I don't use a crossbow but tried out the mechanical heads when they first came on the scene quite a few years ago. I got a few deer with them but lost 2 in a row with the mechanicals one was a mystery I thought it was a good hit and never got him and the other was a bad shot and I too hit the shoulder bone. I switched back to my muzzys and never lost another. The rage heads work great when they work. I have confidence on regular cut on contact quality heads.

I agree with all that but it shouldn't bounce off....they are bad but not that bad.

I've seen it happen with Rockets Rock. I think they were the "steel head". I goofed and hit dead center shoulder right at the spot where most aim with a firearm. Arrow came back almost as fast as it went out! Now granted, from a 150# x-bow it sure shouldn't happen but it can and obviously does. I typically see penetration from them but with heavy bone hit, blades break off and it's just the ferrule and arrow going through.

What bow were you shooting? Broadhead and all came out?

A custom Hoyt with gorilla limbs strung at 102#. Shot was at 22 yards and yep the whole thing came back with all 3 blades dug into the insert and the supposed "bone crusher" tip bent over and the Easton aluminium with about 4 degrees of bend! The way the deer lit out of there I'm pretty sure I broke the joint. I tracked it for about 400 yards then lost the trail in an open hay field. 2 or 3 drops of blood at the beginning and that was all. Hoof tracking the rest. They can be some dang tough critters at times!

Rock, I'd agree with you if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. I had time to make sure the bolt was seated correctly before taking the shot, and I watched it impact and bounce straight back... The blades did not break but the broadhead itself is bent.... So it hit with enough force to bend the broadhead..... I shot the crossbow since then and everything is shooting fine.... I've always been one to say "Blame the shooter not the broadhead.." but this has me questioning that... and granted I hit the shoulder, but still seems like it should be a dead buck.... I'm just thankful he wasn't wounded bad and lost. From everything I saw I think he's alright. Unless it gets infected. But I watched him for a good while after the shot. He limped a little but by the time he left I didn't even see a limp, just a cut on his shoulder and a little bit of blood.
-Jake

Also, it is a modern crossbow... at least I still consider it modern.... It's about 10 years old now probably. A horton yukon sl 150lbs.... I haven't had it checked recently but I believe it was shooting around 250fps somewhere in there... they definitely make them faster but I've shot multiple deer with this set up with no problem before. It burries the bolts into my target as well.
-Jake

Who knows. I'm a firm believer that mechanical broad heads are a bad idea Ive seen lots of them underperform but none that poorly.

A mechanical out of a 250fps bow is definitely a bad idea

I'd look at something like a viper trick for that setup. You need something at the total opposite end of the spectrum from a mechanical.

Hatfield - there's a big difference between going through the shoulder blade vs. going through the shoulder/leg bone. Those bones are tough and thick. The shoulder blade on the other hand is only maybe 1/4" thick and I agree any BH from one of today's crossbows would have not trouble punching through one or both of them. But a square it on a leg bone - its entirely possible.

I am going to chime in on this one. I had to go to a crossbow due to medical issues. I started with the Desert Stryker, blew up on me. One hell of a crossbow though. Bought another brand it sucked. Went to a Mission MXB 360 and I feel this is a state of the art crossbow. At 180 lbs. I would never try a shot such as that without a tried and true fixed blade. I am still skeptical about expandables. I do use Rage 2 blade but my shots are for the lungs.