Rage: are they worth the hype?
10-28-2007, 10:08 AM
#22
Spike
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 97
RE: Rage: are they worth the hype?
I have to say, I was dead set on using the 3 blade rages this season, but the thought of moving parts and hearing some mixed reviews, I wasconcernedand less confident in the broadheads. The broadheads flew great, but on occasion would open if accidently bumped. I finally dedicated myself to fine tune my bow and arrows. With that, I am now shooting 100 gr. 3 blade muzzy's that hit exactly where my fp's hit. I nailed a turkey the other day, dropping it in it's tracks. The muzzy did a great job! I think I'm going to stick with the muzzy's.[:@]
10-28-2007, 01:22 PM
#23
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 309
RE: Rage: are they worth the hype?
No, they're not worth the hype!!!!!
Too many marketing "FADS" these days get guys all shook up on gimmicks. The Rage has a success rate equal to its failure rate! Since the Rage came out, I've heard nothing but stories about poor hits and lost deer! No deer, specially a nice shooter buck deserves to have a half a--ed broadhead quit on the way in, leaving the deer wounded or worse; too weak to fend off the coyotes!
All the stories that have been told to me or those I've read explain a lost deer to "The Rage". The guys shooting 70 lb bows seem to have the least amount of horror stories. However, the guys shooting the 50-60 lb bows are losing deer like crazy. Maybe there should be a mention by the makers of the Rage to use a heavier bow if you choose this head. Usually 50 lb bows will pass through a deer with a fixed blade head.
Here's another point. How come you hear about these "massive entrance wounds" from the company but not about great exit wounds? How come the hunting shows and DVD's show the arrow only going in half way or less even on close shots with the Rage?
Do yourself and the deer a favor... shoot a fixed blade or replaceable blade head!
"Never shall a mechanical head enter my quiver"
Too many marketing "FADS" these days get guys all shook up on gimmicks. The Rage has a success rate equal to its failure rate! Since the Rage came out, I've heard nothing but stories about poor hits and lost deer! No deer, specially a nice shooter buck deserves to have a half a--ed broadhead quit on the way in, leaving the deer wounded or worse; too weak to fend off the coyotes!
All the stories that have been told to me or those I've read explain a lost deer to "The Rage". The guys shooting 70 lb bows seem to have the least amount of horror stories. However, the guys shooting the 50-60 lb bows are losing deer like crazy. Maybe there should be a mention by the makers of the Rage to use a heavier bow if you choose this head. Usually 50 lb bows will pass through a deer with a fixed blade head.
Here's another point. How come you hear about these "massive entrance wounds" from the company but not about great exit wounds? How come the hunting shows and DVD's show the arrow only going in half way or less even on close shots with the Rage?
Do yourself and the deer a favor... shoot a fixed blade or replaceable blade head!
"Never shall a mechanical head enter my quiver"
10-29-2007, 04:59 PM
#24
Typical Buck
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location:
Posts: 565
RE: Rage: are they worth the hype?
I had to try the 3 blade rages this year as well. I just like to try new things. well in my 2 deer I harvested, both made it less than forty yards with the best entry hole I have ever seen. However, both deer had poor exit holes almost like field point holes IMO.
I shoot a 400gr arow with 60lb draw wt.
first animal quartering away on the ground hunt and shot him with a pass thru but not complete. arrow did fall out of animal about 10 yards from where I shot him. He ran 40 yards and piled up. blood trail was okay not the best I have seen. animal was hit slightly above the knuckle joint on the body. broadhead is no longer any good. one blade is bent, with other 2 blades intact and okay. where the blades fold out and over the rubber band, the ferrule is groved deeply from the blades. IMO, the ferrule is a softer metal than the blades which is why the ferrule was groved after the blades deployed and went thru the ribs.
second deer was shot 26 yards from a treestand quartering away also right at where the knuckle is on the deer.this animal ran 10 steps. the rage left a large entry hole but again small exit hole. no bone was hit other than ribs. all blades were intact this time with no damage. however, again the ferrule was damaged by the blades after they deployed leaving deep grooves in the ferrule.
