Been Shooting Slick Tricks for 3 years and switching to ......
 

Switching to Rage. I have been shooting Slick Trick 100 grain Magnum 100s for the past 3 years and I have not been very happy with the blood trails. I usually get a pass thru, even on text book shots the amount of blood left to trail is not very good in my opinion. The last two deer I shot and recovered this year didn't leave much blood, one was a spine shot that exited just behind the opposite shoulder at 17 yards and the other was a double lung passthru from 15 yards. Not much blood at the impact site and very little blood on the arrow/fletchings. Not much of a blood trail on either. I lost one this year with a passthru at 10 yards, I followed a sporadic blood trail for 200 yards and then it stopped. I spent a lot of time searching for the deer but came up empty. I have had similar experiences for the past three years with these heads, they are a tough, sharp good flying heads but I am not impressed with the blood trails. I have always been a fixed blade user but I am going to give the 2 Blade Rage a try and see how the blood trails are from them. I shoot a 405 grain ACC arrow at 280 fps. Has anyone else had similar experiences or switched and if so how is it working out?

Maybe try a NAP bloodrunner. Its like a hybrid design. Part fixed blade part mechanical.

Ryan.

I have not shot the Slick Tricks, but have shot the 2 bladed Rages. I switched from the Rages to the Shuttle T's for the same reason you are wanting to switch to the Rage. The blood trails from a BH with a 2" cutting diameter were not impressive at all. Someone on here mentioned it might because of the straight line exit the Rage leaves as a reason for the so-so blood trails.

Thats why you should shot the rage-3 blade... That will solve the straight line effect.

Im very happy w/ sonics. Small head but the bloodtrails have been very good, even on marginal shots. 4 deer shot so far, 4 deer dead within sight.

I really don't think you can blame the broadhead fellas. You're looking for something simple to lay blame without considering all of the variables that go into the end result (e.g. shot placement and the vitals that are hit, hole plugging, deer behavior after shot, etc.).

IMO - There is no head that is the "best bleeder". For every head on the market you will find a handfull of people that love them and an equal amount that don't.

Wait until you hit a shoulder! Then you will miss you slicktricks!

If you guys are supposedly double lunging all of these deer and not getting any blood, regardless of broadhead brand, I would say that you aren't really double lunging your deer. If you put a broadhead, any broadhead, through both lungs you are going to get blood.

How much blood do you expect from a spine shot?

How high up in the chest wast he 15 yard double lung shot? A shot high up in the chest must fill the chest cavity before blood starts pumping outside the body onto the ground.

How do you blame the broadhead if you didn't recover deer number 3? Sure you didn't pull the shot and get liver and not lung? I bet dollars to donuts that you got liver and not lungs.

If a slick trick magnum (which has 1/4" more blade than the 2 blade Rage) isn't producing blood on the ground then a two blade rage isn't going to do any better and neither is any other broadhead.

Honestly, from your accounts I would say the problem is shot placement and not the braodhead.

Don't blame the heads, Sounds like a **** poor shooter

I have shot 2 deer from the ground this year. Small blood trail due to mid entry and mid exit holes. The cavity was full which was to be expected. Shot one from the tree stand High entry, low exit. Awesome blood trail. The cavity was pretty much empty. Pop a hole in the bottom of the milk jug there will be milk everywhere. . All deer were shot with 2 blade broad heads. Meat seeker (small hole in and out), Tekken (performed great in and out), After shock (small entry huge out). I love to try different heads and really the only one I haven't cared for is the meat seekers, just because they didn't open all the way. We tested them on 3 deer this year and every one measured 1 1/4 hole with the 2inch 2 blades. I like fixed and mechanicals. I always have a muzzy in the quiver. My best every blood trail that looked like someone spray painted the trail was with a Rocket sidewinder. Like someone said earlier in the post its all about shot placement. Shot it from the ground right thru the heart.

Thanks. :wave:

I also have taken 3 animals now with slick tricks ( 2 deer 1 bear ) and also find there isn't a great blood trail. Everyshot was a passthru and all animals died quickly and were recovered but I just switched to an SST Jackhammer mechanical and the things leave a blood trail that looks like a crime scene. I will be hunting this season with those and see how they make out but after 2 kills I am impressed.

I've killed deer with over 30 different models of Broadheads many of them expandables. If you are Not getting excellent Bloodtrails it is No fault of the broadhead.

