Grim Reaper Broadheads

What Grim Reaper makes for bowhunters

Grim Reaper is a broadhead company and not much else, which makes this page easy to map. On this site the brand's listings are broadheads: spring-loaded mechanical heads for compound bows, crossbow-rated mechanicals, the Hades fixed blades and practice heads.

The maker's own site adds a few things that aren't in the grid right now: hybrid heads, rebuild kits and a small-game head called the Mace. The grid above shows what's on Amazon today, filtered by type. It changes week to week, so I'll write about the lines and what separates them, not about how many are listed this week.

Broadhead types across brands are on the broadheads page, with separate pages for mechanical and fixed-blade heads.

How a Grim Reaper mechanical opens

A mechanical broadhead flies with its blades folded and opens them when it hits. Petersen's Hunting puts the trade-off plainly: mechanicals keep the blades tucked in flight, which helps them fly closer to field points, and they spend some energy opening, which matters more on lighter bows.

The maker describes its own design in three facts:

• The spring: the blades float independently on what it calls a shock-absorbing spring
• The opening force: it says the blades take about one pound of pressure to open
• The tip: it extends 5/8 inch ahead of the blades, which the maker says keeps the head from deflecting on angled shots

The FAQ also answers a question people ask after a practice shot. A head pulled from a target can look closed because the blades fold back on exit. The maker says they still opened and stayed open going through.

Here's what actually changes from line to line: the tip, the number of blades, the cut and what holds it all together.

Lineup notes: Grim Reaper broadheads by line

Razortip: the bleeder-tip original

The maker calls itself the inventor of "Razortip technology," patented mini blades in the tip, and says the Razortip came on the market in 2000. Its FAQ describes the tip as trocar-style with three small bleeder blades, behind which the main blades open.

In the grid, Razortip heads run from 75 to 125 grain, with cuts from just over an inch to 1 3/4 inches on the Razortip Extra. There's also a Mini-Mag Razortip at 100 grain. Values come from the Amazon listings.

Razorcut SS: the solid stainless tip

The Razorcut SS swaps the bleeder tip for what the maker calls a solid machined stainless steel tip that cuts on contact. In the grid it comes in standard 3-blade heads, a crossbow-rated 125-grain head, the Whitetail Special with a 2-inch cut and an expandable version.

Razortip and Razorcut sound like two barbershops on the same block. The difference is the tip, not the haircut.

Pro Series: the newer mechanicals

The maker lists the Pro Series with what it calls the PRO TIP, a "Snap Cup" that holds the parts together, and no O-rings, bands or clips. It says the blades are .035-inch stainless and that the heads are compound-approved for any setup.

On the maker's page, the Pro Series comes in several blade layouts:

• 3-blade, 1 3/8-inch cut, with swept blades the maker sets at 40 degrees
• Mini-Mag 4-blade, 1 1/4-inch cut
• Carni-Four 4-blade, with two longer blades the maker says open after two shorter ones make contact
• Whitetail Special 3-blade, 2-inch cut
• Whitetail Extreme 4-blade, 2 inches by 1 1/2

The grid currently holds the Pro Series Mini Mag, a Pro Series crossbow head and the Pro Series X Bow 2-inch. Their values come from the listings.

Fatal Steel: the one-piece stainless body

The maker describes Fatal Steel as a solid stainless steel body that combines several parts into one, with a "Trocrazor II" cut-on-contact tip, its "No O-Ring" design and the same shock-absorbing blade spring. It lists three models at 100 and 125 grain, with 1 1/4 and 1 1/2-inch cuts.

Hades and Micro Hades: the fixed blades

The Hades is the brand's fixed-blade line. The maker lists it at 85, 100 or 125 grain, with .035-inch stainless blades that narrow to .020 at the neck, a V-notched trocar tip, a 4-point internal blade lock and edges sharpened on both sides. The Micro Hades is the smaller-cut version, offered at 100 and 125 grain.

The maker points lighter bows to this line. Its FAQ says mechanicals are for compound bows at 40 lb draw weight or more on whitetail-sized game, and that under 40 lb it recommends the fixed-blade Hades.

Crossbow heads and practice heads

The maker says many of its standard heads can be shot from crossbows up to about 320 fps, and that faster crossbows should use its X-Bow heads, which it says are designed and tested for over 400 fps. Several heads in the grid are marked crossbow-rated in their listings. Crossbow heads across brands are on the crossbow broadheads page.

