Best crossbow broadheads

Almost every beginner crossbow ships with field points - the blunt, bullet-nosed practice tips that come bundled with bows like the Killer Instinct Burner 415 and CenterPoint Dagger 405. Field points punch clean holes in a target and cost almost nothing, but you cannot legally or ethically hunt with them. A broadhead is the cutting tip that replaces the field point for the shot that matters, and picking the wrong one is the most common way a good bow produces a bad result on an animal.

There are only two real categories to choose between, and the right answer depends less on brand loyalty than on how fast your crossbow shoots and how much time you are willing to spend re-tuning. This guide walks through both, then lists the heads that beginners actually see recommended, with the specs that decide the choice.

Fixed-blade vs mechanical: the real trade-off

A fixed-blade broadhead has blades that are always open and rigidly mounted - nothing moves. That makes it mechanically simple, reliable in cold or fouled conditions, and unbothered by how much energy your bow makes. The catch is that those exposed blades act like small wings in flight: a fixed head exaggerates any tuning error, so it can hit a different point than your field points until the bow is properly tuned and re-sighted. Muzzy Trocar, QAD Exodus and G5 Montec are the fixed heads beginners meet most often.

A mechanical (expandable) broadhead flies with its blades folded against the ferrule, then swings them open on impact. Because it flies almost exactly like a field point, it needs far less tuning and usually hits where your practice tips do - the reason first-timers gravitate to it. The trade is complexity: the blades have to deploy correctly every time, which depends on the bow delivering enough energy and the deployment mechanism staying intact. Rage Hypodermic and Rage Crossbow X dominate this category.

Why crossbow speed changes which broadhead you can run

This is the part that trips up crossbow shooters specifically. Modern crossbows launch bolts far faster and with more force than a typical compound bow, and that violent energy release is hard on mechanical heads designed for vertical bows. Blades can deploy in flight, o-rings can fail, and cheap mechanicals can even break apart on a fast bow. That is why the good mechanical makers sell crossbow-specific versions - Rage's crossbow line uses a heavier Shock Collar to hold the blades closed until impact precisely because a 400-plus fps bow like the Barnett Hyper Whitetail 410 would defeat a standard collar.

The rule of thumb: if you run a mechanical head, buy the one that says "crossbow" on the package, not the vertical-bow version. If your bow is on the faster end, or you hunt in cold weather where deployment gets less reliable, a quality fixed head removes the failure mode entirely. Fixed blades do not care how fast the bow shoots - they only ask that you tune the bow to shoot them straight, which you check the same way you check any point of impact. See our guide to sighting in a crossbow scope for how to re-zero after you switch from field points to broadheads.

Grain weight: 100 vs 125

Broadheads are sold by head weight, almost always 100 grain or 125 grain. The number should match the field points you practised with so your point of impact does not shift: if you sighted in with 100-grain field points, start with 100-grain broadheads. A 100-grain head keeps a flatter trajectory and is the default for most beginner setups. Stepping up to 125 grain moves more weight to the front of the bolt, which raises front-of-centre balance and helps penetration, at the cost of a little speed and a slightly steeper drop. Heavier is not automatically better - it only helps if you re-sight for it and your total bolt weight still flies well from your bow.

Weight also feeds directly into penetration, which falls off with distance. A heavier, well-built head holds its energy deeper into the shot, and that matters more than raw speed for a clean result - the same reason we treat advertised fps as a secondary criterion. Our explainer on how far a crossbow can shoot covers how energy and range interact once the broadhead is in the air.

How to switch from field points without ruining your zero

Whatever head you choose, treat the change as a re-sight, not a swap. Screw in the broadheads, shoot a three-bolt group at 20 yards, and see where it lands relative to your field points. Fixed heads usually need a small tuning nudge; crossbow mechanicals often land close out of the box. Confirm the group again at 30 and 40 yards before you hunt, because a difference that is invisible at 20 grows with distance. A dedicated broadhead target saves your practice heads, and never shoot broadheads into a field-point bag target.

If you have not settled on the bow yet, the optic and the head are the two upgrades that change your results most - our best crossbow scopes guide covers the other half, and the full crossbow ranking shows which beginner packages leave you the most budget for good broadheads.