Steambow’s hunting arrows are designed for exactly that: hunting and killing. So, as a blog reader, if you think you might not like to read about the mechanics and performance of arrows designed to kill game animals, it's probably best to close this tab and move on to something else. With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s move on to the third arrow type sold by Steambow: the hunting arrow.
Putting meat on the table
If you’ve already read the previous installments of the “Get to the Point” arrow series, you should already be aware that Steambow’s full complement of arrows is based on a 1:2 system. The hunting arrow is no different. It comes available as an aluminum version (10g) or one of two carbon versions; one is heavy, made of carbon with an aluminum core (15.4g), and the other light, using carbon only (10.4g).
This allows shooters to choose the ideal arrow for them based on either cost (the aluminum ones being cheapest) or terminal performance, given that the carbon arrows offer either greater penetration with the heavier arrows or a flatter trajectory with the lighter ones. While this is true for anyone shooting with the stock limbs, anyone who has upgraded should take note.
The aluminum or light carbon hunting arrows are suitable for limbs of 35-90 lbs. The 90-lb limbs also deliver good results with the heavy aluminum-carbon arrows, as do the 120-lb and 150-lb limb sets.
2D or not 2D?
All three arrows share the same head: a 2D, two-blade broadhead with a 16mm cutting diameter. At this point, it might be worth discussing broadhead designs in bow and crossbow hunting. Typically, arrows are either fixed blade (like Steambow’s AR-Series arrows and Wolf Fang arrowheads for the FENRIS and ONYX) or mechanical broadheads (an example would be Steambow’s Impact arrowheads for the FENRIS and ONYX).
Mechanicals are more complex and fragile. They are composed of blades that are folded away into the arrowhead, giving the entire head a similar profile to a target arrow's field tip in flight but with a devastating cutting diameter upon impact.
The blades are designed to open up when they hit their target. But to work, they need high-powered bows as the mechanism opening saps kinetic energy from the arrow. The extra power ensures the arrow still achieves sufficient penetration on the game animal so that it succumbs quickly and with minimal suffering.
Fixed-blade broadheads typically have three blades but can be two-bladed or even four. In the case of the Tactical, the stacked magazine design means 2D is the only option, and the power levels achievable in the AR-Series crossbows make mechanicals unrealistic performers.
But 2D fixed-blades have another advantage that other designs lack. An ethical kill on a game animal means a decisive hit on the “vitals”: the heart and lungs. Struck here, an animal will not suffer long and may even drop in its tracks. The vital organs, thanks to Mother Nature, are tucked behind the rib cage for protection.
2D arrows, if hitting ribs, will twist to slip through rather than lose significant energy breaking through. So again, the 2D design means that the relatively lower power of the AR-Series limb sets will not be detrimental to the platform’s hunting potential. And “relatively” is the correct word.
A tool for a job, above all
At 150-lb draw weight, the Hunting limb utterly demolished an artificial hunting target put together on the Fletched Evolution YouTube channel, and an earlier 55-lb version of the AR-6 crossbow dropped wild boar in the wild on the Keith Warren YouTube channel. So, the killing potential is there; it is simply that the 2D arrow choice maximizes its potential.
The Steambow hunting arrows fly very nicely indeed, and in that respect, anyone in regions where crossbow hunting is allowed could have the ultimate in lightweight hunting gear in a well-set-up Survival with the Magnum or Hunting limb fitted.
Not to be underestimated
For all other crossbow shooters, a word of warning: the hunting arrows are designed to kill. They are extremely dangerous and not to be taken lightly (not that any arrow in flight should be). And, if you shoot the heavier limbs, such as those listed above, expect your arrows to also not last long. Maybe even only one shot.
If that one arrow fills your freezer with meat for the family, then that seems a reasonable cost. But if you are shooting for fun, the razor-sharp tips will not handle multiple hits as easily as the target or bodkin arrows. They will also drastically shorten the service life of a target if used exclusively.
All the same, they are potentially great fun, so if you’ve never tried the hunting arrows and are curious to see what they can do, why not pick up a pack from the Steambow online shop? A few shots now and then on your target won’t do too much harm, and you will have a great time with this new experience.
