# Rage 2 blade



## cpthook (Jan 16, 2008)

I just switched from a Mathews LX I've been shooting for the last ?? years, since the first year it came out, to a Mathews Extreme Tactical. I'm also switching from Thunderheads to Rage mechanical 2 blade. Looking for opinions on the mechanical broadheads. Should I stay with the fixed Thunderhead??hwell:


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## THE JAMMER (Aug 1, 2005)

I'll just say that I have NEVER had a zwickey or magnus fixed blade fail. NEVER in over 50 years of bowhunting. I switched to the vented magnus in the last 15 years, because the venting helps keep my arrows tuned. 

Many African PH's will not allow mechanicals on some animals. I'm not talking elephants/cape buffalo. I'm talking large plains game: eland, kudu, etc. There's a reason they do that.

FIXED/CUT ON CONTACT ALL THE WAY.


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## Delta Elite (May 28, 2011)

cpthook said:


> I just switched from a Mathews LX I've been shooting for the last ?? years, since the first year it came out, to a Mathews Extreme Tactical. I'm also switching from Thunderheads to Rage mechanical 2 blade. Looking for opinions on the mechanical broadheads. Should I stay with the fixed Thunderhead??hwell:


NAP makes some good products, but the thunderheads are a bit behind the curve in the cut on contact game. I used to use them exclusively until I tried the G5 Montecs.

Muzzy, Magnus, Zwickey all are good in a well tuned bow.

I am also reluctant to get into the mechanical game.


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## JLX (Jan 19, 2011)

I also shoot a mathews and for 5 years i shot only muzzy 3 blade! I was scared to make the switch to RAGE! But when i did it was crazy how good they worked! I have not lost one animal and they continue to make animals fall like rain! Make the move and shoot a pig with one first then make up your mind! You won't regret it! good luck


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## awmacha (Mar 12, 2010)

It's hard to beat the thunderhead for sharpness and durability. The rage is not near as sharp and the blades will break. I would also consider slick trick,great broadhead.


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## NOFNSUZIES (Mar 20, 2007)

*Not my cup of tea either*



THE JAMMER said:


> I'll just say that I have NEVER had a zwickey or magnus fixed blade fail. NEVER in over 50 years of bowhunting. I switched to the vented magnus in the last 15 years, because the venting helps keep my arrows tuned.
> 
> Many African PH's will not allow mechanicals on some animals. I'm not talking elephants/cape buffalo. I'm talking large plains game: eland, kudu, etc. There's a reason they do that.
> 
> FIXED/CUT ON CONTACT ALL THE WAY.


X2......Between me and my buddies, we have seen/heard enough RAGE 'bad luck' stories to not be tempted by the hype. 
RAGE= Rare Arrow's Gonna Exit :smile:
Just curious, 
I've always heard good things about the Thunderheads.....why do you want to switch?


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## Josh5 (Jun 27, 2007)

I have had great success with Rage 2 blade, as well as my hunting buddies. I hear stories of problems, but haven't experienced any of that. The entry and exit wounds are amazing compared to the pics of fixed blades I have seen. I would probably re-evaluate if going to Africa, but for what I hunt currently, I'm good. 

Seems like this is one of those Chevy vs Ford vs Dodge issues. Do your own research, and be confident in your decision. If your confident in all of your equipment, you should increase your success.


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## muddyfuzzy (Jan 2, 2011)

i say if you go mechanical go with the NAP spitfire. no slip cam technology for me and no deployment issues either. the rage leaves a brutal wound but the spitfire is better i think. i took two hogs this year with the nap, one about 22 yds b-side and the other @ 15 yds out about 20' up quartering away. the nap deployed drove about 8" into the ground and pinned the porker temporarily. 

coc's are awesome but i'm not hunting grizz nor have i seem any cape buffalo or elephants running around in texas. i would use a coc in a second if my quarry dictated i do so, but punching holes in whitetails and swine is a fairly easy thing for any decent head to be it mech. or coc. rage are popular and alot of guys use them. i went from g5 montecs to mechanicals and before i made the switch did a lot of research. the consensus was that while both are amazing heads there were simply many more perceived issues from shooters with the rage. the compliants ranged from blades breaking off, bending to a blade or more not deploying (generally associated with a hard angle shot). the only issues really from the NAP camp were those of cost and rebuilding the heads. in short for me the slight edge the rage has in cutting damage was not enough to offset the reliability of the spitfire.


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## cpthook (Jan 16, 2008)

I'm wanting to switch so as to minimize the flight difference between a field point and my fixed Thunderhead. Slite difference but at longer distances it does matter.


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## THE JAMMER (Aug 1, 2005)

muddyfuzzy said:


> i say if you go mechanical go with the NAP spitfire. no slip cam technology for me and no deployment issues either. the rage leaves a brutal wound but the spitfire is better i think. i took two hogs this year with the nap, one about 22 yds b-side and the other @ 15 yds out about 20' up quartering away. the nap deployed drove about 8" into the ground and pinned the porker temporarily.
> 
> coc's are awesome but i'm not hunting grizz nor have i seem any cape buffalo or elephants running around in texas. i would use a coc in a second if my quarry dictated i do so, but punching holes in whitetails and swine is a fairly easy thing for any decent head to be it mech. or coc. rage are popular and alot of guys use them. i went from g5 montecs to mechanicals and before i made the switch did a lot of research. the consensus was that while both are amazing heads there were simply many more perceived issues from shooters with the rage. the compliants ranged from blades breaking off, bending to a blade or more not deploying (generally associated with a hard angle shot). the only issues really from the NAP camp were those of cost and rebuilding the heads. in short for me the slight edge the rage has in cutting damage was not enough to offset the reliability of the spitfire.


