New to the so I hope I'm posting in the right spot. Fairly new to bow hunting. Only been bow hunting for 3yrs. Started when I was 36 & my 1st bow was diamond infinite edge. This year I've run into a dilemma. My dilemma: Chill R 62lbs 85% Rock mods 345gr Gold Tip Velocity 100gr Rage Xtreme Shooting 302fps Had a doe come in at 32yrds dropped the pin on her, complete pass through on both shoulders. She ran 30yrds & piled up. Now the bad part, my buck I've been hunting came in 2 days later at 14yrds he would only give me a 1/4ing towards me shot. Dropped the pin on right on the front of the shoulder. Should have blown through & took out the heart & at least one lung. But it didn't, I'm guess from what I seen I only got about maybe 6" penetration. What the heck!! The same set up blew through both shoulders on a mature doe 2 days earlier. Sad to say I couldn't find. Looked for 4 days, I'm a sick man!! So since then then I've changed to: 72lbs 75% Rock Mod 453gr Carbon express pile driver Nap kill zone 298fps So should I stay heavy or go back to light for comfort, and say I should have waited for a better shot. Sorry for the long post.
I'm no expert so take my opinion with a grain of salt. Most will tell you that a quarter to shot is not the best shot. I personally will not take a quartering toward me shot. Just too many variables etc. A 345 grain arrow is very very light and I think majority would tell you to go with a heavier arrow. Now that doesn't mean you need to shoot Lincoln logs for arrows. I think the best all around arrow weight for whitetails is about 400-500 grains. It gives you the best trajectory with most bows but also a good amount of KE and momentum. Now I cant say if you were using a heavier arrow on that buck it would have penetrated better. We will never know that but I think most guys will tell you to stick in that 400-500 grain arrow range. don't be afraid to let a buck walk if he doesn't give you a good shot. Its hard to watch them walk but after they are out of sight you will feel very good and know that you did the right thing. I learned my lesson on that 3 years ago and it still bothers me to this day. All you can do is practice more and hunt harder to do things as ethically as you can.
First, if you're shooting an expandable like a slip cam Rage, it probably doesn't matter how heavier your arrow or draw weight are. If you hit shoulder of a real mature buck, its not going to go thru it. I won't take a quartering to shot, too much chance of something going wrong.
The shoulder/scapula area is tough and an arrow just doesn't have the break 'em down energy that a high powered rifle has. You can shoot a deer head on but you are shooting through a very small window of opportunity. I've shot deer with bows from a 45# recurve to a 73# compound and the deer died either way. I'm currently set shooting a 60# compound because that's what is comfortable to me. I won't shoot past 35 yards with it but anything that presents a good shot within that distance is in trouble.
Put 125 grain on to add a little more punch. Not saying it would have helped on the buck you shot, but it would have.
Those arrows are very light and in conjunction with rage extremes would not yield a very high penetrating setup. If you're striving to get the best penetration possible in all conditions, the heavy arrow is the right start but needs to be coupled with the right broadheads. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I've never had a pass through on a shoulder. I've hit one on the shoulder before that bled out finally just do to the size of the wound. I just won't take a quartering to shot. There are too many "what-ifs". Sorry to hear you lost the buck.
I kind of doubt you hit bone on the doe. Quartering to is a less than ideal shot. I won't take that shot regardless of the yardage. Hitting bone larger than a rib with an arrow, particularly with an expandable is not going to work out most of the time, unless you're packing some crazy high KE. Sorry you lost the buck.
Bone is very unpredictable when it comes to shooting through it. There is no way to tell what will happen and contact with heavy bone should be avoided. I haven't seen it myself but I've heard stories from long time hunters of both broadhead and bullets being found lodged in the shoulder bone of deer that they were processing. The way I read it, you describe two bad shots. One where you got lucky on a doe and a second where the previous lucky shot led you to make a poor shot choice that was probably doomed to fail before you even released the arrow. As for arrow weight, I try to have my completed arrows (tip included) weigh in at 6 grains per pound of draw weight for a minimum and I usually end up a little over that by the time the arrow is completed. Don't beat yourself up too badly over the lost deer. It happens to everyone sooner or later for a variety of reasons. It's always a learning experience.
The bull I shot in 2012 had an obvious scar on his shoulder. I gave meat to several friends, and one of my friends found an intact muzzy buried in the shoulder bone of a roast. I've still got the bone with broadhead in it. I'm going to freeze dry it or something to display with my bull.
Cool find! It's entirely possible that the OP's buck is still alive and well. It's amazing what wild animals can survive, adapt to, and live with.
Your post reminds me of another one where a guy wants to trade his rifle for a 300mag because he missed a moose at 1500 feet, he took a bad shot because it was a big bull... Bad shot placement, so you want the arrow equivalent of a ''Magnum'' to compensate for a bad decision to take the shot because it was a big buck... ...PS. As a comparison, I used 373 grain CX BlueStreak on a 70lbs bow, to take down two bull moose and 3 black bears over the years... If it's not the perfect shot... don't take it.
Heavy v Light is the wrong question. I believe there is a sweet spot that's based on a number of factors (draw, speed, broadhead, etc) most were hit on before. There are also a number of variables that come into play for most shots (shooter accuracy, angles, animal alertness, distance, etc) The quartering to shot is also one I'm not comfortable with on a whitetail and I would've passed/waited.
Why is everyone afraid of the quartering to shot? If the arrow is put in-between the shoulder and the neck whats the difference vs. a quartering away? Same vitals, same amount of bone. If you're confident in the shot it's a no brainer.
I'm not referring to his shot. He obviously held into the shoulder too much. But, that being said, his new arrows would have likely made it through.
That is the point it is pretty easy to have something go wrong with that shot angle, slight miss and there goes a wounded deer. People do not ponder arrow weight and penetration when they hit the release.
It's really not that hard of a shot if the angle is correct. I'm not saying to go out a purposely look for it, but if it present itself, within a reasonable distance, why not? You have a 4-5" circle to hit. Your last sentence doesn't really make any sense.
