Rage for elk?

A

Azelkhunter39

Guest
Does anyone have any experience using Rage broadheads on elk? Either the 2 blade or 3 blade? I have heard different opinions but would like to hear some FACTS from people that have actually used them on elk....good or bad. I drew a Unit 8 bull tag in AZ and am skeptical about using them for elk but would like some more info before I make my final decision. Thanks in advance.
 
If you are skeptical....don't use them. Be 100% confident in yourself and your equipment. Just my opinion.

Traditional >>>------->
 
I've never personally used them, I'm a little doubtful on any mechanical broadheads, but I've hunted with several hunters that have used them. Lots of lost elk and a total of 1 recovered elk.

The elk we recovered came after he lost one earlier in the hunt. I've probably seen 3 or 4 lost elk with these and a handful of others with other misc types of mechanical.

www.muleybulloutfitters.com
 
Well, their commercial shows that a caveman can kill a flying dinosaur with one shot out of the air. You shouldn't have any trouble killing a weak little elk with one, right?
 
I helped a friend on a hunt last year.he was using the 2 blade rage and after he lost 2 bulls I went home. I am told he lost 3 bulls total on this hunt. I was sick to my stomach over it.I will NEVER use them on elk.
 
Check out the Rage vs. Coyote post in the Archery section. There is a guy on that post that has a picture of a great bull he killed with a Rage. Sure every now and then the Rage will come through for you, but I've lost a Whitetail using one and like you'll see in the Archery section my buddy had the 2 blade break when he shot a Coyote. My opinion, too many horror stories about them and bad experiances with them myself, not worth the chance of loosing an elk over.
 
I am totally against mechanicals on elk, but I was with a guy last year who center punched an elk at 60 yards with a 2 blade rage and the bull went 50 and died. Impressive blood trail, and a quick, clean kill. That being said, while he was practicing, about every 10th shot or so, a blade would open and send his arrow out into the field. Sure they will kill, but there are many more reliable broadheads out there.
 
In short, no, nay...NEVER!

the longer version consists of having a hunter shoot at a smallish muley buck at just over 40 yards on a deer/elk combo hunt, blade upened up and that stupid thing hissed and veered left about 30" and zipped right under that bucks tail....replace the deer with an elk and we'd have had us a gut-shot bull...very unreliable performance, which is just plain unacceptable in hunting applications

now on the other hand...Magnus Stingers!!!

cheers and Good Luck
 
I made the mistake and used them one season. Did kill my bull with them that year but never again! They might work great on stuff like whitetails but not on elk. I shoot the G5 montec and montec cs
Coloradoboy
 
I don't shoot them but my brother does. I have seen him kill several deer and one black bear all were great shots and they did as good as you could hope for. Now on the other hand I shoot Magnus Snuffer SS 100gn. and the last two bull elk I have killed were absolutly SMOKED useing the Snuffer. One went about 75 yards and the second one was dead within 30 yards, the first elk was shot at about 40 yards and the second was shot at 30 I couldn't have shot them with a rifle and done any better.Good luck on your hunt, I would love to have a that tag.
 
They will kill a bull as long as nothing funny happens. Me personally, I would only shoot them at coyotes...You can get fixed blade broadheads that fly as well and will never give you any problems with opening in flight, etc.

Try G5s, Wac'ems, Slick Tricks, etc. They fly straight, always the same and cut on contact without having any issues with blades opening or not...
 
I tried them two years ago, spent two hours getting into position on what would have been my biggest buck. At the shot one blade opened and made a hissing sound while in flight. Wasn't even close. Then the buck went ten yards and stopped. as I knocked another arrow, both blades came open so I had to spend the time to put them back in. it cost me!
That night I went to sportsmans and got some muzzy 3 blade. 2 days later I shot a nice 5 by 6 bull and it didnt go 10 yards.
Never will use them again or any other mechanical and I now shoot G-5 montec's.
So to answer your Q, use them if you want a horror story like mine or others. Or you can save yourself and not chance it!
 
I sure as heck would not use them on elk. I made the mistake of giving them a try a couple years ago and cost me the biggest buck of my life. My shot was just a few inches right and hit him square in the shoulder blade, it just turned sideways under the hide. He was killed by another hunter the next day while I was still tracking him. If I was shooting a good fixed head he'd be mine
 
LAST EDITED ON Mar-31-11 AT 10:28PM (MST)[p]I would think your question is answered.
 
