretty rainy, maybe even a washout. But I still don't know what I'm doing as far as opening day of Turkey season. I had originally planned to go upstate towards towards Potter County and do some hunting in an area. I never hunted with some family and friends, and I still might do that, but I've been running into some issues as the past few weeks have been chaotic around my [00:01:00] house.
This pa. So this past winter I had noticed in we, we have an a sunroom that's an add-on to our house and we noticed that there was places where there was water damage. And the one time we had a. A heavy storm come through and it was water leaking and we're like, man, something's not good here.
We gotta rip this apart. We waited till spring and I had it all planned out last Saturday that I had, friends and family come and we were ripping the roof off and we were gonna replace the roof and I. Started this and realized that everything on this additional roof was a done wrong, and B completely shot till it was all said and done.
The rafters had to be replaced. The plywood had to be replaced. The face board, the soffit, the fascia, everything in that section, we just had to redo it. And what turned into a small job turned [00:02:00] into a way longer job than we had anticipated and hoped for. And, Talk about annoying, talk about frustrating.
I had I had all kinds of stuff planned out. I borrowed a dump trailer because on my roof, I had an aluminum shingle roof underneath that were regular shingles. So we got a dump trailer that I could put the aluminum on the dump trailer and take it to a scrapyard. And then, the shingle roof and everything else.
I, I got a dumpster lined up and I called the dumpster a week ahead of time. And Friday comes. No dumpster Friday, three o'clock, no dumpster. And I called the police. I called them five times. Nobody would answer my calls. Nobody would, say they were coming. So I'm going frantic. And I finally found somebody who would bring me a dumpster and they said, yep, we'll be there in a half hour.
Never showed up Friday. So we start ripping the roof off Saturday morning. No dumpster. No dumpster. And I'm getting nervous and I'm getting nervous. It's getting closer. We're. Getting to the point where we have no room left on the roof anymore, we've gotta push it off somewhere. And finally they showed up and I [00:03:00] was like, praise the Lord.
Hallelujah. For that. Then I had a, I had skid loader come and it was using the skid loader for the project. And I had some other stuff I wanted to do around my house. The, that came. The tires were bald. I couldn't hardly get up the hill behind my house to do, this project.
And I'm getting frustrated and it's just running back and forth. Everything took longer than it should have. And like I said, the whole time in this moment I'm stressed, I'm frustrated, nothing's working the way I wanted to, and I realized on Monday, This week that when I looked at it, everything I could have possibly needed was provided because we got.
A dumpster in time. We ripped the roof off. We got it all papered in right as the rainstorm started on Saturday. So that was fantastic. I had a skid loader there and it stayed extra on Monday and I was able to do a couple extra [00:04:00] projects with it that I didn't anticipate. And there, there was just so many things about that whole process that while I didn't really.
Get what I wanted out of the weekend or didn't go the way I expected. I had everything I needed all my prayers over that whole entire thing were answered. So I just had to praise God for that because re realizing that. Everything that we needed was covered was a big deal. So we're making through the roof is fixed and we're getting ready to finish finish shingling up.
Then we're just gonna have to do some work on our gable ends and, replacing some siding on those ends and everything else. So we're wrapping it up. It's been aggravating. It's the last thing I wanted to be dealing with when we get into my. Busiest time of year for work.
And on top of that it's getting into Turkey season. I'm really getting excited for Turkey season cuz I have a couple places that have birds and I'm hoping that I can make the time to to go [00:05:00] out and hunt 'em. So that's what's been on my radar. And yeah, I'm sure plenty of you know what that's I tell you that story just because I'm hoping that, whatever you guys got going on in your life, there, there's plenty of times where I, if I sit back and I look at it from a neutral position in life.
There are so many times where what I needed was provided and just because, sometimes what I needed and what I wanted were two different things. And I have to just be thankful for that. So I thought that was just a cool thing that happened for me and Yeah, this weekend, again, I'm just, I'm anxious to chase turkeys.
I've been getting pictures and listening to birds in a couple mornings here and there, and I haven't wanted to Turkey hunt this much in a long time. I don't know what it is. So I'm hoping I can run in and have some good action this year. And rolling into this week's episode, we have a conversation with the team from, VPA Vantage Point [00:06:00] Archery, and we were speaking with Ryan Corwell and Alex Christensen, and we had a great conversation all revolving around.
Their products and the big push in our industry right now, resurfacing, machined, solid steel broadheads. And, I have a lot of questions about that. I did run on one of my setups this year. I did have one of their single bevel broadheads, and there, there were some really.
