Only two Rages worth using: Hypodermic NC+P (short, steel ferrule and swept blades and no collar) and Trypan NC (Titanium ferrule with no collar). Don’t bother with the retention ring versions IMO. Work great on deer as strictly single-use broad heads with higher energy setups so of course they’re not for everyone. I don’t plan to switch from Hypodermic NC+P any time soon. If you’re looking for reusable heads don’t bother. Good luck in the woods everyone.
i dont think you are supposed to line the blades up with the slits in the collar. the only rage i ever used was the hypodermics and only on one deer (because it broke a blade on ribs). but the shock collars were designed to break a piece out of the collar on impact. those may be different than the hypo collars , so i may be wrong about this model but they look to be the same idea.
Thank you. I appreciate that. A lot of people have pointed that out to me. I love this community that can help correct things like that and fill in blanks.
@@bbbbbbb2357 when it survives past the entry. If there was a standard for broadheads like there are in many states with calibers of rifle/gun, Rage broadheads wouldn't be a thing. They remain the most inconsistent and poorly designed broadhead on the market. I keep a sevr in my quiver for turkeys but I won't shoot any brand of scissors at my deer. It just isn't worth the risk of failures and any 1 piece broadhead holds up better.
Everything is a trade off in broadhead design; each head has its strengths. But I do believe the odds of hunting success are much more stacked in the favor of the hunter using a Sevr.
Yup. If I want a rage style 2", ill use the g5 T2. Dudley represented rage for years, and then immediately designed a more durable version of the same head...
@@JohnLuskOutdoors The Sevr seems to be the best designed mechanical without a doubt. I just won't trust anything with moving parts on a deer anymore. I want the broadhead and my arrow to remain intact. Unburdened by what has been so to speak 🤣
I have personally used that design of Rage broadhead to take 2 deer.... of those 2 deer, I broke 4 blades on ribs. I was really hopeful that they would work well, but after those results, I can not trust them.
I used it one time. Shot a doe through the lungs and the blades came out all twisted up. It got the job done, but it sure didn't leave me feeling confident.
This is exactly why i stopped shooting rage like 10 years ago. They do have better models now. And they just came out with new titanium ones. And they say they are sharper now. But who knows until john does the test
I’d like to. I have a pack of them. But I just had surgery and will be recovering probably through the end of the year. I have other videos scheduled to drop between now and the new year. But I already have over 30 heads ready to test for next year, including a chisel tip.
Even the Rocky Mountain Warhead, which is the same ferrule and tip (same parent company), does not have these problems. It opens up from the front like a schwacker and never seems to break.
I’ve been shooting naps for 20 yrs or so with great success but I’ve really been looking hard and the warhead we got a archery shop pretty close that has them for 14$ a pack
I've found the durability with Rage to be kind of all-or-nothing. When I hit good broadside shots, I can resharpen and reuse them indefinitely. But one heavy bone hit and they are done for.
This is exactly like the Rage heads I used to shoot and I had several major failures with them. I did try the hypodermic heads for a season and had similar issues with blades breaking so I gave up on mechanical heads all together. When we were setting up for the season and shot into stacks of cardboard we even lost a few blades. IMO if a standardized testing could be made and required for all broadheads you would see many mechanical brands die off entirely because they don't build these to any ethical standard. They build these things to trick hunters into buying the new and wicked looking thing and that is it.
What major failures? I don’t shoot them anymore but I never had a major failure with the rage xtremes. It was probably 15 deer that I shot with them. I’ve had the end of the blade break off a few times that’s it tho.
@@Chasintail11 A lot of broken blades, at least one early deployment, and I had a horrible diflection that cost me a nice deer. The early deployment one was shot by my cousin. I killed the deer a week later with a montec g5. The blades deployed early and caused the arrow to fly bad. You could tell it was already deployed because of the cut in the deer's hide and no penetration. I stopped using them after the deflection but I also never got a passthrough with mechanicals. Every fixed head I have used since has had complete pass throughs. The weirdest one I had was a button buck and it broke both blades on entry and one blade was stuck in the ribs, the other was in a lung but likely broke off in the ribs.. Found the deer but I had zero blood.
