Good point. A hunter liking the benefits of a 2" cutting diameter over a 1" diameter is certainly good cause to doubt the future of hunting.
I wouldn't say I'm a hater, but I did have concerns hunting with them in winter months. The rubber O ring would stiffen and if the blade was bumped out by the quiver, it wouldn't hold the blade in place. I couldn't risk the blades opening prematurely. I never did get to shoot anything with them, but have shot plenty with my Muzzy's. I've been told that they changed the design of the O ring with a new rubber compound. They do leave a gaping whole when they work.
what do you mean by the "right setup" for them? i use them and have always had sucess. this year i hit a doe too far back but thanks to the rage and the amazing blood trails i was able to recover it. did i get lucky with having the right set up?
What draw weight do you shoot? This is usually what "right setup" is referred to as because you need alot of kinetic energy to push a 2" expandable through a deer. Glad you recovered your gut shot deer, however i dont think it was just because you used a Rage that you recovered it...
Without a doubt! And I really worry that so many people say "it let's you make a poor shot and still recover the animal". That's so bad to say, its gonna cause so many bow hunters to practice less and take less ethical shots cuz some guy online said their rage head will kill the animal, they just have to hit it. Not a good message, especially for new hunters.
As far as your shot on the "absolute monster" buck You hit 2 ribs and didn't get a pass through ?? ... impressive I stick to my comment as to concern with the OP's shot on a doe that he was proud of and that same shot on a 4.5 year old buck would have very different results.
Wow, who would have thought that the topic of Rage broadheads would be so controversial. If you don't like them DONT SHOOT THEM. I love people that pretend to know everything about these broadheads and have never used them in the field AND make definitive statements on how these broadheads will perform on large bucks. I guess hunters like myself and Chuck Adams, Tom Miranda, Babe Winkelman and the Drury Outdoors are idiots for using Rage heads and instead should read more posts from guys like Backcountry and gutone4me. Geez, you guys sound like the people that rode horses back in the day and would yell at the people driving the first cars telling them to "ride a horse!". To each his own... Gutone4me, are you knocking my buck? The absolute monster comment was more about the body size on this buck although he will be in the B&C books when the taxidermist is done. He is the largest bodied deer I have taken but not the largest B&C. Forget the forum know it alls the proof is in the puddin (check out below video) http://ragebroadheads.com/ragetv/commercials.html#.UOBI08WDxf8
"it let's you make a poor shot and still recover the animal" - Who said that? Poor shot is a poor shot regardless of broadhead used. My point was having the extra inch of cutting diameter may mean the difference between a one lung and two lung shot or hitting the heart or NOT hitting the heart if your shot is off an inch. I'm not suggesting that the broadhead will make up for a bad shot but if your shot is a BIT off (say 2-3") it may mean the difference of getting that buck or not. And with that I'm done...next topic. Happy thoughts
So... Your saying you completely bought the marketing ploy. Nice. Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2
Guys Im a former Rage user, around 15 kills with them they performed great, and a couple of those were on Blocky body mature Bucks! However, I had the right setup for the heads and 95% of the time the arrow was placed where it needed to be (im not perfect) The Rages did have issues with durability, blade changing was a challenge when the allen heads stripped or the threads got dirty and were tough getting apart. I had issues with blades opening in the quiver even when I had dental rubber bands as extra holders. That didnt bother me as im not bothered to easily with deturents, the devistation on the game I shot made easier to deal with. HOWEVER, given the right set up again for the head im now using Killzones. I cant say enough good about this head as they are like a Rage but with all the bugs ironed out. Not once have they opened in my quiver, the design is better for replacing the blades also. I have only one Doe kill with them so far with them but was not dissapointed. There def more durable and you can tell that just from handling them. I cant wait to try them on spring Turkeys to. Rages are good given the right setup and good shot placement but IMO If you try the kill zones you never go back to the Rages. Give em a shot!
Just watched your video... didn't learn much. Mark Weinkauf needs to learn the anatomy of an Antelope Terry Drury is a marketing *****. Rick Kreuter thinks it's OK to shoot a mech. head on a trad. bow If I shoot Rage I can expect pass through's 15% of the time. With my fixed blades I expect to get a passthrough 90% of the time.... And I do. What they didn't show you was contact on bone, i.e. shoulder blades. If they can't make it through a ribcage what happens when you hit a scapula? Perhaps their new slogan should be Rage kind of through the Cage!
One simple question for you rage users. How many of you would climb into a tree stand 20 feet up that had the same chance for failure as has be shown the rage does?
It was said more then once in this thread and in about ever other rage (or other big mech head for that matter) thread. It's almost become a selling point. Then we have people believing it. Heck we had a guy on here not that long ago shooting deer at 40 yards with a 40lb draw bow using rage. People thing they screw these heads in and they will just kill deer. It's wrong. They been out so long now. If mech heads really were all the hype, not to many places would still make fixed blades. Most people try expandables then come back over time to fixed. Because theres nothin to worry about with them. If you put the time on the range like you should, fixed will fly just as good. And when they hit the animal, there's no wondering bout much, you know without a doubt that head opened, stayed opened, and drove as deep into the game as your set up allows.
I have never heard of an outfitter that will not allow fixed blade heads in camp. I have never heard of states that dont allow fixed blade heads. Can't say that about Rage. Must be a reason...
You are correct I have never actually field tested a Rage on a deer. I feel to the hype a couple years ago but after just a few trips to the woods with them and having them open in my quiver or opening while my bow was hanging in the tree I just threw them away. I was not knocking your buck at all you made a good shot and any broad head kills that deer quick. If they work for you great but they will fail you at some point you have been lucky so far. As far as the proof being in the puddin .... puddin is the only thing a Rage will pass through :D Maybe someone can start a sensitivity class for Rage users
Got a buddy who uses Rages...why can't Rage users be like him. "I use them but I understand they will lose to bone as they're made to make a huge cut not go through bone of any kind" I don't agree with that mindset but at least he admits Rages are terrible against bone and are not durable.
I used Rages for 2 years and I never had a single problem. That being said, my bow is 30" at 70lbs. The longest shot I took was 30 yards, but I got a pass through every time. Ironically, the only shot I had not gotten a passthrough on was when I was shooting a Slick Trick. It was 100% my fault though, I hit the buck too high. I went back to Slick Trick Magnums this year, though. Just one less thing to worry about, and a better chance of busting through the shoulder blade.
