I know this is a controversial topic but I just shot a doe at 30 yds with a rage two blade and it did amazingly well... again. I misjudged the range and hit a little high in her spine. took a huge chunk out of the spine and was deflected down where it chopped through four ribs before leaving her body and sticking three inches in the ground. the blades were bent badly but it did it's job and dropped her just fifty yards away. I just want to say that after two years I've never had any problems and don't understand all the haters.
In the right setup they can be awesome BH's. In the wrong setup they are questionable. Unfortunately, due to unethical marketing, they are on way too many wrong setups.
i have used them for probably 3 or 4 years now and i absolutly love them every deer i have shot whit them has gone down in sight farthest was 100 yeards and closest was 25 yards. as long as you have the right set up for them they do wonders.
Only shot one deer with them, it went between two ribs and through the heart died in 30 yards I know it was a lucky shot I would like to get a shot at a different deer with them.
I shot a 3 1/2 year old buck this year with one and it chopped through a couple of his ribs before double lungin' him. His opposite side leg did however stop the broadhead. I would say the doe I just shot was 3 1/2 years old too. Big girl with lots of fat on her.
Chunk of the spine...I'm surprised with any broadhead it made it past 20 yards....let alone 10. Congrats on the harvest! I am a touch lost though how you said it hit the spine and then went down taking out 4 ribs....the angle of the shot taken may help some with my inability to imagine the shot and arrow flight?
Never had a deer go more than 50 yards when using them. Hands down best broadhead out there. But I'm a little confused also on how the deer ran at all if you took a chunk out of its spine?
I never understood all the hate either, but a bit of advice. DO NOT try to change the haters minds. They have formed their opinion based on either BS that they have read, or bad shots they made that no broadhead would have helped with. Maybe quality was an issue when they first came out, I don't know because I was too busy shooting the original that Rage copied, the Rocky Mountain Snyper. No 2" cut broadhead belongs on a 50lb bow, or even 60lbs with lightweight carbon arrows. Same common sense prevails as with any broadhead.
I shot a fox with one a while back. It went about 8 yards and was done. I won't hesitate to use them. I like the Nap Shockwaves too.
By chunk of the spine I mean that a piece of the vertibrae came off , that sent the arrow at a downward angle as well as a diagonal angle, like shooting a "quartering to" deer. I was super surprised finding the ribs cut like that, hence the post. The high quality blades on that lightweight ( 100 grain) head, and the 300 grain carbon arrow actually cut right through the ribs about midway down them (I shoot a 70 lb. invasion) . She was definately a big doe by my standards. I did not sever the spinal cord or explode it like some think a different setup would do. I'm just sayin' that head did serious damage. I also have some new G5 Montecs but every time I nock one up it just doesn't inspire confidence in me like the rage. I really need to force myself to shoot a deer with one though for comparison. I'm open minded but I'm also an " If it"s not broken, don't fix it" kind of guy.
There are generally two types of bowhunters, the ones that hate Rage, and the ones that dont hate them yet. Seriously, around here, a LOT of guys that I know (including me) have used them, none of us still do. Maybe our larger bodied deer are tougher on them? Even if they were great I never understood why anyone would want to mess around with a head that you have to use a rubber band to hold the blades shut. Also, one shot and done nearly always. I have fixed broadheads in my quiver that have killed several deer and turkeys each. And Rage's cost twice what they are worth due to the huge advertising budget. I have dropped dozens of deer in less than 50 yards with fixed blade heads. The bigger cut really has nothing to do with killing the deer, but can cause a lot of problems. There just is not enought to gain by using expandables to outweigh the cons. Chalk me up as a hater with first hand experience on both good and bad shots. Thats no BS. If you are shooting tons of KE and live where the deer are small bodied, and love expensive one use heads, shoot away!
Gotta agree with ya on the cost thing. And the fact they try to turn around and sell replacement blades for pretty much three cost of the complete deal. I've been using them for three years and I gotta say the first thought that goes through my mind when letting one go is "well that heads most likely done." I think a lot of people look at the big cut diameter as not having to worry bout making the perfect shot. Which I probably did but thats not the best attitude to have, especially when I've had bad shot the blades were either broke or bent bad enough you weren't getting that big cut anyway. I know I'll be looking at something different for next year.
I shot Magnus Stingers for years.......no issues, I think one or two non pass throughs in about 25 or so deer. For no reason I switched to Rages just for a change of pace. I shoot 63lbs out of a 27" draw Destroyer 350. I have shot a few deer now with the Rages and they are better at opening BIG holes and you honestly don't need to practice with them.......as horrible as that advice sounds its true. The Stingers I shot were sharper and 4 blades are better then 2. I will stay with Rage until they fail me or I get bored again. If they got pulled from the market tomorrow I wouldn't care at all and just go back to shooting Stingers. I don't like the Rage Extremes as they are just asking for trouble but truthfully any lost game falls on the stupidity of the buyer and not Rage because they sell a 40KE model as well. A well placed shot will kill any deer with whatever head you choose. I think most broad head failures are more likely hunter error/poor shooting.
hahaha this is aways a good topic! I used the first series rage broadhead and watch the deer run off with my arrow and there wasnt a single drop of blood! I used the rage extreme and dropped 2 bucks this year with them...go figure!!
