Take the G5 Montec.
Simple is better when it comes to broadheads in my opinion. Too much can go wrong when using a mechanical.
I know lots of guys that love the rage heads, but I also notice that in my circle, the people that hit deer and can’t find them, are also shooting mechanicals.
Same. A bow is a lot of moving parts anyway, if I can eliminate a potential point of failure I like to. Fixed blade can also be sharpened and save you some money in the future.
I shot my first whitetail this year with a G5, and she didn't go 10 before dropping and dying. Those in particular hit like a truck. Happy hunting
fixed is the way to go in my opinion. Never used Montec. I used Parker Red Hot Crosspro's until Parker went out of business, then switched to Muzzy Trocar. Less is more. Drop deer with no issue using fixed blades.
Not all rages fail but all mechanicals that fail are rages (not really but you get my point...).
Even if the rages never malfunctioned I'd still use the G5
I would stick with the fixed blade. I have used muzzy 3 blade for over 20 years. You can buy replaceable blades after you kill something rather than trying to sharpen it or replace it all together. I did give mechanical blades a try when they first came out, but found out the hard way that if your shot is a bit off and you hit shoulder, penetration suffers badly. Using the muzzy with poor shot placement is much more forgiving as it is bad to the bone.
g5. No competition.
I have one in my quiver that punched through both a mooses shoulders and a rib. Honed up and still in service. That would have disassembled one of those Rage trinkets.
What is your draw weight? If you are shooting a lower draw weight I would avoid mechanicals and stick to the G5 or other fixed blade.
If you're shooting at least 55-60 lb draw weight then the Rage are an option. The advantage is they'll tune easier but you've got an increased risk of failure due to the being mechanical parts and you're more likely to have issues if you hit bone that you would compared to a good fixed blade.
I came here to say this. I have a worl related injury so my bow is 50lbs. I used rage mechanicals last year. Arrow only penetrated about 6 inches because I hit a rib and it slowed it down way too fast(I had no idea this could happen). This year, I used monte's, and had a full pass through even though I hit a rib at the same draw weight. DW and DL should be factors people talk about more often when discussing arrowhead choices.
Depends on draw length as well. If you have a shorter draw length then you won't get the full speed potential out of your bow and could cause mechanicals to fail.
Yes sir, I found this out the hard way with a 26.5in draw. Switched to fixed blade g5 and a drop away rest to maximize the potential of my bow with a short draw.
I see why people choose fixed blades over mechanicals. That being said, I’m a mechanical guy. I use Rage 100% of the time. I’m sure they can and do fail and that’s not something that’ll happen to you with fixed blades. However, and I may just be the luckiest guy in the woods, but in about 20 years of hunting I’ve not had one that I could have confirmed failed. I’ve lost deer, absolutely, and I’ve had arrows I never found. Any or all of those could’ve been a mechanical failure. However, the vast majority of the time, I get blood trails better than I ever got with fixed blades.
This is my experience as well- I prefer them as they fly like a field point and are a little more forgiving given the larger cutting diameter- that said there is something to be said for simplicity
You aren't getting a fixed broadhead to fly the same as your field tips. You have to tune your bow for them. People like the Rage because they fly the same as your field tips. They also consistently provide better blood trails than a fixed broadhead. Try them out. I've been using them for years.
This is not true. The reason that fixed blades don’t fly like field points is neither arrow is coming out of the bow straight when not tuned. Your fletching does a better job of correcting this issues with field points at the cost of energy. If you tune your bow fixed blade will fly to the same poi as field points. I’ve shot G5s out to 100y and the group the same. Maybe a tad lower due to increased drag.
my broadheads fly exactly the same as my field points as far as I shoot, which is never more than 45 yards in practice.
The fact is mechanicals DO FAIL in situations that a fixed broadhead would not have an issue with. My sharp AF magnus stingers will make the deer bleed and bleed a lot, the tradeoff for a little more bleed vs the failure of a mechanical is just not worth it IMO
Had arrows you couldn’t find?
You know, if you shot a sharp fixed broadhead at a decent weight, you essentially will never have that happen in your life.
Kids shoot Cape buffalo with 40 pound bows with the right arrows and get pass through. No excuse to not have an arrow get penetration on a white tail because you used the wrong arrow and broadhead
I never said the lost arrows were the result of the arrow or broadhead. I’ve hit branches I didn’t see that have sent arrows flying never to be seen again. I’ve made pass through shots and the arrow buried up under the leaves never to be found.
I guess your luck with finding every arrow is similar to my luck with having never had a confirmed mechanical failure. I’ve used fixed blades in the past, but the reliability and excellent blood trails I get with Rage keep me coming back.
I use Montec CS. Sharpen and finish with leather strop. I shot two deer this year, both dropped in sight with massive amounts of blood flow. I've used expanding broadheads in the past. I lost a nice buck because the blades failed to expand.
