Guess I'm going to Put on Some Rages

[UTGrad]

I am running low on Grim Reaper broadheads so I guess I'm going to screw on some Rage broadheads I have left over from last year. One thing about the Rages is the blades are not very sharp according to my drag across the thumbnail test. The Grim Reapers have quality blades that are always sharp out of the package. With that said the two deer I killed with Rages last year died quickly and had large wound channels. Like Throwing and Axe Through and Animal

 

[backstraps]

I have been hesitant in trying the Rages. I have heard good and bad, but the ones I have seen shot by them, they do a number on the deer. Very impressive. I have seen 3 deer recovered from poor shot placements due to the size of the wound channel. I know in bow hunting, things happen and sometimes a bad hit gets placed, would be nice to know you sent a Rage flying when that unfortunate thing happens!

I had a bad expierence with the mechanicals 4 years ago, and just cant bring myself to step away from the tried and true fixed head again. If I ever decide to give them a try again it will be a Rage!

 

[stik]

I have seen 3 deer recovered from poor shot placements due to the size of the wound channel. I know in bow hunting, things happen and sometimes a bad hit gets placed, would be nice to know you sent a Rage flying when that unfortunate thing happens!

all 3 tracking jobs last year i was involved that resulted in lost deer were hit with rage broadheads. overpriced and overrated. you make a bad shot with ANY broadhead can and will result in a lost animal. they are not magic.

 

[redcorn]

3 unrecovered deer don't prove anything about a broadhead, only something about shot placement. Your first sentence and your next to last sentence show that you either realize this or you don't. The rage is a fine broadhead which usually acts as advertised, and when it doesn't, the likely cause is user error. It does massive damage to soft tissue which may be beneficial on marginal shots, especially those encountering soft tissue. I agree that they are not magic, but they seem to do everything it says they'll do on the package. If you have the right setup, and make good shots, deer will die quickly and sometimes do look like an axe went through them.

 

[stik]

3 unrecovered deer don't prove anything about a broadhead. If you have the right setup, and make good shots, deer will die quickly and sometimes do look like an axe went through them.

"get your animal or your money back" sounds like false advertising. a bad shot with ANY broadhead will result in lost animals.

that can be said of ANY broadhead. even a field point through both lungs will kill a deer.

 

[Radar]

I shot 3 deer with 3 different broadheads this year . A G5 Striker , NAP Bloodrunner , and a Rage . All where pass through shots, and clean kills with proper shot placement .

 

[UTGrad]

I lost 2 deer this year and both with Grim Reapers, but it was not the broadhead's fault.

Lost Deer #1: Hit a doe slightly back with Grim Reaper Razor Tip 1 3/8" complete pass through, arrow had guts on it. Great blood trail for the first half mile, then it disappeared. We went back the next morning to try to pick up the trail and never found another drop.

Lost Deer#2: Hunting behind some houses in Brentwood and stuck a doe right at dark. It was a complete pass through with a Grim Reaper Whitetail Special 2" cut, but again I shot a little back and angle was not optimal. There was some initial blood but had to quit cause I didn't feel comfortable tracking a deer with a light in someone's backyard in Brentwood. Surefire way to get the cops called and draw attention to my hunting spot. I bet there was a large blood trail if I was able to go a little further


Now, I still have some Grim Reaper Whitetail Special 2" cuts. I am going with these for the rest of the season.

 

[Radar]

As far as mechanicals go , the rearward opening blades of the Rage penetrate better than Grim reapers that open from the front .

 

[UTGrad]

As far as mechanicals go , the rearward opening blades of the Rage penetrate better than Grim reapers that open from the front .

I appreciate all the input you have given on these threads and I am humbled, but I'm going against the grain on this one. I think this is the marketing genius behind Rage broadheads. They convince people to believe their broadhead penetrates better than over the top expandables cause their blades rear deploy. With sufficient speed, KE, and momentum and the right shot placement it's not going to make a lot of difference whether the blades rear deploy or jack knife. The one advantage that Rage has is the entrance holes are bigger since the blades are almost fully deployed going through the hide. Grim Reapers have a very good track record of penetrating through deer. The originals are a 1 3/8" cut which helps penetration. Take a look sometime of the quality construction of Grim Reapers. My opinion is they are a more quality broadhead construction wise and the blades are top notch and very sharp out of the package.

 

[redcorn]

Oh no, not again!

Hold on, he didn't say anything about 3 unrecovered deer.

Sorry, I meant to quote Stik's comment which preceded mine.

 

[knightrider]

3 unrecovered deer don't prove anything about a broadhead. If you have the right setup, and make good shots, deer will die quickly and sometimes do look like an axe went through them.

