Broadhead Test

I was able to conduct some broadhead "research" the other evening while hunting over a picked cornfield. Deer were filing into the field one after another this particular afternoon, and I had a pair of doe tags in my pocket along with plenty of freezer space. I've always been an adamant fixed-blade-broadhead shooter (3-blade 100-grain Muzzy is about my favorite). When mechanical broadheads first became popular, I heard more than one horror story about inadequate penetration, blades failing to deploy, etc. I never had any problem hitting where I was aiming with my fixed blades, so I never changed.

But I'd been hearing a lot of good things about the expandable Rage broadheads. These broadheads have been heavily (and successfully) promoted in a variety of advertisements. A few of the ads have been a bit controversial. The ads don't bother me, but they might bother a non-hunter who happens to see them (and by non-hunter, I don't mean anti-hunter). We should be mindful of things like that.



But all that aside, I had trusted friends who are good bowhunters advise me to give the Rage broadheads a try, so I bought a pack (nearly a month's pay for three of them). I shot my two does that evening--one with the 3-blade Rage and one with the 3-blade Muzzy. Both hits were double-lung shots, although the Muzzy-shot doe was an adult, and the Rage-hit doe was a young one. Simply put, the Rage made a much larger hole, and the deer was easier to recover.

The Muzzy did its job, too. It left a good blood trail, but it wasn't as pronounced as the trail left by the Rage. Is this a definitive test, and will I completely switch over? No--bow-hit animals vary widely in how far they travel and how much they bleed. I still trust the Muzzy for shoulder hits and on dense, tough critters like wild hogs. The Muzzys are also less expensive (six of them for the price of three Rages) and easier to re-sharpen. But, it is nice to see a product perform as advertised, even if that advertisement is a little "edgy."

A picture is below--Muzzy-shot deer on the left, Rage on the right. Note the Muzzy hit is the exit wound, but it's identical to the entrance wound (just a little lower). They're not too graphic, so I hope no apology is required.

Will