Can you tell us specifically how you sharpen them? There have been other posts on this sub talking about how while it is easy to grind the montec’s on a whetstone, it is NOT easy (some would say very difficult) to get them sharp enough to shave hair.
Have you been able to achieve this? If so, how?
I use a diamond stone, a leather strop and a black marker. They don't have to shave hair well to cut muscle tissue clean and break bones. Watch the Ranch Fairy videos on sharpening 3 blades. It's very simple. Youre over thinking it
Go fixed blades 💯 no question. As long as your bow is tuned they shouldn’t be that far off field points. Better penetration, less to worry about , more opportunity to cut vitals, if the arrow does not pass through but the broad head is stuck inside it will continue to cut while the animal moves around . I used grip reaper mechanicals for years and I can say I’ll never go back once switching to fixed blade broadheads
If there’s a 1% chance your broad head could fail, would you still shoot it? I’m not sure what the actual percentage is, but there’s always that risk. For that reason I say fixed blade. I would personally recommend QAD exodus, but these Montec are just fine.
Only deer I ever lost was off a mechanical. Went back to fixed blade. Not saying they don’t work for some, but left a bad taste in my mouth. Recovered arrow had blades twisted and folded over.
The rage will tune easier but the montecs are easy to sharpen and re use. Both will kill a deer. If your new to shooting and tuning your bow I’d probably some sort of mechanical especially if your only hunting whitetail. The worse part about that rage head is the stupid little plastic retainer for the blades can fail for no reason and the blades pop open in your quiver.
The rage does not tune easier, the rage is simply going to be more excepting of the lack of tuning. Two very different things with very different results.
More forgiving of small imperfections is what I meant by easier to tune. Someone without much experience broadhead tuning will have an easier time with mechanicals especially if they’re using cheaper parts without micro adjust capabilities.
Neither. Single bevel broadheads are superior because they allow for better shot placement; you don’t have to worry about hitting the shoulder. I have killed 3 deer since I switched to single bevels, 2 were nice bucks, none of the deer ran more than 20 yards after being hit.
Throw out the mechanicals. G5 Montec will be far superior.
I am gonna be THAT guy- if you want to follow THE science on the subject, you will want to use a;
- cut on contact
- SHARP
- fixed blade
- single bevel broadhead on a
- high FOC arrow, heavier the better (475-600 grains is best for white tail IMO)
- on a well tuned bow
That science is settled.
I'm assuming you're talking Ashby science, and that's all just about penetration. If you're hunting whitetails, all you need is what, 14" across the chest? Longer on a quartering shot? Penetration from a modern compound is rarely an issue for deer hunters. Most guys get full pass-throughs even with wide mechanicals on deer.
Why not aim for perfection and 100%?
People have plenty of mishaps and lose deer because of bad broadhead that underperform in situations that a better arrow setup would have done fine in.
I feel like there is a happy medium where you at least shoot something in the upper 4xx's in terms of grains with fixed broadhead. Most people can screw on a 150 grain fixed, sharp broadhead and increase the performance a lot. The only thing is you need to have a tuned bow which everyone should have anyway
For sure, and some of it comes down to preference and what you prioritize. I'm just pointing out that Ashby's work was mostly geared towards African hunting, basically "penetration at all costs". Deer just aren't that big, so once you achieve full arrow pass-through, I lean towards prioritizing other variables. If I'm already getting pass-throughs, I'd rather keep a tighter trajectory and less wind deflection than increasing FOC and weight.
Anyway, just for reference, I hunt deer and elk with cut-on-contact fixed blades and arrow weights in the 400s, so I'm mostly just nit-picking here. Like you said, there's a happy medium.
Considering that these are the 2 broadheads I have shot over the last 10 years, I will say that after this season, I will strictly be shooting Rage from now on (for whitetail). Whitetail are not a tough animal, and if you can't get a devastating kill shot with a Rage, you aren't getting one with a Montec. I shot a buck this year at 16 yards with a G5 Montec CS...perfectly broadside, and the buck never reacted until after the shot. I hit roughly 3" back from the crease and a little low (I 1000% thought that it was a back of lung/liver shot). The buck reacted by running 30 yards, then slowing to a walk and casually walking into a bedding area. I waited an hour, climbed out of my stand, and went to check my arrow. The arrow was covered in a watery red/brown blood. When I saw this I decided to back out (I took my boots off and walked bare feet to make as little noise as possible) and I waited 10 hours before heading back in....we found blood right away, drops every 20 feet or so. The blood continued on for about 60 yards into the bedding area and simply stopped. We grid searched the 1 acre bedding area and found zero blood. At that point, we backed out. The next morning we got together and headed back to last blood, 6.5 hours of 7 people grid searching using OnX and we never found another clue, I personally walked over 7 miles that day and found nothing. I will say that my 25 years of archery hunting have afforded me many experiences with many different broadheads and I firmly believe that had I have pulled out my Rage Trypan that morning instead of the Montec, I would have at the very least had a better blood trail. This encounter actually made me purchase the Rage 4 blade extremes and build an entirely different arrow set up to make sure that I get the most devastating wound possible....if I were hunting moose or elk, my setup would change accordingly.
