Your Broadheads On Target Series

A Guide To The On Target Broadhead System

The On Target broadhead system from Your Broadheads On Target Series uses a floating-blade mechanical design that stays locked open during flight and deploys on impact through a spring-loaded collar mechanism. The blades are held closed by a magnetic retaining ring and deploy when tissue resistance pushes the collars back. It is one of the more unusual mechanical broadheads on the market because of how it handles deployment timing and blade retention. I have been shooting these for roughly four years now, mostly on whitetail and mule deer. The system comes in several versions — the standard On Target, the XT model with larger cutting diameters, and the hybrid models that sit somewhere between fixed and mechanical. The base design is a three-blade, 100-grain head that gives you a roughly 1.5-inch cutting diameter when fully open. The XT pushes that to about 1.75 inches. Here is the thing about these that nobody really talks about enough. The magnetic retention system is both the best feature and the most problematic one, depending on your shot placement and angle. The magnets hold the blades closed during the shot, but they can fail to deploy if you hit bone — particularly the shoulder blade or hip. I learned this the hard way on a mule deer in Arizona. The broadhead passed straight through the shoulder, hit the scapula at a glancing angle, and the blades never opened. The arrow rebounded. I picked up the arrow later, blades still closed, magnet still engaged. That is not a defect. It is a limitation of the design. If you are shooting at heavy bone, those magnets simply do not provide enough deploy force.

The workaround I ended up using was switching to the XT model and increasing my draw weight by about ten pounds to ensure deeper penetration through tough animals. The heavier arrow setup combined with the slightly longer deployment path of the XT gave me enough momentum to get past bone without relying purely on the magnetic trigger. It is not a perfect fix, but it is functional. The sharpening routine for these heads is straightforward but easy to mess up if you are not careful. The blades are replaceable and come pre-sharpened from the factory, which is a decent starting point. My process involves using a fine diamond stone on the primary bevel, then running a leather strop with compound to clean up the edge. I do not use sandpaper or ceramic stones — they round over the edge too quickly on these particular steel formulations. A sharp On Target will punch through hide and muscle without much resistance. A dull one becomes a meat wad in under three seconds. One counter-intuitive thing about these broadheads: flight accuracy is not actually that sensitive to nock alignment the way some mechanicals are. I tested this myself by deliberately using mismatched nocks and off-center arrow rests. The arrows still flew acceptably, though group size degraded by maybe an inch at 30 yards compared to a properly tuned setup. The reason is the blade geometry — the blades are wide enough and the pivot point is positioned such that minor aerodynamic inconsistencies from nock placement get averaged out during flight. This is unusual. Most mechanical broadheads are far more sensitive to nock timing.

There is a downside to this blade width that you need to understand before buying. Bark interference is real. When your arrow passes within an inch or two of the tree trunk on a miss, the wide blades catch on the bark and can deflect the arrow significantly. I have had arrows deflect into branches, hit the ground, and even bounce back toward me in rare cases. The fixed-blade broadheads from the same line are less prone to this because the blade profile is narrower and the edges are aligned with the arrow shaft. If you hunt in heavy timber and miss frequently, the mechanical design becomes a liability rather than an advantage. For the actual tuning process, start with your bare shaft flying straight, then attach the broadhead and shoot at 20 yards. If the arrow groups high and left, you need to adjust your rest or nock position. If the broadhead group is consistently low and right, your arrow spine may be too stiff for the setup. This is the same tuning logic as any mechanical broadhead, but the On Target's magnetic closure means you should double-check that the blades are fully seated before every shot. I have seen shooters who did not check and lost accuracy because the blades were partially deployed in the rest. The replacement blade cost runs about six to eight dollars per trio, and the collars and springs are available separately if you need them. The system is serviceable in the field with a small hex wrench kit. I carry a basic multi-tool when I go into the woods, and the On Target heads take maybe five minutes to reassemble after cleaning blood and debris from the mechanism.

If bone shots are a regular part of your hunting pattern — older bucks with thick shoulders, mature elk, etc. — these may not be the right choice. The magnetic deployment simply does not overcome bone resistance reliably. In that case, look at a pure mechanical broadhead with a more aggressive deployment mechanism, or stick with the fixed-blade version from the same product line. They sacrifice cutting diameter for consistency, and sometimes that trade is worth it. For open-country deer hunting where soft tissue is the norm, the On Target system performs well. The magnetic retention keeps the blades sealed during flight, which means less risk of premature opening. The cutting diameter is adequate for quick kills on medium-sized game at reasonable distances. Just keep the blades sharp, check your nock alignment, and do not expect these to work perfectly on every shot angle. They are a tool, not a miracle.