@@tray22 ya I’ve had a few that got deployed because of my quiver but I always caught it before nocking it. I had a bad deflection on my first buck ever but I couldn’t blame the broadhead because I was a rookie and had no idea about tuning. I didn’t even know what spine or weight the arrow was. That was my only lost deer in my hunting career. I also think that most of these companies should be really stressing that these heads need the appropriate setup to have the energy to function and penetrate. I’ve had the worst performance out of sever heads. All 6 deer were dead but the heads were inconsistent with performance. I had blades swing to one side and never swing back. Also had blades partially close after entrance. I now shoot iw wides, griz stik xxl, mega meat and beast bh. I basically always have 5 different bhs in my quiver haha. I got a problem
@@Chasintail11 I think either weeds caused my cousin's to pop past the collar or like you said the quiver did it. One deer we recovered the blades were still closed and it was clogged up with fat. My cousin had a lot of passthroughs with rages but I never got a single one. Each time I might as well snap the arrow over my knee because it was toast when I recovered the deer. Shards of carbon fiber in one but the others were clean breaks. Being an engineer has turned me into a hunter that looks for as near to zero as I can get on failures. I don't shoot anything fancy with arrows, keep the weight in the middle of light vs. heavy, and I go with a 125 - 150gr broadhead 2 blade double bevel made of tool steel. I sharpen the things until they are beyond shaving sharp. The buck I got this year with the Cutthroat 150 single bevel entered just infront of the near side leg, quartering to. Exited just in front of the diaphragm right where the hair turns white. It took out both lungs and clipped the very top of the heart. There was blood everywhere for the 50 yards it was on its feet. I wouldn't have attempted that with a mechanical because it would have never made that low exit hole and the blood track would be near impossible to follow. I picked up the arrow and it was still tugging hairs after passing through all that bone, hide, meat and into the dirt. No nicks, bends, or damage to the blade. 5 minutes of strop and it was back to hair popping sharp.
@@tray22 I’m kinda the same way. I like to eliminate any weak points in my system. If so thing happens I want it to be my fault and not my gear. I’m shooting heavy draw and long draw length so that it allows me to shoot whatever head I want. my 512gr arrows are going 315fps. The only exception I make is that the broadhead has to perform on just one deer. I love my fixed heads but over all comparing both, fixed head def put less blood on the ground. So that’s why I have both in my quiver. I think I actually have a pack of the cutthroat’s I think they’re 1.5”. I haven’t messed with them yet but they look awesome
I already have one on my channel. Just search Lusk plus beast on RUclips and it will come out. I also have the new titanium model that I will test in early 2025.
@@PoeOutdoors I’ve killed over 20 Deer with Rage broad heads. Never had an issue with the NC, either Trypans or others. Not sure the squirrel comment is warranted. There are a lot of better choices. But, for me they’ve worked flawlessly.
@@charliekorabek3846How many have you shot and not recovered over the period you killed over 20 deer? The squirrel comment is warranted any time a company makes a broadhead from trash Chinese materials.
I killed my 1st crossbow buck with the Rage like this back in 2013 or 2014. The arrow was traveling 360 fps. The shot was a double lung at just 25 feet. The arrow completely penetrated the deer + 12''-16'' of water in the creek and imbedded itself in the bottom of the creek. The deer ran 40 yards and dropped. In those 40 yards the grass in ran through looked like the scene of a horror movie with blood literally everywhere. Later I discovered on other deer that if bone was hit it got squirrely in the deer. It was unpredictable as to the path of penetration. I also noticed penetration suffered with this design. I still have a pack and a half of these and I guess 1 day I'll small game hunt with them.
Have you ever tried the dead ringer extreme freak nasty? Thats what im using for deer this year. Got a doe yesterday and was pleasantly surprised with the performance of the broadhead.
Would you mind recommending some bolts for the swat x1? I have one on the way and have never really fooled with any bolts aside from factory or cheap ones from a big box store.
I’m sorry, but I am not familiar enough with bolts to give you a good recommendation. I’ve just begun dabbling with a crossbow this past year. As you search online, I would just look at the straightness of the bolts and also you need to make sure that the veins are not too high, so they fit inside the barrel. And that crossbow does better with a narrow base to the vanes, where they attach to the bolt.