Great things about their heads. And then there were some things that my lack of experience in understanding, how to how to prepare and sharpen and hone that type of steel was just a hiccup that I had to learn the hard way. So I wanted to reach out with them and chat a little bit more about understanding how do you make the right decisions or how do you assess their positioning of products and understand the ins and outs of me these machine heads and know how to [00:07:00] position them for your setup if it's something that you want to do or if you should do.
And we talk a lot about. A anywhere from the types of heads they have, how to hone them, how to tune, and just a overall general archery conversation and this move towards this type of broadhead, when you look at any, and like I said, I'm not well versed in all of Dr. Ashby's reports at the Ashby Foundation, but I do know that some of the first principles that they have is a perfect arrow flight, and B, structural integrity.
And regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, whether you'd like to shoot a light arrow or a mechanical or a he really heavy arrow, or wherever you are, no matter where we are in a bow hunting community, we can all agree that those are really important things for a successful shot.
And, lethality in an animal. And we base our conversation around that and then how the VPA broadheads fit [00:08:00] into the market. And like I said, they go into the types of steel they have and the offer and different grain weights. And it's just a great conversation to get you thinking.
If you want to plan ahead, now's the time. I ran into the mistake last year. I got into this a little bit too close to the season. I didn't have the time to invest to, to learn and do as much. With modifying my setup as I would've liked. So I wanted to have this episode now so that way if this is something that you guys are thinking about and you want to tinker with, now's a good time to get started.
Yeah, great conversation. I hope you guys enjoy it. Before we get into this week's episode, I wanna leave a quick shout out to the companies that make this show happen and support us and love what we're doing. And they, they believe in the mission we have and we believe in their companies.
And I wanna get started talking about radis hunting guys. If you guys are looking for upping your trail cameras, if you're looking to invest in quality, Cameras, [00:09:00] quality pictures, whether that is their conventional gen series cameras, or you're looking to get into your cell cameras or expand upon your cell cameras with their MCO cell cameras.
Guys, they have really competitive prices. The image quality to me is top end. I posted a couple pictures and and ins on Instagram on my story, and I think it's really impressive the quality that comes from these cameras. And I think they're a camera that I would. Check out if I were you. And they also have available to them their monarch hunting blinds, which would be something that would be well used this weekend with the upcoming rain that we have.
So check out Radix hunting. And lastly, I want to give our shout out to Hunt Worth. Guys, this is a Pennsylvania based hunting company hunting clothing company. And I'm, this year I'm gonna be running their disruption pattern. It's their digital pattern. I just got a couple articles of clothing and first impressions were really high.
I got their Elkin series [00:10:00] clothing, which is their mid-weight wind break layer. That I think with the very strange spring weather we've had is gonna come in handy and keeping me warm because I've, like I said, I've been in this situation before in spring where it's miserable, cold, and you feel like you're, you.
Completely underdressed the first week, and I think this is gonna do a good job keeping me warm. And then when we get into the later sea later part of the year, I'm gonna switch to the Durham pants and some of the more lightweight stuff, which is very versatile and I'm really impressed with the pattern.
So check out Hunt Worth. I'm ex I'm anxious to be talking about their products and using their products, and I think they're worthwhile checking out for you guys. They've got very competitive prices when you look at what this industry has to offer. So check them out and with that, hey, let's get to this episode.
So on the phone with us today, I've got Alex Christensen and Ryan Corwell from VPA Vantage Point Archery. Guys, thank you for joining me [00:11:00] on on this one fine spring day. We've got. Yes, sir. Yeah, thanks. Thanks for having us. Absolutely. We got to connect a little bit and chat at ata, which was a busy show.
It was the first time I was there, so I was overwhelmed. I'm sure you guys been through the ringer before in those shows. How is show season for you this year? Yeah. Show season is always Down, we just go as fast as we can. Fast and curious is what we talk. Yep, exactly. Good deal.
Good deal. I've been interested here lately and one kind of reason I wanted to have you guys on there's so many hot topics in the world of broadheads and hour lethality and new information out there in the mainstream media, and you guys have been really at the forefront of, solid steel broadheads and.
Really placed them well and it's really taking off and it's new to me, in my bow hunting career. Everything's been in the replacement world. And this year was the first year, so I have two bows. I shoot my, my normal setup that I have. That, [00:12:00] what I've landed on the past few years, tried and true.
Most of my hunting is just deer hunting. I do some bear hunting and Turkey hunting with it as well. But I found a good deal this past year. There was this one older model bow that I really liked and I found a heck of a deal on it. So I bought it and I decided, I'm gonna tinker with some of these setups that everybody's talking about.
And I ended up, doing some research and came across vantage point Broadheads, and I was like I really want to try these. But there was so many learning curves that I had through this whole process. And I think it'd be a great opportunity to have. But what, what has been, since you guys are rolling with this, like what's your day-to-day questions and interest, from the hunting industry, so to speak?
