Curious about single-bevel broadheads? Some thoughts after four years of hunting with them

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I was a couple of hours into my first sit of the 2020 archery deer season when I noticed movement down a ridge near the creek crossing.

A big-bodied 9-pointer stopped to scan the area when he was to my left at nearly eye level. The buck lowered his head to continue down the trail before I had to stop him in order to get a shot. He was a little over 15 yards away, and slightly quartered toward me.

Quartering-toward shots are risky for an archer. There is little room for error. Aim near the shoulder and you run the risk of hitting bone that halts penetration. Aim too far back and you risk hitting the liver or guts. Both scenarios often lead to lost deer.

I had always passed up this type of shot over the years, but I’d made a switch to my arrow setup before the 2020 deer season. I was shooting a heavier, stiffer-spined arrow with a 200-grain single-bevel broadhead – for moments like this; a close shot that would allow me to put the arrow where it needed to be based on the deer’s body position.

My aim point on a quartering shot is focused on the desired exit using the far-side leg as a guide. That meant shooting for an entrance on this buck that was slightly in front of his shoulder. I settled the pin and released an arrow that zipped through him and buried in the dirt on the creek bank. He fell in seconds, less than 75 yards down the trail.

More and more hunters are using high-quality single- and double-bevel broadheads these days. I’m one of them, after making the switch from expandable heads.

I’m not here to tell you that a single bevel is better than a double bevel. But I have certainly grown to trust single bevels after killing 16 deer with them the past four seasons.

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What is a single bevel?

A single-bevel broadhead has a grind on one side of the blade, while the other side is flat to form the cutting edge. A double-bevel broadhead has a grind on both sides of the blade that meet to form the cutting edge.

What draws many to a single bevel is that it continues to rotate the arrow as it penetrates. A double bevel cuts straight through (stops rotating) as it penetrates.

Single bevels come with a “right” or “left” bevel. If your arrow has a right-helical fletching, get a right-bevel broadhead. If you shoot a vane with a left-helical fletch, get a left bevel.

Matching the bevel to the arrow’s fletching allows the broadhead to continue rotating through the cut, in the same direction the arrow was rotating out of the bow. Watch this video below to get a good understanding of this.

Accuracy

My setup with single bevels is the most accurate setup I’ve ever shot.

I use the term “setup” because broadhead accuracy is about more than just the broadhead. It starts with having a well-tuned bow and moves to your arrow.

“If anyone ever has broadhead flight issues, it’s almost always either their arrow has too weak of a spine or they have too short of a vane,” Bailey Cloud, a technical specialist with Iron Will Outfitters, told me. “Those are the two major things I see.”

My current setup is this:

• Arrows and vanes: Victory Rip TKO arrows in a 300 spine, 3-inch X vanes.

• Iron Will components and broadhead: 50-grain insert, 10-grain impact collar, 150-grain wide single-bevel broadhead with bleeder blades.

• Bow: Bowtech Revolt X shot with a 62-pound draw weight and 28-inch draw length, with both front and rear stabilizers.

I detail these things not to say you need to shoot the same gear, but to note that these specifications create a “forgiving” setup if my form is not perfect in a hunting situation. I don’t care about pulling the maximum amount of poundage or doing things to achieve great speed.

I have never been more confident in my arrow flight, and I easily get complete pass-throughs on whitetails on nearly every shot.

Bone, eliminating deflection

One thing frequently mentioned about single bevels is their ability to split bone because of the rotation through the cut.

The goal is to avoid heavy bone. Wait for the shot you’re comfortable with; longer shots only shrink your margin for error. Deer can move, and no broadhead is magic.

The large majority of my shots on whitetails are within 20 yards. I have had pass-throughs on deer shot through the scapula, and I’ve killed two bucks in which the broadhead split the far-side humerus bone and punctured the hide. These were all close shots that led to quick kills.

I have never hit the joint or humerus bone on the front shoulder, so I can’t attest to any broadhead’s ability to penetrate that area. I am not a perfect shot, but really understanding the anatomy of a deer is helpful in avoiding hitting the thickest of bones while still making shots that lead to quick kills.

Where single bevels have shined for me is in their ability to eliminate deflection. I butcher my own deer, and I examine each one closely. Too many times when using expandable broadheads there were clear examples of an arrow deflecting, even on quick kills.

What if my shot placement would have been a little off? It frustrated me. Single bevels have performed perfectly in eliminating that deflection.

Blood trails and tissue damage

No broadhead will automatically create great blood trails.

Shot placement matters, and marginal hits can lead to marginal or nonexistent blood trails. If you get a pass-through after putting a broadhead through the kill zone where major arteries exist near the heart and lungs, you’re likely to get an easy-to-follow trail.

That said, I have had some great blood trails when using bleeder blades with single-bevel broadheads, and I think it has to do with two things. First, single bevels create incredible tissue damage. It is eye-opening when examining a whitetail during the butchering process.

I believe there are a couple of times this has saved me after marginal hits when the deer still died quickly due to the large wound channel. Watch the video below for an example of that from this past deer season.

Bleeder blades help create large entrance and exit holes. That doesn’t hurt as it pertains to creating blood trails.

Cutting edge, sharpening, final thoughts

The one thing that raises some concern given my experiences with single bevels is there is sometimes damage to the blade’s cutting edge after a shot. This has not been a consistent problem, but I’ve seen it.

I often wonder when, exactly, the damage is occurring. If it’s after the blade has broken through the backside humerus or when it buries in the dirt and catches a rock or sand … well, at that point, the broadhead has done its job. It has not concerned me enough to change, because the times I’ve seen chatter on the blade’s edge, the deer has still died quickly.

I’ve been able to resharpen nearly all of the blades and get them back to being hunting sharp. That’s important to remember about this purchase: These broadheads are often expensive, but you can reuse them multiple times with just a little care.

I shot three deer with the same broadhead last season by spending 15 minutes getting it back to razor sharp, by using the Precision Adjust Elite sharpener from Work Sharp. I’ll use that same broadhead again this fall.

Accuracy, great penetration, the ability to create incredible tissue damage, and eliminate deflection – these characteristics have made me a big believer in single bevels.