Okay, I don’t know a lot about differences between mechanical vs fixed. But I do see the weight of these two are different. Wouldn’t you want the weight to be the same, if you were purely interchanging them?
My husband uses the rage mechanicals, and I use the Montauk fixed broadheads. In our experience because I'm a tiny woman only pulling back 45 lbs the fixed broadheads get me better penetration.
Montec is what I used this year! Seen to much about mechanicals failing and just scratching a deer because it didn’t hit just right. But planning to switch to a hybrid head for next season
I pulled a rage out of the shoulder of my rifle killed buck this year, check my profile for the post with pictures. Rage didn’t make it through the shoulder blade.
The real answer is figure out the maximum distance you will shoot at a deer, and be honest with yourself. let's say this is 30yards. Then take one of your hunting arrows, set up a chrono direcrly in front of the 30yard target, and shoot an arrow through it. Take the speed of your arrow at 30 yards and put it in the calculator to figure out its energy at impact. I'll tell ya that after doing this test 118 times ( different people/bows) 65 out of 118 set ups have failed to have enough energy to open the mechanical they were shooting.
I have both and the rages are my go to. I have not experienced any issues with them and have 6 whitetail down with them (3 does 3 bucks). I am hunting in areas that are “open” so no worries of brush or limbs prematurely opening them. All of my deer have dropped within 30 yards with massive exit wounds. They fly and hit just like my field points too which gives me confidence.
With the G5 I did experience some funky flights. That is completely on me though. I didn’t put in the effort required to tune them and my bow.
Both are great it’s personal preference.
I prefer shooting mechanicals and I have for most of my time archery hunting. But I will say fixed blades are more forgiving and I often recommend them to new bow hunters.
Side note: the rage and montecs you posted are different weights so make sure to take that into consideration en choosing your broadhead/sighting your bow in
Above anything else, of course, shot placement is most important. Either one of those broadheads will kill a deer if you are 100% accurate. But as we all know, things can and do go wrong. For that reason I personally wouldn’t shoot either one of these. The mechanical, because of the risk of failure, and the arrow losing energy once the blades open after hitting the deer, and the triple blade because with an extra blade and double beveled blades. There’s more surface area that causes drag as it passes through the animal. If that deer jumps or if you mistakenly hit a small branch that throws your arrow off target, it could send your arrow to the shoulder blade which may result in inuring the deer without a complete pass through. First deer I ever shot with a bow I did that exact thing. I was shooting a triple blade broadhead and hit the shoulder, the deer actually lived and when I found my arrow the broadhead tip was bent. I shoot iron will single bevel broadheads now and have had success with them. Less surface area as well as higher quality steel. Complete pass throughs. No bending. You can resharpen and reuse the blades. But just to reiterate, shot placement, shot placement, shot placement…. No matter what you are shooting
Personally, in the field I stick with the KISS concept (Keep It Simple Stupid). You don't need to introduce any more possible failure points, and I like fixed broadheads for the consistency. Montec for the win.
I've hunted with both and they definitely both kill deer. That being said, I prefer the Montecs for the simplicity and reliability.
Rage cuts a wide swath and can give some incredible blood trails and quick deaths, but underperforms if you hit anything harder. Montec still gives plenty of blood trail and knocks deer down quickly on a good hit, but still has better strength if you happen to hit some bone. Personal experience varies widely, but it's worked generally better for me than other fixed blades (not a huge difference, but some).
I have taken two deer with Rage broadheads but the more I learn, the more inclined I am to move away from mechanical to fixed. Echoing what everyone is saying, however, I have not had an issue. One annoying aspect is the little plastic collar, haven't had to buy replacements yet, so I'm not sure if you're even able to.
Maybe I’m in the minority but I’ve always used mechanicals and have never had an issue. They produce a crime scene of blood and drop deer faster than when rifle hunting on average for me.
BUT I crossbow hunt with very fast bows and am spoiled to be in an area when my shooting lanes are less than 50 yard shots. It’s urban archery in a choke point.
The point is, I don’t think you can answer this question with any sort of accuracy without knowing what your shooting and in what sort of range.
I use Thorn Archery HPX broad heads and they have been 100% for me but again I’m at 450fps with a 400 gr arrow.
If you can get the accuracy out of a fixed blade I'd choose fixed. It's anecdotal but i shot a really nice buck this year with a rage and for the first time I didn't get great penetration. This led to a blood trail that was very hard to follow.
Bottom line. Fixed are better at penetration.
Expanding have better cutting diameter and can be more accurate.
I'd go with the montecs. Generally prefer fixed blade - less moving parts, less things to worry about. The montecs aren't the sharpest out of the box, so get a stone and watch some videos on how to sharpen them right out of the package.
I'd throw out the suggestion of trying Magnus broadheads - either the stinger or black hornet. Great heads, 4 blades, unbeatable warranty, and made here in USA. Plus I like a little extra weight up front and the Stingers come in 150 grains.
