Another reason not use mechanical broadheads when hunting big deer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZRzBYuBIc4

Well, when I run into a buck that has a hide as tuff as OSB I will not shoot a Rage. It's all about KE and I have 100% confidiece my set up is paking the KE. A well placed Rage will bring down a northern deer as I and many others have already proven.

You will one day regret that decision. Why would you shoot a mechanical with there being many fixed heads that fly as well and do as much damage as the Rage with no where near the failure rate of the Rage.

Well to be honest Bill I might regret the decision but until then I will shoot the Rage. It's all about shot placement. It doesn't matter if you shoot a fixed head or mechanical. I have shot Muzzy, Steel Force and many other fixed heads that flew great. I have made poor shots and some that I felt should have been leathal with fixed blades. Both have resulted in lost deer. It happens, that's part of bow hunting. I have not had one Rage perform bad and every deer has died within sight. I can not say that I have had the same experience with a fixed blade. You shoot what you choose and I wish you the best. As far as I'm concerned shooting a fixed blade head and meachanical through OSB doesn't compare to shooting a whitetail. The Rage didn't pentrate as good but it didn't come apart either. I can tell you from experience I shot through both shoulder blades of a KY whitetail at 30 yards with a Rage and messed his world up. It's about KE and your set up. KE equals results when shooting a mechanical head....jsut my

I also for got to ask...show me a fixed blade head that leaves a 2" to 4" hole. The only head that might come close to a 2" rage will be Slick Trick and the simmions 190 gr. head. I have shot the big Steel Force heads and they are great but don't compare to rage hole. I swapped to the Rage because of results and my new bow set up. It doesn't like the big steel force heads I was use to shooting.

I think the failures with a rage head you are referring to are the 3 blade rage. I will not shoot the 3 blade nor would I advise anyone to shoot them. If you have some info on 2 blade rage failures would like to read that info.

A shoulder hit would be about like osb.No pass thru shot.A big hole on one side NEVER leaves the blood trail a pass thru does.Yes those steel
force heads made big holes squeaky,but how many did you loose due to no pass thru.Why do you think you are shooting better now than then ?
You also know how Northern Outfitters feel about mechanical broadheads,no matter which brand or name.

As much as I have criticized Rage broadheads for being a worse overpriced version of the earlier and better Snyper broadhead, I still totally agree with the above statement. Shoot a deer in the lungs with virtually any broadhead out there and they ain't going far. Hit them too far back in the guts or too far forward into the shoulder and recovering them will be a questionable venture for which no type of broadhead can compensate. Expandables are an easy scapegoat when a bad shot leads to an unrecovered deer. But many people lose deer shooting fixed heads too. They just don't talk about that as much because they don't have anything to blame it on but themselves.

I think I am shooting a better set up now than in the past. New equipment, a lot more research on the facts and personal experince along with pratice have lead me to performing better. Yes, I lost a one deer in IL with the steel force and few bama does with a Muzzy. A lot of my lost deer have been shoulder shots with some pass throughs and some not. I don't like a shoulder shot with an type head. Most times the resutls aren't going to be in the hunters favor.

Oh, I have the pics to prove a complete pass through both shoulders on a midwest deer is possible with a 2 blade rage. Heck, it might have been my lucky day but it happend.

Have you ever seen the rage video? Look at all of those deer running off with blood pouring out of them (one hole).

I shot two does last year the same evening with a 100gr. Wac'em. The first one I pulled the shot and punched her straight through the gut. The other deer did not run off, so I shot her also. Perfect hit. It went through the shoulder and was hanging out her other side behind shoulder. I thought she would not be far. I still have not found this deer, nor did I ever find the first drop of blood. I was in a cutover and I went straight to the tree she ran beside on the edge of the cutover about 75 yards from impact. Nothing. I recovered both pieces of my broken arrow in the cutover, good blood on both pieces. No blood on the trail in the cutover. However, I did find the gut shot deer that night.

BOHNTR, no impact hole does leave the blood trail of a passthru. Often muscles contract and close around the arrow shaft or the bleeding is internal.Everyone hopes their shot placement is perfect,but too many things can happen.We always aim for a good placement,but can end up with a gut shot or shoulder.I started with mechanicals
but was convinced by Squeaky to used fixed.On my second trip to Illinois I saw too many big deer
wasted by poor shots and mechanical broad heads.
I'll stick with Slick Tricks, you should try some.

I can't believe I'm getting in this argument (again) but for the "Shot Placement" gang, I just can't help myself.

Of course shot placement is the key, regardless of whether you're hunting with a rifle, pistol, bow, rock or spear.

But, unless your hunting experience is limited to video games or pictures in a magazine, you know damn well that perfect shot placement is as elusive as the fabled black painter.

Mechanical broadheads were introduced back in the childhood days of compound bows, before the concept of "tuning" a bow became widespread knowledge. Mechs were useful, at the time, to bridge the gap between the early cumbersome compounds and today's faster, quieter and more forgiving bows.

