Let me start by saying I shoot and love rage, rocky mtn snypers, and several fixed heads. This thread came abut from Landon's thread simply pointing out what success he has had with a rage head. Guys just cannot avoid bashing the head, I do not know if it is the price (several BH's cost that much and more now), the cheesy advertising or just a general hatred for the hype. Not calling anyone in particular out because I would have to care what other shoot in order to do that. I think alot of unaccomplished archers buy these heads, shoot them at piss poor angles, out of untuned bows and everything else that comes with this sport and then blame the head. The actual problem is pride and mans unwillingness to accept fault for bad shots, and a few braidhead failures as well. Landon and 1 or 2 other guys on the entire net have actually laid claim to shot placement resulting in a deer not found, the other hundred million or so actually saw the broadhead open up in flight, cause the arrow to fishtail and hit the deer sideways...but before all of this they could clearly see their arrow was about to center punch the heart...and all at 15 yards on a 237" deer, never a doe either. Now let me get to the point of my rant, below are pictures of a deer shot with a 2 blade rage by a gentleman that hunts down the road from us. He is a very very good shot, uses top of the line equipment that he tunes at our local shop and has a few P&Y deer from right here in GA. None of that really matters, but it will erase any of the usual stereotypes(sp) from the get go. He calls to say he shot a heck of a deer with a twisted main beam that he knows is 150+ and them dang rage heads opened in flight and did not penetrate well. He hit him square in the lungs, but the penetration was so little that he only got one lung and had a small blood trail for about 100 yards, and then nothing. After several hours and grid searching a large swamp he could find nothing. Well later that week, he was caught by our loccal GW hunting over bait and his trailcam over looking the pile was taken as well. We have a very good friend who is also a GW and when they checked the card look what they found. Looks like he hit way forward, caught the knuckle that we all fear and broke the deers leg. He never puts the leg down in any picture. He was in a blind and the shot was broadside. Gentleman, most of the time it will be the fault of the indian, sometimes limbs etc...and very rarely the equipment. Again, please do not turn this into a debate, just enjoy the story about a bad head, and the picks to back it up:D This deer will not push 150..LOL, but he does have a funky twist in his main beam. Ground shrinkage happens more on lost deer than anything else.
LOL, I think he meant 105 :D maybe he's dyslexic I agree, you are right. Most of the time its the shot (shooter error) on "broadhead failures". Any good sharp broadhead in the vitals equals a dead deer in most all cases. My biggest issue with the Rage's....is the fact that the way they have been marketed leads to problems in the field. People think they can just put one on any bow without tuning and they are automatically gonna kill anything they shoot at, cause it shoots like a fp. Their newest thing of get your game or your money back is pathetic too. My other concern with any mechanical, is the what if. That deer is a perfect example...what if you hit the shoulder? Its been noted by a ton of people that rage's don't perform well on bone, and really...why would they. If you had a good fixed head, you may blow through or in deep enough to kill the deer, vs. just wounding it. Not bashing rages or any other mech...If someone tunes their bow properly, and has adequate KE to shoot whatever mechanical they are looking at....go for it, and be happy with your choice. Heck there is no disputing...on a well tuned bow with adequate energy, a good shot with a rage is very lethal. Just don't screw on a Rage as a bandaid to not being able to tune a fixed head to fly....that is bogus. That is where the "failures" start to come in.
Michael, Your exactly right on all accounts. Thank you for sharing that and I'm glad the guy got caught.
Excellent points guys...Thanks Rob. I agree 100% that the marketing has alot to do with the bashing of the heads. Guys are putting band aids on gaping wounds and when they fail to kill a deer, well they place blame, even though it is tuning, shot placement etc. Germ showed a pic in Landons thread where I believe the rage may have not have been adequate, but Scott posted a similar pic of a large buck he shot in a similar place and the rage performed flawlessly.
I could survive from a wound like that, so I am pretty sure a buck could as well, especially with the lower temps.
good story & pics...I agree 100%...nothing like making a liar honest don't shoot Rage here (price and moving parts are reasons I probably will never try)...but I'd have full confidence on deer if I were to use them.
Yeah, I'm not so sure about that either. I shot a buck 2 years ago with a completely healed scar on his shoulder from a broadhead (looked like a Spitfire) and he showed no ill effects from the wound. I'm not saying he won't get an infection and die, but it's not a certainty. They are tough buggers. As for the purpose of the post, I agree110%. Most guys are "too good" in their own eyes to make an error so it must be the gear's fault. I can honestly say that in all of my year's of hunting I have never lost a deer due to equipment failure, only through my own failures.
So you're saying there should be qualifying exams to shoot certain broadheads? That's actually not a bad idea. Adequate KE? Check Bow tuned, and re-tuned? Check Practice conducted with heads or a practice head? Check
Don't forget patience to wait for the shot. That is my issue, not the rage. First kill shot I get I am pulling the trigger. Both deer I shot with rage I waited and it drove me nuts
Love this post, spot on. I have always said that those no penetration shots were actually bad ones Great pics and a 150"er HA :D EDIT :D IT looks like someone threw an axe through it :D
I failed to mention that my bow is perfectly tuned and I made sure of that before I shot any head..I do say that anyone shooting a Rage head out an untuned bow is asking for trouble. Mike is correct, I believe aside from blades opening in flight or not opening at all, shot placement and recovery are where guys lose deer..