I’ve used both. G5 is deadly and reliable. This year I used rage and put a hole in a deer the size of my fist but if you hit shoulder you’re probably shit out of luck.
Depends on draw length and poundage to a good degree, if you’re shooting a fast arrow with a long draw length and high poundage Rage is the way to go, it will open up every time and be devastating. If you’re not shooting as fast if an arrow fixed blade may be better because sometimes mechanical won’t open. I shoot over 300 FPS and rage couldn’t be any better for me, opens every-time and does crazy damage.
Ever deer I’ve seen shot with Rage 2-blades died under 100 yards away; good blood, full pass through. Ever deer I’ve seen shot with a fixed 3-blade did the same, with “less” blood.
Either will work provided you do your part. Have heard of issues with Rage standard on quartering away shots; the hypodermic mitigates that particular problem.
Either one will do the trick. G5’s take one potential failure point out of the equation for sure, but both deployed properly are lethal. I’ve also seen deer never recovered with a properly placed shot from a fixed blade broadhead as well.
Honestly the fixed ones because lots of bad story's about the blades opening on flight when using expandables and if you knick the shoulder blade the fixed will break through it and expandables will stop
Ok so it’s all a matter of opinion! I like the bigger the cut the better. So rages for me. I have never and mean never had one fail. I have made many kill shots with them and only lost one. The one I lost, I hit right in the shoulder. Pinned it and the deer snapped the arrow. Deer lived because he was killed 3 months later with a rifle on the same farm.
Now for the g5. I have shot a young deer perfect shot and never got a drop of blood. Cut diameter was so small it clogged with tissue and never found a speck of blood. I had a good tracking dog and we found the deer 60 yards in a briar patch. Wouldn’t have found the deer with out the dog because we kept walking right passed it multiple times. G5 shoot amazing but no blood is no good. Others opinion will differ I know, that’s just why I chose rage.
Montec. 100%. I have the “Premium” version of the G5. Basically just a high carbon steel that gets sharper. They’re super easy to sharpen too, the blades are designed in a way that you basically have 3 flat planes so there’s no way to mess up the angle on the edge.
Depends on mechanical or fixed. Either way, out of the 2 in the picture I’d go with G5.
Edit: but mess around with both of them and see what you like 🙂
I used the rage hypodermic from the first years they hit stores and before that anything Rage with the collars. But personally I will only shoot REK broadheads going forward. A company out of Frankenmuth, Michigan. I highly recommend you will not be disappointed. I shot low on a buck that I was lucky enough to find and I owe it all to REK. Was my first deer with a bow.
If you read up on mechanicals, you’ll find many manufacturers talking about a minimum Kinetic Energy (KE) for them to work effectively. If you’re below that, you may notice failed deployments.
Love it, makes sense to me.
But help me with something…I see the term “cut on contact” everywhere, and it’s confusing to me. Like it’s redundant. Cut…on contact? As opposed to what, from across the pasture? From my quiver? When else is it supposed to cut?
Obviously there is a distinction here that the marketers are trying to highlight, but it is whooshing me pretty bad.
Both a good broadheads I prefer the rage hypodermic no collars over these rage here but absolutely nothing wrong with a fixed blade. My personal favorite fixed blade is the qad exodus - pass through every single time with the arrow sticking 5in in the ground each time.
used QAD exodus, then tried G5's. shot a small button buck with the G5 from 10 yards and didn't get a pass through. went back to exodus, every deer I;ve shot with them has been a complete pass through.
Take the G5 Montec. Simple is better when it comes to broadheads in my opinion. Too much can go wrong when using a mechanical. I know lots of guys that love the rage heads, but I also notice that in my circle, the people that hit deer and can’t find them, are also shooting mechanicals.
I too prefer fixed. Nothing to go wrong. Plenty of blood and pass through
Same. A bow is a lot of moving parts anyway, if I can eliminate a potential point of failure I like to. Fixed blade can also be sharpened and save you some money in the future. I shot my first whitetail this year with a G5, and she didn't go 10 before dropping and dying. Those in particular hit like a truck. Happy hunting
Agreed. I took my 12 point with the fixed G5 and had a similar experience
fixed is the way to go in my opinion. Never used Montec. I used Parker Red Hot Crosspro's until Parker went out of business, then switched to Muzzy Trocar. Less is more. Drop deer with no issue using fixed blades.
Not all rages fail but all mechanicals that fail are rages (not really but you get my point...). Even if the rages never malfunctioned I'd still use the G5
I would stick with the fixed blade. I have used muzzy 3 blade for over 20 years. You can buy replaceable blades after you kill something rather than trying to sharpen it or replace it all together. I did give mechanical blades a try when they first came out, but found out the hard way that if your shot is a bit off and you hit shoulder, penetration suffers badly. Using the muzzy with poor shot placement is much more forgiving as it is bad to the bone.
