It’s no secret the broadhead market is a saturated one. Filled with throngs of fixed, mechanical and hybrid models, it’s often difficult to know which ones to display in your shop. So, just how do you decide? My advice: Do your research and test as many of them as you can.
The research part often isn’t a problem, but putting each broadhead you’re thinking about stocking through the testing paces gets difficult. We can’t test them all, but when we get the chance, we jump at it. Nothing pleases us more than being able to provide you with comprehensive tests on the products you want to know about.
The name Swhacker isn’t new to the broadhead world. In fact, I’d dare to call the manufacturer a serious shark in the sharp-edged ocean. Models like its 2-Blade 100-Grain 1.75-Inch Cut and 100-Grain 2-Inch Cut mechanicals have been the demise of many a turkey and big-game critter. These heads are proven reliable, sharp and accurate — and simply put, carve devastating holes. And, yes, I’m speaking from experience. That’s why I couldn’t wait to take the manufacturer’s first delve into the fixed-blade arena and put it through the paces. Here’s what I discovered.
Swhacker RAZOR254 First Impressions
First, I loved seeing Old Glory flying on the packaging and the words “Made In USA” stamped just below it. Second, upon handling the head, I was pleased with its sleek, compact design. Grabbing the head by the threads and giving it a good shake, I detected no noise or rattling. I credit this to the design of the NIK-LOCK Washer. It was easy to see that a lot of thought and precision engineering went into this 420 stainless-steel head.
The RAZOR254 threaded onto my Easton 5MM FMJ shafts easily. All that was required was the removal of the included rubber band. There were no snags or burs and the head seated right up against the shaft. There was zero wiggle room or play.
Shot at a distance of 20 yards, fired from Hoyt’s Carbon RX-1, the head hit .2 inches to the right of my field point. This was confirmed through the use of a Hooter Shooter and a number of offhand groups. At 30 yards, the results were the same. The heads basically mirrored the impact point of my 100-grain Saunders field points. I continued the step-back-in-yardage process all the way back to 80 yards. At a distance of 60 yards, I did notice the RAZOR254 began to impact the target a little further to the right of my field points. The exact distance after four three-arrow groups (two offhand and two through the Hooter Shooter) was an average of 1.75 inches right of the field points. Still field-point accurate? In my opinion, absolutely. The vertical impact was virtually identical, and left-to-right accuracy was still incredible.
What about the wind? I know you’re pondering the thought. Average wind speeds throughout testing were 3 to 6 mph from the west, which did create a slight crosswind blowing from the left. At 80 yards, the vertical point of impact perfectly matched the field points, while the distance right from field-point impact was stretched to 2.25 inches. I can absolutely live with that type of fixed-blade accuracy, especially at that distance.
After more than 40 shots into a foam Block Target, I took one of the heads and used it to shave the hair off my arm. I know, I know, not the smartest thing, but I just couldn’t help myself. This thing was still ready-to-shave sharp, and it cut the page of a magazine as clean as any pair of scissors I’ve ever used.
Swhacker RAZOR254 Torture Test
As for durability and bone-busting power, the 54-degree blade pitch and .075-thick blades (yes, you read that correctly) proved incredible. I shot the heads through 1-inch-thick plywood as well as a number of cow scapulas from a distance of 30 yards. The results: no bent or chipped blades, and the ferrule remained straight and perfectly intact. In fact, I used only a single head — shooting it through wood and bone a total of 25 times — for the durability test. After testing, the head spun true, and other than a little flatness to the point, showed virtually no sign of wear and tear. Did it dull a tad? Of course. But if you’re like me, you’re not planning on shooting animal after animal without either sharpening the blades or replacing them, right?
As for penetration, the heads blew holes in the scapulas, burying bone fragments in the Block Target behind the bone. The wood didn’t stand a chance, the head carved a perfect hole and buried into the Block Target behind the plywood. For the sake of testing, I did remove the Block and fire another RAZOR254-tipped arrow. That arrow was donated to the prairie. Yep, a clean pass-through.
The blades on the RAZOR254 can be changed, but the package I was sent did not include the NIK-LOCK Wrench. However, there are detailed directions, complete with images, on the back of the packaging.
This 1-inch-cut broadhead with bleeder blades impressed me greatly. Much like the legendary Smith & Wesson Model 10, it’s just meat and potatoes — a wonderfully designed head engineered to be accurate, sharp, durable and dependable. What more can you ask for in a fixed blade? I can’t wait to fill my quiver with these bad boys in the coming months and see what they can do on big-game animals. I will be sure to report back, so check www.archerybusiness.com regularly this fall for in-the-field updates.
For more information, visit www.swhacker.com.