I am happy that both deer shot were quickly harvested but have mixed feelings about the heads regarding there durability of the ferrule. I can live with a broken blade b/c you can get replacements but with the ferrule damaged by the groves this can be costly b/c I consider the whole head totaled. So, some folks may say I can live with the fact that they harvested an animal and lost a broadhead but I would like to be able to reuse heads and cut costs some. This leaves me with mixed feelings. I do have pictures of the second animals entry and exit holes along with both broadheads if interested.
Has anyone that has harvested animals with the rages looked at there heads afterwards and noticed the groves left in the head by the blades. any experience reusing heads?
I shoot a 400gr arow with 60lb draw wt.
first animal quartering away on the ground hunt and shot him with a pass thru but not complete. arrow did fall out of animal about 10 yards from where I shot him. He ran 40 yards and piled up. blood trail was okay not the best I have seen. animal was hit slightly above the knuckle joint on the body. broadhead is no longer any good. one blade is bent, with other 2 blades intact and okay. where the blades fold out and over the rubber band, the ferrule is groved deeply from the blades. IMO, the ferrule is a softer metal than the blades which is why the ferrule was groved after the blades deployed and went thru the ribs.
second deer was shot 26 yards from a treestand quartering away also right at where the knuckle is on the deer.this animal ran 10 steps. the rage left a large entry hole but again small exit hole. no bone was hit other than ribs. all blades were intact this time with no damage. however, again the ferrule was damaged by the blades after they deployed leaving deep grooves in the ferrule.
I am happy that both deer shot were quickly harvested but have mixed feelings about the heads regarding there durability of the ferrule. I can live with a broken blade b/c you can get replacements but with the ferrule damaged by the groves this can be costly b/c I consider the whole head totaled. So, some folks may say I can live with the fact that they harvested an animal and lost a broadhead but I would like to be able to reuse heads and cut costs some. This leaves me with mixed feelings. I do have pictures of the second animals entry and exit holes along with both broadheads if interested.
Has anyone that has harvested animals with the rages looked at there heads afterwards and noticed the groves left in the head by the blades. any experience reusing heads?
10-29-2007, 06:09 PM
#26
Fork Horn
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Muskegon,Michigan
Posts: 407
RE: Rage: are they worth the hype?
I also was thinking of switching to the 2in 2blade I watched the drury bros.no 10 dvd and the things totally messed up the deer they shot and I think they said the average yds. for long distance recovery was between 55 and 60 yds.but alot of the deer they shot never even made it that far,I had a bad experiance last year shootin rocket steelheads expandables,Iwill never shoot them again on any bow I'm shootin magnus buzzcuts right now but a couple of the deer I seen shot on drury outdoor dvd it looked like they were shot with a gun........Ted
10-30-2007, 05:59 PM
#27
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 55
RE: Rage: are they worth the hype?
ORIGINAL: arkansasbowhunter
I had to try the 3 blade rages this year as well. I just like to try new things. well in my 2 deer I harvested, both made it less than forty yards with the best entry hole I have ever seen. However, both deer had poor exit holes almost like field point holes IMO.
I shoot a 400gr arow with 60lb draw wt.
first animal quartering away on the ground hunt and shot him with a pass thru but not complete. arrow did fall out of animal about 10 yards from where I shot him. He ran 40 yards and piled up. blood trail was okay not the best I have seen. animal was hit slightly above the knuckle joint on the body. broadhead is no longer any good. one blade is bent, with other 2 blades intact and okay. where the blades fold out and over the rubber band, the ferrule is groved deeply from the blades. IMO, the ferrule is a softer metal than the blades which is why the ferrule was groved after the blades deployed and went thru the ribs.
second deer was shot 26 yards from a treestand quartering away also right at where the knuckle is on the deer.this animal ran 10 steps. the rage left a large entry hole but again small exit hole. no bone was hit other than ribs. all blades were intact this time with no damage. however, again the ferrule was damaged by the blades after they deployed leaving deep grooves in the ferrule.