Or consumers that, for that matter, I think Because and I are taking most of the calls and field, most of the questions, the dayday question is gonna be, Hey, can I reen this? And we always say, yes, we kits do. How hard and how easy is. [00:13:00] There's so videos out right now, Reen probably our own, but why?
Cause there are great people already doing that. The other thing is as far as on the. Guys always wanna know, Hey, what steel is this? Why is it different than the other steel? What makes yours better? And it comes down to not only the steel, like one being a1, five steal, and then the premium steel would be an S seven tool.
We don't play the game of hardness. Like we know what the bakes, what the steels want. How they want 'em the process they go through. That way we're keeping our Rockwell at a constant, like for five steel, it's running two Rockwell s. It's running like between 58 and then it comes down side stuff, right?
Like softer steel, A 51 Rockwell, that's gonna sharpen up easier on an S seven steel that's gonna sharpen the harder. That makes a lot, yeah. In addition, [00:14:00] go ahead. Yeah. In addition to all the, yeah, that's information too. I guess it's.
And then a lot of questions too, more broad. Should I be shooting a two blade or should I be shooting a three blade? What's a single bubble? Why would I wanna shoot a single bubble? Should I be shooting a right bubble or a left bubble? So really any question you can think of, we're getting it. We learn a lot from other people too, who say, oh, I had this experience and with the free blade or whatever, and so I'm gonna try this.
And we encourage people to. Try new things and learn along the way. Yeah. Those are all kind of things that I'd love to dive into you with you guys a little bit, but I wanna ask the question before we get into some of the technical side and your experience and positioning on stuff is I'm really just curious, like, where do you guys stand in the world of, like, why go to the, why go this route?
What goals does VPA have as a company [00:15:00] like, For the Archer community with the products that you're putting in the market? Like why the difference now? Yep. Yep. I was gonna say, our mission at BPA has always been to create and supply durable American made products to the market to make bow hunting more ethical.
And we're making it more ethical by supplying those quality one piece broadheads that you know aren't gonna fail to open. You can count on, getting your animal when you're out there hunting and not being worried about the what if of your shot. And that last, I think also Alex is
problem with it. You're gonna, you're gonna talk to the guy at one of three people and that's what we like. We're small, but we're big. Yeah. One thing I was blown away about, if you go on your website, like I saw that there's a, is it a lifetime warranty or there's a pretty extreme [00:16:00] warranty and I don't see other Broadhead companies doing that.
That's right. Yep. So we do, yep. We do offer like a 100% guarantee lifetime warranty on all our broadheads. If something were to happen in a scenario and it gets damaged, send it into us and we'll send you a replacement. It's not, we're getting those types. Things in the mail from customers just because most of the time when people are coming back and buying new broadheads, it's because they've lost maybe their broadheads.
Or they're just wanting to try something new this season. They're gonna last forever cause they are, from one solid piece. So you just sharpen them back up and off you go. So like with mainstream media out there and all the information and stuff on the market, for new bow hunters especially can be overwhelming, but do you guys feel on the side of arrows, hour, lethality, broadheads do you think that the archery industry is missing in any capacity things that.
Are [00:17:00] overlooked. Are there things overlooked when it comes to hour? Lethality, accuracy, broadhead, like stuff that is, the industry just isn't missing a mark and you guys are trying to fill that void in.
I think one thing I guess would be, like we already touched on, is just avoiding the risk that your broadhead isn't gonna perform. That's where we've come in and really eliminated that risk. Cause as long as you're. You're tuned, you've practiced, and you're ready for the shot. Like your broadhead isn't gonna be the factor that fails you.
Yeah. We don't want the head to fail. That's where we're gonna, that's we're gonna stand on yeah. There's so many guys out there stuff. That's one thing why,
like if you're killing stuff and you're having a good time and you're using X amount or XYZ broadhead. I don't mind that you were shooting that you're having fun, you're killing stuff. I say, just call me when it doesn't work. Just call me and I'll set you up with [00:18:00] what I think what from a hundred grand up to 300 grain.
And that's a great conversation point for us. So we love having those conversations. Where do you see that switch when people come and ask you questions about your heads and want make that switch? Usually why is the reason, is it exactly what you just talked about? Or what are some of those talking points when people say, I want to make a switch and I they start coming to you?
They could they might, some guys might just find it on YouTube, right? They might just be watching a video and be like, I started going down this rabbit trail and now I'm in. Can you help us out? Sure. Or Hey, I had a bad shot last year. It didn't open. I'm like, sure, how can I help? Or man, I just want to go back to, I just wanna go back to something that I know it's always gonna, it's not gonna fail me.
