Semi-Successful Nite

Got in the stand about 515 tonight. raining off and on, could hear some moving behind me for 1/2 hr to an hr. at about 7 i looked in front of me and there was some legs coming towards me, it put its head down saw horn… got really excited, then saw another buck on his heels, he was a decent 8, so i got ready to roll. about a min later he stepped into my lane at about 25-30 yrds, let er fly. heard a smack then a thud. he jumped up in the air and took off running up the hill. called my buddy and told him about what happened, he came down about 45 minutes later and we looked for my arrow, it was in the crick bank about 3-4 inches, with the rages expanded and the o-ring around the fletching and blood on it. we looked around where i thought i shot for a while no blood. went and got some flash lights, went to the top of the hill and found 3 pools of blood in spot, each pool about 4inches in diameter, after those just a drop or 2, then we didnt find any, we looked all over in some thick brush, no luck/no blood. we’re gonna look before school tomorrow. heres a pic of my arrow exactly how i pulled it from the bank, now that i look at it closer the broad head is packed with hair. would have posted pics of blood but dont know how to get it off my phone

What color blood is on the arrow, and what does it smell like. Hopefully you will find it in the morning.
DT

Just curious on the O Ring?? Why is it around your fletchings????

was wondering the same thing? You didnt have it holding down the blade correct?

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Just curious on the O Ring?? Why is it around your fletchings????

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I am guessing that is where it ended up after it went threw the deer?

I have shot around 5-6 deer with a Rage broad head and not once has the O Ring moved. That is why I asked? Just curious as how it ended up there, but maybe a better question would be where was it before the shot?

Also I notice some blood on part of the fletching but not all. My guess is: you shot low and just barely got some flesh with one blade or possibly 2???

Let us know how the search ended up. Good luck

My own experiences say that when a deer jumps when hit it is normally heart hit. Most times they jump and kick out the hind legs. They also don’t normally run far if that’s the case. I hope you find it ASAP. Any chance a buddy has a hound our two you can leash up and track with? If regulations allow it is an effective way to find your deer.

Good luck!

Hey did you find the deer? You dont happen to go to MSU do you? Cuz i got an andy wendt in an Rec class. good luck with the deer

ya i think that the o-ring got there when it went through, not blood on all of it, but it was raining pretty good when i shot and after,the blood we found was bright red and smelt like regular blood not like gut shot. everything was right with the blade holding it down as far as i can tell.

Sounds like you hit that deer low. My guess is it will be fine. You will still get that leg kick/jump if you hit them low but catch some rib. My guess is a low flesh wound in the chest.

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Sounds like you hit that deer low. My guess is it will be fine. You will still get that leg kick/jump if you hit them low but catch some rib. My guess is a low flesh wound in the chest.

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so do you think its worth tracking or just move on

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so do you think its worth tracking or just move on

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It is always worth tracking and IMO you owe it to the deer as you shot at it. Go until you can not find anymore blood and you are positive that you will not recover the deer. As I posted earlier I agree with Scott. Low hit with one blade catching flesh to cause some bleeding. Where you able to see the shot? What was your thought on the shot placement? It sucks, but it happens to everyone sooner or later.

I’m still baffled by the O ring?

ya i’m going to look more tonight, we found 3 4″ puddles in one location, then its just a drop here and there. i wasnt really able to see the shot i was all excited, i hap the pin right behind the front shoulder. i’m gonna have my dear ol dad come out tonight with me…hes part blood hound i think

Good luck Andy!

I know what you mean by excited, been there. I was just trying to get more info from you and try to help you out. But I believe with the info you gave you hit low and the deer most likely will be fine if you do not find him.

Keep us posted!

THANKS for all your help, thinkin i hit em low will look a little more tonight if nothin gonna let em be will letchya no how it goes…. good luck everybody i’m still cunfuzzled about the oring if anybody has an answer dont be shy

In my experience if sounds like a leg hit. You will get lots of blood and then it just dissapears. Good luck and hope you find him.

IMO, i don’t know what to think about the Rage, mainly the 2 blade. I have heard bad stories of people using them and either the blades don’t push back correctly, the blades open up before impact, or they don’t fly correctly I bought a pack and the tips on them weren’t sharp at ALL I switched the tips from the 3 blade over to the 2 blade and have more confidence in shooting them, but im reluctant because of the stories of lost deer

you can see the blood on the shaft up to the fletching ,so you had to pass through the deer somewhere, not alot of places you can do that without killing the deer. so i agree with the other guys, good chance it was to low. however I would have thought there would be some white hair on the ground where you hit the deer. also what dont make sence to me is that on a pass through you should have blood coming out both sides of the deer , instead of single puddles. It sounds like after you hit the deer he ran up to the top of the hill and stood up there for awhile where the puddles were at looking around or feeding. either way with the info you gave us all compiled I dont think he is hurt, but I agree 100% with rob, you have to look until you have ruled out all possibillitys, It is our responsibilty as good hunters to follow up on any hit, you just never know for sure. good luck I hope it turns out for ya.

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It is always worth tracking and IMO you owe it to the deer as you shot at it. Go until you can not find anymore blood or you are positive that you will not recover the deer.

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Good or bad shot, you have to try to recover that deer. Even after you lose blood, circle the area making bigger and bigger circles until you are sure he is gone.

Protour, I think other people are quick to judge the Rages when I believe the error or shot placement might be on the user more then what you hear. Sort of what was determined here in the thread about this situation. If you shoot low with any broad head and just cut a lil flesh, no matter what broad head you will most likely not recover the deer. I have found only one down fall with the Rages and this can be easily nullified especially if you hunt from a deer stand most of the time. Below is a copy of what I posted on another thread about the Rages and why I shoot them with more confidence then any other broad head. Because I know my arrow will hit the spot I’m aiming and has increased my comfort range another 10 yards.

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Erick, the only down side I have experienced with the Rages is the blades do come “loose”or partially deployed once in a while. I have just made it a habit when I sit down and nock my arrow, I check to make sure the blades are tight by pinching them into the O-ring. You hear people say that in flight they come undone. Well the truth is, they were “loose” before the shot. Is that a problem with archer or equipment?? Not sure, I think you should check your equipment before you shoot it, but it really should not come loose, so I think both. Otherwise you are right. The flight of these broad heads are incredible and just as true as field points out of my and Stacie’s set up. I especially notice improved flight at longer distances and in the high winds of the Dakotas. The entry & exit holes are truly amazing that leaves a blood trail that Ray Charles could follow. Everyone talks about penetration. I noticed better penetration and more pass thru’s with the Rages then I have from other fixed blade broad heads I have tried out of my current set up. This is to hard to truly determine as shot placement and other factors come into play, but I have not noticed a lack of penetration from the Rages. With that said I have not harvested a buck with a Rage yet, but from what I had witnessed from two years of testing and shooting some big does it convinced me to switch to hunt every day with the Rages. That decision did not come easy as I was a fixed blade man since I started hunting and my equipment is something I do not take lightly. This will be my 2nd year hunting with the Rages as my main broad head.

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looked a little bit more after school last night. not much luck. just a quick ?? just thought of this noew while ive been sitting here in careers class. my and my buddy heard this funny sound the night i shot it, it was like a grunt/bleat/moan-groan kinda deal anybody ever heard something like that before

????I have heard many grunts, bleats and even some fawn distress calls in the stand. Not sure what you mean? Was it not one of those 3 or was it different?

Sorry to hear the bad news. Keep at ’em.

no this wasnt like any grunt or bleat or a distress call like i’ve ever heard before. this was something wierd sounding might not have been a deer but sounded liek grunt, bleat, kinda deal who knows.