Rage fail!!!

[groundpounder]

I was hunting this morning and had a small buck step out at 30 yards. Let a bolt fly with a Rage 2 blade 2 inch cut fly. Shot looked good. Deer was slightly quartering away. I could see the arrow didn't have a pass through but the fletchings were showing up right where I wanted them to. I felt comfortable with the shot even though I didn't see the deer drop. Waited a while then started tracking. Not near as much blood as I had hoped! About 150 yards into the tracking and I found my bolt fully entact. However...


The broad head never opened up! I tracked drops of blood here and there for atleast a 500 yard distance until I just could not find anymore. Searched for a good while longer but no such luck. Guess I'll be swapping back to my Montec's!!!

I did have a nice little fawn walk up for a photo op before I shot the buck.

[vixenmaster]

Nice fawn pic, bummed over yer failed Rage.

[amythntr]

....Sorry to hear this GP...man...It's either people love these Rage and never have an issue with them....or they hate them because they "fail" as yours did...
I sold mine when I "saw the light" and followed the path from Barnett to Excalibur...there just seems to be a constant drum beat of these failing rages....


Anthony

[Horizontal Hunter]

Is it possible that you got a counterfeit Rage Broadhead?

Lots of counterfeit broadheads showing up on Amazon, Ebay, Alibaba etc.

Bob

[newbie]

Sorry you lost a deer. In my opinion looks like the head opened and blades were drawn back as the arrow came out.

[groundpounder]

Not a counterfeit.
I use to preach fixed broad heads forever until I finally got turned onto the rage. I have killed a good number of deer with the rage and this has been my first failure. I never had a problem with my fixed Montec's it's just that 2 inch cut with the rage was appealing.

[nyexhunter]

Maybe the blades folded back when the bolt was pulled out by the deer.

If the shot hit high and only went through one lung, a deer can go a long way before going down.

Deer are incredibly tough and each hit on a deer is not a duplicate of a previous shot result. So there is no predicting what will happen. If you hit a deer high, it will bleed internally and the blood will flow out the entrance hole until the blood flow slows. Maybe you will get some aspiration from the mouth and nose. You will not see this without snow. If you did not have a lower entrance hole, the blood in the cavity will not flow out. The deer most likely perished but the survival instinct pushed it too far for you to follow the extremely limited blood trail in the leaves.

If you hunt long enough, there is a higher probability of an experience like this.

[Sopchoppy]

That's a bummer. Hard enough to get a shot, then stuff happens. I've never used mechanicals, just don't trust 'em. Grizz Tricks for me. Got a little 6 pt. on opening day, he went 40 yds. Shot a little 8 pt. this morning, he made it 50 yds. before he piled up. Good blood trails and as old as I am, I need all the help I can get.

[nyexhunter]

If you did not have a lower entrance hole, the blood in the cavity will not flow out.

Meant to say exit hole.

In any event - the point is - there is no predicting what will happen when you hit a deer with an arrow, each time is a completely independent event.

I have seen a friend shoot a deer with a 30-06 and it went down only to get up and run away, eventually found a week later by the farmer a quarter mile away on a logging road in the woods. So you just never know. All you do know is that deer are extremely tough and unpredictable.

[colouredchameleon]

I see from the picture that the Rage head is not fully seated into the insert could that have played a role in its failure.

plus could the blades have deployed but when the arrow pulled out in reverse the blades retrac back to a sort of closed position although offset.

[groundpounder]

I see from the picture that the Rage head is not fully seated into the insert could that have played a role in its failure.

plus could the blades have deployed but when the arrow pulled out in reverse the blades retrac back to a sort of closed position although offset.

I know the head was tight to begin with. I'm guessing it backed out while the deer was running. I'm still putting my money on the head not opening. Every deer I have shot with a rage the oring never survives. One of the blades is still stuck in the oring and the other is shifted forward. The blades are not loose flipping around like every other time I have used them. And u seriously doubt the one side licked itself back in place. Plus the limited blood tells me it wasn't pumping out a big hole. I understand what everyone is saying with a cavity filling up but a 2inch cut is going to bleed more. Now it did bleed. Just not heavily.

[xcaliber]

Sorry to hear of the lost deer. I don't need to make you feel any worse by stating my position, good luck with whatever you choose going forward.

[wabi]

Not a counterfeit.
I use to preach fixed broad heads forever until I finally got turned onto the rage. I have killed a good number of deer with the rage and this has been my first failure. I never had a problem with my fixed Montec's it's just that 2 inch cut with the rage was appealing.

I used to use Wasp JakHammers. Killed a bunch of deer with them before I put one through one's heart and found the broadhead (and arrow) the next day and found the broadhead was still banded closed. (Then the old "light" went on and I remembered the hole through the heart when I dressed the buck was really small.)
Put a good quality fixed blade broadhead with very sharp blades where it should go and the blood trail will be short!

[nyexhunter]

Wabi wrote -put a good quality ... Where it should go and the blood trail will be short.

The key part of the equation is the "where it should go part"

Shot placement is the key.

[strum]

everytime I see these posts im glad I shoot slick tricks.
sorry for the loss GP..sucks I know