Phil from Maine

Hi all we are only allowed 1 deer per year here. They opened up antler less deer hunting by permit only threw a lottery system. Fortunately bow hunters can take either one without a permit in any permit zone. So last evening I was able to get a big doe. A big doe here normally is around 120 pounds dressed weight. But I am very confused as to why my carbon arrow broke up on impact.. it broke in three pieces which caused the broadhead to go off into an angle. This shot should of been a blow threw but was not! That made for some very tough tracking and the blood trail was quite away from where she got shot at. I did text a guy and his wife that was also hunting nearby and they came and helped me track her. We got to her after three hours of searching and almost two hours looking for the blood trail. The main thing is we found her just as it was starting to rain as a thunderstorm was rolling in. We got soaked in a downpour as we loaded her on the truck. I was actually getting ready to call it quits and take a dog in to find her this morning. But fortunately we came upon her just in time. So I am one of those guys that will never give up on a wounded game animal. I am very pleased we found her and she went up zig zagging an old logging trail around three hundred yards In the woods from the road she was shot by. She was around four hundred yards from where she was shot at..

Rob in VT

Sounds like a liver shot?

Phil from Maine

Yes it entered at the bottom of a lung and then threw the diaphragm and stopped in the liver. Creating a terrible time finding any blood at all. But I am confused at why that arrow broke up on me?? I am glad that we found her though.

mrbb

well first too congrats to you
next as for why the arrow broke, , I doubt there will ever be a 100% for sure answer
but a few things that come to mind on me is, one, many folks shoot an arrow OVER and OVER and OVER, re use them after hard kits and several kills
and ALL that time, that arrow is becoming weaker from all the impacts, friction on shaft from being in and out of targets and so on
they are very much a ear and tear item, and many folks think that just cause they look good on outside that they are still 100% as good as new on inside, and that just isn;t true!
ALL things have a shelf life and a use life, and at some point, they should be retired and stopped being used!, lamination can also fail over time, heat exposures and heat cycles of hot, cold and doso on!


things get weak and with sudden stops, or being launched, they can find them weak spots and fail!

NEXT< is simply imperfection when being made, they can be there from day one, and again over time, eventually cause a failure!
another thought is maybe you hit an unseen twig or branch or? in its flight and again, that weak spot showed itself finally!

and the above goes for both carbon arrows and aluminum one's!
,
I know I was over kill maybe, by most folks standards, but , for me any arrow that hit anything HARD, got retired/scrapped,
any arrow that Killed an animal, also got retired, I sort of keep the kill ones as reminders and label the kill on a tag and attach it to them!

but over my yrs at ranges and having a gun shop and hearing stories or SEEING things go wrong, I tend to error on the side of safety over trying to get max use out of things! I will replace sooner than most, but I like my fingers and limbs a lot LOL(also have too many friends missing some to keep me thinking this way)


as I have seen strings fail on both vertical bows and X bows,(sen limbs fail too on both) and its NOT pretty when that happens, I have seen shafts fail on both as well, most times injury free, but close calls, and a few that ended with folks in ER's



SO< those are my guesses on why shaft broke as it did on you, just a guess, as that's all I think is possible here!

Phil from Maine

Yeah, your probably right mrbb. One may never know but it surely surprised me..