The last three deer I have shot I have had poor penetration... all three deer were within 30 yards and none of the arrows exited the deer...with all three deer, the arrow stuck in the opposite side rib and the arrow was broken off .I am shooting a high country bow set at 64lbs, 28" easton acc's with 85 grain spitfire broadheads. The bow shoots flat and extremely fast... It is very accurate and I am hitting exactly where I aim...but its like when the arrow hits the deer it just stops with a thump! no penetration.. The funny thing is I have taken 9 deer with this same set-up and bow and all except the last 3 were complete pass-thru's..Its like something has changed with the power of the bow but not the accuracy or speed.... if anyone has any advice i would greatly appreciate it.

If the speed hasn't changed, then the power hasn't changed. If your twenty and thrirty yard pins are still holding true, then your speed is the same. Could your arrows possibly not be flying as true as they used to? If they're wobbling or fish telling in flight than this could greatly affect penetration.
Just a guess.
Were all nine deer with the same broadheads?

Either your bow's tune has gotten a little out of whack or you're just having a run of bad luck, centering the offside ribs instead of sliding between them.

If the latter is the case, it's an indication that your arrows have just enough energy to pass thru when they don't centerpunch the offside ribs, but not enough to pass thru when they do. So, you might consider switching to a different broadhead with a bit smaller cut, cranking up the poundage or using a little heavier arrow, or maybe all those options, to punch on thru those ribs.

You're now &quot;Trophyguy&quot; and started shooting the big-uns.<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Are you reusing heads or buying new ones? Maybe you got some dull blades or something. If you are reusing make sure they are sharp.

I had the same problem this year with penetration. I think the culprit is mechanical broadheads in my case. The year before I was shooting 5lb less and using thunderheads at they when all the way through deer at 30yd. This year both of my deer were only about 10yd away and the arrow only punched through the opposite side of one, but barely.

Bill Davis

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote<font size=1 face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
The last three deer I have shot I have had poor penetration....
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Trophy guy: That spitfire cut a huge wound channel all the way through the deer to the opposite side - I'm not sure I would call that poor penetration!!!

If you shot a 100 grain heavier arrow, then you would get about 15% more penetration due to the greater momentum of the heavier arrow.

beprepn

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote<font size=1 face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>If you shot a 100 grain heavier arrow, then you would get about 15% more penetration due to the greater momentum of the heavier arrow. <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' size=2 id=quote>

You don't miss a chance do ya<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote<font size=1 face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>If you shot a 100 grain heavier arrow, then you would get about 15% more penetration due to the greater momentum of the heavier arrow. <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' size=2 id=quote>

You don't miss a chance do ya<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
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I was reading about a guy who put 1816 shafts inside his real arrow ( ? 2419s? ) to get enough momentum for penetration on African game. Now if I could only work that into a post... <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

beprepn

Edited by - beprepn on 01/19/2003 10:28:40