Rage's are a must

[deerminator]

I have had good blood trails with all my muzzy shots. Again, shot placement is key. I have nothing against the rages, I just get sick and tired of everyone exclaiming "look at the hole that rage left" after every shot, almost like they're doing a commerical for the company. And some of the people out there on the Internet, prostaff especially, are being paid to hype them in Forum posts and blogs. I'm not saying that's everyone, but that's how they get it started. And good for them, it's good marketing on a quality product. But for me, it just kind of is disappointing to have someone arrow a nice buck, tell a great story, and then do some product placement at the end. Bill Heavy with F&S has joked around about this before in his columns ... "and I could never have taken the buck without my XYZ camo and insert name brand doe pee." lol

As for the TV hunts, Ted does them on Spirit of the Wild, but I watch that for entertainment value, not because I think he's the great hunter of the North or anything. I'd doubt many of these others like the Drury's or Lakosky's hunt high fence, but they do have the advantage of having exclusive access to thousands of acres if not tens of thousands of acres of land with absolutely no pressure. Sometimes they even tell you no one has hunted it for three years. Well, yea, I suppose there are some big bucks running around. You still have to hunt them of course, but if that's your job, then you should be able to tag one with all the scouting and land management you can do.

The combination of so much available land, no hunting pressure and 24/7 to scout and hunt gives them the advantage. But they don't tell you that. They act like everyone can do it, when in fact the rest of us typically have many more contraints. We'll tag out on some big bucks, many serious hunters even one or two a year. But no one can do so as consistently or take a half a dozen a year in various states unless they have the same advantages the TV hunters do or can afford really good outfitters.

[harvey lee]

Not being a pro staff for Rage, from what I have seen, they do make a huge hole.

[Hoyt4]

As long as you make a good shot anything will work.Trophy Ridge rockets are good and I'm sure there are many out there that are very good.Rage is just the new thing something else will come out and that will be the best.I get great blood trails with Rockets spraying and covering trees solid blood to the deer I do not know what would be better then that for a broadhead.As long as you make the shot count.I have not had a deer go over 60yds as of right now using these for the last 10 years.My elk didn't even get 40yds with the ultimate steel,bear rolled over the bait and expired right there.

[Stratosman]

Unless your pulling 30 lbs or shooting 30 grains...

[mngoosehunter]

it was like a 140 yard shot with a thompson muzzleloader. I saw it last year on Outdoor channel. I didn't think it was possible either but I saw it so i believe it now.

[Kyle]

I dont muzzleload yet, but the only thing I can think of is maybe they didnt put the right amount of powder in. But that would probably screw up the accuracy of the gun all together.Im not trying to discount you MNgoosehunter, but it is just so unbelievable...I have to stand on my opinion. no way.

[mngoosehunter]

sounds good to me..I saw it so i believe it..I tried looking on youtube for it but they dont have it. Ill try talking to my Uncle and see if he remembers the show or not. It was last year so I dont remember who was shooting, I just remember seeing it.

[fishinmajishin]

Hope you find the footage. Not doubting you saw it either. I'd just have to see it to believe it for myself. 140 yards is a good poke, but if a guy is sighted in with normal firearm operation, AND he actually hit the deer at that range, I'd have to say there would be penetration. Otherwise it would have to be rainbow shot to have it bounce off.

While you're talking to your uncle, see if he can get the specifics on "ol' ironsides" his friend bounced an arrow off of...Draw weight, point of arrow impact, shot distance, etc. Hard to dispute without the facts.

[mngoosehunter]

yeah no problem ill have to ask him that too..hopefully i can just to prove you guys that it happens but oh well i saw it so i believe it

[96trigger]

Quote:

I too question the rage bouncing off of a deer. confused Maybe he just said that because you would have made fun of him or something. There is no way it bounces off of a deer.

Swear to it that I had an arrow bounce off a deer. I still have the broadhead to prove it. The tip is bent at a 45 degree angle, so it hit something hard. It was also a mechanical and never deployed. The buck (big buck) was ten yards away and there was no obstruction between him and me. I aim, let it go, and thats all I see is the arrow roll/flip across the bucks back and just land on the ground. The buck ran off. I looked that the arrow, clean as a whistle, not a speck of dirt on it, looks just like I dropped it except for the bent broadhead tip. Any explanations? The only thing that I can think of is it hit its hoof. Had I missed, the broadhead would have deployed and it would have been sticking in the dirt. What I'm getting at is that strange things happen, and after that, I'm not going to call anyone a liar. This is all first hand experience, it happened to me. I even went back and visited the post from 2 years ago. Its still on here, we called him Ninja buck.

[Hotspotter]

I guess anything is possible. While it didn't happen to me, I got a chance to see an arrow a buddy shot supposedly into a bucks shoulder/leg bone. It was an old aluminum arrow, and actually split at the base so you could see the insert.

As the story goes, he draws back, puts the pin behind the shoulder at 20 yards, and lets go. He hears a terrible THWACK, and sees the buck run off with the full length of the arrow sticking out of his shoulder, and watched it fall "out" after a few yards down the trail. No blood on the head either. He thinks it hit the bone so square that just the tip stuck into the bone without breaking it.

