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The Great Broadhead debate

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MN Hunter

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I have heard a lot of people knocking on Rage Broadheads so I just had to share this photo of a deer my buddy shot this past season with a 2 blade rage. He had a perfect 25 yard quartering away shot, only problem was the small branch he did not see before the arrow was released. The arrow deflected off the branch and his ideal shot turned into a bowhunters nightmare. The shot was in the evening so he gave it over night and picked up the trail first thing in the morning. What he found was a blood trail he could walk and follow with ease. At the end of the 175yard blood trail lay a beautiful 164" 10pt. I dont have any experience with a fixed broadhead on this type of shot, but I'm guessing the out come would have not been this good.

I have shot many deer with with fixed and mechanical broadheads. The only deer I lost was because I didn't give it enough time to die after a 1 lung hit. I used a spitfire 3 blade.

On a side note, 5 years ago my dad wounded a dandy 11pt with a shotgun and 20 yards. The buck went down and got back up, he thought he made a perfect shot. We searched all over and found it 10 days later about 40 yards from where we park the truck on the main trail we walk in on. The hit had been directly in the shoulder. Even that winchester 2 3/4" slug didnt penetrate the shoulder enough to kill that buck right away. Bottom line is, whatever type of broadhead we use, it all comes down to shot placement.
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I shot a Turkey with a Rage 2 Blade last week and the hole it put in it was absolutely incredible. I think as long as you make sure the O-Ring is not old and cracked and that the blades are seated against the O-Ring firmly when you nock your arrow, it is going to perform like it should every time. I have shot three deer and one turkey with them and am very impressed.
 
Personally I have nothing but good things to say about the Rage 2 blade. To my knowledge, Rage has a new 2 blade head in the works right now and they have addressed the O ring issue and beefed up the blades. It has a 2.3 inch cutting diameter and is supposedly a tougher head. We shall see. I'm not affiliated with Rage in any way nor do I really care that they are advertising whores, they cut a phenomenal hole and the deer expire very quickly. 19 deer and counting and not a bad experience yet. Knock on wood :)

That picture is insane! I wonder if the head was doing some cutting as the deer ran? Was the arrow in the buck or was it placed there for the pic? Crazy either way.
 
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Been using 2 blade rages for 5 years now and have nothing but good things to say about them! That picture is just crazy btw! Wow!
 
Missing the point. I hope you never miss the buck of a life time because you used equipment that could fail you. That is indeed a amazing hole for a broadhead.
 
Shot placement is key. Many times you can't see 100% where your arrow hit. Alot of deer lost with any head (including rage) are due to poor placement rather than the broadheads fault.

Never shot rage myself, but have used a few different mechanical heads with success. I'm back to fixed blades now just because that's what I have (slick trick).
 
Just shot my 11 deer with rage 2 blade have had very good sucess so far. The only deer I had trouble finding was a gut shot buck he still only went 150 yards and left the doe he was hot on. I still say its all shot placement.
 
My experience with Rage has not been so good.

My friend and I have each shot 2 bucks with the rage broadheads and all 4 of them had horrible bloodtrails and ran 200+ yards before expiring.

All bucks were recovered, but I am really disappointed at the blood trails.

None of these 4 bucks were bad shots either....most of them broadside double lung.

I am switching back to fixed blade heads next season because I had better bloodtrails and never had a buck run 80 yards after being shot with a fixed head.

Those 2 blade heads just make a slit and it gets plugged up so the blood trails stink.....at least for me they do.

To each their own, but I am switching back to a fixed head.
 
nacho2770 said:
My experience with Rage has not been so good.

My friend and I have each shot 2 bucks with the rage broadheads and all 4 of them had horrible bloodtrails and ran 200+ yards before expiring.

All bucks were recovered, but I am really disappointed at the blood trails.

None of these 4 bucks were bad shots either....most of them broadside double lung.

I am switching back to fixed blade heads next season because I had better bloodtrails and never had a buck run 80 yards after being shot with a fixed head.

Those 2 blade heads just make a slit and it gets plugged up so the blood trails stink.....at least for me they do.

To each their own, but I am switching back to a fixed head.
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Gonna have to call BS on this one...... I agree each to their own, but you can't tell me you honestly had 4 broadside double-lung shots without much for bloodtrails....... BTW, 200 yards isn't really that far for a deer to run after being hit before it expires. Adreneline can make a deer cover a fair amount of ground, expecially when they're moving at mach one.
All I can say is, don't blame it on the broadhead.......poor shot choices or just plain bad luck account for more issues than a Rage head ever will.
 
I dont shoot them but a new Rage for 2012 will be out.

