Small Game Heads

[tucsonbowhunter]

#7563

Anyone out there like to small game hunt/stump shoot half as much as I do? whats ya’lls favorite kind of point and why..

[SteveMcD]

#63493

Ace Hex Heads.. they do a number on cottontails and squirrels.

If you’re thinking pheasants I would use the old Hills Hornets or Bodkins and make sure you use Flu Flu fletching. They are on the light side so you’d probably need to add woody weights or additional weight to the head.

[David Petersen]

#63626

I second Steve on Hex heads, as do all the local trad hunters I know. They not only are lethal on small game but don’t penetrate as far into stumps and such as traditional steel blunts and their sharp edges tend to catch on ground debree to limit “sliding and hiding” for easy recovery. I use both glue-on and screw-in and they come in various weights.

[TradRag]

#9423

I’ll third it. I’ve tried others but I come back to the Ace Hex. Very hard to beat this head. I like the Magnus blunt with the blade but they were discontinued but still available through some retailers.

You can’t go wrong with the Ace though. I’ve seen them hit rock, bugger up a bit, and still shoot with no problem.

[Fletcher]

#10022

Yup, Ace Hex Heads.

[William Warren]

#10085

No experience with the Ace heads. Rubber blunts and Judos work too.

[Mark Turton]

#10404

Using .357 cases balasted with No.6 for my new wooden arrows, Muzzy grasshopers with aluminium.

Mark.

[Bounty Hunter]

#11018

I’m not too happy with the Magnus blunts with the bleeder blades. Two hits on squirrels this month and two very mad squirrels back up in the tree, fussing their butts off at me.:shock:

[David Petersen]

#11044

Duncan — Don’t your find the large size of the rubber blunts to interfere with aiming? I do, else I’d use ’em for stumping because they slip right over field points, fast and easy. But I can’t imagine they can kill as efficiently as a hard steel point. Not arguing, just curious. dave

[William Warren]

#11138

David Petersen wrote: Duncan — Don’t your find the large size of the rubber blunts to interfere with aiming? I do, else I’d use ’em for stumping because they slip right over field points, fast and easy. But I can’t imagine they can kill as efficiently as a hard steel point. Not arguing, just curious. dave

Hi Dave,
,
I have not lost a squirrel yet with the 11/32 rubber blunt. I’ve missed plenty though! However, I need them to be close because my effective range is about to 20 yards. I have a hunch out past that range they might not have enough energy, but at 10 – 15 yards it will hammer them. Of course head shots are the best but a hit to the thorax is also deadly. “Aiming” is no problem for me I don’t look at the point when shooting, I look only at the spot I want to hit.
I would like to try the Ace Hex head though.

Duncan

[William Warren]

#11140

Pothunter wrote: Using .357 cases balasted with No.6 for my new wooden arrows, Muzzy grasshopers with aluminium.

Mark.

Mark,

In days gone by I used a .38 brass case but they were too light. How much 6 shot do you use in yours?

Duncan

[Mark Turton]

#11761

Hi Duncan

110 grains and hot-melt, they fly nicely but do have a habit of going to ground, next step is to add a thin cross bar.

I guess any calibre will do but I like the idea of the longer case more room for ballast and plenty of adhesion on the inner wall of the case.

Mark.

[Buzzard]

#13303

I usually use just steel blunts for squirrels and old broadheads, bobbed off, for rabbits and such. My friend came up with a unique idea. He tapered the shaft, then screwed on a 5/16s nut. The nut weighed about 115grs,IIRC. I’ve seen him shoot a couple of squirrels with them. Man, what a hammer they are!

[Jeremy Holden]

#35647

I just made up some flu flu’s with the Ace hex-head. I’m going pheasant hunting on the 2nd of December. I’ll let you know how I do!

-Jeremy

[David Coulter]

#35655

I bought some of the hex heads and I bet they’ll work great on game, although I don’t have experience with them on game yet. I did try them for stumping and because they don’t penetrate at all, the shafts split right away. I’ll try them on squirrels sometime, but I’ll be using Judos for the stumps. Thanks,

[Jason Wesbrock]

#35846

For anything up to and including cottontails (ruffed grouse for birds), my favorite commercially made head is the Ace Hex Head. Anything larger than a cottontail gets a broadhead.

