Rage's are a must

[Mark Christianson]

Read closer:

His quote right at the beginning.

"The way I read it is they are legal"

[sticknstring]

Blew right by that... got caught up in the effectiveness paragraph. Thanks for clearing that up.

[Tippman]

Well my first experience with Rage's was frustrating. Perfect shot on a 5x5 elk at 49 yrds. I actually saw the blood shooting out of the lung immediately after I shot but I had very poor penetration. There was blood everywhere at the scene of impact and for a few hundred yrds until he clotted. I litterally had my arm, side, and half my pack covered in blood from tracking him through thick cover.

End result was a full day mile long tracking job with no elk. I'm estimating about 12" of penetration, musta just missed penetrating the far lung cavity. Shooting 60 lbs. I can only figure I hit a rib center on and that was enough to cost me the elk.

[Eskimoman]

60lbs at 50 yards with an animal like the elk is expecting alot for any expandable head. That doesnt seem like the ideal setup for that situation.

[Christopher Quast]

I agree with you on that one that is not a good idea even at 70 pds sounds like a liver shot to me I had the privelage of shooting a mature doe yesterday out at Fort McCoy Wisconsin with the 2 bladers and I center punched her lungs at 15yds and she made it about 60yds and it was game over and you should have seen the blood trail. I'm a believer!!!!!

[96trigger]

Quote:

Read closer:

His quote right at the beginning.

"The way I read it is they are legal"

Wow, I totaly missed that too and I read his response twice.

As for the rages, I don't shoot them. I like the cabelas Lazer strike II's. They worked well for me last year. I always replace the broadhead after it has been shot. Its the $5 to make sure that there isn't any type of flaw in it is well worth it. Also, the cost of the blades for three braodheads is like $12 dollars, 3 new broadheads are around $15. You do the math. However, I might change my tune if I shoot the rage, where the cost of the broadhead is so much more, and possibly the cost of the blades are much less in relation.

[koonie]

Just another broadhead. Has good and bad points to it. It's all personal preference.

You put any broadhead in the boiler and the deer will go down in short order(exceptions may occur on individual deer).

[matthothand]

Sharp blades and well placed shots kill deer. Rage heads turn it into a crime scene. I just shot number 3 last night and both holes were titanic. That old doe would've still made it into the freezer with any sharp head on the market but the rage head just took the ordeal to another level. Call for backup... There's blood everywhere.

[Hoyt4]

everyone will have there idea of a great broadhead.I know I have heard good and bad about the rage.Too much bad so I will stay away but there will be people that have great success with them.Never had a problem with any Tropy Ridge rockets so I can not make myself change yet.Shot elk,deer and bear with them with success.Next year there will be another head out that everyone will be pushing as the best thing.Use what works for your setup.

[Bear55]

The Rage heads seem to get alot of press both good and bad, I think they are probably one of the most popular heads out there right now, in turn they get shot at a lot of deer and sometimes things can go wrong. Like others have said any broadhead on the market will do the job on a well placed shot. I think the Rage takes the blame when someone makes a poorly placed shot, a bad shot is a bad shot and no other broadhead is going to magically drop that deer. I would be willing to say 99% of all lost deer are due to operator error, not the equipment.

[RainyMan]

Here in Indiana season for deer and fall turkey opened last wednesday. This past weekend I shot two hens with the rage not finding either one. The first was at 45 yards and the other at 18 yards. Both were pass thoughs and what I thought were good shots. Has any one had the same problems with the rage or just bad luck.

[deerminator]

What tactics? And I'm being serious. I never watch their show. Just want to know what they do to look for. Do they have a show on the Outdoor Channel? All I have set to TIVO on that network is Spirit of the Wild (entertainment) and the bow specific shows. It has to have bow in the title or I'm not watching. : )

[Guest Kyle]

Well, first off, I do not like them because Ive seen some consistantly poor shots come from them which after a while just gets to be annoying. Secondly, this is just hear-say, but Ive heard that they will get word of a huge buck somewhere, and then go and pay off all of the surrounding land owners to only let them hunt it. I just think that it sucks for everyone else. Ive also heard that they'll do that with outfitters, pay them ungodly amounts of money to keep an area free of people until they can hunt it. I dont know, maybe I just dont like their material and it makes it easy for me to believe things like this. They just seem like rich yuppies, and I just dont like that.

[RainyMan]

I agree, but what deer hunting show is not like that. Hunting show are nothing but adverting and only for cold rainy bad days I have nothing better to do.

[harvey lee]

I really don't care to watch fenced in archery hunts on TV.

[fishinmajishin]

Drurys claim fair chase(but with big wallets I'm sure). Those guys are obnoxious. Whats with bouncing an arrow off a deer? Sounds like they need to crank up the poundage a bit. Rage heads work. Fly better than my field points. Before them I used Rockets. They worked too. Shot placement is everything.

[BeerHunter]

The reason I am going with the rage is, I am color blind. I take a little bit longer to trail deer than others, but I have become pretty good at it. When I make a good shot I still have to look harder than most to see the blood. From others I have talked to that have had SOFTBALL size entrance and exit wounds, I am convinced that that hole will make a better blood trail for me.

Off that subject.

I have a story from last year about the Drury boys in ND

A friend of the farmer where we stay and hunt shot this deer last year. The land owners around him had been baiting it(legal in ND) and were going to be paid a good sum by Drury to shoot it, but he shot it on his land before they got a chance at it. They had this deers routine down to a T and it was shot opening weekend of bow hunting. ( This is the story I was told)

[Guest Kyle]

Doug,

Getting Close with Lee and Tiffany Lakoskie, and Whitetail freaks with the Kisky's consistantly state that they have never and would never hunt inside of any kind of fence. Infact, they own and manage large sums of land in Iowa spefically for whitetails.