Ive killed a deer and my bull last year with the 2 blade. Buck went about 20 yards and bull went about 30 before tipping over. You do have to be careful to make sure your blades are secure before the shot, and if they are they fly great and do some damage. You hit any animal in the shoulder with any head you'll be lucky to call him "mine".
 
You hit any
>animal in the shoulder with
>any head you'll be lucky
>to call him "mine".

+1
 
I have no expierence with Rage heads but I have killed two bulls using mechanical heads. The Rocket and the NAP worked great for me. They held up and did the job. I know many people who use these heads on elk with great success. Again its all about shot placement.
 
Well being mainly an Elk hunter from New Mexico all I use is Rage 2 blades and Never had a problem with killing Elk. I also use them for bear deer and every other little critter. None the less I have never had a problem and the farthest any of my animals have ran is about 65 yards after the shot and that was a Deer!

Its all about shot placement which I see most of these guys not talk about! not saying you guys didn't make a good shot, but also arrow weight plays a big part on the performance for "Kinetic Energy"!

Shooting to light of an arrow and your not going to get the penatration you want also with any mechanical broadhead stay away from big shoulder bones on Elk they will not penetrate.
 
With all the good fixed blade heads on the market these days, I don't know why anyone would want to use an expandable of any type?? Am I missing something?
 
Bad tuning...I think that a lot of guys just can't get fixed blades to fly out of their rigs and opt out for a mech, as they don't understand what the problem is with their tune/form

Fixed blades will exaggerate the squirrelly tendencies of poor arrow flight

There is absolutely no reason why a good fixed blade won't group with field points out of a well tuned rig and non-torquing shooting form

Provided the above, a high quality and razor sharp fixed blade will ALWAYS out-penetrate a mechanical
 
Rages- Why???
When you have so many other good choices!

Agree with Great above- tune your bow and all BH's will fly perfect
 
Thanks for all the responses guys, I think I have heard all I need to hear. I have some Rages because like a lot of guys I was curious but I guess I will stick with the fixed blades I have. Thanks again and good luck this Fall.
 
I have had great luck on whitetails but I shot a nice bull quartering away and the penetration was dismal.(70 lb compound with 450 grain arrow total weight).I have killed several with this same setup with THUNDERHEADS.I learned my lesson.
 
I've seen a Rage stop on a little Hill Country TX whitetail. I wouldn't shoot anything bigger than a turkey with one. I agree with the other guys... WHY? There are so many good fixed blades out there now that will fly like a field point if you tune your bow. Give me a solid 3 blade cut on contact head for elk any day. Check out the VPA Terminator. Best elk broadhead I've ever seen.
 
I've never hunted elk with archery gear yet. I have hunted whitetail with archery though and I've come to respect the Montec G5's ability to shoot straight and kill very effectively. I've been able to sight my bow in with these to group almost as tight as my field tips.

They can be sharpened to a scalpel type sharpness too.

You can buy the target tip versions for sighting in. I did shoot a nice 200 lb boar, stopping in it's tracks, with one well placed shot. It completely impressed my fellow hunters that were using 7mm Mag rifles who required 2 and 3 shots respectively to take their hogs.

They have since switched to the G5's for their archery tips.

GrizlyHunter
 
I used them on elk. One season. They do not have a sharp enough point to cut elk hide. The deflection on a bull in Wyoming was so horrible. I threw the last 2 dozen I owned in the garbage. I also hit my a bull in Utah the same year high in the shoulder as he ducked and it grazed off of him without any penetration.
 
Wow, Interesting thread on the Rage. I have used them and so do most of my hunting partners.

The Rage 2 blade is what I would recommend. Been using them for years and killed many elk with them. Most of the time where I find them dead it looks like a crime scene. A 2" hole is hard to close up. Never, I mean NEVER did any of my animals go over 75 yards, and not because of my excellent shooting. I'd say it was because of the hole these bad boys left.

They make a Rage 2" , 1'75" and a 1'5". Make sure you use the 2" 2 blade.

I am sure there is a difference in opinions but this is mine. Good luck on your hunt, what an excellent tag!

Premium Hunting Gear at great prices and Free Shipping. www.SantanaOutdoors.com
 
My belief is if you place your shot right in the heart lung area you will have an easy recovery. People who make poor shots don't recover many elk. Don't be afraid to crowd the shoulder. I like fixed broadheads because they contiue to cut if they stay in the body cavity.
 