He could've been lying to me and the thing just hit a tree, but on the other hand, I've shot a tree before. There's no getting your broadhead out of that one. We were alot younger, shooting old hand-me-down bear bows that were probably 50-55lb draw weight with the old aluminum arrows. Certainly weren't breaking any speed records.

Who knows?

Joel

[treble]

This might be the video you're talking about..

Okay can't get it to show up on here, just go to this link.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=2284517

[fishinmajishin]

I'd say unbelievable, but I just saw it! Again, I wasn't calling anybody a liar, just had to see it for myself. A glancing blow, but still! Didn't even see a hair fly. That guy's gotta be having nightmares to this day. Goosehunter...still would like to hear about your uncles' friends encounter. Had to hit hard bone just right.

Trigger...what brand mechanical were you using?

[mrklean]

i give it to you on that one, now when i see the arrow ill believe that one He must have not loaded powder right or something thats a big mess up thats for sure.

[vister]

makes a guy wonder if the muzzy bullet in that video was tumbling when it hit? Yes, it was a little high, but still would never have believed that a bullet would just have bounced off a deer.

I've seen a buck that had a bullet skinned from nose to forehead while the guy was party hunting. looked like a worm line where the hair was missing, but never went through the skull

[crazyice]

Part of this whole issue really, in my humble opinion, comes down to shot placement. I for one wouldn't have taken that shot in the video due to the extreme quartering towards me shot. I would much rather have a quartering away shot. Sometimes if you just wait for a better shot, it will present itself, and then I don't see any of these problems being problems at all. But even with that quartering towards shot in the video, you would think that it would have penetrated atleast some.

[96trigger]

I won't say what brand it was, to tell you the truth, it wasn't top of the line. The picture alone says it all still looks brand new, except for the bent head. The rubber band, weather checked now, is still on the darn thing. Brings back a lot of bad memories, I was ready to quit at that particular moment, at the very least I remember having the bow above my head, ready to smash it into a million pieces on the ground, but I scored the next weekend, and scored big the next year after revamping all my equipment and spending countless hours practicing. Glad I didn't give up. I was feeling pretty darn low after that morning. I swear to God I almost cried.

[harvey lee]

The broadhead looks to be of poor quality.

With the deer shot with the muzzy, I agree Crazy as I would never have taken a shot at the deer in that position. Very poor choice.

[96trigger]

Harvey, what makes you think its such poor quality? Just wondering so I don't ever make the same mistake twice. It seemed to be along the same line as almost all the other mechanicals like the wasps, rockets, and even the Lazer Strike II's that I'm using now.

Poor quality or not, it hit something darn hard to bend the tip like that, try bending it back once, I have, I can't do it. I have inspected and reinspected that thing a number of times.

Needless to say, I have never used that brand again, nor will I.

[92python]

96 trigger,

Since the shot was close and the ferrule bent could it be possible that the arrow had some sort of fletch contact off the bow or rest and therefore the arrow was flying a little crooked when it hit?

I have noticed that when I shoot my bow and get some fletch ontact my arrows fly crooked for the first few yards then the fletching takes over and straightens the flight out. I can visually see this happen.

I have 3 kinds of arrows and this happens every time I shoot my heavy Easton 2219s with the Blazers and a 125 field point. Those arrows are about 2 inches too long as well. I also have noticed this happen on some of my Axis 340s when my rest wasn't set up right and was getting contact or if my fletching was messed up.

A crooked flying arrow would explain the bent ferrule if it hit something solid like a shoulder at just the right angle.

[kevfish1]

ya i was thinkin the same thing- how can one say it is of poor quality lookin at a picture. Looks like one i have shot for years and is very good quality

[harvey lee]

The screw on tip on the broadhead is bent on the spindle. I have used Muzzy's with the same type tocar tip and have shot them into trees and have also shot deer and the broadhead went through the front shoulder and never once did the tip bend over like that.

Seems to or at a minimum looks like it is weak where the tip screws on.

Yes, it could be the flight of the arrow but I have never seen a broadhead bend on the tip like that even smacking them into a tree and then having to dig the broadhead out with a knife.

[sticknstring]

Sure looks like the Rocket variety to me... nearly identical to a Sidewinder or Hammerhead - same color and Pathfinder tip. Darn good knockoff... There's no way that head hit that deer unless it deflected off it's antlers or hoof as you say. Maybe a branch on its approach? I'll take that head if you don't want it - screw a new tip on and whack a turkey with it

[96trigger]

I think if it was weak, it would have broke off. Cheap metal is brittle, and breaks, it doesn't usually bend like that. And like I said, I've tried to bend it back, with everything but a vice and pliers.

Python, The arrow could have very well left the bow crooked, I am no longer using that bow, those carbon arrows, or that braodhead. I have also shot numerous broadheads into things that I shouldn't have like wood, I think that mostly when it hits something like wood, it usually hits it squarely. This buck was quartering away from me, it was a perfect shot, but he was very close. Which is where the arrow fletching making contact with bow makes sense. I cannot remember because it has been two years, how the flight was on the bow. All the other deer I shot with it were probably 10 or more yards farther away than this buck.

H4life. If you watch the video in slow motion, you can see it hit, and see it bounce back off. It hits high in the shoulder blade and doesn't roll down, it bounces back a couple of feet, but I could clearly see it.

[Bear55]

Crazy! I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. I will say that it was a poor shot, too high and really a bad angle.