The practice broadheads and the Realer Practice Extra Cut are listed as practice heads. Check each listing's weight against the hunting head you'll use, and still shoot that hunting head before the season (more on that below).

How to choose within the Grim Reaper lineup

Let your bow's energy pick the cut

My one opinion on this page: choose the cut diameter from your setup's energy, not from the biggest number on the package. The reason is the maker's own guidance, which is more specific than most:

• Whitetail: cuts from 1 1/8 to 2 inches, matched to your kinetic energy
• The 2-inch Whitetail Special: at least 65 ft-lb of kinetic energy, per the maker
• Elk, moose and larger game: the 1 3/8-inch heads
• Turkey: the 1 3/4 or 2-inch mechanicals

Kinetic energy depends on arrow weight and speed, so get your setup's number from a chronograph at a bow shop before you pick the 2-inch head. Bigger cuts ask for more energy to open and push through. That's physics, not marketing.

Petersen's adds a practical test: bowhunters pulling under 50 lb should test a mechanical to confirm it opens on impact. The maker's own line for fixed blades sits at 40.

Then match the grain to your arrow

The maker's FAQ says its heads are built grain-specific; you can't convert a 100 to a 125. The grid's heads run from 75 to 125 grain, with most at 100 or 125. Match the weight your arrow was tuned with. Spine and front weight are covered on the hunting arrows page.

Quick math: there are 437.5 grains in an ounce, so the jump from 100 to 125 grain is about one-eighteenth of an ounce. Small on a kitchen scale. Not small on the front of an arrow your sight was set for.

Then the blade count and tip style

Three blades or four, bleeder tip or solid cut-on-contact tip. The maker lists both styles across the mechanical lines, so pick by what you hunt and how you like the tip built, and confirm field-point flight with your own bow. The maker says that with proper bow and arrow tuning you can expect field-point accuracy from all its heads.

Fixed Hades or a mechanical: what changes in flight

Petersen's Hunting lays out the flight side of the choice. A fixed blade has its blades out the whole way, and the author says its point of impact can start to drift from field points at longer range, around 55 yards in his shooting. Vented fixed blades can be loud in flight. A mechanical keeps its blades inside until impact and flies quietly, closer to a field point.

The other side is the opening. A fixed blade spends nothing to open because it's already open. That's why the maker's under-40-lb advice points to the Hades, and why the Petersen's author tells lighter-bow shooters to test a mechanical before trusting it.

Reading a Grim Reaper listing

Most Grim Reaper listings name the line, the weight and the cut in the title, and the grid pulls those out into columns. Read them in this order:

• Grain weight: 75, 85, 100 or 125, fixed at the factory
• Cut diameter: the opened width for mechanicals, the blade width for the Hades
• Blade count: 2, 3 or 4, depending on the model
• Crossbow rating: marked in the listing where the seller states it
• Pack count: most packs hold three heads

A blank column means the listing didn't state that value. It doesn't mean the head lacks it. The maker's own product pages usually fill in what a listing leaves out, by model number.

Setup, care and inspection

Bowhunter's opening-day checklist is the one I'd follow with any of these heads: weigh each head on a digital grain scale and compare it to the stated weight, spin-test every broadhead-tipped arrow, and shoot your actual hunting head before the season, not just field points. If an arrow wobbles, swap heads to find out whether it's the head or the arrow. (The arrow is rarely the one at fault. I am, usually.)

The maker says every head has replaceable blades and parts, and it sells rebuild kits. It also says a head can be reused after a shot if you inspect the blades and working parts first, and replace or sharpen the blades regularly.

Uncle Walt keeps spare blades in a pill organizer marked Monday through Sunday. He swaps blades about once a season, so it's mostly a very organized Tuesday.

Broadhead safety

Broadheads are sharp out of the package. Keep your fingers off the edges when you thread one on, and carry them in a covered quiver, as Wisconsin DNR's safety advice puts it.

Broadhead rules, including whether mechanical heads are allowed, vary by state. Check your state wildlife agency before you hunt.

Who's behind Grim Reaper

The maker's about page and FAQ say its broadheads are 100% made in the USA, and the about page dates the Razortip to 2000. The site doesn't give a founding year, an owner or a headquarters address, so I've left those out.

One practical note from the maker's own home page: it warns that counterfeit heads have been seen on third-party sites and lists dealers on its site. Check the seller and the model number on any listing.

Energy, then grain, then tip. Write the head weight and cut on the case lid, and you'll stop reading tiny print in a cold truck cab.