Some heads are tougher, some may fly better, sharpness can vary also, but I guarantee you most lack of Blood on trails that are blamed on broadheads are the result of human error.

I have shot Slick Tricks since 03 when they were supposedly dull. They are the Toughest, best flying, and now extremely sharp broadheads. I have No intention of using anything else in the near future. There are a lot of good choices out there, but chances are they won't fix all the problems:s4:

With Tricks I know it's just one thing I don't have to worry about.

Dan

I'm with MeanV2 on this one. I do not have extensive experience using all sorts of broadheads. I have used 3, ok 4 different heads. It doesn't matter the brand of the other heads at all. They all have blades and are designed to do the same job. I made my decision on the broadhead that I use due to the simplicity of design and the toughness of the head.
All sorts of things can happen when you are hunting. You can't blame your equipment nor can you blame human error all the time. $*IT happens. Trust me, you can do everything in your power and sometime, somewhere something will will go wrong. I ask myself this when choosing broadheads. If a used Y bradhead instead of X broadhead would the results have been the same for that particular shot.
I have used St's for 3 seasons now. I have one bad experience with them..... but that still resulted in a found animal. IT was NOT the heads fault nor was it human errror. I still use ST's

Couldn't have said it better. IMO switching is a poor decision, don't drink the coolaid.

exactly, I tried them, much better options out there than rage.

I wasn't really looking for opinions :hail:, I was looking for experiences using the Rage heads. Well so far I have taken two deer with them. Both shots were quartering away and both shots were pass thrus. The wound channel was very big and the blood trail was good. One opening was 4" going in and 3" coming out. The other was 3" going in and 2" coming out. I really like the performance of these Rage 2 Blade heads so far. I will post problems as well as good results. :violin:

Added Picture From Second Deer.

My opinions are based on 40 years of Bowhunting, and using Slick Tricks since 03. I would say there are very few that have used as many different broadhead models and types as I have.

Regardless of broadheads you make a Bad shot it is still a bad shot. Does anyone really think a 3/4" bigger cut from a 2 blade makes that big a difference?:s3:

As far as cutting how much cutting does a 1 1/4" 4 blade do compared to a 2" cut 2 blade head? Marketing really works, if you spend enough money. Says something about our intelligence. I do sell both heads and I can tell you where the most sob stories come from. If a person prefers a mechanical head for whatever reason I think the Rage is one of the better choices.

Again IMHO a good shot is a Good Shot and a Bad Shot? Well.......................... I think it's obvious.

Dan

I have shot the rage 2 blade since the 3 blade is illegal in NY and I found that there is a considerable lack of penetration compared to fix blades. I shoot Steelforce Phat Heads. Before I would switch from a fixed blade to a mechanical, I would rule out bow tuning or shooter error. To go on further....

Since you recovered a deer with a mechanical (flies like field points), you may want to go over your bow again to make sure it is tuned properly. I lost a deer two weeks ago, very similar to what you described, lack of a blood trail, but the reason for the lack of blood trail was a poor shot on my part. The deer came up on me quick and I rushed the shot - simple as that. I believe I torqued the bow and the arrow went about 8 inches farther back than it was suppose to which ended up in the liver. To ensure it was not my equipment, went back to the house to wait the deer out and I pulled out the target. I was drilling it at 34 yards, the yardage I hit the deer at, so I know it was me and not the broadhead or any other equipment issue. We went in that night but the coyotes already were on the deer, turns out that deer was not mine as I had a pass through and this arrow was still in him (shoulder shot). Never found my buck after 3 days of searching, first one I lost and it all amounts to the shot placement. Lesson learned for me, let him pass if you are trying to get a shot off quickly.

My first season hunting I was suckered into the hype of fancy marketing/fancy broadheads. Went with a expandable blade broadhead. My very first buck, the expandable did not get a pass through. Broadhead hung up on ribs going in and out. Took 2 days to find the buck. Buy then the 'yotes made an un-godly mess. I tagged him, cut the antlers and almost considered quitting the sport.

Decided that I'd invested too much time and effort into the sport to bail that easy - what kind of an example would that set, etc.

Investigated a bunch of broadheads - went with a 3 blade fixed until they launched the slick tricks. Have only had one shot not pass through - spine shot. The butcher found the broadhead (I warned him and showed him where I thought it'd be). He kept the spine/vertabrae where the ST hit - it almost made it out of the spine. Not much damage to the broadhead at all. I'll stick to my ST broadheads.