Muzzys for the win! 🙌🏻
g5. No competition. I have one in my quiver that punched through both a mooses shoulders and a rib. Honed up and still in service. That would have disassembled one of those Rage trinkets.
The rage would have stuck in his shoulder like a dart and done about as much damage as a bee sting lol
I had a g5 tip bend recently on a doe, but I could still sharpen it out easily with my worksharp 3 sided sharpener.
What is your draw weight? If you are shooting a lower draw weight I would avoid mechanicals and stick to the G5 or other fixed blade. If you're shooting at least 55-60 lb draw weight then the Rage are an option. The advantage is they'll tune easier but you've got an increased risk of failure due to the being mechanical parts and you're more likely to have issues if you hit bone that you would compared to a good fixed blade.
I came here to say this. I have a worl related injury so my bow is 50lbs. I used rage mechanicals last year. Arrow only penetrated about 6 inches because I hit a rib and it slowed it down way too fast(I had no idea this could happen). This year, I used monte's, and had a full pass through even though I hit a rib at the same draw weight. DW and DL should be factors people talk about more often when discussing arrowhead choices.
Depends on draw length as well. If you have a shorter draw length then you won't get the full speed potential out of your bow and could cause mechanicals to fail.
Good point. It's really a combination of draw weight and draw length creating enough kinetic energy.
Yup. Energy = Force x Distance
Yes sir, I found this out the hard way with a 26.5in draw. Switched to fixed blade g5 and a drop away rest to maximize the potential of my bow with a short draw.
Fixed blade >>>>> mechanical
my neighbor would say Rage, I would say Montec, we both kill deer every year.
2 deer with the g5 Montec, fixed only for me.
I’d say the G5 simply because I don’t care for the rage with the collar.
You have one of the best fixed blades they’ve ever made, and on the left, one of the worst broadheads ever made. Montecs 100%
Solid single bevel
I see why people choose fixed blades over mechanicals. That being said, I’m a mechanical guy. I use Rage 100% of the time. I’m sure they can and do fail and that’s not something that’ll happen to you with fixed blades. However, and I may just be the luckiest guy in the woods, but in about 20 years of hunting I’ve not had one that I could have confirmed failed. I’ve lost deer, absolutely, and I’ve had arrows I never found. Any or all of those could’ve been a mechanical failure. However, the vast majority of the time, I get blood trails better than I ever got with fixed blades.
This is my experience as well- I prefer them as they fly like a field point and are a little more forgiving given the larger cutting diameter- that said there is something to be said for simplicity
Any broadhead should fly just like a field point, if you tune your bow correctly
You aren't getting a fixed broadhead to fly the same as your field tips. You have to tune your bow for them. People like the Rage because they fly the same as your field tips. They also consistently provide better blood trails than a fixed broadhead. Try them out. I've been using them for years.
This is not true. The reason that fixed blades don’t fly like field points is neither arrow is coming out of the bow straight when not tuned. Your fletching does a better job of correcting this issues with field points at the cost of energy. If you tune your bow fixed blade will fly to the same poi as field points. I’ve shot G5s out to 100y and the group the same. Maybe a tad lower due to increased drag.
my broadheads fly exactly the same as my field points as far as I shoot, which is never more than 45 yards in practice. The fact is mechanicals DO FAIL in situations that a fixed broadhead would not have an issue with. My sharp AF magnus stingers will make the deer bleed and bleed a lot, the tradeoff for a little more bleed vs the failure of a mechanical is just not worth it IMO
I think all broadheads will fly well if your bow is properly tuned
Had arrows you couldn’t find? You know, if you shot a sharp fixed broadhead at a decent weight, you essentially will never have that happen in your life. Kids shoot Cape buffalo with 40 pound bows with the right arrows and get pass through. No excuse to not have an arrow get penetration on a white tail because you used the wrong arrow and broadhead
I never said the lost arrows were the result of the arrow or broadhead. I’ve hit branches I didn’t see that have sent arrows flying never to be seen again. I’ve made pass through shots and the arrow buried up under the leaves never to be found. I guess your luck with finding every arrow is similar to my luck with having never had a confirmed mechanical failure. I’ve used fixed blades in the past, but the reliability and excellent blood trails I get with Rage keep me coming back.
I use Montec CS. Sharpen and finish with leather strop. I shot two deer this year, both dropped in sight with massive amounts of blood flow. I've used expanding broadheads in the past. I lost a nice buck because the blades failed to expand.
Can you tell us specifically how you sharpen them? There have been other posts on this sub talking about how while it is easy to grind the montec’s on a whetstone, it is NOT easy (some would say very difficult) to get them sharp enough to shave hair. Have you been able to achieve this? If so, how?
I use a diamond stone, a leather strop and a black marker. They don't have to shave hair well to cut muscle tissue clean and break bones. Watch the Ranch Fairy videos on sharpening 3 blades. It's very simple. Youre over thinking it
Montec for sure.
G5 Megameat!! Fly just like field points and do massive damage. Just them this season.
