How many of you believe there is a "dead zone" in a deer's chest cavity? I'm talking about an area above the lungs and below the spine where an arrow an actually penetrate all the way thru and not kill the deer.
In the last 3 years Ihave seen 2 instances where this happened. Both bucks were shot during bow season and not recovered only to be killedwith a muzzleloader later by the same hunter thathad put an arrow thruthem earlier. Both haddistinct broadhead cuts in the hide on each side and one was shot thru one lung and that lung had begun toattach itself to the ribcage on that side. This buck was killed while chasing a doe nonetheless.
Maybe some of our shots aren't as far off as we sometimes believe. These are tuff animals!

xbowbarry

To me its one of them things that you just don't believe till you see it for yourself, I have not seen it yet! The only thing I can think is maybe there is a chance that a deer could have fully exhaled right at the time of impact and maybe the arrow skirted the vary top of the cage and just nicked the lung. It could happen but I think it has to be a perfect chance thing. I have been cutting up my own deer and there is not any meat below the spine. The ribs hook right on to the spine disk and theback straps sit on top of the ribs on each side of the spine. the spinal cord is alot lower in the back then most think and some times I think some guys put a arrow right through the back straps and never hit the spin and assume they shot below it. Some think the spin is just below the skin like on us and other animals. So there is not much room below the spine IMO and I cant just see this small pocket of fluid or air between the ribs and spine. Deer would have to fully exhale and thearrow would have to skirt the perfect shot just below the spine and then only nick the lung.

I have to say YES there is. Lost a couple

the dead zone ...Hmmm...a miss?

There is a spot there and you'll get blood but no deer. I've seen it happen to others and had it happen a couple of times myself. Shot looks good but you never get the deer. I've followed them for over a half mile and nothing.

We call it the hollow spot where i'm from! Nothing much in there and 10 times out of 10 that deer will not die from that shot. Unless some infection started up from it but i really dought that! Alot of hunters hit that spot and think they got themselves a dead deer, its a very common wound!

I justgot this off of the bow hunting forum so I have to eat my words in my previous post. I was really suprised myself of the picture.....

These pics have been floating around for awhile but they really show how low the vertebral column goes.

This hit is a 'spine' shot. Two inches higher and the deer probably would have run off and lived.

I don't believe there is.

I didnt believe it until this year. i thought pass thru equals dead deer, no matter what. the 9 pt. I shot as I walked up on him I noticed a puss bubble the size of a large grape on his upper left high shoulder/neck area. i initially thought it wasa fighting poke, made sense to me. after I field dressed I noticed a similair wound on the other side. three of us were looking and all at the same time said the same thing. this deer has been arrowed and lived. there is no other explanation. both sides had fully healed, just a little puss bubble that came off dragging him out and that was it. I told the butcher to watch for an arrow but he said he didnt find one.