I know how important a blod trail can be, but in the last 7 years (ok - last 2 were strikeouts), I've not needed a blood trail - I watched each deer go down within 25/30 yards of being hit. That's what I want my broadhead to do - put the deer down quickly. I've had my long tracking/trailing experiences, been there done that - rather watch them go down right in front of me.

But as with everything that is worth while - YMMV ! :s4:

I'm shooting rages at 298 fps with a 380 grain arrow, at 60 lbs. Both of my deer shot this year with them have been pass throughs, and the arrow was burried in the dirt about 4" deep. Both heads were reuseable after replacing the blades. Blood trails were better than any deer I've shot with a 3 blade muzzy.

Well those are some impressive numbers but I am no fledgling either. I have used 8 or 9 different broadheads over the past 31 years of bowhunting for deer. I was anti-expandable since they came out in the 80s. I have used Slick Tricks for three years prior to trying the Rage. I have seen first hand the good and the bad with Slick Tricks. I have made some excellent shots and some marginal shots. The wound channel and blood trails on just about every deer I have killed in the past three years has been just OK in my opinion using Slick Tricks. This forum touts Bowtech and Slick Tricks, so going against the grain is going to ruffle some feathers.

As far as marketing goes I really don't pay it much attention, otherwise I would be shooting those Rage heads off of a Mathews bow. I really never thought I would shoot a mechanical or a Rage. Two deer is not enough to really make a definitive conclusion. I am stating my results and so far for me they have been superior with the Rage over other fixed blade broadheads I have used including the Slick Trick 100 Magnum.

All I got to say is 4 blades, with over 4" total cutting area compared to two blades. A logical person cannot argue with these facts. I can't say I have ever had a trailing problem with 3 blade thunderheads, 3 blade muzzys, 4 blade slick tricks, or 2 bladed magnus for that matter. Some people just consistently hit high, and that I notice is the usual issue here.

Just had a buddy draw on a booner at 12 yds. One blade on the rage broadhead opened up. He couldn't put it back with one finger while at full draw. Cut his finger and missed a chance at a buck of a lifetime.

Why take the chance? Place the point - whatever it is - in the boiler room and the deer will bleed and die. There must be a fairly low hole or an arterial hit to provide a great bloodtrail.

In another experience, just had a buddy shoot a buck with a rage. He hit it high in the back headed down towards the read quarter. No exit. Crappy bloodtrail. Deer died close just as the bloodtrail was diminishing.

The broadhead make and model does not make that big of difference. Hit it right and have a low exit.

those big ole GASHES from rage look nice...

but a 1 1/4" 4 blade HOLE from a grizz trick is going to stay open and keep blood spilling...they blow a mighty impressive HOLE...

like the others said, shot placement is everything...

i made a true double lung shot on a buck 2 years ago...125gr muzzy 3 blade...not a drop of blood on the trail...but who needs a blood trail when they fall 15-20yds from where they were shot, still in bow range....

different shots produce different blood trails...even good hits might not produce blood for a bit...if you except blood to pour out from the point of impact to the end of the trail, you might wanna try grenades or something..

Exactly BC! People tend to always blame their equipment when in fact it is human error. If you are stabbed in the heart the Blood that spills out won't be dependant on the brand of knife you were stabbed with.

I've seen 100's of wound channels, enough to know that No 2 are alike, therefore won't bleed the same. I've shot deer with little heads like a 90 grain Muzzy that created a Blood bath of a trail, but at the same time I have shot deer with 1 1/2" 3 blade expandables, 1 3/4" 4 blade expandables, and 1 1/2" 3 blade fixed that even though the shot looked text book the tracking job was tough.

Go figure!:s4:

Dan

LMAO!! I think the Duke Boys used those arrows:D

Dan

Rage
 

Just went to the RAGE this year after seeing all of the deer that my buddies from work had harvested with them. They definately do some damage on whatever they hit. I haven't had the opportunity to shoot a decent buck with them yet but I did manage to shoot a squirrel with one while I was bored and not seeing any deer.

[quote=LKNCHOPPERS;3505170]

As far as marketing goes I really don't pay it much attention, otherwise I would be shooting those Rage heads off of a Mathews bow. quote]

I couldn't have said it any better. Simply the best combination any bowhunter could use..........That oughta get some feathers ruffled.