[Killdeer]

#36973

The hex head is the best stumping head I have found, though I buried and then exhumed mine a few times today, what with all the leaves on the ground. I have split a Gold tip, because the stump fought back, and I only use the carbons that I have footed with aluminum for stumping now.

I have lost a couple of squirrels to them, however, even with good penetration in the chest cavity. I guess I don’t jump on them quick enough when they get to the ground, and they run up a tree or into a hole right away.

Here are pics of the arrow after a chest hit on a gray squirrel last year:

You can see good penetration by the smear of blood over the rear of the aluminum foot. This is the 175 grain head on a 28″ CE 90, from a 46 pound bow.

I now carry old Zwickeys for squirrels. Rabbits, on the other hand, can be easily killed with the hex head.

Killdeer

[rnorris]

#38962

I like Ace Hex Heads, but lately I have been using the SGT Small Game Thumper from Kustom King. Awesome stump/rabbit head.

[shawhill]

#39506

Whith small game heads how do you all determine the weight to use? Do you just use the same weight as your broadheads/field points or do you go lighter? Just curious.

[Fletcher]

#39544

Match the weights to your broadheads or whatever shoots best. One of the good things about the Ace Hex Heads is that they are available in numerous weights and diameters.

[William Warren]

#39579

Well, I got some of those Ace hex heads and they look good made up on my cedar shafts. Now to try them out tomorrow.

Hey, good shooting there Killdeer! I need to get out and do more stumping myself so I can even have a prayer of hitting a squirrel!

Duncan

[Brad]

#42728

Killdeer wrote: I have lost a couple of squirrels to them, however, even with good penetration in the chest cavity. I guess I don’t jump on them quick enough when they get to the ground, and they run up a tree or into a hole right away.

That hits it right on the head… connecting on squirrels with an arrow is hard enough, but it’s usually only half the battle. Once you hit one then the fight, “goes to ground”, so to say. They’re kind of like turkeys in that you need to get on them quick or you can lose them.

I’ll use hexheads and broadheads at times, but mostly go with the .38 casings with some type of bleeder blade mounted in them (Bear bleeders or a piece of banding steel). The latter option is much more cost effective if you do a lot of squirrel chasing.

[Brad]

#42730

Here’s a pic…

[William Warren]

#43167

Hey Brad,
I’ve made a couple of those but could not get them to fly straight. I suspect they are not heavy enough. Do you weight yours with anything? Pothunter says he puts some shot in his.

Duncan

[Brad]

#43186

Duncan,
I’ve never put any extra weight in them, though I’ll probably try that sometime. What I do when I’m making them is use wood shafts that are spined about 10# less than what I normally use, which has always given me good flight. I think the whole shot (casing and blade) only weighs about 60 grains or so.

[rayborbon]

#45184

Where I hunt small game there is considerable foliage on the ground. Usually grouse or rabbits are what I am after. I have tried several different options and when it comes down to it I prefer the classic judo point. It seems to do the job well of keeping the arrow visible among the foliage when I either miss or when I shoot into a tree and the arrow passes through.

In fact I tried some of those ace heads and the performance on the game is good but I lost a couple of arrows in the foliage. You being from Arizona may not have this concern.

[sagebrush]

#56522

My main stumping head is a .357 maximum case with 7 1/2 shot to help weigh it down.They are longer and you can put more shot in it without it becoming too short. They are also very cheap, durable and do pretty good in the not lose your arrow dept. If I need more than that I pull out a broadhead. For small game I either use my stumping head or a MA-3. I almost exclusively shoot woods. Occasionally I play with aluminum and carbons. Gary

[Frank H V]

#7912

The Ace Hex blunt has been mentioned a lot & I really like it> I use it probably 80% of the time. I also use & like the rubber blunt that you slide on your arrow, & the Judo point. These 3 are the ones I use mostly.
Frank

[rooselk]

#18252

Sounds like an Ace hex head love fest…except that’s what I use as well.

[Author]

Posts