2 Blade Rage not deploying blades...
 

Is anybody having the problem that a few of us have had up here in Mn? Twice now on deer and 3 outta 6 Rage Broadheads on the range have not been deploying the blades. The O ring slides down the arrow shaft like it's supposed to but the blades are not coming out at all. Staying put completely. Anybody else running into this???

I had the same problem a few years ago when they first came about. I was shooting the 2 blade version, i just threw them all away after i had this problem. I was not about to dink around with them after that. I would feel terrible if i lost an animal due to broadhead failure so i went to fixed blades and never looked back.

i have used them for 5 years have shot several deer with them and never had a problem with them.

Yeah I had the same problem and I trashed them as well after watching the ballistics tests on youtube. They dont compete with any others, I immediately switched to grim reapers razortips I have killed 2 deer with them and 4 turkeys. I even shot one of the deer in the guts and found it dead 4 or 5 hours later.
I would expect these kind of problems from cheap broadheads but they are the same price as top of the line broadheads??? I just dont get it:confused0024:

Only time I have had any issue is with bent bleades from shooting into targets, or the ground. With good blades, they just fall open when the o ring isnt holding them

Ya I got rid of them today!!! I don't like the thought of possibly losing an animal to broadhead failure. Went back to my trusty NAP Spitfires!!! Have never had a problem with them at all!!!

LOL!!! Another dumbass that doesn't realize mechs close when you pull them out of a target!!!

Come on man, test after test has confirmed that Rages will deploy on contact with as little as an orange peel to as hard as a steel drum!

Guys like you that obviously have NO clue about mechs and probably NO clue about any equipment and lack the ability to shoot it well....... have NO business shoot a deployable blade arrowhead.

You should stick with something as simple as your thinking.... like a Thuderhead!

I also recommend thunderheads.....not for the reason that the above "gentleman" stated.....but because they work.

no need to start name-calling people for a simple question is there???...unless you have some kind of personality defect, I guess

I used rages for a while, and found them un-remarkable. Enough people have questioned them to make that worth some consideration in my mind.

Wow, no need to be harsh, he was just asking if anyone was having problems.

I've always wanted to give the Rages a try but worried about the same thing. I've heard of some great hunters only having one blade deploy so they have switched back to what they were using before. I have had a bunch of guys swear they are the best, others that have sworn at them.

I'm going to try the Slick Trick Mags this year and see how they work. 2 1/4 inch cutting surface seems like a it would do the trick, plus, I've never shot a 4 blade. Hopefully I'll find out how they work this Saturday. Good Luck to all!

Yeah I do not like rages I use NAP Blood runners

i dont understand how it cant open if the o ring pops off......never had trouble with them

I have never lost a deer with rage. The only mechanical I have lost 2 deer with are the grim reapers??? Im not saying the reapers are bad but for me....Id sooner use something that is a sure worker. After hearing that the rage have been failing I did stop using the for this season. I have used slick tricks and I guarantee they arent 2 "
They are a 1 1/8" broadhead but because they have 4 blades its basically like punching a hole in the deer.
The Mech. broadheads that seem to be doing the best right now are the g5 tekans and g5 T3s.
They are the only two that seem to be fail proof. And so far they have proven it to me as I have poked a hole in a deer this year already with the tekan and my buddy did with the t3 last year.
And they did fully deploy on impact.

has anyone used the meatseekers, I personally would not try them I am happy with my reapers.

I have shot 4 deer with the rage 2 blades so far. Not one deer went over 30 yards. The blades have never failed to deploy. I did hear that the earlier model of rage they recalled because they had a rounded shoulder on the blades which some claimed hindered the deployment of the blades. They made the shoulder a sharper angle to promote better deployment.

Be Sure;Check before Using
 

I've had mechanicals and fixed blades have problems after installing them on the arrow. Problem ! My installation, pure and simple. Double checking pays off. Never assume you did it right the first time. But then I've reloaded for years, and never assumed it was automatically done right, the first time. But then, I'm old and seen "experts" blow up guns.

Ive used meat seekers as well and loved them! Fully deployed on contact and an awesome blood trail.

Wow. A little harsh IMO.


Yep same here...sleek, piston driven design is works great.

Huh??? Impossible for them NOT to come open.

How do you know they didn't deploy on the deer? If the o-ring slides down there's nothing to hold the blades from not sliding down an opening up.

Same problem?? How do you know they didn't open and explain to me how they don't open??

They simply need to slide down and GR need to flip all the way over to open. Which one is more prone not to open??

By the way, I shot a turkey a couple years ago with a GR and only one of the blades open and got about 2" of penetration. How do I know this? The arrow fell right out and when I picked it up 1 blade was completely flipped open and the other 2 were still closed.

I don't like the idea of little springs and cups that need to be lined up perfectly and then need to flip completely over the top to open.

well from reading this thread i lost respect for one man... people like him are the reason hunters get a bad reputation. if u feel that way there is no reason to have to say it... but anyhow i never had that problem with the rages but i did have my own problems with them... first off i shot a buck last year and the arrow went completely through it and i went to get my arrow and i picked it up and the blades were gone i did find one on the ground...also i shouldered a deer with one before and i got the worst penetration ever... i dont shoot them anymore thats just my own personal experience some people have alot of success with them and like them they are just not the broadhead for me

Never had any of the issues that you are asking about. I have been using them since 2008 , and knock on wood, I have never lost a deer using them. I have always been very impressed with there performance. Good luck on whatever you decide to use.