I am happy that both deer shot were quickly harvested but have mixed feelings about the heads regarding there durability of the ferrule. I can live with a broken blade b/c you can get replacements but with the ferrule damaged by the groves this can be costly b/c I consider the whole head totaled. So, some folks may say I can live with the fact that they harvested an animal and lost a broadhead but I would like to be able to reuse heads and cut costs some. This leaves me with mixed feelings. I do have pictures of the second animals entry and exit holes along with both broadheads if interested.
Has anyone that has harvested animals with the rages looked at there heads afterwards and noticed the groves left in the head by the blades. any experience reusing heads?
I had to try the 3 blade rages this year as well. I just like to try new things. well in my 2 deer I harvested, both made it less than forty yards with the best entry hole I have ever seen. However, both deer had poor exit holes almost like field point holes IMO.
I shoot a 400gr arow with 60lb draw wt.
first animal quartering away on the ground hunt and shot him with a pass thru but not complete. arrow did fall out of animal about 10 yards from where I shot him. He ran 40 yards and piled up. blood trail was okay not the best I have seen. animal was hit slightly above the knuckle joint on the body. broadhead is no longer any good. one blade is bent, with other 2 blades intact and okay. where the blades fold out and over the rubber band, the ferrule is groved deeply from the blades. IMO, the ferrule is a softer metal than the blades which is why the ferrule was groved after the blades deployed and went thru the ribs.
second deer was shot 26 yards from a treestand quartering away also right at where the knuckle is on the deer.this animal ran 10 steps. the rage left a large entry hole but again small exit hole. no bone was hit other than ribs. all blades were intact this time with no damage. however, again the ferrule was damaged by the blades after they deployed leaving deep grooves in the ferrule.
I am happy that both deer shot were quickly harvested but have mixed feelings about the heads regarding there durability of the ferrule. I can live with a broken blade b/c you can get replacements but with the ferrule damaged by the groves this can be costly b/c I consider the whole head totaled. So, some folks may say I can live with the fact that they harvested an animal and lost a broadhead but I would like to be able to reuse heads and cut costs some. This leaves me with mixed feelings. I do have pictures of the second animals entry and exit holes along with both broadheads if interested.
Has anyone that has harvested animals with the rages looked at there heads afterwards and noticed the groves left in the head by the blades. any experience reusing heads?
10-31-2007, 10:16 AM
#28
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Colorado
Posts: 4,127
RE: Rage: are they worth the hype?
I shot one at an antelope that jumped the string back in September. It hit a cactus and some soft sand. The ferrule also had the marks on it - where the blade tried to bend back too far. I have replaced the blades and O-ring, but this one still doesn't work quite right. Wants to open up too easily.
10-31-2007, 11:01 AM
#29
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location:
Posts: 32
RE: Rage: are they worth the hype?
I bought 2 packs of the 3 blade 100 grain heads before season started. They fly well, but seem to be quite a bit of hassel. I had difficulty getting them into my quiver without them deploying. I probably checked the blades every 30 minutes while in the stand to make sure they were still closed. All that being said, I did harvest a nice buck and they did a good job on him. For my money, they are too much trouble. I still have 5 brand new heads setting on my workbench at home that have never beens shot. I have switched back to spitfires for now, but I have some Grim Reapers that I am anxious to try too. If I could just get some deer to cooperate with my testing process I could give a better comparison.
10-31-2007, 12:20 PM
#30
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Colorado
Posts: 4,127
RE: Rage: are they worth the hype?
I did come up witha pretty good method for getting them in the quiver. I got some steel tubing with a 5/8" inside diameter and a wall thickness of about .025". Used a lathe to chamfer a knife edge on one end. Then I worked it into the center of each place on the foam where the arrow goes; opening the hole up to 5/8" for about 3/4 of the way into the foam. The Rage heads go in with little or no wiggle, but there is no issue with them wanting to open up in the quiver.