Why I shoot Rage (also have a question)

Not knocking on any other broadhead, I like what I've shot and seen being shot, and Rage 2-blade is the majority of that. However, all Rage kills I've seen or done have been complete pass throughs, with the exception of a forward facing, into-chest-cavity elk cow that was really only being held by the skin on the other side (entry in front of left shoulder, "exit" by right hindquarter), but most of these were not pass throughs and in fact seemed to have very little penetration. Why is my experience different.

Also, I know the Rage horror stories and I know that Rage would only put up their own successful clips, but still impressive cuts and trails/recoveries.

DISLAIMER: only for pleasure viewing. I realize there is a lot of product placement and there's no way on Earth I'd shoot a Lion with Rage. I don't agree with some stuff as I'm sure y'all won't either, but it is fun to see short track jobs and lotsa blood.

Lots of people use too light of a setup (total arrow weight combined with short draw and low poundage). Also many slap on a rage without tuning first which is a terrible idea. If it's not hitting the target square it's losing lots of energy in a hurry. If all of the above happens at once it's a recipe for lost animals. I shoot some hypodermics but always tune good enough to shoot fixed heads first. I also shoot 65lb at 29.5 draw and at 434gr arrow I'm at the lightest arrow I would use and be comfortable for big game. I generally shoot closer to 500gr.

Rage also has a new hypodermic out that is 1.5" cut now that would be much better for lighter setups.

And heavy bone will stop a Rage. The buck I killed last year I took out the heart and the bh hit the leg bone on the opposite side while exiting and stopped. The buck kicked it out when he mule kicked twice.

Hm, interesting.
So that means that my witnessed full pass throughs are because I have my arrow set up correctly and my bow tuned properly? I'm at 65lb on a 28" draw, shooting Axis 340s and using 2-blade 100gr Rage.

I don't know. I'm drawing 26.5" at 60 lbs and I got passthru shots on some doe, a management buck and a red hind. Just kept it off their shoulders.

My son shot this buck with a rage broadhead back when he was 16yrs old

Cool. Is that Cody? I thought he was a NAP Killzone or Grim Reaper guy lol.

Only shot rage once and not a big fan. Shot a little forward on a good northeast Texas buck a few years ago hit it dead in the shoulder and broadhead didn't penetrate for crap. Only had about 6 inches of arrow in him. Now I shoot muzzy trocars and love them.

Yes, I had bad experiences with the older Rage heads as well. But seeing the large holes a blood highways left by the the last two years on this bow lease encouraged me to try again.

I would also add that I think fixed blade COC are better heads for many types of game. Southern whitetails are fairly thin skinned and boned. Elk, moose or even big pigs I want something solid on the end of my arrow.

Cody shoots whatever Dad Buys

Sounds like good setup.

The leg bones will stop just about every head though if you hit them square. I've hit the frontside leg bone and it stopped a slick trick dead in its tracks at 70/30 and a FMJ arrow. Got lucky and that deer showed back up later in the year and I got him though.

I quit using rages the third time I had the blades open up while I was drawing back

I use rocket sidewinders and hammerheads

I shoot a lighter arrow 26.5" 8.4 gpi and a 100 grain tip @ 72 lbs and have had a pass thru on everything I've shot, including an antelope at 84 yards.

Yeah, the old O ring system was questionable for sure.

I stopped using them a few years back when the blades wouldn't open up correctly. I eventually found the deer but not a good cut on either side. If I shoot mechanical I use swackers but mainly use slick tricks.

I definitely prefer the new shock collar system. The o-rings were crap. I have had the blades of Rage Extremes break off when sticking a pig but I found the pig and it sprayed blood everywhere. I seriously think they are just the ticket for thin skinned 100 lb Texas whitetails.

Wow.

I'm hunting with BowsnRods on Thanksgiving weekend, thinking about picking up some Hypodermics; are they worth the extra $4.99?

Not in my opion. I prefer the Rage SC model. Punched a doe at 20 yards today. She went about 10'. One of our guys shot a nice 4yo this morning through the liver. The hypodermic blades broke of where they thin out. Exit wound was about an inch. Blood trail was almost non existent. One of the guys stumbled on the deer. It went 350 to 400 yards.

Good to know, read some stuff about Hypodermics not opening either, with pictures. Gonna grab the SC, then.

I've had good luck with the old 40KE and original 2-blade as well as the SC.

Good luck.

My personal experience with Rage will keep me from ever using one, even if someone gave them to me. I have seen the failures first hand and with folks that I have hunted with. I have also seen some great open wounds and good blood trails. Hope you always experience the later

Thank you!

