broad heads

Your asking for trouble, IMO........

My buddy shoots them and loves them. My brother shoots the montec g5 and loves them. They have both put down elk and deer with very little tracking. They both use 100gr tips. They both hit everything in the lugs or hart that has about 90% to do with the sort tracking. I might get beat up for this, but I shoot the muzzy mx3 100gr and kill the same stuff that my brother and buddy kill. as long if the shoot is good I fine my animals 50-100 yards from were I shot them.

"BOHNTR" wrote:Your asking for trouble, IMO........

I don't find that it is much trouble packing out a bull after I shoot one with my Rage broadheads. It can be hard on the back though. Seriously if you watch the O rings and make sure that they aren't cracked or if you are going to stalk with them on the bow. You should put a dental rubberband on the hourglass part of the broadhead you will eliminate 99% of the problems people seem to have with them.

I don't find that it is much trouble packing out a bull after I shoot one with my Rage broadheads. It can be hard on the back though. Seriously if you watch the O rings and make sure that they aren't cracked or if you are going to stalk with them on the bow. You should put a dental rubberband on the hourglass part of the broadhead you will eliminate 99% of the problems people seem to have with them.

Sorry, but I call it like I see it. I know four different hunters (Friends) who had VERY poor results with the Rage expandable heads on ELK. Luckily, one was recovered the next day by means of another arrow. The original arrow had hit a rib and failed to penetrate with a 70 pounds bow. The other three were behind the shoulder shots that for some reason or another they failed to penetrate completely. Those three bulls were LOST.

Do I think they can work for deer? Yes (most the time). Do I think folks have successfully used them on elk? Yes. But sooner or later you'll lose one, IMO......so my question is, with today's' quality heads that fly like field points.......why use a head that "might" or even "probably" work. Not worth it for me. JMO.

MUZZY , MUZZY, MUZZY :)

Bohntr, I respect your opinion greatly but on this issue we will have to agree to disagree. I am Sorry that your friends had such poor results. I also have 4 friends and between the 5 of us we have killed 7 bulls in the last 2 years using Rage 2 or 3 blade heads. Many times I have found that an excited hunter will misjudge where he hits and animal in the heat of the moment. I am not saying that your friends aren't telling the truth but shot placement is the key using any type of broadhead. We also limit ourself to shots under 50 yards so we have enough energy to drive the head home. All of those bulls were recovered with 75 yards of where they were hit. I am also sure that if they were hit with a good ol Wacum that they would have been just as dead. I have noticed that people don't change the blades on an expandable as much as they do on replaceable broadheads such as Wacums. Having sharp heads, limiting your shot to a reasonalble distance, and having confidence in your equipment will go a long way towards a quicker recovery of your intended target. One of my friends before we started using Rage heads hit a huge bull one evening at a water hole. He shot it with a 4 blade Muzzy head and came back to camp saying that we would have a short trail tomorrow finding his double lung hit bull. To make a long story short the next day we found his arrow covered with stomach matter and after a two day search never did find his bull .

As long as your confident with them, then by all means have fun. You're obviously having success with them which is awesome. :thumb

As for the friends I'm talking about.....all have been doing this bowhunting stuff for well over 30 years a piece, so I believe the arrow placement described was spot on.....two confirmed on video.......one used to endorse them adamantly on TV.......there's a reason he no longer does.

Here's a response on the Rage that really puts it in perspective, IMO:

"I bet Randy Ulmer would love to take back his 100 yard shot challenge with a rage at the ATA a few years back. You know the one where the rage deployed mid flight, sailed 25 yards, and buried into the carpet. It only cost him $5,000. Understand when one shoots and expandable there greater inherent risks than shooting a fixed blade. Expandables have killed tons of game, but they don't work 100% time and so I will stay with a fixed blade and work on my bow tune. Today there are plenty of solid, well built, fixed blade broadheads (far superior in quality and strength) that fly like darts. My tune has me dialed into 80 yards, no need to change. Then it just becomes a matter of placement.

The worst thing Chuck Adams could have said on TV was "It's like hitting an animal with an Axe!" It made novice archers believe that wound channel was superior than penetration, when we all the know the inverse is true: Penetration should always be put before wound channel. Many medium to light poundage set ups do not perform with the Rage. I know they came out with a "Low KE" version, but many would have still been better served with better performing fixed than the "Low KE" version.

Expandables are not for novices, but those who understand the inherent risks of shooting with them. When a rage does perform as intended with sufficient KE and poundage, it is devastating. But don't fool yourself that there are no risks involved. There is no free lunch when one opts for an expandable. The risk of early deployment is too great for me and since I now mainly elk hunt that throws a whole new set of variables (thick brush, dead fall climbing, small window of opportunity) into the mix. (The chance of a pre-deployed expandable in my quiver is almost absolute under those conditions) A Fully deployed, fixed blade is really the only logical option for the situation and game I am hunting.

Expandables are for those who understand their equipment and the game they are hunting. It is a decision that has to be weighed carefully, and definitely not in a 30 second commercial."

I'll have to side with BOHNTR on this one. When I first used expandables I thought they were the best thing ever. Took some deer with great results. But then I lost a big whitetail. It was a complete pass-through, right behind the shoulder about 8 inches up from the bottom of his chest. I had blood on both sides of his track and trailed him about 100yds where I spotted him laying. I sat and watched him for awhile then he got up and moved allowing me to see and confirm my shot placement. Confident, I decided to back out and give him time to expire. I came back the next morning to find where he had bedded again only to get back up and go another 25 yds and bed again and again, each time with less and less blood until finally he quit bleeding and I could no longer trail him. I walked them hills for the next month figuring I'd find his remains but never did. That one still haunts me to this day. The only thing I can think of is that the expandable never opened up and I just poked a pencil hole through him.
I'm just saying that I used to swear by expandables, but it only takes one failure to take all that confidence away.

There is way too much controversy with the Rage heads to make it seem like a good idea to use them, especially on elk. I'd go with something that has a reputation for killing animals with boring regularity like Muzzys, Montecs, Slick Tricks, Wac'ems. I know some good hunters that tried them and got burned. I never did mostly because of the carnival like, tent revival testimonial atmosphere surrounding them.
Mark

"m gardner" wrote:There is way too much controversy with the Rage heads to make it seem like a good idea to use them, especially on elk. I'd go with something that has a reputation for killing animals with boring regularity like Muzzys, Montecs, Slick Tricks, Wac'ems. I know some good hunters that tried them and got burned. I never did mostly because of the carnival like, tent revival testimonial atmosphere surrounding them.
Mark

Well said Mark. I especially like the part about the "carnival like, tent revival testimonial atmosphere"... I bought some Grim Reapers last year but never was able to shoot an animal. And the more I've thought about the possibility of losing the buck or bull of a lifetime because of mechanical problems, has persuaded me to go back to my original Montecs. The possibility of failure after all that time and work is not an option of me, even if your mechanical may function properly 90% of the time. BOHNTR said it best... You just have to be confident with your setup. To each is own, IMO.

Well my confidence is offocially shaken!!!!! I went out today and started shooting with my old coc replaceable blade broadheads and they still shoot great. Guess I will have to get used to 1-1/8 inch hole instead of a 2 1/2"

"6x6 bull" wrote:Well my confidence is offocially shaken!!!!! I went out today and started shooting with my old coc replaceable blade broadheads and they still shoot great. Guess I will have to get used to 1-1/8 inch hole instead of a 2 1/2"

Good luck 6x6, that's a tough one.