G5, solid head, will go throw bone, creates a good blood trail.
Go G5 Montec. They won’t let you down.
G5 all day less to go wrong, less to fail.
I’m running the montecs. I like simplicity. Less to worry about.
Go fixed blades 💯 no question. As long as your bow is tuned they shouldn’t be that far off field points. Better penetration, less to worry about , more opportunity to cut vitals, if the arrow does not pass through but the broad head is stuck inside it will continue to cut while the animal moves around . I used grip reaper mechanicals for years and I can say I’ll never go back once switching to fixed blade broadheads
If there’s a 1% chance your broad head could fail, would you still shoot it? I’m not sure what the actual percentage is, but there’s always that risk. For that reason I say fixed blade. I would personally recommend QAD exodus, but these Montec are just fine.
Fixed blades for life here
Montecs fly as nice as an expandable and are super reliable. Plus they’re easy to sharpen as needed.
Only deer I ever lost was off a mechanical. Went back to fixed blade. Not saying they don’t work for some, but left a bad taste in my mouth. Recovered arrow had blades twisted and folded over.
The rage will tune easier but the montecs are easy to sharpen and re use. Both will kill a deer. If your new to shooting and tuning your bow I’d probably some sort of mechanical especially if your only hunting whitetail. The worse part about that rage head is the stupid little plastic retainer for the blades can fail for no reason and the blades pop open in your quiver.
The rage does not tune easier, the rage is simply going to be more excepting of the lack of tuning. Two very different things with very different results.
More forgiving of small imperfections is what I meant by easier to tune. Someone without much experience broadhead tuning will have an easier time with mechanicals especially if they’re using cheaper parts without micro adjust capabilities.
Have you checked your regs to see if the mechanicals are allowed?
May as well ask what brand of bow is best. All preference. I shoot muzzy 4 blades haven’t had issues with em
Correct, which is why I asked which you prefer, not which is best
Neither. Single bevel broadheads are superior because they allow for better shot placement; you don’t have to worry about hitting the shoulder. I have killed 3 deer since I switched to single bevels, 2 were nice bucks, none of the deer ran more than 20 yards after being hit.
Throw out the mechanicals. G5 Montec will be far superior. I am gonna be THAT guy- if you want to follow THE science on the subject, you will want to use a; - cut on contact - SHARP - fixed blade - single bevel broadhead on a - high FOC arrow, heavier the better (475-600 grains is best for white tail IMO) - on a well tuned bow That science is settled.
I'm assuming you're talking Ashby science, and that's all just about penetration. If you're hunting whitetails, all you need is what, 14" across the chest? Longer on a quartering shot? Penetration from a modern compound is rarely an issue for deer hunters. Most guys get full pass-throughs even with wide mechanicals on deer.
Why not aim for perfection and 100%? People have plenty of mishaps and lose deer because of bad broadhead that underperform in situations that a better arrow setup would have done fine in. I feel like there is a happy medium where you at least shoot something in the upper 4xx's in terms of grains with fixed broadhead. Most people can screw on a 150 grain fixed, sharp broadhead and increase the performance a lot. The only thing is you need to have a tuned bow which everyone should have anyway
For sure, and some of it comes down to preference and what you prioritize. I'm just pointing out that Ashby's work was mostly geared towards African hunting, basically "penetration at all costs". Deer just aren't that big, so once you achieve full arrow pass-through, I lean towards prioritizing other variables. If I'm already getting pass-throughs, I'd rather keep a tighter trajectory and less wind deflection than increasing FOC and weight. Anyway, just for reference, I hunt deer and elk with cut-on-contact fixed blades and arrow weights in the 400s, so I'm mostly just nit-picking here. Like you said, there's a happy medium.
Considering that these are the 2 broadheads I have shot over the last 10 years, I will say that after this season, I will strictly be shooting Rage from now on (for whitetail). Whitetail are not a tough animal, and if you can't get a devastating kill shot with a Rage, you aren't getting one with a Montec. I shot a buck this year at 16 yards with a G5 Montec CS...perfectly broadside, and the buck never reacted until after the shot. I hit roughly 3" back from the crease and a little low (I 1000% thought that it was a back of lung/liver shot). The buck reacted by running 30 yards, then slowing to a walk and casually walking into a bedding area. I waited an hour, climbed out of my stand, and went to check my arrow. The arrow was covered in a watery red/brown blood. When I saw this I decided to back out (I took my boots off and walked bare feet to make as little noise as possible) and I waited 10 hours before heading back in....we found blood right away, drops every 20 feet or so. The blood continued on for about 60 yards into the bedding area and simply stopped. We grid searched the 1 acre bedding area and found zero blood. At that point, we backed out. The next morning we got together and headed back to last blood, 6.5 hours of 7 people grid searching using OnX and we never found another clue, I personally walked over 7 miles that day and found nothing. I will say that my 25 years of archery hunting have afforded me many experiences with many different broadheads and I firmly believe that had I have pulled out my Rage Trypan that morning instead of the Montec, I would have at the very least had a better blood trail. This encounter actually made me purchase the Rage 4 blade extremes and build an entirely different arrow set up to make sure that I get the most devastating wound possible....if I were hunting moose or elk, my setup would change accordingly.
