cardeer

Other then a shoulder hit,why do I see so many deer shot and the deer runs off with half the arrow hanging out ?? Is the bow to weak ? , the distance to far???

Urban_Redneck

Congratulations on your 5000th post!

I wonder the same thing, maybe the TV guys take more 50-60yd+ shots than they fess up to.

UR

Justin

I'm not knocking mechanicals here, but I the majority of non-passthru shots I see on videos and tv are with expandable broadheads. Whether it's lack of sufficient KE to penetrate far enough, or taking a long shot I'm don't know. This is just an observation, not an attack.

buttonbuckmaster

One thing I have noticed is alot of the "pros" don't always make good hits on the deer. Take poor angle shots, hit limbs,etc. I haven't noticed alot of hunters on tv using mechanicals, alot seem to use cut on contact heads.

C-WOODS-SHOOT

I've had both happen also. A double lung pass through and the next time maybe only half the arrow penetrates. I've always wondered if the arrow hits a rib dead center when entering and when exiting if this would make it tougher for the arrow to pass through.

Two Beards

Two good points that I happen to agree with, 1) some large
cut mechanicals may limit penetration 2) catching a rib dead-
center.

A couple of years ago my brother shot a huge bodied buck.
At the shot he thought he had made a perfect hit, but the arrow
got very little penetration. He was using a 100 gr. Wasp SST,
which IMO is one of the best fixed blade BH's available. As we
studied the area and began the tracking, there was blood
everywhere and we found his buck 90 yards later. Upon
field dressing the deer we noticed that the arrow did not
enter the chest cavity. At the time we were a bit puzzled.
Later we determined that the arrow, though it did not penetrate
the chest cavity, had severed a main artery.

The next year, he shot a similar buck from the same treestand...
on the same date...in a similar spot. This buck was shot cleanly
through the heart. There was very little blood and the buck
traveled 150-175 yards. Sorry to get "off topic" a bit Cardeer,
but I thought it might show others how two similar hits can provide
two completely different results.

The biggest reason I think you see the lack of penetration is because
of the less-reenforced blades on todays open on impact/mechanical
broadheads. I used a Rocket Steelhead on my buck this year and
it did a wonderful job. However, I noticed that even though I got
a pass-thru, my arrow was sticking in the ground at a odd
angle. Upon examining the blades I noticed one of them was mangled
pretty good, as it was 'twisted'. At the locker we could see where my
broadhead had grazed a rib, thus bending the one blade. This
broadhead only has a 1 1/8" cut, what would have happened if
I had used a larger mechanical with a 1 1/2" or 1 3/4" cut? I know
Spitfires are very popular with bowhunters, but I'm not sure how
many really know how much KE a bow should produce for good
results??? My setup produces 58 ft/lbs which is why I chose the
smaller cut. Until this year I had always shot Wasp and Muzzy
3 blade/100 gr. with great success. Not sure why I changed this
year...I'll leave that for another post.

Just my 2 cents...
TB

Tribal

I have wondered that also. I can say I shoot my Bowtech cranked up at 72 pounds. I use nothing but Muzzy 100 grain 3 blades. I shot 7 deer this year with the furthest being 35 yards. Every shot was a complete pass thru and buried 4-5 inches in the ground. Even hit a doe angling hard at me and it exited out her shoulder on the other side. I cant say for sure what happens on some shots but its definitely apparent my rig is working second to none!