Rage Hypodermic Review

Following up with the What Broadhead Is Right For Me post, I wanted to lay out a few reviews of different broadheads that we have used. Starting with the Rage Hypodermic.

Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links, should you purchase anything from these links I may receive a small percentage commission at zero cost to you. This helps support the blog and allows me to create new content for you all.

The second broadhead we ever purchased was a Rage Hypodermic mechanical broadhead in 100 grain. This came as a recommendation from Jim Bows Archery as it is the easiest style of broadhead to tune to your field points. The Rage Hypodermic retails for $59.99 for a 3-pack. Replacement blades at $25.99 for 6 blades and replacement collars at $11.99 (roughly 15 additional collars) are also available for purchase.

The Hypodermic head uses a plastic shock collar as its deployment method and each collar has three tabs (so a single collar can be used up to three times if all goes well). Like most other mechanicals that I am familiar with, the Rage heads use replaceable blades; however, we shot the heads through our practice target and were able to give the blades a quick touch up to put an edge back on them prior to hunting and that worked fine. 

Accuracy

Due to the design of the Rage Hypodermic head with its swept back blade design and field tip type profile, it achieves a great level of accuracy despite minor form or tuning issues with your bow. When testing these heads, the supplied practice head flew exactly like the real broadheads and grouped with field tips out to 80 yards with no adjustments needed. This gave us quite a bit of confidence knowing that we could make a longer follow up shot if necessary and knew that at typical hunting distances these heads flew true.

Durability

The Hypodermic head falters in terms of durability of the blades after hitting bone. Ideally, these blades are designed to bend on impact so that the head stays intact. I had such a situation on a whitetail doe after hitting a rib, see below. Whitetail deer ribs are not the toughest bone you may encounter while hunting big game, in fact they are a quite common impact, so imagine that a direct hit to a rib or a scapula may lead to a blade breaking off.

Effectiveness

Both J and I took our first deer with the Hypodermics in 2017 and the wound channels were astounding. The 2” cutting diameter of the blades after deployment is great for blood trails and overall damage. This can be particularly beneficial on a shot that may be too far back becuase the more damage you can do when you hit the liver area the better, as it will typically take longer for a deer to expire with these types of shots. 

Here are a few examples of entrance holes that we have personally got using these heads.

The amount of blood that is able to flow from the large entry and exit holes makes for an easy tracking job and allows the animal to bleed out quickly, creating a quick and ethical harvest.

The photos below show the blood trail from my deer.

One concern with the effectiveness of the Hypodermic head is the force required to cause the blades to open fully on an animal. You will need to have a good amount of momentum behind your arrow in order for these systems to function properly. To be safe, if you shoot under 60 lbs and have a sub 27” draw length, I would not recommend shooting a mechanical as you may not have the force required to get full blade deployment, which could lead to very poor penetration and the potential to only wound an animal.

Another thing to consider with a mechanical head is the potential for the blades to open prematurely if the collar is damaged prior to shooting or if the head hits some small brush en-route to the target. This is avoidable for most prairie hunts but it is something to consider if you hunt in a treed or bushy area!

Summary

• Accuracy – Great
• Durability – Good-ish
• Effectiveness – Great (for certain hunters)

Personally, when the shot may be a quartering shot or if there is brush in the way I now shoot a fixed blade cut on contact head that will be more durable if it encounters some bone on the shot.

That being said, I have a 29” draw and shoot 70lbs with a 500 ish grain arrow and I do still carry a couple Hypodermics in my quiver each season. These heads are great if you have a clear unobstructed broadside shot or for a longer follow up shot to get a quality second hole to help an animal expire faster.

What is your go to broadhead? I would like to know, maybe it will be one we test out in the future!

-Reid