These photos show  the result of shooting a 190 grain Ribtek broad head mounted on a 23/64ths POC shaft.  The two arrows were identical except the hardened shaft had been hardened for the last 3 inches of the shaft with Minwax Wood Hardener.  These arrows were shot into a stack of bricks.  That's all I had to shoot at without shooting up the foundation of the house. This is a traditional archery test, but rather than leave open questions of what would happen if shot with various weights of recurve or longbow, I shot these with a 65# compound bow. 

Nuff said on arrow speed!

Photo number one is the un-hardened shaft.  I have heard the stories about the wood protruding through the ribs of a Ribtek when it hits something hard.  Obviously the stories are true.  It does not really tell us what would happen if the arrow hit a shoulder blade or rib bone.  You can draw your own conclusions.  Photo number two is the same point rotated edgewise.  The point survived without damage other than dulling the tip.

Now, for photos three and four.  This shaft was treated with the Minwax Wood Hardener for three inches on the point end.  As you can see, the wood did not pop out through the ribs, however, the shaft did shear at the base of the ferrule.

Photo number four shows the same point edgewise.  As you can see, the Ribtek did bend.

Once again, you can draw your own conclusions about the third and fourth photos.  Did the arrow shear because of the angle of impact (it was almost identical to the first shaft)?  Did the Ribtek bend because there was less shock absorbing effect with the hardened shaft?  Did the shaft shear because it had been hardened?

Photo One, Arrow #1

Photo Two, Arrow #1

Photo Three, Arrow #2

Photo Four, Arrow #2

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