It's gonna be on me, not on any of my setup. It's solely gonna be on me. I can't, we have placement. We'd love to, we'd whoever out there shooting dimes all day long. But that's not normal in [00:19:00] the hunting situation. One thing that I, I think. Years ago when I first started bow hunting, like I had tried some solid steel broadheads and everything else, and, the manufacturing of them that was questionable as far as the consistency from head to head.
And then, how well that they were spinning all my arrows. And, tuning is always a big thing. And I think there's more information out there now for the average Joe to have a better tuned arrow. On their bow than there was maybe when I started bow hunting. But it's still always that learning curve.
And like I said, I think everybody has come with this mindset that if you shoot a fixed head, whether it's a replaceable blade head or it's a solid steel head or somewhere in between, there's gonna be it's gonna be harder to tune. Right off the bat, I can't say that I experienced that with the heads that.
Eye shot from you guys. C can you talk a little bit about just like why the man, how is it so consistent? Why is it different now than it was then? Tighter [00:20:00] tolerances on Machin, right? Back in the eighties. Eighties. Like they were holding, like our ti our tolerances run out is minimal. Like we say, less than two threes, right?
We want that. And also in the machine process, no matter what from the one pound billet that we're starting with on a head or seven grains going down to hundred grains. So no matter what, we're always grabbing it at the same point. That way we have that way, we're always running that way, guys, 'em on a aero spinner, they're not seeing that run out.
They're not seeing that bounce cross. They're, they know that the head is coming out. True. Miller would definitely be our engineer, would definitely be the guy to talk about that more. Maybe that's another podcast for you like, absolutely. Tell me what tolerances are. It's fascinating to me, but like I said, I've had, I had good luck with that.
My, my biggest holdup was not necessarily the tuning side of things. Like I've shot, [00:21:00] mechanicals, I've shot fixed blade heads, like the one set up. Now I shoot a fixed blade, chisel point head with replacement blades and it's work. And it's, it's simple.
If I, shoot it and dang it up a little bit, replace blades and it's, that whole throwaway consumer mentality in in broadheads. But man, I f I feel like I'm buying packs of Broadheads every single year too. It's one of those things that's worked a little bit, but the we're losing my train of thought here.
The The sharpening is one of those things that gets me on solid heads. And we talked about that in a little bit in the beginning. So I bought the premium grade steel and Ryan, you were talking about that a little bit, the differences in steel. Now I'm not somebody, I'm not a machinist and I don't know very much about steel.
I've had some people talk to me about steel and I go, oh yeah, that makes sense. But reality, how much of that do I retain? And I think that's probably most of us. So I was curious like. You were talking about the sharpening and the different, so like the premium quality steel. I had one heck of a time getting a [00:22:00] burr, getting them sharpened.
I went through the videos and everything else off the bat when somebody's making that transition to a head like this, like what are, what in your mind, should be the expectations of that person? Because I think like in my, I had an expectation this was gonna be easy and I was like, holy cow, this is not easy at all.
Expectations and the gear to get set up to, to have a good experience. Yeah. I think if you're right, it's all about that mindset when you start going the sharpen your heads. Believe it or not, we did that this week in our own shop. Like I got out a sharpener. I pulled in Alex and we how work was
five minutes and it's that process, right? And some guys, I'm gonna say, some guys don't want that. They wanna go to Walmart and that's ok. They're outside having fun, killing stuff then. And that's great for them, but we're in it for the guy [00:23:00] that wants bring him.
It's probably my generation too. Like again, living in a replacement world, like sharpening in general is not something I'm very good at. I don't even know if I would say I could hold my own in it. So this process has been a learning for me, just in that alone. Yeah, definitely. Do you feel better though, after you get done sharpen it, you're like, man, I just did something that's, Shoot and kill something.
Now. That's what I love when a guy called me. I spent this time, but I got the bur. It's perfect. It's like I love it. I did, I'm not gonna lie, when I started this process and I did it too close to the season. Till I got this set up, it was a last minute decision for me to tinker with this.
And I remember I was working on my heads and I was really struggling and [00:24:00] I learned that I had the wrong sandpaper. And maybe that's something you could talk about a little bit too, but again, I had the premium tools steel, which you said it's like a 57 58 Rockwell, right?
Yeah. Yep. And I struggled and I actually I actually talked to somebody who I knew who was really, who was a good machinist and sharpened knives on machines. And I said, do you think you could take a look at these and get me started? So he actually, I cheated and went that way, but it seems like once I had that edge honed that I could maintain it with a jig.
Yeah. Yep. Very true. Very true. Seems that's true though. If you're going go this route it takes time. Don't wait till the last minute. Don't wait till the last minute. Did you have any issues with it after you got chewing the head? Say that again. Like as far as once I got the edge sharp.
