Do you shoot a rage? May want to see.
- Thread starter allseasonhunter
- Start date
flattop35
6 pointer
Shoot what you want.
NEXT!
NEXT!
JDMiller
12 pointer
Anything that's dependent on a mechanical action to deploy blades .. can fail.....it's that simple. Might happen once out of countless times but there's always the possibility it can happen.
However......I think the more underlying issue here ...is theres a growing generation where the Rage or mechanical broadhead in general media hype has influenced bow hunters to use them ...thinking they compensate for about everything. Including risking shot angles like quartering to.... which to me this is a no shot situation for the archery hunter period no matter what head your using.
Which maybe I'm a little too much old school... but the basics will never change.
The most expensive ,latest, greatest & fastest bow, high tech carbon arrows or technology advanced mechanical broadhead doesn't make a person a better bowhunter. It's the knowing when and where to shoot...or being able to have enough patience to resist less than favorable shots. As this is what's lacking and cant be bought in a 3 pack.
However......I think the more underlying issue here ...is theres a growing generation where the Rage or mechanical broadhead in general media hype has influenced bow hunters to use them ...thinking they compensate for about everything. Including risking shot angles like quartering to.... which to me this is a no shot situation for the archery hunter period no matter what head your using.
Which maybe I'm a little too much old school... but the basics will never change.
The most expensive ,latest, greatest & fastest bow, high tech carbon arrows or technology advanced mechanical broadhead doesn't make a person a better bowhunter. It's the knowing when and where to shoot...or being able to have enough patience to resist less than favorable shots. As this is what's lacking and cant be bought in a 3 pack.
KYBOY
12 pointer
Great post! I could not agree more. I have personally heard on several occasions were hunters have some something like "Its a "x" mechanical with them big blades I can shoot it anywhere" which is just plain dumb. I even remember a guy who bought a .338 to deer hunt with. he knew I had one and called me to ask about it. I asked why in the world would he want to deer with .338 factory 250gr loads and he said he just wanted to be able to shoot it anywhere and kill it
.. I have no problem with quartering shots, that is the right kind of quartering shot and we all know that that is. I don't generally hunt with mecahnicals, I like slick tricks myself but that's beside the point. Its shot selection.
GregDeer77
6 pointer
just me
12 pointer
- Sep 26, 2013
- 2,833
You sure ruint the ham on that one. What a terrible shot angle.Rage crossbow quartering away at a 30/45 degree angle.
Entry:
Exit:
30yd recovery
1wildcatfan
12 pointer
well said.
Greenwilly
6 pointer
I've been using Rage for years to kill deer & turkey with great success. I recently had a bad shot on a buck, hit his leg bone and did not kill the deer. That was a bad shot, as in, bad Indian not bad arrow.
EarlyBird1
8 pointer
You are 100% right JD. Not only are there a lot of guys using Rage... they are probably disproportionately skewed toward the younger less experienced archers that might indeed believe they are the "rock and roll" shortcut to shot placement. However I will argue a related counterpoint with you. Let's say we take these Rage users and instead just hand them a 6 pack of regular Muzzy's for example. Those same guys you are talking about just became far more likely to wound a deer because most of them don't have the first clue about tuning broadheads. Worst case scenario they would shoot one and it by chance hits pretty close and then they just screw the other on and hit the field. Arrow #2 is as likely to hit hoof as heart. I know people that swore by Muzzy's for years that have told me they had to switch to something else because they eventually had to buy 9 Muzzy's just to get 3 to fly right. At least they knew better. A lot of guys these days would have just screwed them on and hit the woods. I bought a 6 pack of Muzzy's back in the day and never got one of them to fly right. I put Thunderhead 100's on the same arrows and had no trouble at all getting them right. I shot Thunderhead 100's for decades. I'm not just picking on Muzzy. That is just an example. Most non mechanical broadheads that I ever messed with had to be tuned to the arrow or you could forget it.
Point is that its fine to say that mechanicals have risks but on the flip side there are just so many people out bowhunting these days that haven't the first clue about the fine details of archery equipment and tuning bows and tuning broadheads to arrows. They are probably still better off with mechanicals (despite the risks) because otherwise they'd be throwing knuckleballs at the deer half the time. You are right though... they should not have the mind set that they can just take any ole potshot at the deer cause the Rage will save their ass. It doesn't work like that with any broadhead.
keith meador
Got the Spotted Fever
I've been shooting and tuning bows for several years. Tuning is a lost art. I used to laugh at the masses of shooters that showed up at our local archery range. I had a change of heart. Watching those folks suffer through sighting in, or attempting to sight in, was a real eye opener for me. There are some very good archery shops in Kentucky. If you weren't fortunate enough to have purchased your bow from one of them, chances are you were that guy living the frustration of tuning on your own.