I wish they were made of stronger materials. But in other aspects like material thickness, designing them for just enough durability for the given target can optimize other aspects of the design. The same is true for knife design: if you make them more durable than they need to be for their intended use, that will entail sacrifices in cutting performance.
@@zzz7zzz9 Yeah. That's why disposable razors are so popular. With any cutting tools the two best approaches are often ether "disposable" or "lasts forever" with not much in-between. For expandable broadheads, the moving parts need to have as little mass as possible, so the disposable option makes some sense.
Not a fan. I used to do them. But there are a couple inherent problems. First and most significant, the position the blade is in when they contact the medium makes a significant difference in how they penetrate. So the testing has a problem with consistency. Additionally, if the medium you use is really slick, like plywood, that is very different than the way it would impact an animal. Also, the angle of impact makes a significant difference. If you test it at 30°, I can consider that a shot I would never take. But the consistency and how the blades rotate and how they impact is the biggest problem for me. I want my testing to be as consistent as I can possibly make it. That way there is true comparative value.
Well, the tests revealed the weaknesses that are there. They have some incredible strength as well. That’s why in the field, there are very mixed experiences. Glad they’ve worked well for you.
I bought a few packs of rock mountain gator XPs when they first came to market. The original chisel style tip style would brake through one. The weak blade tipped style bent at a 90 degree angle and broke if hitting a shoulder blade trying to exit. Horrible weak design with the blade tips.
I just don't know why you would ever shoot a rage given the much more durable and better designed options available these days. They had their time, and unless they make some serious changes i dont think they will ever be a top tier broadhead ever again
Rage broadheads are 100% junk. Rich man’s head. Have to replace the blades after hitting anything with resistance. Such as bone or dirt. Another junky mechanical.
They did a bit better than I had expected, to be honest. But I do wish they would invest about 50% of their marketing budget into their blades, to strengthen their design.
Only two Rages worth using:
Hypodermic NC+P (short, steel ferrule and swept blades and no collar) and Trypan NC (Titanium ferrule with no collar). Don’t bother with the retention ring versions IMO.
Work great on deer as strictly single-use broad heads with higher energy setups so of course they’re not for everyone. I don’t plan to switch from Hypodermic NC+P any time soon. If you’re looking for reusable heads don’t bother.
Good luck in the woods everyone.
Thanks for sharing that experience.
all the models have the same weak extra long unsupported blades no matter the blade retention system they use.
They are ALL GARBAGE
Thanks for the comment and sharing your experience.
i dont think you are supposed to line the blades up with the slits in the collar. the only rage i ever used was the hypodermics and only on one deer (because it broke a blade on ribs). but the shock collars were designed to break a piece out of the collar on impact. those may be different than the hypo collars , so i may be wrong about this model but they look to be the same idea.
You are correct
@@koltguffey9660 you are correct that he is correct about blade does not go in slots.
Thank you for sharing that. I really appreciate it.
Yeah you line it up with the tab not the slit
Thank you. I appreciate that. A lot of people have pointed that out to me. I love this community that can help correct things like that and fill in blanks.
Time for lunch break.😊 great video John. Best broadhead/gear tester around.
Thank you Jason :)
Thanks brother
Hope you are doing well! Shot a deer today with a TOTA based on your reviews…and man it put a hurting on a nice freezer filling doe!
So glad to hear that. Congratulations!
Great squirrel head
I don’t know that squirrel shoulder might stop it.
@@jonathanmartin7003 I think at least 1 lung on shoulder hit
The rage hypo I used on a squirrel severed it in half... dead almost instantly with blood frozen on the rocks before I even took a step to get him.
@@rwmack3523 you confirmed my thoughts then it is a good squirrel head.
:)
Rage will NEVER be a SEVR !!!!!!!!!!!!
Rage cuts a better whole than Sevr
@@bbbbbbb2357 when it survives past the entry. If there was a standard for broadheads like there are in many states with calibers of rifle/gun, Rage broadheads wouldn't be a thing. They remain the most inconsistent and poorly designed broadhead on the market. I keep a sevr in my quiver for turkeys but I won't shoot any brand of scissors at my deer. It just isn't worth the risk of failures and any 1 piece broadhead holds up better.
