This weekend was all about loving me some Rage broadheads. I'm going to keep on telling until everyone that hunts with an arrow is using these. Typical bow season shot, doe was moving fast, very few leaves on the ground so have to be on your game the entire time, no easy feat over 4+ hours per sit. Baiting is also illegal so you have about a 10 second window tops. She passes by like she was on a mission, I grunted, she stopped quartering away from me, my landmark said 20 yds, let it rip. Shot hit just in front of the diaphragm, the 2" cutters opened up and split a MASSIVE entry wound. It cut the diaphragm open, un-punctured stomach popped out, ripped a swath through her lungs & heart, clean pass-through. It was raining cats and dogs and with any other broadhead I'd be worried about tracking with the elements. With the RAGE, I was sitting pretty for an hour with zero worry about losing a blood trail. Obligatory hour passed by and then I found the arrow with a bucket of blood. I pulled out my orange markers to start the blood trail marking but looked up, 20yds away was the doe, dead as a doornail.
Guys, I mean it - use them - http://www.ragebroadheads.com/products/2blade.html. The blades are not super durable and I've had to replace at least one wing each time ($25 for 6 individual replacement wings) but bow season tracking has never been made easier and they are more than worth it. They don't break off, just get bent up as you can see below from hitting a rib, etc. So far, I've seen deer drop in shorter distances than a perfect rifle shot - no joke. (I use a 160gr hand-loaded out of a 30-30 for that deed). The shock-collar is re-usable though and simply turning it a few degrees will give you a total of 3 uses out of one. They come with extra shock-collars but not extra blades.
The landowner has a crow problem too and he can't plant tomatoes or the like as they get eaten fast. I was not thinking and within 2 hours of me wrapping up the work, there were at least 50 in the air. How could I have not thought to shoot them over the gut pile with a shotgun?!?! Well, the gut pile was straight up gone by the next morning so I nabbed one crow with an arrow. He was on the ground, but still cool. Next time, I'll bring a shotgun and sit around the bait pile while its fresh to really devastate them.
Sat out all day the next day but nothing within bow range. It was also opener of muzzle so there was plenty of music all around me. I'm going to be getting one of those here shortly, never used one before so should be a good learning experience. My eyes are set on an Optima V2 just haven't determined if I'm going scope or open sights, we shall see.
Arrow: (blade/wing in the front is pristine and a little sharpening will whip it into shape right quick but the back is bent a bit. Don't think it'd be wise to straighten it and leave the deployment to the gods re-straightened)
Results: (As you can see, right placement and the internals below the diaphragm were untouched except for a new hole for them to move out while she was running)
Crows: (some hawks in the frame, those are NOT shootable....) First pic is from the day-of where I was shotgun-less and second was the next day with an arrow!
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