Fixed blades are proven more lethal and more forgiving for the occasional poor shot, not 100% by any means, but "more" forgiving.

I've seen a number of random surveys in recent years, some right here on AlDeer, which overwhelming suggest the bulk of unrecoverable deer were shot with mechanical broadheads.

I've also seen video footage and read many stories of deer shot with (particularly the Rage) mechanical broadheads, where the hunter or the author proclaimed a huge entry hole with no exit wound. It really doesn't matter how big the entry is, the lack of an exit is a recipe for an empty freezer.

RAGE!!!!! 2 blade rage are awesome. the farthest deer that has ran has been 15-20 yds. i hit a doe last year at 23 yds and she dropped just like you hit her with a 300 mag! she didnt even quiver! i love the rage and thats all there is to. an awesome broadhead...expensive but awesome. well worth the money!

Muzzy blades are NOT expensive and are also awesome.
The only deer I have ever lost to a Muzzy were the ones I clean missed.

I'm still shooting Muzzy's that are more than 5 years old, and each one of them have killed multiple deer. I have not even bought replacement blades in the last 3 years, since Shaw taught me how to resharpen them.

i have also shot muzzy,slick trick,thunderhead,with good success. these are all great broadheads.my pick for fixed blades is the slick trick which is what my wife shoots. i personally love the rage 2 blade because of the blood trail.although i have not got to follow one yet because i have seen all of my deer fall in sight. its all about shot placementand personal preference!!!

It's the opening in flight and/or the quiver that worries me the MOST about Rage broadheads. I would shoot em if I didn't have any other choice, but you can bet your arse that there would be some type of rubber band or something on em.

I'd disagree partly. It depends on which direction you screw up the shot as to which one is more forgiving. Pull the shot and hit the shoulder bone and I'll concede that a fixed head like a Muzzy will have a better chance at getting through bone far enough to still kill the deer. Although even with a fixed head that is by no means a certainty. Pull the shot and hit guts and the big wide cut of an expandable has a better chance of still hitting an artery, major vein, liver, kidney, etc, etc. Also holes in the guts are notorious for not bleeding very much and/or clogging up and not bleeding at all. A larger hole in the guts should help your odds of finding blood and the deer you hit too far back. Although just like with the fixed head vs the shoulder bone, it certainly doesn't guarantee it.

See my earlier comment about scapegoating. It doesn't take a lot of penetration to get both lungs on a deer. Even without an exit hole a lung shot deer isn't typically going more than 100 yards. I'll find any deer that doesn't go farther than that regardless of the bloodtrail. If he goes farther than 100 yards then you probably didn't hit him where you thought you did. I

And finally, if you shoot a deer behind the shoulder and don't get enough penetration to get into the lungs with virtually any head out there then here is what you need to do. Check the limbs on your bow and see if the words Mattel or Fisher Price are marked on them. If they are, then take it back to the store where you bought it and tell them that this time you want a bow from the sporting goods section and not the toy aisle.

Here is a Rage 2- blade I shot a doe with last year at 40 yards. I hit her low and forward directly in the upper leg/lower shoulder. The arrow The arrow did not penetrate but a few inches and fell out when she ran. I never found her although I trailed a faint blood trail for 75 yards or so.





As you can see the blades are bent and unusable. Worst $40 I spent on broadheads period.

Rebelman I hate to hear you lost the deer but with your poor shot placement the odds of you killing that deer with a fixed blade where silm to none as well. Why is it the heads fault that you did not find your deer when you plainly admit making a poor shot? A 40 yard shot with a bow is a marginal shot to take in the first place. It sounds like you are shooting a light arrown and not enough KE. A shoulder hit deer with any head is a poor shot and chances of finding that deer is slim. It happens to all who bow hunt, it's just part of hunting with a bow. Like I said, I have shot deer with a Muzzy, broke both shoulders on the pass through and never found the deer an little blood. Once again... good shot placement with any head will result in a dead deer.

I want someone to explain to me why I can shoot through a 180 lb midwest buck shoulder blades at 30 yards like it was hot butter with my bow using a 2 blade rage. I'm pulling 70 lbs. and shooting a 450 grain arrow. Was I just lucky that day? I doubt it....because I have my bow set up to hunt big midwest deer and to shoot mechanical heads. If you are shooting a fast bow with light arrows and using a mechanical you will have poor results on margianl shots when using mechanicals....bottom line.

Also the guy in the clip is shooting a 250 grain arrow. If he was shooting a 350 grain if feel the results would be a little better for the Rage. You got to have KE to equal penetration when using mechanicals. There are a lot of hunters out there not shooting enough KE when using a mechanical, which results in lost deer on margianl shots.

I never said it was the broadheads fault for not killing the deer. But IMO a fixed blade would have penetrated much better and given me a better chance at killing her, but so would better shot placement. The point of my post is to educate others on my situation so that they can make smart decisions if given the same opportunity.

Some people have to be educated the hard way, hell I'm one of them.
They will, eventually.
I know several folks who bought the same $40 education that you did.