Most of the shooters had no clue their bow wasn't tuned. Taking a bow, and making it as good as they could, was their only option. I took it to task to get them fitted correctly, arrow rest timed, arrows spined correctly, rest tuned, and bows put into spec and time. What we ended up with was a group of better shooters. I won't say better hunters, but better shooters, none the less.
Some would ask me how I managed to get "all of my arrows" into the spot at 40 yards, and in most cases, tighter groups than they were capable of at 20 yards. They almost always attributed it to me being a better shooter. That's probably not the case, as much as it is, my equipment is tuned.
More often than not, the shooter with the worst arrow flight, took the road of the mechanical head to fix their issue. That doesn't solve the problem of an untuned bow, shooting an arrow with poor flight, that has to use kinetic energy to expand a broadhead when it impacts an animal. Any vertical or lateral movement of the arrow in flight robs the energy needed to make an expandable perform as it it designed.
My point, if you are going to shoot mechanical heads, you still have to go through the process of tuning. If you don't know how to tune, head to your local archery shop and ask them to help you. If that isn't an option, search youtube for walk back tuning, french tuning, and broadhead tuning. Don't watch one video and call it good. As with anything, there are good videos that are helpful, and there are videos made by someone that knows nothing and is spewing bad information.
Most of the shooters had no clue their bow wasn't tuned. Taking a bow, and making it as good as they could, was their only option. I took it to task to get them fitted correctly, arrow rest timed, arrows spined correctly, rest tuned, and bows put into spec and time. What we ended up with was a group of better shooters. I won't say better hunters, but better shooters, none the less.
Some would ask me how I managed to get "all of my arrows" into the spot at 40 yards, and in most cases, tighter groups than they were capable of at 20 yards. They almost always attributed it to me being a better shooter. That's probably not the case, as much as it is, my equipment is tuned.
More often than not, the shooter with the worst arrow flight, took the road of the mechanical head to fix their issue. That doesn't solve the problem of an untuned bow, shooting an arrow with poor flight, that has to use kinetic energy to expand a broadhead when it impacts an animal. Any vertical or lateral movement of the arrow in flight robs the energy needed to make an expandable perform as it it designed.
My point, if you are going to shoot mechanical heads, you still have to go through the process of tuning. If you don't know how to tune, head to your local archery shop and ask them to help you. If that isn't an option, search youtube for walk back tuning, french tuning, and broadhead tuning. Don't watch one video and call it good. As with anything, there are good videos that are helpful, and there are videos made by someone that knows nothing and is spewing bad information.
EarlyBird1
8 pointer
No doubt Keith but while arrow flight is super important... point of impact is at least a little bit more important. I'd rather hit a deer right behind the shoulder with imperfect arrow flight than in the leg or guts with perfect arrow flight. If these guys have regular broadheads that are not tuned they are going to have poor arrow flight AND bad point of impact. Your point is well taken but we are talking about a group of bow hunters that just aren't going to put that much thought into it no matter how much we want them to. If they ask for help at the right archery shop they might be OK. However a lot of them won't ask and then in some cases when they do ask they will get help from someone who knows only a little more than they do. The "Pro Shop" closest to me is run by a guy that can't poor piss out of a boot. I wouldn't let the guy apply string wax for me and he is selling and setting up hundreds and hundreds of bows every year.
Agree with you 100% though... using mechanicals does not mean you shouldn't also have your bow set up and tuned properly. That should be a given.
CentralKyHunter
6 pointer
- Nov 19, 2007
- 499
Pre cut jerky
KYBOY
12 pointer
Anyone remember seeing all the old bows with 10,20,30,40 yard pins that looked like a flight of stairs? The 10 yard pin was about an inch left of the 40 yard pin because their bow wasn't tuned. Their 40 yard shot would about a foot right of the 10 yard shot so they adjusted the 40 yard pin all the way out.
keith meador
Got the Spotted Fever
If your bow isn't tuned, hitting them behind the shoulder becomes the challenge, regardless of broadhead.
You are correct about pro shops. Knowing which ones are truly good is half the battle. There are several in CKY that are fine people, and do good work. Hunters Pro Shop in Frankfort, 4D Archery in Bethlehem, Sunrise Outfitters (Curtsingers) in Danville do very good work.