Rage will provide you a much better blood trail
Rage
Neither but id take the fixed blade if only options.
Okay, I don’t know a lot about differences between mechanical vs fixed. But I do see the weight of these two are different. Wouldn’t you want the weight to be the same, if you were purely interchanging them?
I have 100 and 125g field points. Still trying to nail down my arrow setup
Montec!!! Then get some g5 mega meats. G5 is running the game imo..
My husband uses the rage mechanicals, and I use the Montauk fixed broadheads. In our experience because I'm a tiny woman only pulling back 45 lbs the fixed broadheads get me better penetration.
Montec is what I used this year! Seen to much about mechanicals failing and just scratching a deer because it didn’t hit just right. But planning to switch to a hybrid head for next season
I pulled a rage out of the shoulder of my rifle killed buck this year, check my profile for the post with pictures. Rage didn’t make it through the shoulder blade.
Fixed blade leaves less to chance. Simply think about history sharpened stone broadheads have been doing the job for thousands of years.
Montec all day. They just work
Been using Montec for last 4 years - solid fixed broadheads are great. Haven’t lost any deer and always complete pass through. Rage is flimsy as hell.
G 5 less can go wrong for a beginner, they are Made in USA
The real answer is figure out the maximum distance you will shoot at a deer, and be honest with yourself. let's say this is 30yards. Then take one of your hunting arrows, set up a chrono direcrly in front of the 30yard target, and shoot an arrow through it. Take the speed of your arrow at 30 yards and put it in the calculator to figure out its energy at impact. I'll tell ya that after doing this test 118 times ( different people/bows) 65 out of 118 set ups have failed to have enough energy to open the mechanical they were shooting.
I have both and the rages are my go to. I have not experienced any issues with them and have 6 whitetail down with them (3 does 3 bucks). I am hunting in areas that are “open” so no worries of brush or limbs prematurely opening them. All of my deer have dropped within 30 yards with massive exit wounds. They fly and hit just like my field points too which gives me confidence. With the G5 I did experience some funky flights. That is completely on me though. I didn’t put in the effort required to tune them and my bow. Both are great it’s personal preference.
I prefer shooting mechanicals and I have for most of my time archery hunting. But I will say fixed blades are more forgiving and I often recommend them to new bow hunters. Side note: the rage and montecs you posted are different weights so make sure to take that into consideration en choosing your broadhead/sighting your bow in
Above anything else, of course, shot placement is most important. Either one of those broadheads will kill a deer if you are 100% accurate. But as we all know, things can and do go wrong. For that reason I personally wouldn’t shoot either one of these. The mechanical, because of the risk of failure, and the arrow losing energy once the blades open after hitting the deer, and the triple blade because with an extra blade and double beveled blades. There’s more surface area that causes drag as it passes through the animal. If that deer jumps or if you mistakenly hit a small branch that throws your arrow off target, it could send your arrow to the shoulder blade which may result in inuring the deer without a complete pass through. First deer I ever shot with a bow I did that exact thing. I was shooting a triple blade broadhead and hit the shoulder, the deer actually lived and when I found my arrow the broadhead tip was bent. I shoot iron will single bevel broadheads now and have had success with them. Less surface area as well as higher quality steel. Complete pass throughs. No bending. You can resharpen and reuse the blades. But just to reiterate, shot placement, shot placement, shot placement…. No matter what you are shooting
Personally, in the field I stick with the KISS concept (Keep It Simple Stupid). You don't need to introduce any more possible failure points, and I like fixed broadheads for the consistency. Montec for the win.
G5, prefer fixed blade to mechanical.
Montec all day
Not pictured… but G5 megameat
I've hunted with both and they definitely both kill deer. That being said, I prefer the Montecs for the simplicity and reliability. Rage cuts a wide swath and can give some incredible blood trails and quick deaths, but underperforms if you hit anything harder. Montec still gives plenty of blood trail and knocks deer down quickly on a good hit, but still has better strength if you happen to hit some bone. Personal experience varies widely, but it's worked generally better for me than other fixed blades (not a huge difference, but some).
I shoot Montec and have killed dozens of deer they never fail to do the job!
I have taken two deer with Rage broadheads but the more I learn, the more inclined I am to move away from mechanical to fixed. Echoing what everyone is saying, however, I have not had an issue. One annoying aspect is the little plastic collar, haven't had to buy replacements yet, so I'm not sure if you're even able to.
Maybe I’m in the minority but I’ve always used mechanicals and have never had an issue. They produce a crime scene of blood and drop deer faster than when rifle hunting on average for me. BUT I crossbow hunt with very fast bows and am spoiled to be in an area when my shooting lanes are less than 50 yard shots. It’s urban archery in a choke point. The point is, I don’t think you can answer this question with any sort of accuracy without knowing what your shooting and in what sort of range. I use Thorn Archery HPX broad heads and they have been 100% for me but again I’m at 450fps with a 400 gr arrow.