I killed a buck opening day with a rage and as the deer was running off I could see the fire hydrant flow of red coming out of the animal as it fled. The buck went only 50 yards, and a half blind person could follow the blood trail.
It's a mechanical and in my opinion there is always going to be a chance of failure, and having used different brands over the years it doesn't make a difference what type of mechanical you use it's going to happen.
I've been using them for several seasons and I can't say I've recovered all the animals I've taken with them because there has been a couple I can think of I didn't recover, but I can't put all the blame on the broadhead.
If there is a silver bullet out there, I'm sure it will be just a short while when all the others will soon be out of business.

I have used the 2 blade Rage, and will never use them again. And even more, I will never use a mechanical ever again. Simple physics- The larger the opening, the more the broadhead comes into contact with, and limits it penetration. Sure, it sounds great in theory, but you take a 2, 3 or 4 blade fixed broad head with a 7.8" or 1" cutting diameter, it will penetrate like no other. I want a pass through when bow hunting. Mechanical broad heads have not given me that. And the Rage was the worst one I have used. I have also had the blades come open and notice it when I draw on an animal. Fixed blades won't do this.

What poundage are you pulling?

I am a believer in mechanicals just has to be the right design

Over the top, o ring secured with a chisel tip from a heavy poundage bow you shouldn't have any issues


Fixed blades work of course but IME they don't leave the holes a mechanical does

70# Mathews. I was running 252 fps before I replaced my limbs, and now I'm certain I'm faster than that, since my draw weight increased and my sight spacing is less from my old drop. I've just had really good kills and performance from my fixed blades. Years ago, I started with the 2 blade Muzzy broad heads, and they penetrate like crazy and were very effective. I tried a variety of other fixed blades, and they worked well. I went to the Rage, and have had nothing but issues. I have gone back to my fixed blades, and I don't plan to switch again now.

Nothing wrong with a 2 blade muzzy. Been killing game pretty much since day one of modern archery hunting

The only negative to the 2 blade muzzy is that when speeds get fast, they do want to catch air and move around some. I noticed this when shooting my newer bow during broad head testing. When I first started using the 2 blade Muzzy, I was shooting an old PSE bow with large tree trunk arrows at a much slower speed. Penetration was guaranteed, even on some of the large 250-300# boars I shot.

I hate O-rings and will never use another one that has them.

Not sure what other mechanicals you have tried but sure wouldn't compare all Mechanical's to the Rage.

Personally, I have never used the small diameter fixed but there are two guys on our lease that do. Tracking their deer is difficult because of the minimal blood loss but finding their arrow is just as difficult because of how far it goes after it passes through the animal.

I have had a pass through on every deer I have shot and shoot a lower speed and poundage than you do, with mechanicals.



I don't agree with this at all. I have been using the same broadhead for at least ten years, probably longer. There are 7 other guys that have switched to the same broadhead. Combined, we have killed numerous animals with no failure. If I had a failure or experienced one first hand, I would no longer use that equipment.

I do agree that there are times that a loss deer is blamed on the broadhead when it was hunter error. My experience with Rage, the deer dropped dead in its tracks. I hit right behind the shoulder, bottom 3rd of the body. Arrow deflected straight up and hit the spine. I have seen two other animals shot with Rage that the arrow deflected and two on video that showed the deflection, but animal wasn't recovered.

So what brand is the perfect head that works under any and all conditions?
Not trying to be a smart arse, just want to make sure I buy the right brand!

I used the old NAP Shockwave 3 blade mechanical for years and still use them on hogs/turkey/javis. They shot the same as my field tips. I use 3 blade fixed Excalibur Broadheads in my crossbow and they shoot well. For the first time this year, I now shoot Swhacker 2 blade mechanical in my bow. They shoot the same as field tips for me. Only issues I have had in the past is when I made a bad shot.

Not saying it is perfect, just giving my opinion and experience, but I am sold on NAP spitfire. Never had one fail, never had one deflect, great blood trails, and shoot exactly like my field tips. Only losses are from hunter error.

Had a Rage fail to deploy on my Black Buck, luckily I still made a recovery. Not a Fan of them but broke down and bought another package for a Javi Hunt and I run the Easton Deep Six HIT and had a failure on a Javi last year, it made impact and shredded and broke off at the insert..I blamed this on the Arrow and not the head. BUT my Mathews loves them and they are faster than snot and love the penetration. I just keep going back to the Slick Tricks, they have never failed me.

Now I remember that I've used these before and I don't have any complaint only that I had to be careful placing them in my quiver because they would slightly have a tendency to open unless I gently pushed them into the foam hood.
Probably the only reason I went with the Rage heads.
They are a really good broadhead, I'll give you that!