Wowza, Rage can fail and they do fail, I've had one fail on me.
One blade did not deploy, even after the pass through on the ground impact.
I've harvested 2 other deer with the Rage, each of those cases the o-ring was gone upon arrow recovery.
The occasion of the lost deer the o-ring didn't even roll down the ferule and only the deployed side was broken.

Failures happen, Mechanical or not.
But I've never lost a deer with a Muzzy when shot placement was spot on.

Pics..

Ya I hate them! I use true fire t-1 fixed blades im buying them in large quantities before people catch on how good they are and the price goes up on em! Lol

Well unfortunately there are Jabroni's like IL-Cornfed who just don't know when to keep there mouth shut. You may be the best hunter in the world but not everybody knows it all like you buddy. The sport of bow hunting or hunting in general gets such a bad name when attitudes like that are on display. Anyhow, I sincerely appreciate all the honest and sincere thoughts. Hope all of you have a wonderful and successful hunting season. I'm still now carrying a quiver full of Spitfires...

hahah same thoughts and im with the spitfires too ive never had a problem with them

Shot my deer last year with the rage. Only one blade opened. Double lunged the buck and it was still alive 4 hours later. I threw them right in the garbage!!!

Never shot the rage heads, my buddies use them and have mixed opinions. I shoot muzzy and montec heads with no issues.

Making a change
 

I am on the verge of needing some new mechanicals and was thinking of the Swhacker. Anyone have experience with them?

I have used Spitfires successfully and have tried others. It may be time to try something new.

Hey big bullets, I just started to use the Swhackers this year. I have always used Vortex 100gran, and those worked great.

Rage Issues
 

I have now switched to Grim Reapers due to problems with Rage which you describe. Also, I shot at a quartering deer last Dec. with a Rage and the arrow deflected off what I assume was a rib and never entered body cavity. I never had this happen in 20 years of bow hunting. I shot one on opening day this year with a reaper and it worked excellent, though time and repetition will tell.

Happens all the time
 

Someone can't get expandables to work because of designer complications; some fall out of tree stands not using any safety strap of any kind, thereby greatly expanding the safety concern of hunters; someone hangs themselves on a modern safety harness, which was a previous theoretical impossibility. Some hunters get to do lots of things.

I used them last year. I had a shot on a doe at about 10 yards and I nailed it. Thank God i hit dead on. The blades never opened. I had a complete pass through and until I found the deer about 2 hours later I had no idea they failed to open.

I've used rage and Im pretty sure my problem was my arrow's were way to light for them. I hit the ribs on a 1/4 away shot and deflected up into the shoulder. The buck was a brute and acted like it was a deer fly on him and continued on his chase. Then I pounded one in the shoulder blade of a smaller buck and the arrow actually bounced off. The rage cut on contact head was bent 90 degrees over. The blood trail was 1 foot wide but that was because it made a 8 inch cut. I ended up shooting the smaller buck with my rifle and the wound was big. Since then I have bought heavy arrows with slick tricks and haven't lost a deer yet, knock on wood.

Bounced off???? arrows don't bounce off deer, sorry. You lose all credibility with stories like this. You can say all you want with "you weren't there" but I know arrows don't bounce off deer.

ive heard it happen, its not impossible and its not a big deal it happened, if it was quartering away or to you and you hit the shoulder i could easily see the arrowing glancing or bouncing off.

What an appropriate name when you think about it "RAGE".

That's what staunch supporters do when their product is accused of failing on occasion.
We're all liars if we claim to have had a "RAGE" fail on us.

I use them, they have worked fine for me. I had a pass through on a doe, pulled it out of the ground, and it wasn't deployed (of course). Hung me up for a moment until I realized pulling it out of the ground caused it to un-deploy. Found the deer within 150 yards -- good blood trail. I find it interesting that some complain of non-deployment, then you hear about premature deployment.

Yep your right it never happend. I just like posting statements on this forum because it's what I wanna do all day (sarcasim). I hit the buck right in the shoulder blade at about 30 yards and it bounced off, I made a bad shot and that is what happened. Tip was bent over completely

If there was a definitively way to prove it one way or the other I would wager some serious cash that 99.9 % of the "it didn't open" stories are utter horse ###t or at the very least there are extenuating circumstances being left out of the story. For example, I encountered one guy online once that complained his mech heads were failing to open. After talking to him for a while it came to light that he had been shooting them into his target over and over again with the same blades and they had eventually started not opening. Well gee, no s### Sherlock.

Some questions to the guys reporting such issues.

Do you check your mech heads to see how easily the blades deploy before you shoot them? Hell, I check fixed heads over thoroughly to see that they are assembled properly and that the blades are sharp before they go in my quiver. I do the same with mech heads with the added step of working the blades. If you can easily open the blades with your fingers then it defies logic that they would fail to open on the target/deer.

Are you aware that a mech head that you shoot through a block style target will slam back shut if the head makes it out the back side of the target due to the deceleration of the arrow slamming to a rapid halt? It will also close when you pull it out of something like the target or the ground.

For those who claim to have lost a deer due to the failure of blades to deploy, if you didn't find the deer then how do you know? Also, a shot through the lungs will kill the hell out of a deer regardless of whether the blades open or not. Collapsed lungs are collapsed lungs irregardless of the shape of the hole.

I am not a huge Rage fan. I think the blades are often too wide for the power level of the average persons bow. But that said, they have some of the easiest deploying blades of any design out there. In fact the knock some people have on them is that they deploy "TOO" easy. Odd to hear people claiming that they don't open at all.

I shot nice buck last yr and a bear this year on the buck blades were bent but deer was down within sight. Bear was hit a touch back but that 2 inch wound put him down quick both opened flawlessly They come with practice heads why are people shooting heads into targets???????