Rage didn't open up
 

Deer season opened here in ohio today and went out this evening not sure if I was gonna shoot if I seen anything. Well after watching deer after deer I gave in and shot a doe. 20-22 feet up and a 15 yard shot with a rage 3-blade, deer was facing away and I shot to the right of spine angling forward. It was a perfect shot deer went maybe 20 yards and fell over, upon inspection I did't hit the spine and the BH didn't open nor was a pass through. Always used spitfires in the past and had one that didn't open last year and lost a good one. I gave the rage's a try and the first one didn't open, don't like that. 2 BH's left so I will give them another shot, total of 12 deer seen with 10 within 12-25 yards.

Im in ohio also where do you hunt at? Im new to the whole thing so im looking for a good spot right now.

Do yourself and the deer a favor and throw that crap in the garbage.Get something you can be sure will work like Magnus Stingers.

Huntin on private land Wolfo, hunt public or pound the doors. Everyone is always lookin for a good spot.:D

throw away the retractable, get some fixed ones...i swore off mechanical ones twice now, after my spit fires failed to open, much less penetrate...i went back to fixed blades. gl with your learning experience

You may have a tough time getting a passthru with the three blade rage unless you are pulling a lot of weight. I have had excellent results with the two blade head. Were the blades still held in place with the o-ring after the shot, if not, it opened up. 20 yard recovery is very good. Something doesn't sound right. Other types of expandable broadheads open "Over The Top", Rage heads deploy much easier than most of the other brands.

Well I sure as hell think something isn't right, my buddy told me not to use them because he had the same problems. Gonna pick up a pack of slick tricks but don't know which ones, shootin 100 grn.

I switched to the SteelForce phatheads last year no more mechanicals for me

Well, you can't say that I haven't posted enough times to warn you.

Good to see that you are coming to your senses. :happy0001:

This sounds like a poor choice of shot to me. Most complaints about Rage that I hear are likely due to poor shots. However, the complaints seem to come most from the 3 blade heads. I shot a doe last year and she ran maybe 30 yards. The Rage will do wonders if you center a lung with it. It's not a head that you can expect to blow through a shoulder with. That's why you take a good shot broadside or quartering away like you are supposed to do.

After 250+(I'm being lenient here) shots with the rage(not practice head) I have yet to have one open in flight or not open upon entry. Seriously, how could it not open??? Not saying ur experience didn't happen... Just sayin... Oh, and with angled rage shots, I've found the entry to be more extreme than straight on. Sure u weren't using the practice head:) haha. Glad u found the critter

A field point will do wonders if you center a lung. Personally, I would prefer a sturdy fixed blade if I did in fact hit a shoulder.

Not knocking rage at all as I haven't used one and will stick with a fixed broad head. I have friends that use them and like them.

In Rages defense, I am sure we could find examples of every broad head failing to meet our expectations or marketing claims.

I had problems with the 3 blade rages and swore I'd never use them again. After tuning and messing with my bow trying to get a fixed blade to fly properly, I went back to the rages, except I got the two blade.. I absolutely love them and dont plan on switching to anything in the near future.. Glad you got the deer though!

Poor shot placement wasn't the issue as the doe was angled and the arrow went exactly where it should have. I find it hilarious that some actually think it could not be the BH's fault. I believe any expandable BH could fail maybe it was bad luck but I doubt it. Will I use my other two, sure as they cost too much and I would like to see if was a one time thing. Some of my friends swear by them and some swear at them. Also I donated the deer and when I dropped it off at a locker inwhich is the largest in the area I asked the owner about the BH since he sees a huge amount each year. He said that they are "junk", some open up and make great wound channels but alot don't open up. While I was there there were 2 hanging that were shot with the 2-blade and they did the job perfectly. When they open they are great but I have spoken to several people that have had the same problem and poor shot placement can't always be the excuse.

I have killed several deer with the Rage 2 blades ( 3 blade Rage are illegal in NY ) . Never had a problem with them !

respectfully, i would say SHOT PLACEMENT.
i have left a lot of bucks go because i cant get arrow BROADSIDE behind shoulder.i left 8 point with huge horns walk last year because it was angled like your doe.
fix blade if you are taking angled shots is best and i do like the slick tricks.
i use SPITFIRE 125 and every buck i shot the blades opened up.
why? because sproul only takes 1 shot on any buck, thats broadside behind shoulder or buck walks and HAS many many times.