The only reason I don't use fixed 1" cut broadheads on deer is after years of hunting bow only leases the most often lost animal comes from smaller cut fixed heads in the high lungs. You just don't get much blood with a small hole in high lung. I shoot a 60# Bowtech at 300 fps and a 2" grim reaper mechanical blows thru any deer you shoot. And if your shot isn't perfect you still have a better chance of retrieving your deer. Now for hogs I prefer the NAP hell razor fixed head. Got a complete pass thru on a hog Saturday with no damage to the head or arrow. And the pig only went about 30 yrds.

This is the reason I use the sidewinders and hammerheads


Big holes leave a ton of blood.

I shot a doe a few years back high and far back hit the back end of the lungs and liver, with a fixed I don't think I would have got her she piled up within 75 yards.

I took the foam out of my quiver and installed magnets to hold my arrows in place....so I didn't even think about that

I have had this happen to me as well. Several years ago when I was still relatively new to bowhunting the archery guy at Cabelas sold me on a smaller cutting diameter broadhead. I lost a good buck that year using it. I had good penetration and the deer shook the arrow really quick, I think through the exit hole (I was in my teens and shooting an older bow at about 57 lbs if I remember correctly - never had a complete passthru with that bow but the penatration on this particular shot seemed better than normal as he ran off). The blood trail was good enough for maybe 60 yards, but after that it fizzled out to the point of not being able to track it. From what I remember, I felt like I had good shot placement maybe a bit high and lung blood on the arrow. We looked hard for that deer but never recovered him or saw him on the hoof again. After about 100 yards we were just wandering around hoping to stumble across him. That is really a frustrating event when you feel like you executed every think good enough to seal the deal only to never find the deer.

Yep, this is all part of bowhunting, and why we all have differing opinions as to which broadhead is better than the other.

As with any product in the American hunting industry, some have good experiences while others have bad ones. I've yet to have a bad experience with the Rage 2-blade, original, SC, and 40KE models. I will stick with them until I have an issue. How's that sound?

The broadhead I used when under 50lb was the NAP Thunderhead, in 85gr. I shot a fallow doe, tiny pig, and small corsican ram with that head and absolutely loved it. I have a 3-pack of Slick Tricks I might mess with, but likely just going to pick up a pack of Rage SC.

With both broadheads, I've had complete pass-thrus from 15-25yd. Barely missed the shoulder blade on that first doe, but the rest were all pretty solid shots. The ram had double lung, liver, and heart slices. Maybe I put the arrow right or my packages of broadheads were the best of the batch, but lack of penetration hasn't been an issue thus far.

Happy hunting and may your blood trails end in dead mammals instead of broken arrows and mis-deployed broadheads.

Yeah but how many animals have you show with the rage?


I don't care for them for reasons unrelated to them hitting an animal. Buddies swear by them but they are shooting heavy poundage heavy arrows.

My concerns about them or any mechanical head for that matter is when your taking an angleing shot.

With the new locking collar, the issue I had should be fixed. I don't buy them because I don't wanna spend the extra $10 to buy a broad head that won't kill better than what I'm shooting.

I had the same experience Saturday. I shot a hog with a fixed blade broad head on Friday with great results. Bolt went straight through.
Shot a spike at 30 yards with a Rage and no blood. The bolt was sticking out as the deer ran away. I'm using fixed blades from here on.

Put a Rage in. Doe's cage last night. Dropped her in her tracks. She tried to get up but the blood was pouring out like a faucet and she probably got 10 feet or less.

3 personally. Dad shot 2. Witnessed another 1. So seen 6 with my own eyes and I like em

Good work passthru!!

[quote] "Buddies swear by them but they are shooting heavy poundage heavy arrows." [quote]

This is true for any broadhead that is mechanical that expands cutting a large hole.
You have to have the kinetic energy of mass to drive those blades forward as they open and begin applying the brakes, so your buddies are doing it right.
Most failures with mechanicals can probably be attributed to light arrows and fast bows, for flatter trajectories, and if the arrow isn't properly tuned that can also cause a problem with some heads as well.

That said, a bad shot is still a bad shot no matter what you are using.

I like the rage myself, I've lost 1 deer with them but it was shooter error, it was a doe I shot in oct and the deer ended up being shot in dec with a rifle by my dad, we didn't know it was the same deer until I skinned it and was quartering it up, I found the rage and an inch or so of my arrow embedded in her front shoulder bone.

A few years back my buddy told me he lost a huge ten. He was bow hunting with the rage. Brought dogs out to track the blood, they never found the deer. He took me out a month and a half later with the boomsticks. We were walking back from a morning hunt and jumped a large buck, he drew up and shot him. We watched him run and hit the ground. When we were walking up he said,"holy crap Josh, this is my big ten." We rolled him over to the right side and he had a growth. When we cut it open his rage was in the exiting shoulder. The rage did not open, and it still had 4 inches of his arrow connected to it. I'am so glad the buck was not lost during bow season. It was a great and remeberable hunt. Deer scored 151".