Rage brodhead = bad day..

[flipajig]

Im hunting a small pice of property that just oppend up to me so i wanted a blade that would leave a masive blod trail and do the most damage possible witch would = short tracking job hopefuley. So I went with the RAGE verry bad idea.. Ive been shooting a bow for over 30 years so im not a newbee.. Im shooting 70 lb at 280fps a 430grn arrow with a 100 grn brodhead ive never had a problem with passthrough shots. Day starts great the area is way over populated with deer so any deer is a good deer. Heard reduction is what we are after now im not shooting at fawns I WONT GO THERE.. A spike stpes out so I get ready he comes over in range so I get ready draw back and pull the trigger and shoot just over his back he runs off a short distance and looks around wondering what had just happend then slowley moves off. I was shooting at a steep angle and forgot about bending my body and not just my arm MY MISTAKE.. about 30 to 40 min pass and a doe and to fawns step out im sitting there watching them play butting heads and jumping around what a show. then another spike steps out follwed be a little 4pt. (they have to be atleast 13" inside spread)so im not able to shoot him so my foces goes to the spike. I wait for my shot ive alrady checked the blade to make shoure that the O ring is in place he turns brodside I settle in for the shot touch the trigger on the release and then all *&^& breaks loose for what reason I still dont know the arrow pulls hard to the left and hits the spike in the neck the arrow passes through im dumb founded I see the hair on both sides of his neck is messed up I get down and retreve my arrow and find hair on the brodhead and on my fletch with NO BLOOD.. The last time that I saw the spike he was shaking his head and NO BLOOD his neck. I still go to the last place that I see him and NO BLOOD anywhere the only conclusion that I can figure out is the RAGE FAILD TO OPPEN. Needless to say im going back to a MUZZY I feel verry bad for what has happend to the deer but I do beleve that he will be fine becouse I saw no blood any where. I will never shoot another mecanical blade again it will be a fixed blade or a cut on contact. no question in my mind....I hope that this will help someone I have also gone to Basspro and Cabellas and read the revues on the Rage there are others out there that have expersed the same thing I did so once again bewear of the RAGE not for me EVER...

 

[HGUNHNTR]

It is certainly possible that you missed vital veins and arteries in the neck. I have had this happen with a .270 Weatherby. I made what I thought was a nice neck shot, the deer dropped to the ground, and got up and ran out of the county. There is certainly enough real estate in the neck to afford a non-lethal shot. I wouldn't chalk the failure to kill up to the broadhead based on one experience. It sounds like shot placement could have been the issue.

 

[flipajig]

I fully understand that a neck shot is not the best placement for a bow and it is verry easy to miss the vital's in the neck. When I was able to see the neck from both sides it did not apear to be much damage done by the brodhead and arrow at a distance of about 40 to 5o yds. It looked like I was shooting a field point and not a brodhead you would think with a blade with over 2'' of cuting area there would be more damage. As ive stated after reading some of the revues on the rage where other's have had simular problems.

 

[Zeke/PA]

Do your Hunting Broadheads shoot to the same point of impact as your target/practice arrows?

 

[flipajig]

The point of aim is the point inpact the rage gave me great accuracy at all distance
I pratice almost every day from 20 yds to 50. so to anser you question yes and as ive stated I try to test every thing before I go out in the field. I also have taken several deer with a stick and string ive been bow hunting ceince the early 80's.

 

[ghitch75]

i tried those pop up blades when the first came out....after stickin' 1 and chasin' it 3 miles before it died(like shootin' them with a field point!!!) i went back to 4 blade mussy's 145gr, 4 fletch left twist 2413, 80# alpine sierra magnum(bought new in 1986).....then they look like they got hit with a 12g slug!!!

 

[Kingcreek]

I don't like any extra moving parts on my arrows. I have used 100gr Muzzy 3-blades for years and years and shot them thru lots of meat and bone. sometimes mechanicals fail but its also possible something else happened to interfer with your arrow before it got there.

 

[wheelgunslinger]

I shoot traditional, but I've seen, heard, and read online a lot of complaints about mechanical heads.

I think that a lot of what makes one able to bowhunt confidently is the ability to be certain of your equipment. I don't blame you for quitting rage if for no other reason than to go back to what you feel works best for you without fail.
But, this is why we try new things and evaluate them.

 

[brettrow]

I never take neck shots for that reason. And when Im bowhunting up high, I aim a little lower since the arrow will "lift" like an airplane wing. Sorry to hear about the day, Im sure the next trip will be better.

 

[Freedom_fighter_in_IL]

I wait for my shot ive alrady checked the blade to make shoure that the O ring is in place he turns brodside

Ok my first question, What O ring? The only O ring on a Rage is a shock absorber. It has nothing to do with the blade closure. If you added an O-ring or placed the Shock absorber on the blades then you goofed up.