Yeah. Were you even before that, like in tuning the head, everybody's this doesn't fly like a field point. I'm like, no, it doesn't, it's not [00:25:00] a field point. Did you have any issues on that side or did it tune up raw? Did you have any issues on that, I guess is my question. Yeah, that's a great question.
So I didn't know what to expect. My tuning experience has mostly been on the bow side of things. If I'm adjusting my rest I'm changing cables and strings and. Adjusting the tension there and fine tuning the arrow, tuning, so to speak. I was tuning the bow to the arrow and, the way I did this with my other setup is I tuned the arrow to the bow.
I guess I did it the other way and, I went down the road of tinkering with point weight to adjust my spine of my arrow versus, other ways that you can do that. And I was really impressed at once I figured out a point weight that the arrow that I had cut, like to shoot how true that flew.
Yeah. And it, it got to a point like once I had that, then I screwed the broadheads on. I'm somebody when I'm shooting in the fall, like I don't shoot field points. Like I [00:26:00] always shoot broadheads. I always have broadhead targets. I shoot up the daylights during the season to, to keep 'em, keep, make sure that my, my setup, I'm, I believe in with my broadheads and I'm not gonna lie, once I had that setup with the VPA head and the right point weight and stuff, I trusted them completely because they flew like darts.
Good, good. Awesome. Yeah, the it's just a constant learning experience for me and I think it's, there's so many different avenues, do, how many times do you get those questions about it's not flying right? And what's usually your avenue for steering people in the right direction? If you're looking to simplify your food plot system while enhancing the quality of your soil, you need to check out Vitalized Seed Company.
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out issues and it came down to I just sent 'em another pack and it actually was on our side. Like there, there was a runout issue on that on. Set. So we go back and we 'em all again just to make sure that they're within spec. But that was the last time I have had a guy personally where I've talked to him, we FaceTime and I'm looking at video.
I'm,[00:28:00]
that's the last time I had an issue on that. Interesting. Yeah, I don't get those calls often. I get more on the side of the sharpen side. And then well, and then we get, go ahead. We get people too thank you so much for your help. It's really, made such a difference and they can't see going back to shooting something that wasn't, a fixed blade or wasn't a heavy broadhead.
And so it's always fun cause lot of people like to just call and talk about how it worked for them too. So we spent a lot of time just fielding those types of conversations as well. A and one, one thing that concerns me about going down the avenue that we're talking about, and I think it's just the, a again, it goes back to expectations and what you're thinking of when it comes to the shot.
So one, one thing I've been a little bit. Disappointed in, whether you're watching YouTube or following people and we go down this transition to maybe a heavier arrow or [00:29:00] maybe you're just switching your broadhead solid steel. I'm concerned that we're, that there's education out there for new bow hunters that shot.
Angles and reading body language on game and things like that are getting pushed to the side with the mindset that we've got this arrow now that's invincible. And I don't know that's necessarily the case. There's a lot of great research out there, whether it's the Ashby Foundation or just people who've been doing this for a long time where deeper penetration is stuff for things like that.
But one thing I've learned and I want to. Invest in a little bit more. So if I ever hit bone, On a shot, like it seemed like my first failing point was gonna be my head. And it always seems like when that head bends, turns, breaks, whatever that energy loss, if it hits bone, is so significant that I can't maintain penetration.
And what I'm curious about is whether you're shooting. A 400 some [00:30:00] grain arrow or a six plus hundred grain arrow. If you've got a quality steel head and you still hit bone is that head not going to, it's not gonna lose its integrity. So does it just change the direction and path of the arrow and not lose as much momentum going through?
And that's just an interesting thing that I've learned. But when it. I'm sure you get people all the time that send you pictures and success stories about, hit bone, the arrow did the job. Anything to add on that might just rambling there of shots, so to speak.
I'll take this one. So I guess just a story from a guy last year that kinda really amazed me and it single guy outta Ohio wanted nice season
and he's I caught a right and saw a run off and I felt terrible. And he's Little bit. I know she came by the next morning and [00:31:00] he was able to drop her and he found, he sent me pictures of the head that was totally intact, totally still all together. He's I sharpen her up and I put back int So I get stories like that, that are really cool.
When's, yeah, he says I made a bad shot. It was my shop placement, but he owned that. But he's willing to say it was on me. And we can't, we can always say that whether it's going way, like job placement is shop placement. Am I aiming for shoulders? No. Cause way. That's just the way it's, but do I have the confidence down inside that I know that I should blow through because my setups right around 500 that I'm, yeah.
That's where I'm at I have that confidence in me that my product is gonna do what it says. Yeah, I think experience in bow hunting is a big thing, and the more experience you have, the more you'll be comfortable to take shots. Whether it's a, a quartering two shot, that's a shot that I really try to [00:32:00] avoid.