"get your animal or your money back" sounds like false advertising. a bad shot with ANY broadhead will result in lost animals.

that can be said of ANY broadhead. even a field point through both lungs will kill a deer.

through both lungs with any broadhead including a rage will also, you cant judge broadheads because of poor shotplacement

 

[stik]

3 unrecovered deer don't prove anything about a broadhead. If you have the right setup, and make good shots, deer will die quickly and sometimes do look like an axe went through them.

"get your animal or your money back" sounds like false advertising. a bad shot with ANY broadhead will result in lost animals.

that can be said of ANY broadhead. even a field point through both lungs will kill a deer.

through both lungs with any broadhead including a rage will also, you cant judge broadheads because of poor shotplacement

i was never faulting the broadhead. just pointing out that they are not up to the hype.

 

[Radar]

As far as mechanicals go , the rearward opening blades of the Rage penetrate better than Grim reapers that open from the front .

I appreciate all the input you have given on these threads and I am humbled, but I'm going against the grain on this one. I think this is the marketing genius behind Rage broadheads. They convince people to believe their broadhead penetrates better than over the top expandables cause their blades rear deploy. With sufficient speed, KE, and momentum and the right shot placement it's not going to make a lot of difference whether the blades rear deploy or jack knife. The one advantage that Rage has is the entrance holes are bigger since the blades are almost fully deployed going through the hide. Grim Reapers have a very good track record of penetrating through deer. The originals are a 1 3/8" cut which helps penetration. Take a look sometime of the quality construction of Grim Reapers. My opinion is they are a more quality broadhead construction wise and the blades are top notch and very sharp out of the package.

Are you promoting Grim reapers ? I get that impression . It is a fact that blades opening from the front do indeed squander more KE upon entry than rear opening designs , not just the Rage heads .
Penetration is very important for getting that exit hole , especially when you are shooting mature bucks with a larger bone structure and more muscle than does . Shot placement is vital with any broadhead , but sometimes there are factors beyond a hunter's control that may cause less than perfect shot placement . String jumpers are one example that may cause an arrow to hit higher and strike bone .
A fixed blade head such as a Muzzy , Slick Trick or G5 will do better when striking bone on higher hits.
Now I'm not promoting a broadhead based on performance on less than perfect shots , but when you have more experience under your belt , you will find out that some shots may be less than perfect due to circumstances beyond your control .

 

[fishboy1]

Bowhunting is a game of mistakes.

One tiny mistake can result in getting busted, no shot, a bad shot, or lost deer.

Reduce the number of potential mistakes and your success will increase.

For me, that means using a SHARP, Tough, fixed blade head. Not because Whizbang brand broadheads are the best ever or your money back..... but its about eliminating POTENTIAL failure points.

If a deer is lost, I KNOW it wasn't due to BH failure. One potential mistake eliminated from the evaluation.

That means I did something wrong: poor shot choice, pulled the shot, hit twig, bad angle choice, hit bone, bad choice of when to shoot.....

OR the deer did something like: ducked the string, took a step, turned.....

Once I figure out what went wrong, I can learn and change my decision making to minimize or eliminate future potential mistakes.

 

[rem270]

rage are deadly. if i didnt use a crossbow thats what i would be using. i had problems with them opening in flight when i shot my crossbow thats why i swapped to fixed blade.

 

[stik]

rage are deadly. if i didnt use a crossbow thats what i would be using. i had problems with them opening in flight when i shot my crossbow thats why i swapped to fixed blade.

broadheads in general are deadly.

 

[rem270]

rage are deadly. if i didnt use a crossbow thats what i would be using. i had problems with them opening in flight when i shot my crossbow thats why i swapped to fixed blade.

broadheads in general are deadly.

you are correct. but rages are awesome. my friend shoots them and ive seen about every deer hes killed with them and never seen an entrance or exit hole as big from another broadhead.

 

[102]

RADAR said,

Are you promoting Grim reapers ? I get that impression . It is a fact that blades opening from the front do indeed squander more KE upon entry than rear opening designs , not just the Rage heads .
Penetration is very important for getting that exit hole , especially when you are shooting mature bucks with a larger bone structure and more muscle than does . Shot placement is vital with any broadhead , but sometimes there are factors beyond a hunter's control that may cause less than perfect shot placement . String jumpers are one example that may cause an arrow to hit higher and strike bone .
A fixed blade head such as a Muzzy , Slick Trick or G5 will do better when striking bone on higher hits.
Now I'm not promoting a broadhead based on performance on less than perfect shots , but when you have more experience under your belt , you will find out that some shots may be less than perfect due to circumstances beyond your control .

