Need opinions

[huntingpret]

I quit bow hunting a couple of years ago. I shot a compound and started having trouble with my fingers releasing without my say so. I figured it was a carpal tunnel problem but the doctor told me it was just good old arthritis due to getting older. I got a crossbow and the permit needed to hunt in PA but only used it one year then dropped off in preference to muzzle loading. This year, when we were spring bear hunting, my stepson and I decided to go back to the outfitter this fall to hunt. He is an avid bow hunter so I told him I would go with him on the combo archery hunt. I purchased an Excalibur crossbow and have been practicing and experimenting with different broad heads several times a week getting ready for the hunt. Since I’m going to this extent I will also get a PA tag and hunt PA also. Now all that said I’ll get to the point. I have been shooting both aluminum and carbon bolts and with both I found that, of the broad heads I tried Slicktricks and American Sonic have shot the best. Both shoot tight groups up to 40 yards and the same as my field points. I set up three bolts, a mix of aluminum and carbon, three with each of these broad head and they did extremely well but after using them considerably they are not doing as well. I assume this is because the broad heads themselves are deteriorating from use but I would like to know your opinions. The field points still shoot just as good. I would like to know your opinions on mechanical broad heads. I never tried or thought much of them. This was do to hearing and reading of bad experiences with them. After reading about Rage Mechanicals I decided to try them and bought three. Have any of you ever used them and if you have what do you think? I can try them for accuracy but will not know how they will perform hunting until I might be sorry.

[DrDan]

Welcome to the forum...

I have both the two bladed and three bladed Rage BH's and they seem to fly just like field points and the blades seem to deploy well. I plan to use them for whitetails this year. An advantage is that the blades deploy after the point is already traveling into the skin - this keeps them from skidding sideways on an angle hit.

DrDan

[hawg hunter]

You were shooting two of the mos accurate BH made,Slicks and Sonic.If the accuracy is going bad see if your arrows are straight, mixing different types of arrows of different weights causes different POI. I steer clear of mechanicals. just another variable.

[huntingpret]

I mixed carbon and aluminum bolts just out of curiosity to see what the different POI would be and if one was more consistent then the other. Surprisingly they hold the same POI with field points or the same broadhead. The Slicktricks and Sonic also held the same POI with aluminum or carbon. I'm shooting 22" bolts and suppositly there more forgiving and maybe this might not be true with 20". I did find that one of the aluminum shafts was slightly bent and it would shoot right, left, or low depending on which vain I put down on the rail. Can carbon shafts warp and cause this? I have been told that they can't. I will hunt with carbon bolts only but it is nice to know if I have to use a different shaft or broadhead in an emergency where it will impact.