Everything is a trade off in broadhead design; each head has its strengths. But I do believe the odds of hunting success are much more stacked in the favor of the hunter using a Sevr.
Yup. If I want a rage style 2", ill use the g5 T2. Dudley represented rage for years, and then immediately designed a more durable version of the same head...
@@JohnLuskOutdoors The Sevr seems to be the best designed mechanical without a doubt. I just won't trust anything with moving parts on a deer anymore. I want the broadhead and my arrow to remain intact. Unburdened by what has been so to speak 🤣
I have personally used that design of Rage broadhead to take 2 deer.... of those 2 deer, I broke 4 blades on ribs.
I was really hopeful that they would work well, but after those results, I can not trust them.
I used it one time. Shot a doe through the lungs and the blades came out all twisted up. It got the job done, but it sure didn't leave me feeling confident.
Thanks for sharing that experience.
Thanks for sharing that experience
Rage blades fit nicely in a Lansky clamp and can be made spooky sharp with Lansky stones.
Thanks for sharing that.
This is exactly why i stopped shooting rage like 10 years ago. They do have better models now. And they just came out with new titanium ones. And they say they are sharper now. But who knows until john does the test
:)
please test the 3 blade rage chisel tip! or the two blade extreme! success with both. very good
I’d like to. I have a pack of them. But I just had surgery and will be recovering probably through the end of the year. I have other videos scheduled to drop between now and the new year. But I already have over 30 heads ready to test for next year, including a chisel tip.
@@LuskArcheryAdventures hope you recover well! excited to see the videos.
I love the trypan
Thanks for sharing that.
After watching it reminded me how well the Shwacker broadhead did in comparison. It seems like Shwacker uses a better aluminum.
Even the Rocky Mountain Warhead, which is the same ferrule and tip (same parent company), does not have these problems. It opens up from the front like a schwacker and never seems to break.
Yeah, quite a few do better than these.
I’ve been shooting naps for 20 yrs or so with great success but I’ve really been looking hard and the warhead we got a archery shop pretty close that has them for 14$ a pack
Well, there’s a lot less stress on Front deploying blades, because the arrow has slowed down considerably by the time they open.
@@LuskArcheryAdventures Very interesting. Verses a Shwacker ?
I've found the durability with Rage to be kind of all-or-nothing. When I hit good broadside shots, I can resharpen and reuse them indefinitely. But one heavy bone hit and they are done for.
Thanks for sharing that experience
Advertising works. Many people are convinced that this is the greatest ever created and will discredit every test that shows the weaknesses.
Thanks for sharing that.
This is exactly like the Rage heads I used to shoot and I had several major failures with them. I did try the hypodermic heads for a season and had similar issues with blades breaking so I gave up on mechanical heads all together. When we were setting up for the season and shot into stacks of cardboard we even lost a few blades. IMO if a standardized testing could be made and required for all broadheads you would see many mechanical brands die off entirely because they don't build these to any ethical standard. They build these things to trick hunters into buying the new and wicked looking thing and that is it.
What major failures? I don’t shoot them anymore but I never had a major failure with the rage xtremes. It was probably 15 deer that I shot with them. I’ve had the end of the blade break off a few times that’s it tho.
@@Chasintail11 A lot of broken blades, at least one early deployment, and I had a horrible diflection that cost me a nice deer. The early deployment one was shot by my cousin. I killed the deer a week later with a montec g5. The blades deployed early and caused the arrow to fly bad. You could tell it was already deployed because of the cut in the deer's hide and no penetration. I stopped using them after the deflection but I also never got a passthrough with mechanicals. Every fixed head I have used since has had complete pass throughs. The weirdest one I had was a button buck and it broke both blades on entry and one blade was stuck in the ribs, the other was in a lung but likely broke off in the ribs.. Found the deer but I had zero blood.