2.3" cut with new retention system, beefed up blades and chisel tip is the rumor.
 
:D:D:D If you puncture both lungs with just about anything ........We are talking dead!!!!! I shot a 150ish 2 years ago with a double lung shot! He went about 60 yards, doing the back leg wobble ..Then tipped over with all 4 feet in the air like a cartoon!! Same shot, same deer next time!! Same results?????????? I would'nt bet on it!!! The head was a Slick Trick Mag.!! Not saying everybody should buy them! It is what it was!!!:D 400 yds on a DBL. lung!! ? Not impossible!! They do what they do!!!!!!:way:
 
Interesting point and a pic that is amazing. Wow, what a hole. My experience with 2 blade rage has not been good either. Again, shot placement is key no doubt about it hands down, no ?'s asked. Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems to me like if you do not use cut on contact heads, the deer seemed to be bludgeoned or smacked harder if you will. Razor sharp cut on contact heads cut or zip through the deer. My point is that if you have deer traveling long distances after a shot, could it be because they are jolted harder on impact? In the past I have had deer shot with razor sharp Zwickeys actually walk away cuz they aren't sure what happened or were cut rather than jolted. Could it also be that you need a higher poundage bow with a mechanical? I'm shooting 60 lbs not 70 or 75 like you strong young bucks do:) I enjoy reading and learning all of the comments.
 
Kind of interesting on how far deer run before they die. Back when I used to have an old bow that sounded like a rifle going off the deer always ran far before dying. I mean much farther than most double lung shots.

When I switched to my bowtech guardian which is super quiet all the deer just kind of jump, run 20 or 30 yards, stop, look around and fall over. I always kind of thought bow noise had a lot to do with it after that experience.

I have shot the two blade rage as well but don't any more. They cost me a 170s 12 point one time that I would of had with either a fixed head or over the top expandable without doubt.
 
I haven't got into one of these theads for a while and I've got the itch, so here's my 2 cents from over 20 years of bowhunting.:)

I've shot a pile of different heads over the years, most of them have got the job done. Never shot a mechanical head for a few reasons, number one is I'm very conservative with my equipement. The least amount of nuts, bolts and mechanical items means fewer things go wrong IMO.

I truely believe shot placement is #1 above all factors, the most important.
The other factors I place of equal importance.

Heads must be scary sharp (of surgical nature) which I'm not convinced all the heads on the market are as sharp as they should be.
A low angle blade design is very important as it prevents deflections from bone impacts and improves complete arrow penetration. When I say complete penetration, I mean the arrow passes completely through and does not stay in the animal. From my experience an animal which is not carrying an arrow bleeds better and doesn't run typically as far after the shot.
A broadhead that offers a high ability of complete penetration also provides a higher percentage of maximum wound channels. Consistently producing 2 unplugged drain holes is what drastically increases animal recovery.

A steep angle blade design like you see on most of the expandables can easily change the intended path of the arrow through the animal and limit penetration, especially when hitting bone.

Low angle blade designs provide excellent flight capabilities which promote accuracy and penetration.

A 3:1 blade angle is ideal. The Woodsman / VPA designs are a perfect example of a tough head with all those qualities. I have been fortunate to shoot a lot of deer with those heads and have never lost an animal while using those style heads. I've shot a pile different heads over the years in about every blade configuration and style made, none have given me as consistent results as that 3:1 3 blade design.

So, that's my 2 cents. I'm sure some will dissagree....but all I can tell you is my experiences. When those heads are parked on the front of my arrow I have absolutely no doubts in them......none.
 
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Critter said:
Gonna have to call BS on this one...... I agree each to their own, but you can't tell me you honestly had 4 broadside double-lung shots without much for bloodtrails....... BTW, 200 yards isn't really that far for a deer to run after being hit before it expires. Adreneline can make a deer cover a fair amount of ground, expecially when they're moving at mach one.
All I can say is, don't blame it on the broadhead.......poor shot choices or just plain bad luck account for more issues than a Rage head ever will.
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You would know since you were there and saw all the blood trails and the entrance and exit holes!!!!!!!! :thrwrck::thrwrck::thrwrck:

I was there and I saw 4 rage shot bucks with the worst blood trails I have ever experienced in my bowhunting career. And I never said all 4 were broadside double lung....I said most.....one was a quartering away shot that exited right at the bucks elbow which is a low exit hole and the blood trail still sucked because it got plugged.

So to sum it up....none were poor shot choices....all were poor broadhead performance.

You want to buy some rage heads? I got 6 for sale!!!
 
Guess I've never paid attention to the actual blood trail. No need to when you watch them fall over :D
 
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