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Some things are truly annoying, like installing blades with most fixed-blade broadheads. You likely know what I mean. You grab a ferrule. Maybe you screw that ferrule into an arrow. Then to try to slide razor-sharp blades into the slots, holding the blades in place while fumbling for yet another blade and trying to find yet another slot. Two hands are not enough. Half the time the blades hit the floor. Try to do it too fast and you end up wearing Band-Aids.

Really great broadheads do everything right. They screw onto a hunting arrow straight, they fly like darts, they shoot accurately, they penetrate deeply and they hold up to practice and bowhunting. In addition, in my book, the blades of great broadheads are also easy to install. I hate dropped blades and bandaged fingers.

That’s a demanding list of requirements, and not many broadheads can pass every single one of those tests with flying colors. But I can think of one new broadhead that does. That broadhead is the Tru-Fire T1.

The new-for-2010 Tru-Fire T1 is a fixed three-blade broadhead. It’s available in 100- and 125-grain models. Its ferrule is a single, rugged slab of carbon steel. Up front is an aggressive, integral tip with cutting edges that align with the T1’s three blades.

The Tru-Fire T1 screws quickly onto any arrow. What I found while testing nearly two dozen T1 heads was that broadhead-to-arrow alignment was very good. A small metal washer, included with each T1, cushions the connection and locks each broadhead precisely in place on the arrow.

What I also discovered is that arrow flight with the Tru-Fire T1s is typically excellent and very easy to achieve. With my test bow all I did was edge my arrow-rest position to the right just a very tiny bit (I’m right-handed) from where I had it set up for field points, and my T1-equipped arrows were flying perfectly. For any serious bowhunter, perfect arrow flight with broadheads is a must. Such clean arrow flight allows you to better slip arrows through holes in the brush, and it significantly increases penetration on game.

Likewise, accuracy with the Tru-Fire T1 broadheads proved exceptional. In fact, I had to be careful to aim at different spots on my broadhead target so as not to cut vanes off of my arrows. The groups were that tight even though the majority of my arrow-flight and accuracy testing was done at a distance of 40 yards.

The Tru-Fire T1 is a super-short broadhead. From the back of the blades to the head’s tip, the T1 measures just a small fraction over an inch. That abbreviated length holds several advantages. First, that short and stiff ferrule is super-strong, typically much stronger and less likely to bend or break than a much longer broadhead ferrule. It’s the same principle that dictates that a shorter board is stiffer and stronger than a longer board.

In addition, the extra-short length of the T1 broadhead also allowed Tru-Fire to utilize carbon steel in place of aluminum to construct the ferrule without gaining unwanted weight. Longer broadheads are generally forced to use lighter-weight aluminum for their ferrules to keep overall broadhead weight within acceptable limits. Aluminum does work reasonably well for a broadhead ferrule, but it’s nowhere near as strong as carbon steel.

Another praiseworthy aspect of the T1’s design is the head’s integral cutting tip. That tip is machined right into the carbon-steel ferrule. There’s no threaded hole into which a tougher tip must be screwed, as is the case with an aluminum-ferrule broadhead. The T1’s tip is one with the steel ferrule.

And finally, the super-short length of the new Tru-Fire T1 broadhead also encourages the use of thicker blades. The short, wide-swept blades on the T1 are an amazing .032 inches thick.

Broadhead ferrule, tip and blade strength are important for two reasons. Obviously such component strength significantly boosts broadhead durability and longevity. I love broadheads that last a long time. But there’s more. Stiffer, stronger ferrules, tips and blades tend to increase broadhead penetration because broadheads so equipped are less likely to bend or break as they drive deep into and through a big game animal. Better broadhead integrity means better penetration.

The new Tru-Fire T1 heads are convincing broadheads. What my testing convinced me was these new heads are unusually straight, they fly impeccably, shoot accurately, seem to penetrate deeply and they hold up superbly. One last thing to test––how easy or difficult is it to install their blades?

Part of the unique design of the Tru-Fire T1 broadhead is a patent-pending Spring Retention System (SRS). That system is a godsend to all those who have occasionally struggled with broadhead blade installation. Securely coiled around the ferrule behind the rear end of the blades is a spring. To install a blade, simply slip that blade into a slot in the ferrule, push the blade forward into the head’s machined tip and watch as a tail on the back end of the blade slips down under the spring to hold the blade in place. It’s almost magic! There’s no fumbling with blades or dropping them, and you can put that Band-Aid box back in the medicine cabinet. This is surely one of the slickest blade-installation systems ever designed. It’s practically foolproof.

The new-for-2010 Tru-Fire T1 broadhead is almost a work of art. It meets every requirement and passes every test. For more information, see your dealer or log onto trufire.com.

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