40KE and Rage should not be used in the same sentence. This line of marketing is RIDICULOUSLY irresponsible.
Sorry Bro, I set bows up for people, and the last damned thing I'm recommending is one of those things. Again, like I said, I'm not a big fan of them, but the fault usually lies in the shooter/hunter, not the BH. I'll use a nice 2 - blade FIXED cut on contact BH on a low KE set-up because that's what makes the best sense when taking into consideration all the different scenarios of where something may fail. I know it's a product that you're a staffer for so you have to support it, but how can a Rage ever compare to a Slick Trick or G5 Montec when the latter are both solidly made fixed blade heads, that many times may be capable of killing several animals before blades may ever need replaced. I punched the the same Slick Trick through 6 animals, losing it on the last animal as if flew across the mountain side in brush. No regrets on that one at all. Again, to each his own, but I don't believe 40KE is enough to punch a Rage through an animal if the hit isn't optimal, while it should be on a 2-blade COC BH in more situations. Watch the NAP Bloodrunner video of the lady gut shooting a bull w/ a Bloodrunner and still not getting much more than 2/3's of the arrow to penetrate. Sometimes being responsible as a hunter means limiting ourselves even in equipment selection. Amen, Jeff, AMEN!!!
Aaron, I'm glad they've held up for you, but I bent the ferrules quite easily on 3 out of the 5 shots that I took with them when I shot them. I've said it before, when they make a 1.75" 2 blade with a non alum ferrule, that can be had for the same price as the reg ones, they will have something IMO.
The only answer that I have is atleast we have a person on this board that is willing to make and educated guess or atleast an opinion I will support that. I guess its just me but I have never had a problem with the Titanium BHs at all. I even have my 5'4" 140 best friend shooting them and he has a 25' draw and pulls 60lbs he hasnt lost one yet but he wont shoot anything over 35 yrds. I guess it all comes down to being an ethical hunter
Jake, I think the last line says it all, it's very much so about being an "ethical hunter." For me, I look at performance, durability, and value, thus the Slick Tricks that ended up on the end of my arrows. For some guys, they want a BH that will do the most damage if they place a bad shot, i.e. the GUT SHOT, and Rage has more or less marketed that with their logo "Expand your killzone" or whatever they said. They've since pulled that logo, but it doesn't change the fact that they were marketing the BH in that way. I've killed deer with many different BH's, expandable and fixed alike, but for me, I've found that the durability and value of more Fixed heads is better than any expandable BH. Therefore, I'm shooting what I shoot. I still have some Wasp Jak-Hammers, Spitfires, NAP Shockwaves and a pack of Epek XC-3's around, but they're more likely to get used when I get my kids out with the crossbow when they're old enough. The other thing that Rages markets that appeals in many aspects to the less experienced bowhunters is the "Flies like a field point" phrase. When the bow and arrow combination are matched up right, many fixed BH's will fly like a field point, and when an archer/hunter takes time to BH tune his rig, in the end, he'll likely even end up shooting his FP's a little better. Even if someone plans on using a mechanical/expandable BH, I recommend they BH tune the bow to get a little better tune job and shoot just that slight bit better be it with FP's or BH's.
Same scenario: "Perfect shot, these broadheads suck!" Remember, that rage still has a cutting blade on the front of the head. If you hit where you say you did that deer is DEAD. Pretty easy to lay the blame on the equipment
I forgot I had these photos. A Doe I shot several years back. This is the EXIT hole, the entry was behing shoulder, she was quartering away. Complete pass through and it came out smack in the middle of the hard shoulder. I had a blood trail 2 ft wide for 70 yards. On impact it looked like someone threw a baloon full of red paint and hit her in the side.
ive never had a bad rage hit. every time ive ever used them the deer go down quick. i used a f-15 the other day and to see the difference is amazing. i had a good shot and the deer ran 200 yards with a lack luster blood trail. if i would have used my rage on that doe it wouldnt have went more than 60 yards. and for those people shooting lower lbs. and shorter draws. dont aim for the shoulder. its not going to go through no matter what bh your using. when you see guys doing that on tv, there shooting top of the line bows with 70-80 lbs. draws
"blah, blah, blah" ...... So a RAGE will make a deer drop in 60yds while another broadhead yields a 200yd. trail??? How so??? I shot a deer with a Slick Trick and it only went 5 yds, would a Rage have shortened that to 3 yds??? It's about shot placement, and if that deer ran 200yds with an F15, then it would have ran similar distance be the BH a Rage or a Slick Trick or a Shuttle T or whatever. Keep it low in the large vessels that animal won't go far..... This doe ran about 70yds.... This one went almost 50...... Same BH, both heart shots, so would your Rage would've done it quicker??? Both BH's had been through multiple animals prior to these big old does. As for the RED, you should NEVER aim for the "shoulder," you should be hitting that deer in the lower half of the chest in line with or just behind the vertical line where the leg meets the body. EDIT: I found your post, sounds like a better shot may have yielded a better result.....