My comment about this statement is that it amazes me that there are those of us who will consistently argue with success. I truly believe that there are MANY who would argue about how to properly shoot a foul shot, or a three pointer, even though the instructor was Michael Jordan.

I believe that man by nature is just plain hard headed. He has to find out for himself.

For some reason, there are no experts on Tndeer. Except for BSK. (who self professes to be a land manager and VERY knowledgable about whitetail behavior, and NOT an expert on killing whitetails.) Apparently it makes NO DIFFERENCE if a hunter has killed a couple hundred deer with bow or gun, and several mature animals on public or private land. Makes no difference. There will always be those who argue that their opinion holds no more weight than someone with far less experience.

But what the heck, I'll wade in here as well, RADAR and Stik are both right on target. Rage IS a good head. But like any other head that is sharp and accurate, it will not make up for a bad shot.

And rearward opening blades are more efficient than front opening. In MOST cases, with most shots on most deer, it does not take much KE to penetrate and exit. But, like Radar says, there will be the OCCASIONAL big bodied deer. And really big, 200 pound deer are DIFFERENT animals.

If this were not true, then some outfitters would still allow ALL mechanicals on their hunts. But I've been told that there are several heads that outfitters will NOT allow on their guided hunts. Granted they are mostly elk and Muley hunts, but still, this fact says something about performance.

Personally I've taken many deer with all kinds of heads. My favorite mechanical was the Gator XP. Much like a Rage. I also like the Rocket Sidewinder though the Cabellas Lazer Strike nock off was DULL.

Anyway all this is fun to yak about this late in the year.

102

 

[easy45]

I personally love the rages

 

[Radar]

RADAR said,

Are you promoting Grim reapers ? I get that impression . It is a fact that blades opening from the front do indeed squander more KE upon entry than rear opening designs , not just the Rage heads .
Penetration is very important for getting that exit hole , especially when you are shooting mature bucks with a larger bone structure and more muscle than does . Shot placement is vital with any broadhead , but sometimes there are factors beyond a hunter's control that may cause less than perfect shot placement . String jumpers are one example that may cause an arrow to hit higher and strike bone .
A fixed blade head such as a Muzzy , Slick Trick or G5 will do better when striking bone on higher hits.
Now I'm not promoting a broadhead based on performance on less than perfect shots , but when you have more experience under your belt , you will find out that some shots may be less than perfect due to circumstances beyond your control .

My comment about this statement is that it amazes me that there are those of us who will consistently argue with success. I truly believe that there are MANY who would argue about how to properly shoot a foul shot, or a three pointer, even though the instructor was Michael Jordan.

I believe that man by nature is just plain hard headed. He has to find out for himself.

For some reason, there are no experts on Tndeer. Except for BSK. (who self professes to be a land manager and VERY knowledgable about whitetail behavior, and NOT an expert on killing whitetails.) Apparently it makes NO DIFFERENCE if a hunter has killed a couple hundred deer with bow or gun, and several mature animals on public or private land. Makes no difference. There will always be those who argue that their opinion holds no more weight than someone with far less experience.

But what the heck, I'll wade in here as well, RADAR and Stik are both right on target. Rage IS a good head. But like any other head that is sharp and accurate, it will not make up for a bad shot.

And rearward opening blades are more efficient than front opening. In MOST cases, with most shots on most deer, it does not take much KE to penetrate and exit. But, like Radar says, there will be the OCCASIONAL big bodied deer. And really big, 200 pound deer are DIFFERENT animals.

If this were not true, then some outfitters would still allow ALL mechanicals on their hunts. But I've been told that there are several heads that outfitters will NOT allow on their guided hunts. Granted they are mostly elk and Muley hunts, but still, this fact says something about performance.

Personally I've taken many deer with all kinds of heads. My favorite mechanical was the Gator XP. Much like a Rage. I also like the Rocket Sidewinder though the Cabellas Lazer Strike nock off was DULL.

Anyway all this is fun to yak about this late in the year.

102

There are many instant forum experts around these days who have limited experience . Give them a new bow and a couple of seasons under their belt , and they become experts LOL! I have always looked up to those who have the most experience with any subject , not just related to hunting . Not singling out UTGrad . You have done very well for someone who just got started .
Been bowhunting for 30 years now , but I'll never quit learning . I get educated by deer every year . They are the best teachers and the woods is the best classroom . Once you think you know everything , you get educated by the deer. There are no absolutes in bowhunting , and no 2 shots are the same .