@@tray22 ya I’ve had a few that got deployed because of my quiver but I always caught it before nocking it. I had a bad deflection on my first buck ever but I couldn’t blame the broadhead because I was a rookie and had no idea about tuning. I didn’t even know what spine or weight the arrow was. That was my only lost deer in my hunting career. I also think that most of these companies should be really stressing that these heads need the appropriate setup to have the energy to function and penetrate. I’ve had the worst performance out of sever heads. All 6 deer were dead but the heads were inconsistent with performance. I had blades swing to one side and never swing back. Also had blades partially close after entrance. I now shoot iw wides, griz stik xxl, mega meat and beast bh. I basically always have 5 different bhs in my quiver haha. I got a problem
@@Chasintail11 I think either weeds caused my cousin's to pop past the collar or like you said the quiver did it. One deer we recovered the blades were still closed and it was clogged up with fat. My cousin had a lot of passthroughs with rages but I never got a single one. Each time I might as well snap the arrow over my knee because it was toast when I recovered the deer. Shards of carbon fiber in one but the others were clean breaks.
Being an engineer has turned me into a hunter that looks for as near to zero as I can get on failures. I don't shoot anything fancy with arrows, keep the weight in the middle of light vs. heavy, and I go with a 125 - 150gr broadhead 2 blade double bevel made of tool steel. I sharpen the things until they are beyond shaving sharp. The buck I got this year with the Cutthroat 150 single bevel entered just infront of the near side leg, quartering to. Exited just in front of the diaphragm right where the hair turns white. It took out both lungs and clipped the very top of the heart. There was blood everywhere for the 50 yards it was on its feet. I wouldn't have attempted that with a mechanical because it would have never made that low exit hole and the blood track would be near impossible to follow. I picked up the arrow and it was still tugging hairs after passing through all that bone, hide, meat and into the dirt. No nicks, bends, or damage to the blade. 5 minutes of strop and it was back to hair popping sharp.
@@tray22 I’m kinda the same way. I like to eliminate any weak points in my system. If so thing happens I want it to be my fault and not my gear. I’m shooting heavy draw and long draw length so that it allows me to shoot whatever head I want. my 512gr arrows are going 315fps. The only exception I make is that the broadhead has to perform on just one deer. I love my fixed heads but over all comparing both, fixed head def put less blood on the ground. So that’s why I have both in my quiver. I think I actually have a pack of the cutthroat’s I think they’re 1.5”. I haven’t messed with them yet but they look awesome
John your not suppose to line the slots in the shock collar with the blade
Thanks for sharing that. A few others have said that as well. I’m grateful for the input.
Waiting in your beast review 🙂
I already have one on my channel. Just search Lusk plus beast on RUclips and it will come out. I also have the new titanium model that I will test in early 2025.
Rage broadheads should be illegal for use on anything larger than a squirrel.
The Rage Trypan NC is actually a great head
@@charliekorabek3846 No it isn't.
@@PoeOutdoors I’ve killed over 20 Deer with Rage broad heads. Never had an issue with the NC, either Trypans or others. Not sure the squirrel comment is warranted. There are a lot of better choices. But, for me they’ve worked flawlessly.
@@charliekorabek3846How many have you shot and not recovered over the period you killed over 20 deer?
The squirrel comment is warranted any time a company makes a broadhead from trash Chinese materials.
I know a lot of people really like them. I’ve never been very encouraged by their durability.
I killed my 1st crossbow buck with the Rage like this back in 2013 or 2014. The arrow was traveling 360 fps. The shot was a double lung at just 25 feet. The arrow completely penetrated the deer + 12''-16'' of water in the creek and imbedded itself in the bottom of the creek. The deer ran 40 yards and dropped. In those 40 yards the grass in ran through looked like the scene of a horror movie with blood literally everywhere. Later I discovered on other deer that if bone was hit it got squirrely in the deer. It was unpredictable as to the path of penetration. I also noticed penetration suffered with this design. I still have a pack and a half of these and I guess 1 day I'll small game hunt with them.
Interesting. Thanks for sharing that experience.
SEVR 1.75 best broadhead available or hybrid 1.5
Fantastic heads!
They were all the “rage” in my location back a decade ago. Glad I moved on from there.
Haha
Have you ever tried the dead ringer extreme freak nasty? Thats what im using for deer this year. Got a doe yesterday and was pleasantly surprised with the performance of the broadhead.
was the head ruined? or reusable?
I tested and hunted with a dead ringer several years ago. I have the test on my channel.