I can only count. Yeah, I can only count the number of times I've done it on one hand, the first time I was inexperience and had a very bad experience, and since then it's left a bad taste of mouth. Then, I practice a lot and I shoot well, but let's face it I get the jitters as bad as anybody.
When game comes, I get services like the other guy. Yeah. Yep. For me, I I'm not at the point yet where I have the confidence to say, look, I'm gonna take a low percentage shot because I think I'm really good and I trust this head. But I know there are people are out there, and my biggest concern is, are we sending a bad image in bow hunting?
And I don't know that we are. It's all in interpretation. Yep. And that's where we really push, shop placement and being educated. You know what you're doing and practicing. And then like Brian said, like we stand behind our product where we're all human and gonna make mistakes. So even if that mistake did come about, you're still gonna be able to recover the animal.
Absolutely. Absolutely. So I wouldn't mind switching gears a little bit. So one thing that I noticed with anything that you guys have a huge list of different. [00:33:00] Heads like different grains, solid versus vented two versus three blade, different steels. And like to me, like it's slightly overwhelming even though I'm somebody who shot just because it's like I have a hard time knowing what I want and why I want it.
And I'm sure you get that question a lot. I'm cur, I'm curious, like how do you go about. If somebody asks you, I wanna shoot one of your heads, but I don't know what I wanna do. What's what's that avenue you go to recommending heads for a guy?
It's definitely gonna start with weight. They're,
let's say at minimal, like 5, 3, 3 to five years, that have been in the industry for a little bit longer. I'll ask him what weight are they shooting now? And then I'll kinda steer along that way. If they're a guy, like they're shooting something heavy, if they're a compound guy, normally they're shooting 50 and lighter.
Believe it or not, like our single [00:34:00] like number one. And that really surprised. Alex and I were like, we did not see that coming. And I think that's because guys, like you said, guys are. Like looking at that f and starting to think maybe I should be looking that way. Maybe I should be trending that way.
Why do we carryon? Why do we carry someone? Cause we can't say no
single, the 1 25 team here. Yeah, I talked to the engineering. He's yeah, we can do that. We just gotta make some adjustments and yeah, we'll figure it out. Yeah, 40, I think it's 48 different, 48 different heads. And it kinda ebbs and flows like what we're thinking about not carrying and what we're carrying.
So 48 different heads, right? Yep. And basically I think the summary is like two blade, three blade, single level, three different steel options. So carbon tool, Steeler, all our black heads. They have a black oxide coating on 'em, some stainless steel options. And then our [00:35:00] premium single bubbles, which are those.
OD green D coded ones or the seven, we then diameter
diameter.
It's a big summary and it's got a lot of flexibility. So I I have to ask the question, why have why have three different steel qualities why not use the best top end quality for every head? And that's just the way you use it. Like what, how does that fall into your planning? Yeah, so the our, when we launched our single be line last year, at the beginning of last year we started out with the premium single bubble heads, so that S seven tool steel, which is just a harder material.
And we call those our premium heads. And then we launched the single bubbles in the carbon tool steel just to offer those single bubble heads to our customer base at a lower price point. Really, [00:36:00] we wanna be able to get our customers what broad heads they want and meet them where we can with price and really just be able to supply that quality product seal still and.
And be able to get it to where as many people as Wanna try it out can. Yeah. Or blue collar, right? That's we wanna reach everybody. We wanna reach the guys out there that, that want is gonna last. It's a great price point. I like that. What's that? I said Yeah, I like that.
Absolutely. Yeah. Bow hunting's one of those things that it's not for. One select interest group. This is something we want to have everybody. Exactly involved then. Another thing too, like I, I know there's a lot of talk about, single bevel versus double bevel heads and that the single bevel heads have the wound channel turn and the bones splitting ability.
And I don't know if I've, I don't have the experience with those types of cuts to know, is that actually true or is that marketing? And you guys know the answer [00:37:00] to Bevels way better than I do probably. And I'm curious, like how do you position bevels in your choice of Broadhead selection?
That's a really great question. I guess for anybody that doesn't know out bevel head and put it potato, see what, see the rotation as it travels down through if. If you want more of an angle, more of a cork through, then you want a steeper bevel. And that's what we wanted. We wanted a steeper be and that's why we designed it at Interest's.
Different. Yeah, there's different degrees out there. Take all a potato and you actually it co. On the engineering side of stuff like. We looked on the market and what was out there and we decided to go more with the steep angle. Steep angle. That way we had a better channel and we can that by shooting it through anything you want, seeing that rotation as goes through.
