DJ 17

John, I was actually wondering the same thing about the blades basically working independently and causing the problem, but the angle was very slight, it wasn't a hard quarter by any stretch of the imagination. Also, I remembered a discussion at an archery shop this summer in which guys and the shop owner were discussing that they each knew people that had used the hypodermics and had the point bend over on impact. I thought of this today and wondered if that may have happened to my arrow? Obviously no way to know unless I happen to find the arrow. Anyway, I have gone back to the Rage originals for now. I will definitely explore some fixed blade options in the off season.

Yeah the sight thing really bugged me. I do shoot frequently and have never had this issue before with any weapon, so I will obviously be more diligent there. I can still see that arrow hitting and the way it reacted was very strange, the fact that it was loosely flopping as the deer took off really bugs me. If it stuck in a bone I don't think it would be flopping around like that, I would think it should have been stuck fast in the bone. Not that it matters at this point, just can't get it out of my head.

NO LEAVES, BRANCHES OR TWIGS. Since I guess you thought I wasn't feeling bad enough already, thanks for the extra kick while I'm down.

I've got an English Male Yellow.. Kenai. He is now 9 1/2 and is a step slower and stiffer, but the fire still burns in those eyes anytime he hears a honk or I run the action on a gun. I don't know how many years he has left but I am not ready for him to be gone that's for sure.

He was at 30 yds and the amount of quartering angle was very small. The fact that the arrow only penetrated a minimal amount without hitting any bone is what really concerned me about the broadhead. The placement was entirely my error but doesn't account for lack of broadhead performance. I forgot to add above that I went home and hit the range and found out that my sight was 5" left at 30 yds which I obviously didn't know or I would have fixed it.

Unfortunately I have to add I believe a negative rage story... I will try to keep it short. Friday Night I had a really good buck chasing a doe towards me. In a field of weeds/goldenrod. The doe goes through some thick stuff 15 yds from me in which there is one lane to shoot through. It was thick enough that it took her nearly 30 seconds to negotiate it. I passed up a 35 yd shot at the buck thinking he will follow her trail because he is grunting like crazy, even heard him "roar". She goes by me at 15yds. He follows a few seconds behind. He enters the brush and I start to slowly draw. Somehow, and I still don't know how he gets through that stuff in maybe 2 seconds and catches me half drawn. So he is obviously staring at me, after 20-30 seconds at half draw I have to finish the cycle or I'm done. I get it back and he stares at me for probably another 1:30, by now he is getting nervous and turns and bounds away. After 2 bounds I grunt and he stops quartering away slightly, I had ranged the doe by a bush earlier that was 37 yds and he was in front of that a bit so I shot him for 30 yds. As I let it go he began to wheel and turn. Ended up hitting him high and back, but here is the rage part. The arrow only went in about 5 inches! He obviously takes off and I can see the arrow flopping as he bounds away. It didn't sound like it hit any bone, So I can't account for the lack of penetration at what I consider to be a reasonable shooting distance. I let him lay overnight hoping/praying that I somehow hit the femoral artery ( yeah it was that bad a shot). Went in at daylight with 3 guys helping. Tracked him over 1000 yds total. A lot of which was across standing hay ( no fun). found ok blood on the other side of the hay field, but then hit a dead end when he entered the hay again. The wind blowing 25 mph didn't help with leaves blowing everywhere and the hay moving as well. After losing blood did grid searches for another 3 hours and came up empty. I do honestly believe that he survived the hit, definitely hoping he did. In the 1000yds he never bedded once. I know I did things wrong in the shot sequence for sure, but as far as broadhead performance I can't comprehend why that it didn't penetrate at all?? There was absolutely nothing between me and him, I am shooting 68# with Easton Bowforce 400 arrows and it was a 100 grain Rage Hypodermic. To say my confidence is shaken would be a large understatement. Sorry it wasn't a short story.

x2 Nanofil

You better control a SERIOUSLY large amount of ground to justify letting that deer walk, otherwise he's going to get it from the first person he walks in front of. Overall, I believe people have become WAY to wrapped up into what a buck will score instead of the beauty of the hunt. If a buck walks in and your heart rate goes through the roof and your excited, that's the buck you should shoot. Don't worry about the naysayers because they will always be there no matter how big of a deer you harvest.

The deer we were on the other night did exactly that. Burrowed into the depths of hell only to turn around and backtrack, twice! What really sucks about where we are is if someone hits it bad and you should wait, It is a double edge sword because of the damn coyotes. They are on EVERYTHING almost immediately. At times, you can also tell quite a bit of info from how the deer reacts on impact. If it hunches up and sticks its back in the air and kind of shuffles off it is more than likely a hit that was back towards the guts.

I got a quote from RLS, D&J, and a few others. I ended up going with Burkholder Bros out of Dundee. They did site prep, building, doors, windows, light panels in roof, and concrete floor for the same or less money than the competitors wanted just for the building. The only thing I bought besides was the stone for the foundation under the concrete. They were great to work with, fast and efficient. I got their name from a very large Dairy farm up the road from me and they were very pleased with them as well. Oh, they also removed an inground propane tank for me at no extra charge.

John, Its funny you mention that name. A buddy called me last night to help track a doe he hit yesterday morning. He is friends with Matt Sacco, talked to him, but for some reason he couldn't come up. We followed it for quite awhile 1/4-1/2 mile before we ran out of blood, but putting all the pieces together I truly believe he just grazed her low in the front and the deer will survive. It looked to be "muscular" blood and we found white hair at the impact site. The deer also never bedded once. But it did manage to take us through the thickest nastiest crap in the woods. We both had so many stickers on our clothes that it looked like we were wearing ghilly suits!

John, Since your not doing it anymore this year do you have any suggestions on who to call in our area if necessary?

Don't you think that asking someone if they bait with corn or apples in a state in which it is illegal to do so is a negative reply?

That is a beautiful buck. Don't let the haters diminish your excitement in chasing such a great deer. It is amazing to me how many people in this world spend their time trying to knock people down rather that just give a simple compliment or say nothing at all. Good Luck, Hope you get him.

In the tree last night and a pack of coyotes started yipping and howling a half hour before dark! First thing through my mind was Brian. Too damn many of em that's for sure.

Question? In terms of trying to promote the health of the fishery and the size and quality of the fish taken,why not increase the size limit for a king to 25 or 30"? I would think it would make sense to try and protect the fish that do survive the gauntlet of predators while maturing from fry.