I put Bill Jordan and his realtree tv shows up there with the Drury's; an absolute joke.

[Hoyt4]

I do know that there was a recall on the rage but I think that has been fixed.Rocket hammerheads will do the same as the rage they make a huge hole.There new undertaker came out this year to compete with the rage.I have pack of those and going to give them a chance also.I do not think one broadhead is better then another as long as you make the shot count.Take that back could be some cheaper brands out there.But most heads are good and will do the job.

[harvey lee]

I agree that it takes a good hit but with that said, the Rage does make a huge hole and also makes it easier to track a deer. I personally have never seen another broadhead make a hole like the Rage does. There could be others out there its just I have not seen them yet.

I used Muzzy's for years and they killed alot of deer for me but, they never left a blood trail like these Rage heads.

[deerminator]

I have had good blood trails with all my muzzy shots. Again, shot placement is key. I have nothing against the rages, I just get sick and tired of everyone exclaiming "look at the hole that rage left" after every shot, almost like they're doing a commerical for the company. And some of the people out there on the Internet, prostaff especially, are being paid to hype them in Forum posts and blogs. I'm not saying that's everyone, but that's how they get it started. And good for them, it's good marketing on a quality product. But for me, it just kind of is disappointing to have someone arrow a nice buck, tell a great story, and then do some product placement at the end. Bill Heavy with F&S has joked around about this before in his columns ... "and I could never have taken the buck without my XYZ camo and insert name brand doe pee." lol

As for the TV hunts, Ted does them on Spirit of the Wild, but I watch that for entertainment value, not because I think he's the great hunter of the North or anything. I'd doubt many of these others like the Drury's or Lakosky's hunt high fence, but they do have the advantage of having exclusive access to thousands of acres if not tens of thousands of acres of land with absolutely no pressure. Sometimes they even tell you no one has hunted it for three years. Well, yea, I suppose there are some big bucks running around. You still have to hunt them of course, but if that's your job, then you should be able to tag one with all the scouting and land management you can do.

The combination of so much available land, no hunting pressure and 24/7 to scout and hunt gives them the advantage. But they don't tell you that. They act like everyone can do it, when in fact the rest of us typically have many more contraints. We'll tag out on some big bucks, many serious hunters even one or two a year. But no one can do so as consistently or take a half a dozen a year in various states unless they have the same advantages the TV hunters do or can afford really good outfitters.

[harvey lee]

Not being a pro staff for Rage, from what I have seen, they do make a huge hole.

[Hoyt4]

As long as you make a good shot anything will work.Trophy Ridge rockets are good and I'm sure there are many out there that are very good.Rage is just the new thing something else will come out and that will be the best.I get great blood trails with Rockets spraying and covering trees solid blood to the deer I do not know what would be better then that for a broadhead.As long as you make the shot count.I have not had a deer go over 60yds as of right now using these for the last 10 years.My elk didn't even get 40yds with the ultimate steel,bear rolled over the bait and expired right there.

[Stratosman]

Unless your pulling 30 lbs or shooting 30 grains...

[mngoosehunter]

it was like a 140 yard shot with a thompson muzzleloader. I saw it last year on Outdoor channel. I didn't think it was possible either but I saw it so i believe it now.

[Guest Kyle]

I dont muzzleload yet, but the only thing I can think of is maybe they didnt put the right amount of powder in. But that would probably screw up the accuracy of the gun all together.Im not trying to discount you MNgoosehunter, but it is just so unbelievable...I have to stand on my opinion. no way.

[mngoosehunter]

sounds good to me..I saw it so i believe it..I tried looking on youtube for it but they dont have it. Ill try talking to my Uncle and see if he remembers the show or not. It was last year so I dont remember who was shooting, I just remember seeing it.

[fishinmajishin]

Hope you find the footage. Not doubting you saw it either. I'd just have to see it to believe it for myself. 140 yards is a good poke, but if a guy is sighted in with normal firearm operation, AND he actually hit the deer at that range, I'd have to say there would be penetration. Otherwise it would have to be rainbow shot to have it bounce off.

While you're talking to your uncle, see if he can get the specifics on "ol' ironsides" his friend bounced an arrow off of...Draw weight, point of arrow impact, shot distance, etc. Hard to dispute without the facts.

[mngoosehunter]

yeah no problem ill have to ask him that too..hopefully i can just to prove you guys that it happens but oh well i saw it so i believe it

[96trigger]

Quote:

I too question the rage bouncing off of a deer. confused Maybe he just said that because you would have made fun of him or something. There is no way it bounces off of a deer.

Swear to it that I had an arrow bounce off a deer. I still have the broadhead to prove it. The tip is bent at a 45 degree angle, so it hit something hard. It was also a mechanical and never deployed. The buck (big buck) was ten yards away and there was no obstruction between him and me. I aim, let it go, and thats all I see is the arrow roll/flip across the bucks back and just land on the ground. The buck ran off. I looked that the arrow, clean as a whistle, not a speck of dirt on it, looks just like I dropped it except for the bent broadhead tip. Any explanations? The only thing that I can think of is it hit its hoof. Had I missed, the broadhead would have deployed and it would have been sticking in the dirt. What I'm getting at is that strange things happen, and after that, I'm not going to call anyone a liar. This is all first hand experience, it happened to me. I even went back and visited the post from 2 years ago. Its still on here, we called him Ninja buck.