I have to try some, my life simply won't be complete unless I can at least see what I was missing, if anything.
I am looking at the Spitfire XP's or Rage slip cam..
Deciding between the lesser of two evils.. Any suggestions?

I have the Spitfire (not the XP) and love them. My father also shoots them. They work great, but remember that they are not maintance free. I like these as they use the retainer clips for holding the blades closed, but they will lose retension strength every time they are used. They recommend only 5 shots per clip, but for hunting purposes, I will only use NEW CLIPS. If you get the Spitfire, get their practice blades and use them for practice, hits exactly the same as the real blades.

THe blades with rubber bands or O-rings, require more maintance. Rubber bands/O-rings can deteriate in time causing them to fail to hild the blades closed.

Hope this has helped you some.

As you probably can remember I started to use the Tekan II's last year to fill my mechanical itch. I took two deer this year with them and one fell in sight about thirty yards and the buck I shot only went fifty or sixty yards. I have never used the Spitfires but have never liked the way that style looks. Alot of guys use them and like them, but the rear hinge blades do not appeal to me. A friend at work goes on a group hunt with some guys from work and the one guy uses that kind and he told me that they look like to much work to use. After one some times two shots he has out his Allen wrench fixing blades and messing with them. Not saying they are bad, but they do not appeal to me. So when I first seen the two blade rages I liked that style, but do not like the fact that center has the openingin them, I feel you lose strength with this. On the Tekans, you get the same slide back style, but no crossover in the middle for anything to happen. It is also solid the entire length and I think that makes it stronger. I practiced this season with the tekans I had from last year and I shot them a bunch and never had a blade bend or go bad, and 90% of the time I used the same O ring, just roll it forward and good to go. Also like the rages, they are fully open as they go in. Every time I shot into the block the first thing I would check before pulling arrow is the two nice slices in the foam, and they are always there. One more advantage I also like with the Tekans is the main cut on contact tip. The tip alone is 5/8" inch wide, so even if the blades did fail for some reason, I still and making a nice slice on the deer. They are also 100% steel, no soft aluminum in them. I am glad I tried these and they worked well on both of my deer, they both had fully open entrance holes. The deer pic is of the first deer I took with them and it is the entrance hole.

Thanks Guys, I was choosing between these two because that is all the local store has in right now.. I have another box of Slicks to get me by but I was hoping to try some mechanicals with the compound.
Thanks for the input either way.
David

I also use TeKan II's and the Rage..But what I had happen was The rage opened up when I shot thru my mesh,I dont know if it was my fault or not because I have had the rage open up in the quiver from bouncing around,the tekan were fine,I have read on other sites were guys have had the rage open up also but as far as shooting with out going thru mesh I thought both were Awsome mech,I used the Tekan last year with no problem's but due to the rage's opening up in the quive and mesh I went back to Slicks and Muzzy's on the CB's.
Just make sure you check the mech to make sure they are not open alittle before you shoot.(one more thing to check)..
My .02 worth..

Spitfires. Most of us here at TenPoint use them and have had great luck.
Randy

I tried the Rage 2 blade and 3 blade on deer.
WON'T do it again! Was not satisfied at all with the blood trail or the killing efficiencey, 1 deer lived for 25 minutes after being shot thru both lungs.
IMO blades are not sharp enough.

xbowbarry

Not sure if you venture much to the other forum, but they have a broadhead thread that is full of hunts with them and how people like them. People are only supposed to post with actual kills and the results, some good info in there. Here is the link.

2007 Broadhead success survey.

I concur. Although that 2" cut is appealing on the Rage, it's super easy opening ability is not. Especially with a crossbow. Durability is also an issue. And NOTHING will beat up a broadhead up faster than a crossbow.

I Like the way the Spitfires shoot but they sometimes they leave none or a poor bloodtrail. I shot 2 deer with them this year both were passthrough shots. One the doe I shot there was no blood trail on a double lung shot.But I was able to see where she went into the corn and found her dead 40 yards away. Later I shot a buck at less than 20 yards passthrough shot again, but he ran into an erea I couldn't see from my blind. Found the arrow later where I shot him, covered in blood. But again hardly any trail. I gave it plenty of time before looking for the deer. Even went back up to my sisters house. Then went to town and got a 12pack for me and my brother-in-law as he was on his way home for work. So I figured I'd give itevem more time then we'd have a couple cold ones and go look for the deer. We only found a few minute drops of blood. (I was shocked he even seen it it was so small). We looked for 2 1/2 days several hours each dayfor that big buck did a HUGE grid search several times in case he circled back. And never found him. Talk about sick. I even went out in the pouring rainthe 3rd day again for 4 hours just to help ease my mind. So I'm switching to SLICKS. Thats what was recommnded to me for good flight, no planing, excellent blood trail. That was the first and hopefully the last deer I fail to retrieve. I am pretty sure my shot was dead on. I have read on severalsites and articlesthat there is a "hollow spot" or something similiar in the vital / kill zoneof a deer. And that a deer can actually survive a passthrough shot like that. I don't know if this is true or not. I know that was one of the most terrible feelings I've ever had, not finding that deer. I know it happens, and so many get killed by cars, trains, etc. But itstill messed with my head bigtime. It was 2 months ago and still bothers me when I think about it. Sorry the post was so long but this is a thing to consider when using some mechanicals. I am still fairly new toCB hunting but I catch on to things real quick and read, read, read all the articles, posts, opinions, advice etc. I think for now I am going to stay away from the mechs. As long as there are fixed blade BH's that fly like field points that I don't have to "tune" to the bolts, thats my best bet. One thing I learned for sure, No blood trail, and no snow on the ground really put the hurtin' on me. Again, sorry so long....


chris