copy/paste
I am no expert but what I have seen....
I hope ya dont mind me interjecting a quip about "Bird Points",and I dont intend to step on any toes,as I know terminology is something collectors and especially archies cling tightly too......Bird points.....I am an avid archer and always have been,I have taken numerous species of bird from doves-turkeys,when taking birds one doesnt depend on blood letting like one would with larger game,but you depend on shock,a sharp object doesnt creat shock....a blunt object does(I have some blunts I will post when I get a chance)also I have read many accounts of the netting of waterfowl and Jack Rabbits(out here)In several cave excavations these nets have been found.When one calls a small pointed piece a Bird point,its an oxymoron,in my simple mind of physics and result.......several years ago I had an opportunity to take a rogue Bison Bull.....long story.....Now....I have taken Elk,sheep,bear Mt. lion,antelope,countless deer,and HUNDREDS of wild pig with a bow,so I would not take this bull with anything other than a bow.I have a close friend that has taken several Cape Buffalo with a bow as well as a Bison(that was smaller than the bull I was after)he conveyed to me that even him shooting 80 lbs(draw weight)a heavy grained arrow and a big 150 grain Zwickey Broad head he had obtained minimal penetration,which is not desirable for various reasons.I scoffed,at this advice because I had taken the majority of my big animals with 125 grain Zwickeys and Thunderheads(Brand names)well about that time I received a call from a broadhead company rep.that had heard about my future hunt and knew my "availability ",of wild hogs(which for those who dont know,hogs have a thick plate of grisle behind their shoulder that protects the vitals and will stop a magnum bullet.This rep asked me if He sent me a dozen of these new broadheads I would shoot a boar hog in the plate....I abruptly said,"NO!!!!",why would I wound a pig?Well they had done extensive field testing already including many of the toughest skinned animals in the world,he just wanted to prove it to me....I gave him the credit of the doubt and obliged.For time reasons I wont detail that hunt other than that the heads showed up...they were 100 grains and TINY,but were still over 3/4" wide,and the hog I shot was huge mature Boar with 2.5" of plate on bothe sides at 30 yards I blew completly through not only both plates but both shoulder blades(I still have one....gave the other to that company)So I was sold on these,and they are what I used on my Buffalo......my first and second shots blew completly through the bull(didnt hit bone or they would not have)After the bull was dead,we shot the 150 grain Zwickey's and several other big,long wide points into the bull as a test.....none of them got he same penetration even though they wer heavier which carries more kinetic energy......the small heads had less drag!Since then these smaller heads are all I use and the results are astounding....I strongly beleive the Indians figured this out as well and many of the "Bird Points",may very well have been for larger game......just my personal observation,and another observation I made in that whole ordeal,is that the Indians ran more Bison off cliffs then they shot with a bow and not many shot them with bows off a horse like we see in the movies!!!!They are one of the most unbeleibly tough,risiliant,FAST,and just flat awesome animals there is
It would appear that with a longer base before the notches would allow the point to be hafted on to the shaft allowing the point to have more strength upon penetration. With a smaller projectile, the less chance of hitting any large bones and better penetration.