[00:38:00] Interesting. Yeah, so it's definitely got a lot of science and testing to back that up too. But then also we're like, we still carry double broadheads and three play broadheads. Cause it's personal preference on what people wanna shoot. And it may depend on their setup and it may depend on what they're hunting and where they're hunting and so there's really, a different broadheads out there for everybody depending on, what situation they're in and what they like.
We never push somebody to, to use a certain type of broadhead. With all of our broadhead yet. Pictures back each season of every one of our broadheads being used. Yeah, so that's the fun part too, is, coming out with new stuff and just seeing it perform well. Do you guys see advantages or disadvantages in either s in either of those heads and or how you would cater in one style versus another, or one type of hunting versus another?
Yeah, I can, I'm a non guy. And that's, I think more in my head than any, I'll say that, but because I, we've [00:39:00] shot those and Right. But some guys they
gonna jump, are they gonna hear or That's just me. So yeah, if a guy asks you which one makes noise, I'm gonna be like, or if they ask me make noise, that's the first thing I'm gonna say is, yeah, they definitely make noise. Like I can hear. So they make, but on that I'm not steering away or pushing integrity.
That's what we gotta do. And there's different situations when people wanna choose vent head. Like we have some out west that. That's swear by using the Bennet heads just in their conditions that they're hunting in and just, that's what they prefer. So it really just depends on your setup, like I said and just personal preference with everything.
Do either you guys have personal preference or thoughts on advantages? Disadvantages versus the cut of the head, the single versus double bevel heads?[00:40:00]
Alex, you want that one? Sure. So I would say we're definitely seeing trending more towards single bevel with our customer base over the double bevel for sure. We still have a huge following for the three blade, but the thing that we would, say as the distinction between the two, yeah, you're gonna get that spiral cork screw cut and deeper blood and penetration.
But you're also having to put in the time, like you said, to sharpening a single, like that's not. Most easy, common sense type of sharpening there is out there. And so it does take some time to get it to where you need it to be in order to get out there and hunt with it. So especially that premium steel, it's a, it's harder to sharpen than the carbon tool still that we offer our double bubbles in.
So there's just different considerations I think with what you know, what you're willing to invest the time into. Yeah, back on the whole sharpening thing. I talked earlier that [00:41:00] I'd got the wrong sandpaper and I realized that was a big thing and I know you can get different stones too out of the box.
Let's say, you know what I'm making the jump here. Here it is it's April, may, it's springtime and I wanna start planning for fall, and I'm going to use a quality steel head. And I wonder what is your, checklist or process from the time you guys open a set of heads until you're ready to knock 'em into quiver?
From the, not necessarily from the tuning side of things, but ma mainly from that sharping side of things. What specifically are you, do most people need to make that happen and have a good experience? They're gonna need a sharpen. They're gonna need a sharpen.
Whether you use paper, you're gonna use paper. You make sure that is flat. They don't wanna, you wanna do on a picnic table, so that's pretty for me, in our, we use, we've been using 3M stuff and we with, then I went to six and then I went to a [00:42:00] thousand. Just running them like with the K sharpener and just run them.
I just run and drag em, run em and drag them. I never go forward. I, some people say that the material will Yeah. Will push into it. I don't know. I haven't done enough research on that. I always go back and then I stopped, right? And then next weight, the next, and I'll do the same thing. And then I'll the same thing.
Repeat process. I tend to do one side at a time, run all through, flip the head and do the other side. I think I'm more like you where I definitely I put those heads on earlier. Earlier. I've heard guy saying I'm not points anymore. I'm heads that's so great. Good for you. But yeah, that's the process that I kinda tend to take.
But here it's kinda easier in the shop. There are some files out there that some guys use that can get 'em really sharp. And I just make sure that they're cutting and popping hair and way we go. Is there any spec, like when you go, so sandpaper [00:43:00] and f and files and stones, like they're not all created equal for the steel slick.
Is there anything specific? Like making sure you get the right file or the right, you said 3M is what you guys have gravitated towards. Yeah. There are so many high end Swiss files out there that you can get, that get you what you need on a that edge. Some guys that shiny guys northeast they don't want 'em to rust, so they'll, they always recommend Hey, make sure you have Chapstick. Make sure you have these wax you. Wiping 'em off when you're going. That's one thing we always recommend for guys in those high and high water areas as ass. I don't have a good recommendation there.
I haven't really researched that enough. Order re use, use paper here. And that's what we like. Cause we have flat, really flat tables that we can use. No, I like that. I like that. That's good. So [00:44:00] that's huge help for getting that, that, that first step underway. Yeah. It's just, it's over. I think that transition for me was overwhelming.
I think my expectation was not set appropriately for making that transition. I saw some advantage to using it. It's just, I wish I would've started last year a little bit sooner. So I'm hoping to To go down a different avenue with it this year if that makes any sense.