Look, I gave my opinion on these heads. I've shot more deer than most of you see in your dreams and have actually shot put together. I know where the hit was and if it was my Shuttle T that hit it in the same spot it would be down. How do you explain what happened in my case. Go back and read the facts of the original post and then give an opinion as to what happened. I"ve been doing this for 45 years. You guys say even a bad hit will produce results, this wasn't a bad hit. It penatrated 27" of a 30" arrow. It could have hit the back shoulder thus the non pass thru. No bleeding so to speak. If you hit a deer anywhere with these heads and they open like they are designed to there would be blood everywhere. I know, I have shot a deer with an expanable before.
Sorry to hear you're having a tough time with them Rick. So far I'm 100% pass through and recovery with them. Farthest went maybe 80 yards. You've been hunting longer than I've been living so I believe you about the hit. Makes one wonder. But... you can still send the other two my way
Jake....I probably took 15 deer with Rage heads a few years ago (before I switched to traditional tackle). I sung the praises of the head for a long time (shot from a well-tuned bow....with plenty of KE to push them, they are awesome heads). But this 40KE business is RIDICULOUSLY irresponsible. These heads eat up a tremendous amount of energy, passing through animals. You can do a poll, here, and ask how many people get clean pass-throughs with their rage heads (arrow in the ground = pass through). I'm just not buying what you're selling. And, it's advertising like this (40KE) that will turn advocates (like me, previously) away from the company. Irresponsible is the nicest word I could think of to use.
THIS! As a bowhunter ed instructor I am often asked by newer, younger bowhunters what head I would recommend they shoot. A lot of these kids are shooting bows like the Diamond Edge with a 40lb draw weight. I don't recommend any specific brand, thats frowned upon by the hunter ed powers that be. However I ALWAYS tell people shooting low DW, short DL bows to use a quality, razor sharp, cut on contact head. Why use any of your limited KE on getting a mech head to open? rage came out with this head as a band-aid for all the bad publicity they were getting from non opening heads on low KE set ups. It would be much more responsible on the Rage to put a warning label on the packs on thier regular heads. NOT RECOMMENDED FOR BOWS WITH LESS THAN 60 LBS OF KE. But that wouldn't make much money would it..... Oh, and for what its worth I have a Rage 2 blade in my quiver right now, along with a Montec CS, a Rocket steel head and a couple of standard Muzzys. All of them have the same POI. I just like to experiment. The Rage does have a rubber band around the middle.
this type of thought process will lead to lost deer due to bad shots oh, and this too .. Now if the Original post from Rick came from a one-post wonder, I would claim spam ... but Rick is a solid, truthful, experienced guy .. so I have no idea what may have happened here, rick. Sorry about that, Bro And GMMAT and OH are right on with the 40lb thing ....
I'm 9/9 with Rage broadheads. Pass throughs are a premium with them though, I have put 2 holes in every deer I have shot with them but only one left the arrow sticking in the ground. If you have the energy to push these heads, I see NO reason not to use them. LIke others have said, it's all about where you hit them, and the decisions you make post shot.
I don't believe anyone was accusing you of ill-experience. I the way I look at it is there was a reason for no blood. It hit the off side shoulder, you said it yourself. I HATE rage heads, but it still doesn't mean you have to totally discount them for one, not so good blood trail. Last year I shot a doe with a Magnus Stinger 4 blade. I had zero blood on a double lung pass through hit, luckily I watched her fall. Anyone who has shot these heads would agree that this is not normal. I really have no idea why it happened, but it did. You have to roll with the punches and make the best post shot moves. Not every animal is the same, it's a weighted risk in bowhunting.
Rages have been know to NOT open on impact on both targets and animals. They have had suspect issues with durability. They are a pain to change blades in. They require a LOT of KE for optimal performance. They have popped open in flight. They have popped open in the quiver. ( I know, you can fix that with a band-aide, but why?) The company has run what I would argue to be the most irresponsible and unethical advertising campaign of any product in the industry. I know several hunters that have used them, and none of them continue to do so. Why take a chance with something so important when there are so many great fixed blade heads on the market that will shoot just like fieldpoints from a well-tuned bow? How many of you would buy a brand of bow that is kown to have mechanical failures? Rickmur, I would guess you passed through the deer and hit the off-side shoulder. But likely, the blades either did not open, or broke off on entry. Otherwise, you would of had a short tracking job.
