Arrowed Buck Lost/Lethal Hit?
09-22-2009, 08:01 AM
#51
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: West Chester, Pa.
Posts: 1,892
The problem in mechanical heads is NOT inherent in the design. The problem is (and I'm not pointing a finger at anyone....unless it's ME) that most hunters don't know how to tune their bow/arrows correctly to shoot them (mech's).
An arrow with ANY BH on it....that isn't tuned....will sacrifice a LOT of it's energy, upon impact. Been there - Done that. The problem with mechanicals is.....you don't know you're not tuned, until you hit an animal. With fixed heads.....you'll know when they won't group.
I think anyone who's gonna shoot mechanicals....should tune to shoot fixed heads....THEN switch to the mech's.
An arrow with ANY BH on it....that isn't tuned....will sacrifice a LOT of it's energy, upon impact. Been there - Done that. The problem with mechanicals is.....you don't know you're not tuned, until you hit an animal. With fixed heads.....you'll know when they won't group.
I think anyone who's gonna shoot mechanicals....should tune to shoot fixed heads....THEN switch to the mech's.
I agree Jeff, that is how I tune my bows, fixed blade first (strikers) then shoot the Rage if so inclined, I have two in my quiver this year along with 3 strikers. Tuning is the only way to get perfect flight and maximum penetration on an arrow of any kind. I think (not pointing any fingers here at all) to many guys use mechanicals to cover up poorly tuned bows.
Shane
09-22-2009, 09:17 AM
#53
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Western Massachusetts
Posts: 7,168
Sorry to hear about that CutEm... truly sucks... wish I could say I haven't been in your shoes...
Stick w/ it .. don't get discouraged.... unfortunately it is a part of this obsession of ours.
You have the right attitude... learn from it and move on... don't dwell on it..
You'll probably see the old boy during gun season all healed up!
Stick w/ it .. don't get discouraged.... unfortunately it is a part of this obsession of ours.
You have the right attitude... learn from it and move on... don't dwell on it..
You'll probably see the old boy during gun season all healed up!
09-22-2009, 02:35 PM
#54
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 1997
Location: Cheasapeke and Delaware Bay Region
Posts: 10,485
Shuttle T's. I have not ever not had a pass thru, EVER, and have shot probably a dozen deer since employing them. I even had a pass thru shooting thru the spine of one deer at 38 yrds. But............................................
If a mechanical works for you, all's well.
If a mechanical works for you, all's well.
09-22-2009, 02:59 PM
#55
Typical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location:
Posts: 509
Hard to tell. You think the arrow penetrated 8 inches, I'm thinking not. The deer running with the arrow stuck in its shoulder, will eventually stop and try to pull it out. Probably didn't pop out, it most likely was yanked out by the deer. I don't see where the fixed/mechanical debate is coming in here. I really don't. Was there meat 8 inches down the arrow, or just blood? If it was just blood, no way to really know how deep it penetrated. You didn't do anything wrong. Bad hit. It happens. With fixed or mechanical. Get back out there, make a better shot. Good luck tomorrow!
09-28-2009, 10:00 PM
#56
Spike
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 10
I have had this happen before when I shot a nice buck from my treestand that was very high up and the deer was only 8 yards from my tree....hit him high right behind the right shoulder and stuck into the left shoulder....the arrow eventually broke off leaving only 12 inches of arrow left....he bled severe blood trail for 150 yards then slowed to a trickle...and then one drop every 20 yards...hard tracking...never found that deer until the next day...he went a total of 500 yards before expiring...he was laying in the cattails near the stream dead...there was no blood for the last 350 yards because my arrow was stuck in the opposite shoulder...got together 3 of my friends and stumbled on him after 4 hours of combing the swamp the next morning...there was no blood where he was lying at all because my arrow never passed through his body....gutted him and found that my arrow was still in left shoulder and had clotted up around the shoulder...he never bled another drop outside his body but was filled up inside his chest with blood...I'm convinced If I would have pushed him that night too early, I would have never found him at all...just clipped the top of the heart.
09-29-2009, 07:02 AM
#57
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Southern Illinois
Posts: 1,559
Sorry to hear you lost your first archery buck, that is a true bummer. However, you have to keep your head up and stop kicking yourself in the butt. Take what you can from this happening and try to learn from it, so it is not repeated in the future.
IMHO, this buck was lost not because of which BH you were using, but because you did not wait long enought to start the track after a so-so hit. I know how hard it can be to give an animal several hours and I fully understand the having to go to work in the morning thing, but you have to think of all that stuff before pulling the trigger. Nobody plans on making a less than perfect shot, but for me, that is a part of the equation in my determing if I am going to take the shot or not.
As far as your BH goes, I shot the Rage 2 blade last year, after shooting nothing but fixed blades. I was drawn to the HUGE cutting diameter and just knew they were going to leave unbelievable blood trails. I killed 7 deer with Rage last year and was disappointed with every blood trail I had. While none of the deer travel more than 50 yards after the shot and ended up very dead, I was not getting the blood on the ground that I thought I should have with a BH cutting 2". The final straw for me was when I shot my last bow deer (by best buck last year) and my arrow did not blow thru him and it was not a forward hit either. In fact I hit him about 2" farther back than I wanted (did not know this until he was recovered). As the deer ran off, I could see about half the arrow in him still, which made me believe I went forward and got into the shoulder. I shot him at around 3:30 in the afternoon, we started tracking around 10pm that evening (had to go to work just like you). We found him within 30 mins. The point is, if you are not 100% certain of the shot, give him all the time you can. Once pushed, your odds of recovery start decreasing.
IMHO, this buck was lost not because of which BH you were using, but because you did not wait long enought to start the track after a so-so hit. I know how hard it can be to give an animal several hours and I fully understand the having to go to work in the morning thing, but you have to think of all that stuff before pulling the trigger. Nobody plans on making a less than perfect shot, but for me, that is a part of the equation in my determing if I am going to take the shot or not.
As far as your BH goes, I shot the Rage 2 blade last year, after shooting nothing but fixed blades. I was drawn to the HUGE cutting diameter and just knew they were going to leave unbelievable blood trails. I killed 7 deer with Rage last year and was disappointed with every blood trail I had. While none of the deer travel more than 50 yards after the shot and ended up very dead, I was not getting the blood on the ground that I thought I should have with a BH cutting 2". The final straw for me was when I shot my last bow deer (by best buck last year) and my arrow did not blow thru him and it was not a forward hit either. In fact I hit him about 2" farther back than I wanted (did not know this until he was recovered). As the deer ran off, I could see about half the arrow in him still, which made me believe I went forward and got into the shoulder. I shot him at around 3:30 in the afternoon, we started tracking around 10pm that evening (had to go to work just like you). We found him within 30 mins. The point is, if you are not 100% certain of the shot, give him all the time you can. Once pushed, your odds of recovery start decreasing.