Never! For a actual testing data on real animals on these and other mechanical heads check out the traditional bowhunter magazine site. It's in the Ashby library.
http://www.tradbow.com/members/tradbow/imag/MechBH/pageflip.cfm

You might have to register to see Dr. Ashbys test article "A Critical Look at Mechanical Broadheads" that was published in TBM. The picture on the first page should be enough to convince you not to use rage heads.

My buddy lost a mule deer in ND last year using a 3 blade rage. Yes, it was not an ideal hit but if he was using magnus stingers I think he would have gotten more then 3" of penetration. Any head will kill with an ideal hit, so you should alway plan on gear that works in non-ideal situations because you can never be certian you'll get one.
 
13514azbull.jpg


81461azbull.jpg


100 grain, 2 inch RAGE.

A lot of great broadheads out there. Bottom line - shoot what you're confident in and put that choice in the boiler room.
 
Best broadhead I've ever used is the G5 Montec, hands down. This 1-piece broadhead is always perfectly balanced, so they always fly true, and it is extremely tough.
 
Do not know about elk, but a friend of mine shot a nice tom turkey with a 70 pound ice man/3blade rage under twenty yards this Spring. Turkey ran off with what appeared to be a perfect shoulder hit; a broken wing, and almost no penetration.

I found his 35 dollar arrow, and a pile of feathers a week later and about a quarter mile away. I told Kirk he needed to turn his draw weight up, and also brought up the taradactyl thing for good measure.

Ryan
 
Its all about shot placement. There is not as much margin of error for the Rage as a fixed blade type broadhead. In my experience the Rage will fly better at longer distances or beyond 30 yards . Most of my shots for elk have been 30 yards or less.It all comes down to shot placement and being confident and competent with your equipment and of course being at the right place at the right time.

Good Luck to all of you...

Elk 2011
 
>Hows the shot placement when the
>blades open in flight?
> I can tell you
>its horrible shot placement.

Very good point. Why risk having a blade open up on you in mid flight when there are plenty of good fixed blades available now days that shoot very good. I shot mechanicals for 10 years after they first came out and in that 10 year period I had 3 different occasions where the blades open up on me while shooting at deer. Thank goodness I missed all three by quite a bit. After it happen the 1st time I switched to a different brand. After it happened another time I switched again. After the 3rd time I said to myself "what in the HELL am I doing shooting these damn things!" Trust me don't want to know what it feels like to have a expandable open up in mid flight while shooting at an animal. It's a horrible feeling to say the least. Yea I've killed a few deer and an elk using expandables but if I never started using them I'd still would have killed all the animals I killed while using them and I know for a fact I'd have 3 more deer kills under my belt. Get your bow tuned then get one of the many great fixed blades available now days and don't look back.
 
9665rage_mod.jpg


Here is what I do to prevent the broadhead from opening up. The small guage hobby wire breaks very easy but hold strong in your quiver and in flight. This is what I was told Randy Ulmer does to prevent flight failures. I guarantee Randy Ulmer would not use a poor penetrating or flying broadhead on the trophies he takes year in and year out.
 
^Interesting that a Rage prostaffer feels it necessary to have to modify the crappy thing to assure that it doesn't fail in flight...
 
If I have to modify equipment so it won't fail, I won't use it! even if it doesn't open in flight you still worry about the blades breaking on bone on entry. . I put way to much time and effort into a hunt that I don't want to worry about those things.
The problem is 99% who buy rage will not improve them so they won't open in flight, and sooner or later it will happen to them.
 
As lefturn mentioned above!

G5 Montec and don't worry about a Broadhead that is Mechanical!

If it's Mechanical it will eventually Fail!

I've heard of way to many Animals Wounded with RAGE!

"Have You Guys Got Your 175 Yard Pins Installed"?:D



For GAWDS Sakes Guys,We Got Kids on this Site,Some of them are 65 years Old!:D

I don't care if they're big or small!
If they throw lead I like em all!
:p
 
I would expect that Randy Ulmer might make that modification to the broadhead because....wait for it.....here it comes...........because he is a paid sponsor and Rage probably pays him a nice check for his endorsment. This is the same guy that had an rage tipped arrow bite the dirt in front of a 'live studio audience' when the rage head decided to unfurl mid-flight during a broadhead target shooting comp a couple of years ago.

The only reasons a sane man would continue to use this head (and make some critical mods to it) are financialy based. IMO

Bill
 
>Best broadhead I've ever used is
>the G5 Montec, hands down.
> This 1-piece broadhead is
>always perfectly balanced, so they
>always fly true, and it
>is extremely tough.

