how many consider
 

I have been a lower ke shooter for some time now and have done penetration test on some of my setups.I have found 2 common themes when it comes to penetration,higher foc and fletching type make a big difference.If i shot a 700 grain arrow with 5% foc,it would stop like a rock but at 11% foc and 350 grain penetration was great.Didn't get much better untill I hit 18% BUT I digress.When my arrows would get hung up in my medium,it was almost always at the fletching when using vanes.But with feathers,I blasted right through.


That has really kept me away from using Blazers(along with other reasons)I watched Tiffaney Lakoskey shoot a deer on She Saffari and her arrow buried right up to her blazers and stopped.

Ok,yes the deer is dead and will be found by most decent trackers but how many actually consider this when picking out what style fletching they are going to use.The arrow on the ground will insure a better trail(not to mention reading the blood on the arrow) but in my case,saves me a few dollars.I use expensive arrows and prefer to be able to pick them up and use them again.


I wished I was able to shoot a setup that I didn't have to worry about such a trivial thing.

Just wondered how many others actually give it a second thought.

I shoot blazers tipped with a 57gr. Broadhead and I blow right threw deer no problem and my total arrow weight is 300gr. Put the arrow where it needs to be there will be no problem.

I have blown through several deer and I can tell you,when using lower energy setups,even a rib can cause problems,especially on a mature buck.

never considered it tfox....

but i KNOW i have experienced the same thing...ive burried my shaft into my BH target and my bag many times upto the blazers...very rarely past them...

but when i shot feathers, they zipped through...usually trashing the feather which is part of why i quit shooting them...i loved them but couldnt stand them ruffled lol...but alot got "shaved" off as they passed through and i beat them beyond belief or chance of revival in short time...not just due to pass throughs on targets either...


only deer i shot was with blazers....arrow blew threw into the glacial till type soil of the north woods...though ive seen it on shows as well where a shaft stops at the fletchings...always vanes...

hmmmm guess thats potentially one more item to add to the list of things that contribute to a pass through...

"but if you line your blazers up with your broadhead blades they will pass right through the slices of the blads..." im going to beat someone to it.......lol

I am not starting this as an argument for feathers over vanes.I was curious about how many actually give it thought.AND to maybe get a few to think about it if you are in the same boat as I.

I dont really have to worry much about it being that i am a 30" DL.

BUT!!! I do have a story thats pretty interesting for this one...

So a few winters ago, I was shooting in my shop(pole barn, metal siding) and my release broke. Yes broke. Not me punch trigger. It broke. Old wal-mart release id had for a good deal of time. Anyways, the arrow litterally burried up to the fletchings, but stopped halfway in the BLAZERS. Now I imagine most of you know how thin metal siding is for a typical pole barn. I was shooting a roughly 400gr. axis at 285fps.

Now, im not planning on shooting barns, but I do believe if it would have been a feather or another softer vane, it would have been a pass-thru;)

Derek

How much KE are you producing? When I read this.....I'll probably wonder why you think you HAVE to be worried "about such a trivial thing".

I have noticed this to. My brother and dad shoot blazers and their arrows get hung up in the bag target and my feathers go through.

I think you should shoot another with feathers though your barn wall to compare for test purposes ;)

Haha, good one! Until this happens, it will always be a mystery!

Some good thoughts, TFOX. If I may take up some space I'll give a little history

Back in my early days (mid 70's) I shot about 50-55# and aluminum arrows. That was before carbons. Bows only had about 20-25% letoff and I'm not a weight lifter. How much energy? Who knows and who cares. Pass through is a pass through.

As bows got more letoff I moved up to 65-67# and got pass throughs. Also had spine shots that didn't.

As I got older the weight started coming down to about 60#. Same results.

Now the last couple years I've suffered some severe muscle loss and can't even draw 50# effectively. Funny how I shoot 47# and 305 gr arrows and still get pass throughs. And with setups that I now know produce only 38-39# of energy.

So through it all I've learned something that I try to tell younger fellows with higher testosterone levels than myself. Poundage, kinetic energy, momentum, speed----they are only numbers. Most don't hear me. Testosterone blocks brain function and reduces common sense.

Honestly, I never gave it any thought really. I do see how feathers would not present as much of a barrier as vanes (especially blazers or fusions) because they would lay down. Stiff vanes will have to "force" through, so to speak.

However, I think (for hunting) in most cases is IS a trivial point, because the hole the vanes or feathers is following through a deer, is not one made by a field point - its much bigger. That is why I don't subscribe to the "thinner shafts penetrate so much better" theory. Sure in a target that is gripping the shaft they do, there is less shaft to grip and slowdown. But following a broadhead swath through an animal, I don't feel it really matters.

Great food for thought TFox. I just wish that everyone that shoots a low KE setup like yours and BGfisher's would put as much thought into things as you two do. I know you've also done a lot of thinking and testing about what's up front because that's the end that really counts. May I ask what BH you shoot? Also, as GMMAT has asked "How much KE are we talking".

Dan

Were gonna leave my situation up for speculation... Im not gonna test this one;)

Last year I was around 52.This is plenty for a pass through but it is also just enough that it could be an issue as well.This year I am mid 50's.

Many test on game animals prove this incorrect.Read some of Ashby's reports.



CLASSIC

I have shot Rocket steelheads for years,imagine that,a low energy setup using mechanicals.BUT,they outpenetrate most 3 blade heads on the market.If I were any lower,I would be a Magnus 2 blade guy (I might use the bleeders)
This year I have switched to Wasp Hammer SST 3 blade fixed heads.Just got tired of the crazy prices of some of the others.These are top notch as well.



My basic theory is this,if I get enough penetration to get to the fletch,I'll be darned if I am going to let my fletch cost me a $15 dollar arrow.Maybe more if I lose the head as well.

There is tons of things/ factors that COULD go wrong on a shot. I have not experienced any of them yet! I have complete pass thru's on all my deer with blazers. The one I shot with Rob,Matt,and Ben last year hard quartering too entered threw the back of shoulder out threw the back ham. Made the same shot on another big doe at 35 yards and arrow was stuck in ground 5 inches. Guys put me down for shooting light set up but it works no doubt I did not believe till I tried. I would shoot it against any set up! To each his own! Any set up could fail if the shot is bad. As for ribs...never had a problem but then again my deer are not as big as out west but they are not small either!