Would you mind recommending some bolts for the swat x1? I have one on the way and have never really fooled with any bolts aside from factory or cheap ones from a big box store.
I’m sorry, but I am not familiar enough with bolts to give you a good recommendation. I’ve just begun dabbling with a crossbow this past year. As you search online, I would just look at the straightness of the bolts and also you need to make sure that the veins are not too high, so they fit inside the barrel. And that crossbow does better with a narrow base to the vanes, where they attach to the bolt.
Pretty good durability for a rage. I kinda feel bad when rage gets tested.
:) That’s a good comment.
Seems like rage builds their heads to just the minimum standards for harvesting deer.
They'll work, just fine, on optimal shots.
I wish they were made of stronger materials. But in other aspects like material thickness, designing them for just enough durability for the given target can optimize other aspects of the design. The same is true for knife design: if you make them more durable than they need to be for their intended use, that will entail sacrifices in cutting performance.
@@ThirdLawPair and increase price usually too.
@@zzz7zzz9 Yeah. That's why disposable razors are so popular. With any cutting tools the two best approaches are often ether "disposable" or "lasts forever" with not much in-between. For expandable broadheads, the moving parts need to have as little mass as possible, so the disposable option makes some sense.
Yep. I like the slip cam design; just wish they’d invest in stronger blades.
Started with rage when they first came out i have every rage that came out never seen a black one?
Ok. Feradyne (Rage) sent me these heads to test. They sent me a pack of each of their heads. I have a lot more than I would do until next year.
Whoa Nelly!!?!???
:)
Deflection test for 2025?
He did that for several years......basically none of the broadheads deflected through the material he was using.
Not a fan. I used to do them. But there are a couple inherent problems. First and most significant, the position the blade is in when they contact the medium makes a significant difference in how they penetrate. So the testing has a problem with consistency. Additionally, if the medium you use is really slick, like plywood, that is very different than the way it would impact an animal. Also, the angle of impact makes a significant difference. If you test it at 30°, I can consider that a shot I would never take. But the consistency and how the blades rotate and how they impact is the biggest problem for me. I want my testing to be as consistent as I can possibly make it. That way there is true comparative value.
Try the new rage trypan 1.75
I’m eager to do that in 2025.
But if it don't use them I can't be cool and say rage in the cage
:)
People can hate, but rages probably have taken more deer then any other mechanical broadhead..
No doubt. They invest heavily in marketing.
The close up of the blade at the beginning before the testing... the blades looks like trash. Looked like they were cut with scissors
:)
Biggest blood trails I’ve ever gotten have been with Rage. These tests simply aren’t good for Rage.
Well, the tests revealed the weaknesses that are there. They have some incredible strength as well. That’s why in the field, there are very mixed experiences. Glad they’ve worked well for you.
I bought a few packs of rock mountain gator XPs when they first came to market. The original chisel style tip style would brake through one. The weak blade tipped style bent at a 90 degree angle and broke if hitting a shoulder blade trying to exit. Horrible weak design with the blade tips.
Yeah I remember those. Thanks for sharing that.
I just don't know why you would ever shoot a rage given the much more durable and better designed options available these days. They had their time, and unless they make some serious changes i dont think they will ever be a top tier broadhead ever again
Yeah…but they invest so much in their marketing…and they can be quite lethal in many situations, so they’ve built such a large following.
Turning gut shots into great shots for decades...Rage Broadheads
Haha
Nope, will keep using Iron Will and Sevr.
:)
Durability is severely lacking.
Yeah
Big no for me
:)
Turkey head
:)
Rage makes a big hole in animals...until it hits something hard. Then the hard object makes a hole in it. SMH
That’s funny…and a good summary.
Typical Rage.... Comical durability
They did a bit better than I thought this time. But still a problem.
Rage broadheads are 100% junk. Rich man’s head. Have to replace the blades after hitting anything with resistance. Such as bone or dirt. Another junky mechanical.
:)
Rage = Trash
Well, I think they did better than I had expected. They certainly have some great strengths, but also some very pronounced weaknesses.
More PROOF that Rage is just all about spending marketing $$$ and truly is GARBAGE
They did a bit better than I had expected, to be honest. But I do wish they would invest about 50% of their marketing budget into their blades, to strengthen their design.