I still dont know the arrow pulls hard to the left

Sounds to me like you hit a small limb.

All in All I see you giving a bad report on the Rage product for your OWN mistakes. I personally don't use them as I am more than happy with my G5 Montechs, but I know many that use the Rage Broad head and have seen some pretty nasty entry and exit wounds from their use. Giving a bad report on a product when you failed to use that product properly is not a good thing to do.

 

[FLAvalanche]

for what reason I still dont know the arrow pulls hard to the left and hits the spike in the neck

One of the blades partially opened on release pulling the arrow. It then probably closed during flight or on impact.

 

[wombat13]

Shouldn't you be shooting doe if herd reduction is the goal?

 

[Jwbfx4]

There are a ton of people that love the Rage broadheads, but I know a lot of people that have lost deer because of not getting a pass through or the blade not appearing to open up. Most people I talk to that use them are split on their performance. I personally like a good fixed blade muzzy.

 

[Freedom_fighter_in_IL]

One of the blades partially opened on release pulling the arrow

Fla, Not on a Rage. They are rear opening using slip cam technology. They can't open on release. They have to hit the forward deployment lever to open and lock the blades. I've seen them launched at speeds over 370fps from crossbows and not open in flight. As far as mechanicals go, they are pretty much hands down the best design on the market. The new Rocket Meat Seeker heads seem to be a pretty solid design as well with the piston driven deployment. But I'll still stick with my tried and true Cut on Contact G5's. If it aint broke don't fix it.

 

[kyle1974]

another bad shot blamed on a rage....

 

[hardluk1]

Just stop shooting for the neck. Deer are to quick and jump even speed bows . Shot at the chest. With 30 years of shooting that should be a given. To friens have had great luck with the rage, I shoot cut on contact 3 bades. They always work.

 

[matrem]

I'm certainly not a mechanical broadhead fan either..but..

brodhead and arrow at a distance of about 40 to 5o yds.

280 fps is WAY too slow to cover that spectrum, not only on your inadvertent neck shot, but even on a "boiler room" shot at a whitetail.

Most of us have had things happen with shots at animals that we wish wouldn't have happened. We owe it to the game we hunt and ourselves to learn from it, and do our best to not repeat it.

 

[flipajig]

Freedom fighter in IL.. Sir if you look at the back of a rage brodhead ther is a small O ring to help hold the blade close so that they dont deploy in flight.. as for matrem I have made shots out to 60 to 70 yds witha compleat pass through. im not by any means braging I have never tryed to make a neck shot on a deer with a bow and never will.
Did I do something wrong maybe I dont know. Tonight I went out and shot off a ladder and off my roof trying to duplcate the shot again and I was hitting where I wanted out to 40 yds with a field point or a MUZZY pratice blade. as for the heard reduction the doe that came in that morning gave me no shot.
Im not out to beat up a product or brag im just trying to give other bow hunters a heads up on a verry pore performance of a product and im not trying to give a bad report.
If I had done something wrong I would admit it and as of right now I still dont know what went wrong all I know is what ive seen and said. I still think that the RAGE faild to oppen and perform the way that they are suposed to. I am 46 years old and was able to take a mule deer doe at 40+ yds at 16 years old I was shooting a Jennings super T 11 and if we got 200fps we were lucky and it was a pass through shot she ran if I remember right around 100 yds. yall can beleve me if you would like its your choice.

 

[Freedom_fighter_in_IL]

Flip, that O-Ring has nothing to do with holding the blades closed. It is a shock absorber that aids in making sure the blades lock open. The "jarring" from impact would sometimes unseat the cam lock and allow the blades to close back. The O-Ring helps eliminate that problem. Was this a 2 blade or a 3 blade? Which model Rage was it? An older one or the latest? I am by far no advocate for mechanicals as I too have had bad experiences with them. Not the rage but some older model Rockets and a couple of others. But I have found, through several friends that also Bow Hunt, that the Rage heads seem to deliver a very good wound channel and, from what information I have been given by them, always seem to open and deliver well. And from what I have seen personally from inspection of the deer that they have taken, they are a nasty head. I have seen wounds on deer that were more devastating than deer hit at 100 yards with a .300 win mag and 130 grain ballistic tips! I am talking flat OPENED UP!

