The problem is real easy to fix and you already know the solution. Quit usinga 2" cutting diameter mechanical. It is funny(not ha ha funny but ironic funny) that you are changing to a fixed after you so vehemently defended the Rage a year ago while I trashed on it and now I am using the Rage and am satisfied (so far).

I may ultimately switch back to the fixed, I don't know. For now I guess I'll keep using a little of both. Yes, an arrow at POI is important and can help one determine how to go about recovery, but I have not (so far) had a problem knowing what kind of hit I made by seeing the impact, but more importantly watching the reaction of the deer.

At this point ,I have decided that a good blood trailis more important to me than the arrow. When everything goes right and the deer is down in 30-60 yards it doesn't usually matter. But what about when you don't make the perfect shot? I have had to grid search to find a lot of deer that were hit fair but not perfect (livers and one lungs) with my fixed whereas with the Rage I have always had a good blood trail that have led in 100% sucessful recovery even though two of them were marginal shots(a 1 lung and aliver).

And for the fixed proponents who try andsay the blood trail is just as good on a consistent basis with the fixed as compared to the Rage, well.....they probably aren't being 100% forthcoming with you or themselves anymore than all the Rage proponents who are reluctant to talk about the lesser number of complete pass thrus.

As far as the cost, that is really not a priority for me but I concur you will have more lost/broken arrows with the Rage plus the heads are more expensive to begin with.

Bottomline....even though I am currently using the Rage on at least half of my deer (4 out of 6 this year, 3 out 7 last year), I wouldn't even try and recommend it to someone that says a complete pass thru is a "must" for broadhead choice. I also will not even consider them for elk even though I know some have.

One more thing. Why wait until next year? Go buy a pack of a popular fixed BH, make sure they are flying accurately, and go kill a doe. Not that one deer validates anything, but it would be a start and I would be interested in your objective impression of the blood trail comparison.