Rage 3-Blade

I have never been a fan of mechanical broad-heads but after hearing about some success and looking at the design of these broad-heads I decided to give them a try. I have a couple of good sized hogs coming to my feeder, and having shot quite a few hogs before, decided this would be a good test. The shot was 20 yards and the hog was quartering away. The shot felt good and sounded good. After a brief wait I discovered my arrow on the opposite side of the feeder and the opposite direction from where he ran. There was no blood or fluids on the arrow. The only sign was a few hairs on the broad-head. After looking back at the point of the hit, I found a patch of hair and wool that was cut from his side. Apparently the arrow hit and flipped off of the hog without penetrating.

A few days later I had an opportunity to do some more testing. I received a 220lb boar that had been caught in a trap. I hung the hog by his hind legs and positioned him broadside. I shot him with the same broad-head from 20 yards. The first shot was a little forward, hitting him through the back of the shoulder blade. The arrow did penetrate the the shoulder and was just under the shoulder blade. The penetration was no more than 4 or 5 inches. The broad-head was recovered and cleaned for a second shot. This time I aimed a little further back and missed the shoulder. Penetration was about 12 inches. I then took a shot with a 125 grain 3-blade Muzzy. The hit was about 3 inches lower on the hog but  the same distance from the shoulder. Penetration was a complete pass-through with the arrow ending up about 10 yards on the other side of the hog.

My Conclusion:

I personally will never shoot mechanical broad-heads again. On tough skinned animals I would not recommend them. However I would not discredit the effectiveness of them on deer and such as long as the animal is perfectly broadside and all conditions are perfect. In the real world of bow-hunting this is a rarity, therefore this is why I have chosen to not shoot them.

Robert Harris

Victoria, Texas