So we all know that Rage's aren't the best penetrating heads out there. I've always stayed away from them for that reason. I was thinking today about the Blood Runners. I've always wanted to shoot them, but I've always stayed away from them because I have a lighter set-up. I'm shooting a 2010 Hoyt Turbohawk w/ a 29" draw, 57lbs, and 30" Easton ST Axis N-Fused arrows. How do you guys think they would penetrate, since they're similar to a 2 blade cut on contact...in a way...??? Do you guys feel like the Bloodrunners out penetrate the rages?
I grew up shooting Muzzys, but I shot Rage last year and had a complete pass thru on my doe and the arrow stuck in the dirt after that. I've heard that blood runners aren't that tough after impact, but dont know from personal experience. I was able to re-use my rage that i put thru a coyote, and thru the doe. I also spined a buck at 30yrds, obviously no pass thru there, but after removing the broadhead and re-sharpening it's still functional. I'm interested to see if anyone has had similar experience or what anyone can say for the toughness in the blood runners. Anyone shoot the G5 T3?
I shot the 2 blade rage and the only problem I had with them was that the ferrules bend if the hit something hard. However I used the same 3 with new blades eachtime on 7 different deer. I have not used the blodd runner but NAP did send me a pratice head as a sample and it did make a bit of a whistling sound in flight. Maybe just because it was a practice BH. I did talk to a guy last week that used the G5 T3 and he said the were great. I am going to use the Spitefire Maxx this year if I am able to get out to hunt. Just remember Fixed blades can't fail only the shooter can. So if your in doubt stay fixed.
With your setup I do not think either 2 blade BH is appropriate. The 3 blade BH should be just fine though, it was for me. http://forums.bowhunting.com/showthread.php?9926-NAP-Bloodrunner-durability
I would not say they do not penetrate well, I would say people fail to do what you are doing and find the best arrow for their set up. I have yet to not get a pass through with rage, and or snyper but I shoot em in close and broadside. With that being said, if I were shooting your set up, I would do as Bruce suggested and shoot the 3 blade, or simply stay with what took down mulie...lol
My daughter shot this buck in Illinois two years ago shooting the blood runner 2 blade. She shoots a Hoyt bow set at 42# with a 27 inch draw and she shot the buck at 30 yards and the arrow stuck all the way through the buck.. I have been useing them now for three years and love them..
I have had poor results with my Bloodrunner 3 blades. I shot 2 deer with them last year and I only recovered 1 and both were shot under 20 yards. Both of my shots were too far forward(right in the shoulder). Usually this has never been a problem when I was shooting cut on contact heads. My setup was 71#DW 460gn arrow which has more than enough KE to pierce a shoulder blade(not socket) under 20 yards. If you look at the Bloodrunner head the ferrule needs to be tapered more to allow less resistance through the animal. I also have 2 heads that have seized up due to rusting and they have never been out of my quiver. I have met all the guys from Nap and I am in no way bashing them for this head I just think the head needs a little more R&D. I was at the Nap plant reviewing this head with Andy and Bob 3 months before this head was even publicly known and I mentioned the chamfering to them then but maybe after some R&D this might have caused weakness or something else. The Rage head has worked great for me in the past but I have more confidence with my Nitrons or Slick Tricks.
i shoot the 2 blade bloodrunner and get pass throughs pretty easily. and im not shooting heavy poundage either.
I shot the 2 blade bloodrunner and last year with my 2005 ultrasport set on 55 lbs I had a complete pass thru on every deer I shot I used the same head all I had to do was hold it open under the water for a few mins so it didn't lock from the blood drying.
I don't know what your actual KE is as I don't know how much your arrow weighs or how fast you're tossing it, but my rough guess is a 420 grain arrow doing about 250 fps. That's around 60 KE. Advertisers will tell ya you're good for either head. If I was shooting your set up, I'd be rocking some fixed blade Slick Tricks. That said, if you simply must shoot one or the other, I'd shoot the BR2. Rages just didn't impress me for durability. I've killed deer with both of them. At the time, I was pushing out 85 KE though. I shot two deer last year with the BR2, both of them came out fine. Out of 5 Rages that my bow tossed, 4 of them had bent ferrules. That's unacceptable.
I've tried both and had kills with both , ended up with a broken blade with the Rage that i ended up finding the hard way when i was butchering and a Bloodrunner that really didnt open up untill after entry and left a hard to tack blood trail ........never had one problem with the Standard Slick Tricks , thats what i will be using again this year .
Ive killed with both but hated the orings on the rage. I love the BR2. The blood trails are crazy! Im shooting them again this year.
I still intend on shooting my Nitrons or Slick Tricks, I was just tossing the ideas around in my head! Thanks for the input guys!
Regardless of your feelings regarding the design of the head, the fundamental issue here is shot placement. There aren't many expandable heads that are going to provide great penentration when encountering bone. This is true of all mechanicals, not just the Bloodrunner. IMO the biggest disadvantage to any mechanical is lack of penetration on marginal shots.
Marginal shot possibilities are the reason you need these mechanical heads! Errors happen and when they do that is when you need the increased cutting diameter that the mechanicals produce. If we were all always dead on with our shots a 1" diameter fixed head is all you would need.
Well there's two different types of marginal hits - those that hit bone, and those that hit soft tissue. If you hit too far back into the liver/guts the added cutting diameter is sure to help. Hit too far forward into the shoulder, and as you found out, you'll want the rock-solid dependability of the fixed-blade head. And I've killed a pile of stuff with a 1 1/16" cutting diamter head.
Broadheads should be sharp. IDC if they last beyond the shot (Blade wise) because I replace the blades after every shot animal. The brand name isn't nearly as important as the manufacturers would have you believe. They all kill gobs of critters annually, and every hunter will have you convinced that his head is the best for whatever reason. Shoot what YOU want, make sure they are sharp, and focus more on WHERE the arrow goes, not what type of arrow is going.
I think I stated this in another post but here goes again. One of the 150# hogs I killed last year was shot at 15 yards with the 2BR..........directly in the shoulder on purpose as a field test. When he wheeled and ran there was nothing left in the exit wound but half the fletchings and the nock which he kicked out when he ran by a large pin oak tree. At that time I was shooting a Switchback XT pulling 68#'s and slinging GT 5575's. My Father in law has shot and killed numerous critters with both the 2 and 3BR's included that elk at 18 yards shot right thru the brisket and exiting the last rib. He and I differ on our preference though with him liking the 2 blade and me the 3 blade. We havent had any penetration or "expansion" trouble with the BR's, however, all it takes is a misplaced shot and anything can happen. We actually shoot multiple animals with the same head after cleaning, sharpening and putting a drop or two of oil on the "plunger" part of the head. BTW, I have never shot the Rage heads so I cant compare anything to them.
