October 1, 2010
By Todd RatermannBarbed broadheads are illegal to use for big game
in many states, yet those illegal broadheads are often still
available for sale within those states, or easily purchased on-line
by hunters not familiar with what a barbed broadhead actually is, or
whether it is even legal to hunt with in their state. Keep in mind
that regulations change regularly and it is up to you to know
specific regulation for your state. This is just a guideline based on
my personal conversations with every states game department during
October 5th & 6th of 2010.
The purpose of the regulation is to protect animals hit by marginal
shots. If the broadhead is barbed it makes it harder for the animal
to either pull it out with it's teeth, for the broadhead to work
itself out, or to remove it by rubbing against a tree or
brush.
Lets first define what a barbed broadheads actually is since there
seems to be a lot of confusion among archery hunters about this. A
barbed broadhead is generally defined as a broadhead where the
trailing edge of the broadhead is less than a 90°
from the arrow shaft. Take a look at the following image from New
York's Department of Environmental Conservation.
I think we can all se the difference here. However, there are
exceptions to this rule. General speaking, this rule is firm and
easily understandable in the case of fixed blade broadheads. However,
in the case of expandable broadheads it gets a little more
complicated. An expandable broadhead can surpass the 90°
angle limit if the broadhead does NOT lock into that position. In
other words, if the broadheads blades will fold back to an angle of
90° or more from the arrow shaft when opposite pressure is
applied you should be good to go in
most barbed law states. If the blades do NOT pivot back they are considered barbed and are illegal.
Listed below are some of the states where barbed broadheads
are illegal.
Now let me give you some specific broadheads that I know are
considered barbed and are therefore illegal in states where there are
regulations against the use of barbed broadheads. This is not a
complete list, this is only the ones I know that have been considered
illegal by many game wardens. If you know of other broadheads
deemed barbed, please
let me know.
- NAP Bloodrunner 2 blades
- Rage 3 blade (2 blades ARE legal)
- Reign Broadheads
- Tru-fire Switchblades (they now have a non-barbed version of
the switchblades but be certain of which one you are shooting)
- G5 T3 broadhead
- G5 Tekan II
- Simmons Original Interceptor
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