Black bear broadheads

Black bear anatomy defies whitetail rules. The heart sits lower and further forward, the lungs sit tighter behind the front shoulder, and a thick fur-and-fat layer plugs entry wounds so a fast-blooded exit is the only way you find a bear. The broadhead you pick has to punch through hair, hide, and shoulder cartilage without deflection, and it has to leave a wound channel wide enough for hair-plugged blood to still hit the ground.

Fixed-blade is the default

Fixed-blade cut-on-contact heads like the Iron Will S100, Cutthroat single-bevel, and Slick Trick Magnum 100 are the traditional bear choice for one reason: they do not need kinetic energy to deploy. On a marginal quartering shot into the far shoulder, a fixed blade keeps cutting. A mechanical head that hangs up on hide before opening leaves a bear with two broken ribs and no blood trail.

If you use a mechanical, use a big cut

The one mechanical that gets a pass on bears is a large-cut over-the-top design (Rage Hypodermic Trypan 2.0 in, SEVR Titanium 2.0). The wider entry hole helps beat the fur-plug problem. Small-cut mechanicals (Grim Reaper Micro Hades, Rage Hypodermic NC 1.5) leave clean entries and empty blood trails. Do not use them on bear.

Weight and total arrow mass

Bear penetration is about total arrow weight, not broadhead cut alone. Build a 500 to 550 grain arrow, 15+ percent FOC, 125 gr broadhead, single-bevel or heavy fixed. Momentum drives through the shoulder. See our arrows pillar for heavy-shaft options.

Related reading

Return to the broadheads pillar, compare fixed-blade heads, or check the state broadhead laws for your bear unit.