IF the blades opened, even on soft flesh, there will be DENTS in the arrow's insert that line up with the blade groove from the force of the blades snapping open under force.......they probably won't be as extreme as that jammed blade cutting the arrow shaft itself, but there has to be marks in the insert if the washer wasn't used.

2 definite ways to tell if only one blade opened.........check the EXIT wound and the organs, or if you forgot.....check the arrow's insert for small grooves cut into the edge.

I bought some Muzzys last year in which one of the blades was "knarled" out of the package causing my arrow to shoot down and left of the target...Fixed heads "fail" also.


Legion of Doom Enforcer

I'm not a big fan of mechanicals due to seeing to many give poor penetration.Granted I have never shot them but have spent more than a few hrs helpen buddies who use them find hit deer that didn't have good penatraion.From talken to them and readen alot of articles on the subject any angled shot with a mech. can turn into a very big hassle locating the deer.
As to all bh fail that is true but so far the most dependable i've shot in the Magnas 2 blade (125 gr.) ...only downfall is not a big entry or exit hole.......but plaenty big enuff to put any deer down......So regardless of what type of blade ya use any thang can ...and sometimes will go wrong....lol...if it was me -n- had this experiance...i'd be snagged some new heads real quick like.....just my opinion

If god didn't want us to eat animals....Why did he make them outa meat?

stealthycat

How ironic, that pic is almost an exact replica of what I observed over that past weekend.

I came across two bowhunters that were trying to pick up a blood trail that had petered out on them within yards of where one hunter had hit a six pntr. He said he hit the buck behind the shoulder but just above the choice spot.

He said the buck jumped and then ran in a tight circle in the location he had been hit, stood still for a few seconds and than bolted. The hunter found his arrow within the area that the buck had ran in a circle.

He showed me the shaft. It was obvious the arrow had only penetrated about 6 to 8 inches. He was using a mechanical, type and brand I do not know. Only one blade had open and it was broken off close to the base. The other two blades were not open and were covered with flesh, blood, and hair. We surmised that the buck had dislodged the shaft while running in a circle.

I had him describe the buck. Upon his description I knew about the buck he hit. That buck had an awesome rack for a six pointer. Had it made it into maturity, that buck had the makings of being a record breaker. Hopefully he will survive. However, I doubt it. The blood that was present had positive indications of a major lung hit.

It's hard to say what happend. It is the first bad report I have seen on a shockwave though. I believe anything mechanical can fail, but without knowing if your bow was tuned, the exact location of the hit, the angle etc, I can only take your word for what happend. I am glad you recoverd your deer. I do however suggest you check each and every head, and make sure the blades swing open freely. I am not anti-mechanical by any means, but that is one reason I prefer fixed blade heads. The thing is this is bowhunting and stuff can and will happen.

TAKE YOUR KIDS HUNTING AND YOU WON'T BE HUNTING FOR YOUR KIDS

I think if you don't get full penetration when using a mechanical head you should probaly EXPECT the head to be closed when you find your deer. You shoot and penetrate.....the deer runs.......deer often try to pull a arrow out......the arrow definetly will not penetrate any further than the original shot........any movement after the shot just gives the arrow a reason to backup.....its very easy for a mechanical to go backwards........move it an inch, and its closed! Id'd almost expect to find it closed.



Good Luck!

PRACTICE....PRACTICE....PRACTICE......SUCCESS!

All this makes me wonder. If a mech didn't pass through and moved back closing the blades, it wouldn't do any further damage, as a fixed blade would. As the deer ran, a fixed head should do some more cutting. If the mech closed, this wouldn't be the case.

Phil.
"Could you guys be quiet, my dad's trying to shoot."

I've been in the woods for a week and just catching up on new posts. One comment I would like to make, touched on by 5 shot, is the importance of checking your mechanical broad heads "blades" to make sure they open freely. I have been using the rocket miniblaster 3L for several years and have noticed some of my older heads that were carried over for a season will need to be worked a little bit to free them up. This is probably a common problem with all mechanicals though I havent used enough to say for sure. Good Hunting...Fletch

KEEP THE WIND IN YOUR FACE.... FLETCH