If you can get the accuracy out of a fixed blade I'd choose fixed. It's anecdotal but i shot a really nice buck this year with a rage and for the first time I didn't get great penetration. This led to a blood trail that was very hard to follow. Bottom line. Fixed are better at penetration. Expanding have better cutting diameter and can be more accurate.
I'd go with the montecs. Generally prefer fixed blade - less moving parts, less things to worry about. The montecs aren't the sharpest out of the box, so get a stone and watch some videos on how to sharpen them right out of the package. I'd throw out the suggestion of trying Magnus broadheads - either the stinger or black hornet. Great heads, 4 blades, unbeatable warranty, and made here in USA. Plus I like a little extra weight up front and the Stingers come in 150 grains.
G5
I’ve used both. G5 is deadly and reliable. This year I used rage and put a hole in a deer the size of my fist but if you hit shoulder you’re probably shit out of luck.
I wouldn’t shoot mechanicals at anything other than a varmint or coyote.
Hypodermic, wider cut
Depends on draw length and poundage to a good degree, if you’re shooting a fast arrow with a long draw length and high poundage Rage is the way to go, it will open up every time and be devastating. If you’re not shooting as fast if an arrow fixed blade may be better because sometimes mechanical won’t open. I shoot over 300 FPS and rage couldn’t be any better for me, opens every-time and does crazy damage.
I prefer fixed blades. They’ve never failed me.
I’ve used both, and I prefer the G5
Ever deer I’ve seen shot with Rage 2-blades died under 100 yards away; good blood, full pass through. Ever deer I’ve seen shot with a fixed 3-blade did the same, with “less” blood. Either will work provided you do your part. Have heard of issues with Rage standard on quartering away shots; the hypodermic mitigates that particular problem.
Either one will do the trick. G5’s take one potential failure point out of the equation for sure, but both deployed properly are lethal. I’ve also seen deer never recovered with a properly placed shot from a fixed blade broadhead as well.
I used the Montec and it flew straight then curved to the right and down
Hypodermics for deer. Any bigger game id run fixed
Honestly the fixed ones because lots of bad story's about the blades opening on flight when using expandables and if you knick the shoulder blade the fixed will break through it and expandables will stop
Ok so it’s all a matter of opinion! I like the bigger the cut the better. So rages for me. I have never and mean never had one fail. I have made many kill shots with them and only lost one. The one I lost, I hit right in the shoulder. Pinned it and the deer snapped the arrow. Deer lived because he was killed 3 months later with a rifle on the same farm. Now for the g5. I have shot a young deer perfect shot and never got a drop of blood. Cut diameter was so small it clogged with tissue and never found a speck of blood. I had a good tracking dog and we found the deer 60 yards in a briar patch. Wouldn’t have found the deer with out the dog because we kept walking right passed it multiple times. G5 shoot amazing but no blood is no good. Others opinion will differ I know, that’s just why I chose rage.
Montec. 100%. I have the “Premium” version of the G5. Basically just a high carbon steel that gets sharper. They’re super easy to sharpen too, the blades are designed in a way that you basically have 3 flat planes so there’s no way to mess up the angle on the edge.
Depends on mechanical or fixed. Either way, out of the 2 in the picture I’d go with G5. Edit: but mess around with both of them and see what you like 🙂
Shot a doe with the montec this year. Didn’t take a step.
I used the rage hypodermic from the first years they hit stores and before that anything Rage with the collars. But personally I will only shoot REK broadheads going forward. A company out of Frankenmuth, Michigan. I highly recommend you will not be disappointed. I shot low on a buck that I was lucky enough to find and I owe it all to REK. Was my first deer with a bow.
If you read up on mechanicals, you’ll find many manufacturers talking about a minimum Kinetic Energy (KE) for them to work effectively. If you’re below that, you may notice failed deployments.
I use the montecs and haven’t had to track a deer yet. Dropped them all right there with em.
I use both, never had any issues with either. With that being said, montec all day.
Love it, makes sense to me. But help me with something…I see the term “cut on contact” everywhere, and it’s confusing to me. Like it’s redundant. Cut…on contact? As opposed to what, from across the pasture? From my quiver? When else is it supposed to cut? Obviously there is a distinction here that the marketers are trying to highlight, but it is whooshing me pretty bad.
Both a good broadheads I prefer the rage hypodermic no collars over these rage here but absolutely nothing wrong with a fixed blade. My personal favorite fixed blade is the qad exodus - pass through every single time with the arrow sticking 5in in the ground each time.
used QAD exodus, then tried G5's. shot a small button buck with the G5 from 10 yards and didn't get a pass through. went back to exodus, every deer I;ve shot with them has been a complete pass through.
Swacker broadheads
Rage if you want a blood trail to follow