It appears that I'm not the only one who has experienced this...

GrizlyHunter
 
If the broadhead opens in flight i agree you are screwed. I have not had this happen to me personally, but have heard that
this has happened in the past to several folks. I have harvested both whitetails and elk with no problems so far.
Neither animals went more than one hundred yards.


Thanks
Elk2011
 
As others have said, why risk it. Is it worth blowing the trophy of a life time due to equipment error? There are plenty of great fixed heads that fly just like field points in a tuned bow. Here is the best part, they will always fly the same and you never have to worry about them doing something funny costing you an animal and being the reason why you have a bad hit on an animal.
 
LAST EDITED ON May-13-11 AT 01:08PM (MST)[p]>>Best broadhead I've ever used is
>>the G5 Montec, hands down.
>> This 1-piece broadhead is
>>always perfectly balanced, so they
>>always fly true, and it
>>is extremely tough.
>
>It appears that I'm not the
>only one who has experienced
>this...
>
>GrizlyHunter

When I first switched to and used the G5 Montec, I admit I didn't put the best shot on a 6x6 bull and hit him a little forward directly in the shoulder, broadside. Granted it was only 15 yards, but it punched straight through not only the near-side shoulder, both the opposite shoulder as well. The arrow didn't pass through, but the broahead did (leaving a perfect Y in the hide on the exit side). The arrow broke in half in the bulls chest cavity and sucked the half with the broadhead back in as he tried to run. I thought it had passed through, but found the 2 halves of the arrow when we quartered him him (the back half in the chest cavity and the broadhead half in that opposite shoulder).

The bull ended up dying, half tangled in a nearby fence he couldn't jump, about 30 yards downhill from where he was initially hit.

The bones in both shoulders were broken, but the broadhead was reusable...all it needed was to be resharpened.

Most any other broadhead would have had broken blades, and or a bent ferrule, jacked up tip, etc.

And no, I'm not sponsored by G5 or anybody else...I wish.


Oh yeah: these things fly excellent at longer ranges too. I attribute it to the 1-piece design being so well balanced. Every arrow in my quiver spins just as well as the next.
 
+1 for the G5 Montec

I shot my bull last year with the montec, pulled the arrow out of the opposite shoulder and the broadhead looked bran spanking new after breaking ribs on entry then buried into the shoulder. Tip was perfect and still sharp.
 
I have always heard great things about the g5s, I will get to some one day. I just already am set up with a head that has been really good for me.

I have had two complete pass throughs on elk using slick tricks 100 gr regular heads. Both times, I just cleaned off the blood/hair and put them back in the quiver. I can not tell which ones they are now and they are ready for the next time.

They fly just like my field tips, even 70 yds plus. I usually will shot one broadhead arrow and then three or four field tips and they pattern the same for me.
 
Like leftturn, I shot a bull too far forward with the G5. 7 yards and all I could see was fur through the peep. G5 broke through both shoulders and I recovered broadhead under the hide on the far side. I wouldn't use that particular head again but it did it's job. I'm sold on G5's.
 
LAST EDITED ON May-22-11 AT 09:11AM (MST)[p]I have used Rage on elk the last 2 seasons and won't use them for elk again. I lost two bulls with them. Both were fairly close shots, 17 and 26 yards. Both appeared to be hit well (lungs) but had little and then no blood trails. I did shoot and find one out of three bulls shot with the Rage and at 22 yards it didn't pass through on a perfect broad side shot. I will give the G5 Montec a try this year.

Jerad
917montana_2010_033.jpg
 

Similar threads

MGELKOR
Archery Elk Non-Res 22 Points
Replies
20
Views
2k
YZF_88
YZF_88
cantkillathing
utah elk numbers?
Replies
17
Views
1k
middlefork
M
B
Late season muzz elk
Replies
6
Views
505
105Coues
105Coues

Click-a-Pic ... Details & Bigger Photos

Member Gallery Photos and Videos!

Cool Old Buck
97FE0628-A8E7-4A09-AAC5-497829A48C3B.jpeg
6B628439-F126-4D64-8F7D-C96FDE9F4841.jpeg
Big Buck 200+
20190204_125833.jpg
IMG_5104 copy.jpg
IMG_0906.jpeg
elk14.jpg
451C0A3C-93DE-4709-8B6B-987DFC31D3D3.jpeg
20210920_184921.jpg
2021 still needs mounted
buck x2.jpg
Back
Top Bottom