Sure. Yeah. And we actually have some great YouTube videos on our channel. So if you go to YouTube and just search VantagePoint Archery, one of our local field staff guys, Brian has made some videos for us. Sharpening the single bubble. He loves the single bubble, and that's what he's got in his quiver.
So definitely check that out too for a, an actual video to watch and on how he sharpens those. And we've been talking a lot about the two blades too, and you guys offer three blades. And to me, like I, I haven't done any research or watched any videos of how people handle three blades, but if you wanna shoot a three blade head to me it seems like it would be harder to maintain that edge [00:45:00] and keep it sharper, but maybe I'm wrong.
How do you go about doing that in three blade heads? It's actually easier really, if you're not, you're just grabbing the top, top blade and you're just running it forward on the stone. Okay. Running it forward on the stone or on paper and then you're flipping it. Try to keep the same number of accounts.
Some guys get lost. I've actually talked to some guys, like I just do it when I'm going down the road. Like I'm sharp head. Oh gosh. Yeah. I'm like, oh, seems really dangerous, but ok. Yeah, they say it's really simple for them to do a three blade head. Cause you're taking the guesswork in the angle cause they're running.
Everything runs flat. So you're actually putting you're putting one of the bevel sides on two blades at one time, is how you're doing that then? Yeah. Okay. Yep. Interesting. So you're just taking it and running it forward up. Don't run back and pull back. Cause that don't want guys Right.
Mess part up. [00:46:00] So yeah, you looking forward, lifting it up, rotate on the spine. Rotate on the spine.
That's it. I think I did three on that one. It's a bummer. Yeah. Yeah. It seems maybe a little bit simpler than jig. So I didn't invest right away in a kme. I used the stay sharp and it seemed to work fairly well and there was a bunch of videos out there for it. But it seems like those are the two main go-tos a lot of the time.
Definitely. Yep. Gotcha, guys, this has been a blast. I think this is fueled for my fire as far as getting ready for this time of year, and I really like I just really the direction you guys are going. I'm gonna leave us off with anything you guys would like to add with where you guys are going or, you talked about your new launches with stuff.
Is there anything else that I'm missing from a VPA standpoint, you guys would like to share with us? Yeah, so our new products that we talked about earlier, just adding to our premium single bubble [00:47:00] lineup this year. So a one five and 1 75 green single bubble. Those have been highly requested over the past several months, so we launched those at ATA this year and they've just been flying off the shelf.
So we're really proud that we can offer a different green weight for everyone, regardless of if they wanna shoot single bubble or double bubble or three blade. So we've really completed, all our options there and. Just excited to, keep expanding our product line as we go.
Excited to go to shows this summer and just get our name out there and, show more people what we're about USA manufacturing and supporting ethical bow hunting. That's the big one there. USA Manufacturing, supporting bow hunting. We can't we can't think of a better way to to wrap up our discussion over broadheads.
Yeah. Any exciting hunts lined up for you guys or any exciting archery adventures for you guys? Are you gonna come out? Are you gonna invite us out? Pa do you want to come out to pa I don't have much to offer you, but you're welcome to come. Yeah, I was [00:48:00] actually like, I'm anxious for Turkey season, so I'm an agronomist, so this time of year gets really chaotic just with planners rolling through the season and I don't, I could take the time to hunt more like before work and stuff like that.
I just, I haven't just because I feel guilty when I do, but like I. I used to get really fired up for spring turkeys, and I wanted to take my bow again this year, but I'm just like so on the fence. But I haven't been seeing as many birds and, places I hunt, so not sure what to, but that's it.
That's exciting. Yeah. It's, yeah.
Anything like schedule planned yet as of this year? We work too much, so we spend too much time in the office and in the shop. That's hard for, to get out and get away, especially during the season and then getting into season. But I think we're all planning this plan Trip Arizona to go hunting with one of our field guys and he's a guide out there and I think [00:49:00] Stringer Scott sometimes.
Some crazy hunts plans and bear hunts and different stuff like that yep. We'll stay busy for sure. Yeah. Stay busy and live vicariously through field staff, right? Yeah, exactly. Give me some cool pictures. Yeah, I know the feeling sometimes. Guys, I really appreciate your time. Really appreciate you sharing your knowledge and like having a better understanding of the house and why's behind your broadheads and how this a new, I'm gonna, I don't wanna say a new area because solid heads, and this is, it's always been part of archery, but it's resurfaced and I think there's a lot of questions about it.
I've had a lot of questions, and I just think it's good information to just put out there this is the, this is what's happening right now. And you can make that decision of what's best for you in your bow hunting setup. Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for having us fun. Thank you guys. Yep. Thanks Mitch.
Appreciate it.