Believe it or not I am intelligent enough to know that there are no cape buffalo or elephant running around in Texas. I really do know that.

I was just pointing out that those who deal with the quality of penetration on a daily basis (the Aftican PH's) know that the penetration of mechanicals vs. COC is anemic on thicker skinned animals. I actually saw a video of a mechanical b'head, shot out of a 70# bow, actually BOUNCE OFF OF A DEAD RHINO.

Now I know that doesn't make any difference on the average whitetail. However, also the bone penetration of a COC has been proven, in many many studies, to be vastly superior to a mechanical.

Agree that because of the speeds we have today, for thin skinned game, broadhead choice is a moot point, unless you hit a big bone. All have admitted hearing of mechanical failures. How many zwickey/magnus/muzzy phantom failures have you heard of??? ZERO. My hunts are to few and far between to lose the trophy of a lifetime because of broadhead failure. I want the one that works EVERY TIME.

I guess when I get my TV show, I have now just eliminated half of the potential sponsors. LOL

IMHO


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## Delta Elite (May 28, 2011)

cpthook said:


> I'm wanting to switch so as to minimize the flight difference between a field point and my fixed Thunderhead. Slite difference but at longer distances it does matter.


In a well tuned bow, you should not have a difference even out to 50+ yds. Tune your bow to your bh's and the fp's will follow.


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## Delta Elite (May 28, 2011)

THE JAMMER said:


> Believe it or not I am intelligent enough to know that there are no cape buffalo or elephant running around in Texas. I really do know that.
> 
> I was just pointing out that those who deal with the quality of penetration on a daily basis (the Aftican PH's) know that the penetration of mechanicals vs. COC is anemic on thicker skinned animals. I actually saw a video of a mechanical b'head, shot out of a 70# bow, actually BOUNCE OFF OF A DEAD RHINO.
> 
> ...


I agree. If a man is committed to his method of take, knows his equipment and spends the time in practice, then there should be no need to use mechanicals to compensate for a poorly tuned bow. If the bow is tuned to your choice of COC broadheads, there should no change in POI between what you practice with and what you take to the field.

X-Bows are a different animal all together, though. There are inherent design limitations that do not allow the shooter to tune these things as one could in a vertical bow. That is the only circumstance where I can see using a mechanical BH due to inconsistent flight patterns between FP's and BH's.


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## FlounderSkiff (Mar 17, 2009)

Each to his own, they all work, find out what you like, you will never figure it out by listening to all the professional archers on here. Just Kidding guys, Its really something you just have to figure out by trial and error.


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## TXPalerider (May 21, 2004)

My daddy always said about everything in life, "if it's mechanical, it will eventually fail." I never wanted to take the chance that it might happen for the first time on a once in a lifetime buck.

I shoot Slick Tricks and Razor Tricks. They shoot like darts and don't fail.


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## cpthook (Jan 16, 2008)

After all of the hype on rage 2 blade last year I'm staring to wonder if I should stay with Thunderheads.


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## THE JAMMER (Aug 1, 2005)

If I ever were to look at a semi mechanical b'head, that NAP blood runner looks interesting. It's kinda mechanical, in that it slides back and increases cutting diameter as the head enters the animal, but it doesn't look like there is anything to FAIL. I forgot to check blade thickness before I posted here, but if it's .035-.04 it should work just fine.


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## Trouthunter (Dec 18, 1998)

> NAP blood runner


 Sorriest broad head I ever used...you can read about it in the reviews at the top of the page and NAP's customer service is the worst I've encountered.

Slick Tricks, Shuttle T's all fly as a field point does. I use the Shuttle T's and have a 100% success ratio with them over the last four or five years.

I agree with what the Pale Guy said, and I'll add that it's not "if" a mechanical will fail, it's "when" will it fail.

In the end, it's what shoots the best for you, what you have the most confidence in and what gives you the best results. For some that is a mechanical, for others a fixed broad head.

TH


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## THE JAMMER (Aug 1, 2005)

Well so much for the blood runner. Didn't say I was going to use one, just said that it looked interesting. There have been nothing but zwickeys, magnus, and Howard Hill broadheads on my arrows for half a century. I did try a single bevel fixed head one season, can't remember the name of it, but they were hard to sharpen. Never shot anything with it however.


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## saltwater_therapy (Oct 14, 2005)

There are lots of good BH's out there. Most will get the job done with good shot placement. Some are easier to tune to than others. Slick Tricks are definatly my favotite.


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## FBGHUNTER (Sep 27, 2010)

I tried out rage last year and shot a doe at 30 yards and the blades did NOT open. Found my arrow about 30 yards from where I shot her and blades were still closed when it fell out. Threw all 3 broadheads in the trash because I wounded a doe I couldn't find. Fixed blades always work. Don't complicate things.


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## 2GOOD (Mar 16, 2008)

Used to be a die hard Rage until the G5T3 came out. Check them out as well. To me, much better built head and no rubber O- ring to deal with. Blades won't come out with just a little bump like they do on the Rage. Never had a problem with Rage but I just like the T3s more. Main thing is to have confidence in whatever BH you use. Congrats on the upgraded bow as well.


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## cpthook (Jan 16, 2008)

Thanks, I heard allot of raving reviews on the Rage 2 blade last year, however now I'm reconsidering. Would hate to lose a monster Kansas buck due to mechanical failure.


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## stxhunter (May 19, 2006)

I use a Slick Trick fixed and was going to try the blood runner this year, but I'm having second thoughts so that may change!!


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## Tombstone (May 19, 2009)

If you really want to judge some of the broadheads,there was a thread on TBH last season that had a ton of entry/exit wounds and blood trail pics of various BH's. There are both mechanical and fixed blades.


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