I'm some what of a broadhead whore I've killed deer with a dozen different heads and they all perform great when you do your part. I will say though the most impressive blood trail I've seen came from rage extreme and grim reaper whitetail special

The elk outfitter I use in New Mexico told me the only restriction he had was NO mechanical broadheads. Just saying.

Shot one with a 2-blade Rage this weekend that went 40, maybe 50 yards with a blood trail granny could follow

There were some midwestern states where the outfitters didn't allow mechanicals. They make a living off killed deer, wounded and lost deer not so much. You guys do know if you go to an outfitter, if you shoot, but don't find the deer your hunt is over. They don't allow you to keep boogering their deer. Sooner or later your mecanical will fail.

I’ve never understood the reasoning for so many people switching to the news heads…..it just seems like a matter of going with the new fad rather than the most functional. Both of the shots I tracked last week got around 3-4 inches of penetration and just fell out at the hit site.

As others have already said, the only reason you are called in the first place is because someone made a crappy shot. That is not the fault of the broadhead. Yes, a fixed blade has less to go wrong, but also are not as accurate unless tuned to your bow. I've never had an issue unless i made a bad shot. I killed an 8ptr 10/16 and got a complete pass thru with the gator expandable. Your not going to shoot thru dense bone and get a pass thru. BTW, people are all about speed nowadays and are shooting lite arrows. Kinetic energy is where you get penetration and thats by shooting heavier arrows. I shoot Goldtip 400 grain hunter arrows and always get great penetration. Unless my gator hits a limb, i cant see any way it could fail. It has no choice but to open when it hits because of the way it is designed. It has no rubber bands holding it closed. Similar to a rage. I've used rage and they worked fine for me, just didn't like the price tag.

Do you mean 400 spine? Arrow weight is listed as gpi. Often it isn't listed on the shaft.

I'm shooting expandables this year because the bow I'm shooting refuses to tune right. As long as I make a good shot, I have no worries. With that being said, I would prefer to be shooting a ramcat or slick trick. You still need a heavy arrow with fixed blades, otherwise they won't go through bone either.

Yea atoler,400 spine, brain fart.

It sounds to me like folks are being too “pretty” with their setup…..counting on everything to go right. Most of our hunting spots though are in some form of thick and nasty. Places where deer are on top of you quick....shots are minimal and sometimes less than ideal.... and highly likely to be 25 yards or shorter….you know the kinds of places we all hunt around here for good deer. If I’m sitting in one of them places… then I want to be shooting something with some arse behind it and not some fancy chit designed to be accurate at 50-60 yards. Y’all are watching too many mid-west hunting videos.

It’s just a guess but I really feel like if either of the two hunters in those tracks would have been using a fixed blade with some weight on the arrow then we would have likely gotten either or both deer. Both were close range shots that should have drove up the arrow into the cavity of the deer even on a marginal shot. They may still have had to call in a dog to find it, but it would have been dead in that 400 yard bed. Maybe….maybe not. It seemed like those arrows they shot dang near bounced off the deer though. It’s all a matter of opinion I guess.

The deer I lost were shot on same arrow I still use. Fixed heads have always passed thru. My experience with mechanicals is that when they hit a bone they break or stop. Some of you guys may not consider that it uses up some of the energy nedd to pass thru when the blade deploy. Moving parts can always fail. Yes I had great blood trails everytime, but lost the deer. I was actually amazed at the blood loss, not to recover the deer. I made up my mind to work hard at never loosing another deer. I only take highh percentage shots at less than 25yds and use a SLICK TRICK, or Muzzy. I'd rather just watch a deer , than wound one. Watching deer is how you learn and very entertaining. If the deer is feeding most of the time if you just wait it will present a good shot.You can make a good shoot and hit a bone. I shot gators and snipers and lost deer on both. I believed the crap about fixed heads not flying right. Todays heads fly just like a field point. Hunt safe

Its partly on the hunter for a bad shot, but I don't think anyone could argue a fixed blade is better when it comes to penetration. Its physics: if you have moving parts you will lose energy. The same argument could be made against fixed blades that go over 2 blades.

To each their own... some guys prefer boobs, some guys prefer butts. Fixed blade broad heads fly like a paper airplane but pass thru easier. Mechanicals shoot straighter but many not penetrate as far. There's a bunch of broadheads for different animals and situations. If the freaking Indians can kill a deer with a sharp rock on the end of a stick you can dang sure kill one with ANY broad head on the market. I killed a pig with a Feild point once!!! Just saying....................
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Just trying to figure what these guys are doing. I shot an old rage 3-blade with Horton Aluminum arrow at 20 yards. No pass through, but got at least 12 inches of penetration and arrow broke off. Deer was almost broadside, slightly angling toward me shot behind shoulder. Ran 20 yards max with good blood. I would say they may be thinking they have a gun and shooting front shoulder with a glancing blow off the bone. If you have done much processing of deer there is some thick bone in there I just don't think all bows or crossbows could penetrate and cause the damage to kill like a gun. If they can't get the right shot some should just let them walk until next time imo.

Bow shots can be so finicky that it’s literally a matter of inches as to what happens after the shot. I will say though, that if at all possible…..you need to wait until you get a broadside or quartering away shot before shooting. I tracked one with AJ yesterday evening that was shot with a Rage two blade that hit about halfway back in the body but was quartering slightly away from the hunter. The arrow stayed in the deer for about 30 yards and fell out. It appeared to have hit the offside shoulder and stopped possibly. The deer only ran about 200 yards but there was hardly any blood to go on. An inch or two either way and maybe he gets a pass through and blood is everywhere. There’s so much less margin for error with bow shots than with guns.

That was my theory on some shots with shoulder you lose a lot of velocity trying to go through all that bone and ligament structure in that area. When a deer is walking toward you not much space to get around shoulder and little time to get off shot if deer is strolling by your stand. Sure any broadhead could glance off if hit the right bone and with right angle. I am sure everyone looks forward to more shot placement and tracking stories.