Now as far as you getting pass through's at 60 and 70 yards, I would be hard pressed to see that from about any broad head on deer. (Except them little Florida and tiny texas rats with racks ) <--- That'll get some giggles going! Now there are ways, with 2 bladed fixed and mechanicals, that you can get a pass through by being lucky and catching no rib just cartilage at those ranges. But that is very few and very far between. Having bow hunted at an earlier age than most, and done it all my life, I have tested vast amounts of equipment not only for myself but several companies as well. I am no expert, nor do I feel anyone is as archery is an ever growing art and one that noone can truly master, I do have a very strong knowledge base in the field as do most of the ladies and gentlemen I hunt with. I grew up with a Traditional longbow and took many deer with it. I then moved to compound back in the early 90's and fell in love with it. While there are many advantages to mechanicals, there are just too many disadvantages with most of them for me to switch. Especially with the latest cut on contact fixed blades out now that fly dead on with your field tips with no tuning needed. And yes sir there are a few that actually live up to that claim. But if I were to switch, you could bet it would be to the Rage unless something even better came out.

 

[blackops]

280 fps is WAY too slow to cover that spectrum

280fps won't cut it for 50yd shots?? hmm My bowtech goes 275fps through my chrono and through pigs at 50yds. One's string will get jumped from time to time, but if it's a common problem stablizers may be the answer. Not 10 more pfs.

 

[flipajig]

Freedom I dont know if they were old or new modles if the O ring was to be used as a shock absorber then the blades move around freeley this dosent sound right. on the back of the blade there is a notch where the O slips in there on the pack there were 3 blades one oppen one half oppen and one closed with the O ring in that notch they were a 2 blade. As for 60 and 70 yd shots they happend. as you stated that you have been bow hunting for a while great. I grew up in Idaho and Montana on one ocasion and it was a 60 to 70 yds the arrow passed through and stuck in a tree if I remember right about 1/2 the leath of the brodhead we were shooting savora 100grn 3 and 4 fixed blade.I still have some and if I could get good arrow flight out of them I would be useing them today.

 

[hardluk1]

matrem You are not going to find many bows shooting hunting wieght arrows, 400gr, that are truely faster than high 280's. Even the latest and greatest mathews and bowtecks when useing hunting weight arrows are around that and many guys that shoot year round will take a darn nice deer at 40 to 50 yards. My pearson gets right along 282 with a 389gr arrow at 62lb's. I have killed at 40 yards just fine. No line jumps. Very quite bows can do that distance just fine in a seasoned hunter shooting for the only smart area, the chest.

 

[Freedom_fighter_in_IL]

Actually hardluk1, that is incorrect. 2 of my BowTechs and 2 of my Hoyts shoot in excess of 300fps with total weight arrows of 550 grains with 100 grain BH's on them. All are strung from 70 to 75 pounds with 29.5 inch draw. That is through the Chrony.

That being said, I by far am no advocate for shots in excess of 40 yards with a bow for many reasons. The key reason is flight time. Even at 300fps, it still takes a bit of time for that arrow to get there past 40 yards and that deer, even if relaxed and feeding, could take a step right at the release point and you end up with a gut shot deer. Example, you are at 50 yards, that = 1/2 of a second from release to impact at 300fps, in 1/2 second that deer could move forward a full 12 inches even taking a relaxed step forward. If you are aiming at the 10 ring on a deer, that 12 inches just made that perfect shot dead center gut and more than likely an unrecovered animal that will go off to die a miserable and horrible death.

I don't care if you are the best archer on the planet, when shooting at a live target, you can NOT control what that animal is going to do. Shooting on live game is more than different than shooting at a McKinsey target. That target doesn't move. Animals do. It is up to us as hunters to choose an ETHICAL shot to cleanly and quickly harvest our game animals. We owe it to them. By ethical I mean a REASONABLE range, a clear shot, and shooting well WITHIN yours and your equipments abilities.

Can I make 60 yard shots? Yes sir as I practice up to 100 yards with a bow. Makes those 40 and closer yard shots MUCH easier. If you practice your form at further ranges it will make your ETHICAL shot ranges that much better. Will I take a shot past 40 yards? No sir. I will let that animal walk and work harder to get closer the next time.

 

[srkavanagh6621]

My brother recently shot a little buck with a rage and had basically the same experience. Only difference is he hit it perfect basically messing up both heart and lungs. He said he made a good hit so we wondered around finding no blood whatsoever and finally stumbled upon it. It was a perfect hit with barely a speck of blood. I also had a bad experience last week with the meat seeker where a hit a huge buck probably over 180 class right behind the shoulder and never retirived it. never again am i using a mechanical broadhead. Stick with the muzzy they work everytime.

 

[matrem]

as for matrem I have made shots out to 60 to 70 yds witha compleat pass through.

Certainly an arrow(and good broadhead) at 280 fps would have no problem performing lethal duty on a whitetail at 70 yds plus.
My point was: 280 fps is nowhere near fast enough to wonder if the shot was 40... or 50, or somewhere in between!