I'd really like to know how a rage wouldn't open up because of shot placement.

this is why some swear by the fix points,they take angle shots.
angle of shot has something to do with it opening.
almost all the hunters i have read on other forums said when the mechinical did not open it was ANGLED shot.

i remember when chuck adams wrote about this long ago but the mechinicals have come a long way from that time.
he HATED them for just this reason and opening in flight.
this is why i only take broadside shot with them.
if i was taking angled shot which never do it would be with a slick trick fixed point.

take care sproul

Yeah but that's with "over the top" expandables. The way the Rage operates it shouldn't make a hill of beans difference in the angle of the shot. By design it should open up on any angle and not deflect.

Bayou anti-hunting groups give all hunters enough grief as it is.We have a responsibility to any and all animals we hunt to do our absolute best to insure quick humane kills.Your decision to use the remaining heads you KNOW cannot be relied on to do so can not be justified.Certainly not due to cost.

Well I guess I should have never posted this problem, tried to simply state a issue and it gets twisted. Perfect shot placement, dropped within 20 yards and quick kill. Everyone can hunt how they like, I will keep on taking angled shots. If it was bad shot placement and the BH didn't open up, didn't hit the spine the deer would have went quite aways. If a archer can't make a angled shot at 15 yards they need to practice. I don't worry about the anti's and huggers, could have been a bad head. At $40 a pop u bet I will atleast try one more atleast to see if it happens again, this time I will try more of a broadside hit to see. Everyone hunt and shoot the way you like, everyone has a opinion.

na man, dont be like that...you did right...i would go with another angled shot, see if it does it again...you could be on to something here..ya got 2 more, make em both angled, see if the other 2 fail..you obviously are a good shot, so it wont matter if it opens anyways, obviously ...gl...video?

I was looking at the slick tricks yesterday and there were 2 different 100 grn BH, which ones does everyone like? Also do they truly fly like field points?

if i were you, i'd just steer away from retractable's ..get some fixed bh's..dont have ta worry bout it not functioning properly..still think ya should do a couple more angle shots though

I don't think there is any "magic" broadhead. Plenty of fixed blades have had pretty good shot placement and deer were never found. I've had a spit fire not open(still got deer). I used the Vortex 2 blade mechanicals for years, they open up to 2.5"s and create a massive hole. I tried the rage 2 blades last year and had zero issue's with them.

Just curious, how fast is your bow? Not saying it matters but I have talked to guys with lesser speed bows and they seem to have the worst luck with mechanicals.

well, whats a "lesser" speed?

Earlier this year I was getting a new peep site put on and shot it through the chrono, almost fell over. Chrono said 221, I thought it was shooting around 250. About a 7 year old parker e-z draw, love the bow and killed a ton of deer with it. Just was suprised at the speed or lack of. I used the spitfires for years and quit last year, thought I would try something new.

the spit fires made me break my vow to never hunt with a mech again.... and there i was cussin all the way home how i shoulda never went back to mech.... and how i'd never would use a mech again..i have 2 good ones left..figure i'll use em on a wabbit or squirrel

If your only gettin 221 out of your bow i would definitely shoot fixed blade bh. And since you like the slick tricks go with them. they are good bh

and by the way, i love those bh!!! and yes they creat massive wound channels and exit holes!!!! wont be switching from these any time soon!!

yes they do very good. i think the 100 gr is what most use on slick tricks.
go over to crossbow topic, i lot of those guys use SLICK TRICKS on their crossbows.

Try the Gator from Bass Pro. They open every time and do not have a O-ring at all. Plus, they are $20 for 3 right now.

That is your problem most likely. How heavy is your arrow? I have been using the 2 blade rages and blowing big holes through deer, but I am shooting a 400 grain arrow at 295 fps. No problem in quartering away shots either they passthru.

i like arrow around 400/420 grs for expanding point or even a fix point.