PABowhntr

I had the opportunity this past Monday to use both the Rocket Naildriver 2-blade and Hammerhead 4-blade on a doe. I made sure to take some pics of both the entrance and exit wounds as well as the heads themselves after the hunt.

The first two pics are of the entrance and exit wounds of the Naildriver. As you can tell, neither is that significant though I did get a complete pass through from the brisket up through and out the back of the deer.




The second group of pics is of the Hammerheads entrance and exit wounds. This was the head that was initially used to shoot the deer while the Naildriver was utilized to finish it off. As you can tell the exit wound was pretty substantial.





The next 3 shots are of the Hammerhead, Naildriver and both together after they were used on the deer. The Hammerhead had one of the 4 blades slightly bent but no other apparent damage. The Naildriver looked almost new. The tip was blunted slightly but no other damage was visible. I believe the slightly blunted tip is the result of the slightly narrower profile when compared with the Steelhead.



























Edited by - PABowhntr on 10/16/2002 19:27:13

Edited by - PABowhntr on 10/16/2002 19:31:10

Antler Eater

Interesting pictures Pa.

Did you get a complete passthrough with the four bladed Hammerhead??

You mentioned you had to "finish her off", what were the circumstances surrounding the hits?

Just curious, I've never had to finish anything off with a Hammerhead 3L. They always fell down in sight.

PABowhntr

Maybe it is the fact that I had to use two arrows and didn't tell that story that resulted in 68 views and only one response...<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>...though I am happy for the response Antler Eater.

To answer your questions....I shot the doe at approximately 30 yards with the Hammerhead 4 blade first. The arrow entered and exited the deer at the base of the neck. The arrow penetrated both sides and fell onto the ground right behind where the deer collapsed. Yes, the deer collapsed. It looked as if I hit her with a 270 not an arrow.

The doe thrashed several times but I could not shoot her again from the treestand as she was out of my shooting lane. So, I proceeded to get down from the treestand. Upon approaching the spot where the deer had fallen I noticed that the ground was all torn up but she was not where I had last seen here. I looked down the trail approximately 20 yards and there she was...standing! She proceeded to take a few running steps and the collapsed....she did this twice before I could get within range and settle a pin on her chest. She was laying on her side with her feet pointing towards me when I put the second arrow (the Naildriver) through her at twenty yards. The Naildriver entered in the brisket and exited out of the back. It was laying several feet behind the deer when I went to retrieve it. She died within a minute or two of the second arrow being shot.

I think that pretty much sums it up.

Antler Eater

Wow!! I have seen deer hit in the neck with fixed blade heads that didn't achieve complete penetration.

Thanks Pa. and congratulations again.

PABowhntr

Yes. I was somewhat surprised as well. Thanks for the interest AE.

MATTHEWS

Wow PABowhntr I shot those Hammerheads for many years, and I love them. I always have complete pass threws with them, a large exiting hole and a deer piled up within 50 yds or less. They have an awesome cutting diameter. They have been one of my best broadheads yet in my 16 years of hunting.

MATTHEWS

Hey PA by the way I have had a 100% sucsess rate with the Hammerheads, I have shot 16 whitetails with these broadheads and recovered all 16 deer.

HuntingBry

Frank, your story definitely helps to explain the pics. I was craning my neck trying to figure out what I was looking at in the first pic. The entrance wound of the naildriver looks bigger than the exit. Is that so? That hammerhead is mean and that is a gaping exit wound. No wonder she went down so fast. I wonder if you would have gotten the same penetration through the vitals. Congrats on another deer.

jerseyjoe

Pa...What is the cutting diameter on the hammerhead?

PABowhntr

Mathews,

Thanks. I do plan on using them again this season but I haven't decided if I want to try a different head like the Snyper, Steelhead, etc... so that I can relate more pics and experiences.

HuntingBry,

I apologize for not leaving more of the pic up there but I was trying to focus on the actual wounds. Truthfully, I had a little bit of a difficult time figuring out which angle I took it from at first. If you can't tell right away the deer's head is unseen at the bottom of the picture.

The reason that the entrance wound looks bigger is because I am holding each one of the legs apart so you can see the hole. If I didn't then it would be hidden inside the shoulder of the deer. The exit wound picture doesn't do it justice. Every bit of that vertical line in the picture is the result of the naildriver. Though not as impressive as the Hammerhead I still felt it was an adequate wound. You have to remember that we are talking about heads on the opposite side of the spectrum here.
I feel that I would have gotten the same penetration with the Naildriver though I am not as sure about the Hammerhead. I would like to believe I would have.

Jerseyjoe,

The 3 blade model has a 2 inch cutting diameter, so I would assume that the 4 blade model has at least that much.

Thanks folks for the interest.