In a sea of broadheads to choose from, the Jekyll from Evolution Outdoors is a blade that easily rises to the top.
It seems every year that goes by, there is some new, groundbreaking broadhead coming to market. The claims are almost always the same: field point accuracy, devastating wound channels, and insane durability (among other things).
Some of those advertisements are far more accurate than others. It can be pretty confusing, to be honest, especially when trying to find the right broadhead for your hunt. As an avid bowhunter, I’m here to tell you that Jekyll from Evolution Outdoors doesn’t just talk the talk, it walks the walk.
In short: From front to back, Evolution Outdoors hit a homerun with its broadhead, the Jekyll. This is a head that will please the most hardcore of bowhunters and do it in stride.
Evolution Outdoors Jekyll Broadhead Review
Overview
Evolution Outdoors might be fairly new to the hunting industry, but owner Dale Perry is no stranger to it. He is the original creator of the Grave Digger Broadhead, a highly effective hybrid broadhead design that many people love.
Dale has since moved on from Grave Digger and started a new company called Evolution Outdoors. It offers both a fixed blade (Jekyll) and a hybrid head (Hyde). We’ll touch on the Hyde a bit, but our focus here is the Jekyll.
The Jekyll is a four-bladed fixed-blade broadhead with blades made of 420 stainless steel. On the front, you have a ¾-inch cutting diameter blade, and a one-inch cutting diameter follows that up on the main blade.
This is a little bit thicker of a blade than others coming in at 0.060, a spec that helps increase edge retention and overall durability.
Jekyll broadheads are available in 100 grain (7075 aircraft aluminum), 125 grain (416 hardened stainless steel), and 150 grain (416 hardened stainless steel). Evolution even offers a 100-grain (7075 aircraft aluminum) crossbow version rated for 385 fps. All heads are machined and assembled with the tightest tolerances in the USA.
Features
This broadhead is anything but ordinary. Here are a few worthy notes about the Jekyll.
Multifunctional Ferrules
The most prominent feature that Evolution offers with the Jekyll has got to be the multifunctional ferrules. I mentioned earlier that Evolution also makes a hybrid broadhead called the Hyde.
The Hyde sports the same ¾-inch fixed blade up front but has a devastating 2-inch mechanical where the one-inch blades sit on the Jekyll. Both the Jekyll and Hyde use the same ferrules. This means that a hunter could swap out the one-inch main blade on the Jekyll for the 2-inch mechanical blades of the Hyde.
This feature makes it possible to not have to buy both broadheads individually. You could purchase the blades and reap the rewards of both versions at your leisure, all by way of removing a screw in the ferrule.
Consistently Groups With Field Points
Now, I know nearly every broadhead builder in the game makes a claim to field point accuracy. I also know that a ton of that is pure baloney. There are just too many variables at play.
As long as your bow is tuned, the Jekyll will group with your field points and do it consistently. I’ll go into more detail on that in a bit, but I feel like the reason is a combination of a few things. This is a low-profile fixed blade that’s vented and has an aerodynamic design. Combining that with quality construction means it will fly clean and consistent.
Practice Heads Available
It is absolutely imperative that you get out there and shoot your broadheads before hunting season to ensure that everything is flying and operating smoothly. Some will refrain from this because they don’t want to dull up their blades.
Evolution has got you covered with practice heads just for these circumstances. You don’t have to worry about compromising sharpness or adding the task of resharpening your broadheads.
Experience
I can’t tell you how excited I was to see Dale come out with a new broadhead. The Grave Digger was my favorite head back in its heyday, so I knew the Evolution heads were sure to impress. I saw these as the Grave Digger 2.0 with the option of having a fixed head.
Like anything, only time would tell how they worked.
In the past, when it came to fixed-blade broadheads, I’d tinkered with broadhead tuning, bare shaft tuning, and so on. I was always trying to achieve that field point accuracy that everyone claims. I got there — in varying degrees.
The Jekyll got me there immediately.
The first time I shot a Jekyll alongside my field tips, the arrows touched down in the X at 20 yards. I was amazed. Mainly because at that point, I had merely paper tuned at 3 and 6 yards. That’s it. No bare shaft tuning or anything. Just accuracy.
The same results happened out to a distance of 60 yards. This is an impressive feat for a fixed-blade broadhead, as they are notorious for having tuning issues. With a spring bear hunt coming up, I was more confident than ever.
On the fifth day of my Arizona Spring Bear hunt, I was fortunate to arrow a great bear. The bear was quartering away at 30 yards. On a downhill shot, my arrow hit exactly where I was aiming, resulting in a full pass-through.
The bear went 20 yards and fell over. Again, I was amazed. For such a small broadhead, it delivered in a big way. Even after passing through the bear, hitting the offside leg bone, and smacking straight into the ground, the broadhead was still in excellent condition.
What’s Wrong?
As much as I love this broadhead, there are two downfalls.
The first is taking my broadhead-tipped arrow out of my quiver. I’ve got a seven-arrow TightSpot quiver, and these broadheads get hung up on the rubber in the hood. I do try to push my arrows all the way into the rubber for a more secure fit, so maybe that’s why. It might not be an issue at all with quiver hoods that sport foam instead of rubber.
Noise is the next issue. More specifically, flight noise. The 125-grain model of the Jekyll is vented on both the front blade and the main blade. The increase in noise comes from air passing through those vents in flight. Vented broadheads will always be louder than nonvented broadheads, but it’s worth noting.
Neither of these cons is a deal-breaker for me, as I feel the pros outweigh them immensely.
Evolution Outdoors Jekyll Conclusion: No Gimmicks, Just Results
Bowhunting opportunities are few and far between. When the moment of truth sits in front of you, you have to have absolute faith in your equipment and know it’s going to perform the way it’s intended to.
That rings especially true with broadheads. Once we let that arrow go, we are no longer in control and the broadhead clocks in. With the Jekyll from Evolution, there are no gimmicks, just good old-fashioned results.
For me, those results have spoken volumes.
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