there's a lot of videos out there on this- whitetail deer can react unbelieveably quick- a deer can duck nearly a foot much faster than any vertical bow can fling one to 30 yards. YouTube search it. Will blow your mind, and having you toss out all your preconceived notions. @Justin is right here, a deer is gonna do what it's gonna do and sometimes there is no rhyme or reason to it. Also, please chrono your arrows- sorry but there is almost no way you are shooting 600gr arrows at 270fps. I have a 340 IBO rated bow, 29.5" DL, pull 70lbs, and shoot 525gr arrows and I might be pushing 255fps.
The few videos I found are mediocre at best. The video's are not explicit enough to know if the deer ducked the shot, or if the shot placement was poor. I am still searching though. I think what I may have to do is find a high speed video of the time it takes a deer to duck and compare that to how long it takes for an arrow to reach its target.
how was the penetration on those broadside shots? I would say they were like butter with a 425 gr arrow and fixed head.. The only time I ever have had poor penetration with my lighter arrows is when I hit that shoulder scapula. those were pitiful. Happened twice. years apart. I was watching Bill Winkie the other day and he recomends an arrow weight of 5.5 gr -6.5 gr per pound for deer.. I was a little surprised by that from him. I would have though he would have been a much heavier arrow guy, but I do know he takes some long shots
Next time I get out to the Archery shop, I will see if they can let me shoot an arrow or 2 through their Chrono. I do know added string weight plays into the speed as well. Only thing added to my string that they don't IBO speed test (from my understanding) is the peep sight. I do not have any silencers or anything added to it. If they dont use a D-Loop for IBO testing, then perhaps I am understating the added string weight a little bit. And I am most definitely shooting well under what you are if you are pulling 70 lbs. if your chrono'd at 255.
Also there a few videos out there were the deer turns 180 degrees after the shot and get shot on the opposite side. Now we're those video are or under, I can't help. Just seen a few over the years. I've even see a few videos on bowhunting.com that slowed down the shot sequence and showed how much drop they got. The buck I mentioned above I shot at twice one season. When I slowed down the video and measured, he was dropping over 12" the second I released the arrow. His chest would almost hit the ground. If I didn't video it I wouldn't believe it. I was aiming about 8" below spine and miss by 3 or 4 inches over his back. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
hard to argue with his resume, but he also traditionally shoots really lightweight over the top opening aluminum ferrule mechs on giant Iowa whitetails and somehow recovers most of them in spite of very frequently having more than half his arrow sticking out of the deer as it bounds off from the cut cornfield he's perched over and into the woods. I get sick to my stomach when I shoot one and have that much arrow sticking out, because more often than not for me it means a long track and an iffy recovery. Maybe for him it's an editing thing, but I wonder why MW Whitetail rarely if ever broadcasts their tracking jobs... To each their own...
Something to think about and don't even know if it's the reason for my problem or not. I had a bowtech for about 5 years. I had 3 sets of limbs blow up on that thing. I was shooting a light arrow most of the time. It was properly spined, just low grains per inch. I think I was in the 400 total weight. I feel that contributed to some of the problems I had with that bow. My thinking was with heavier arrow it would take some of the energy and shock out of the bow and transfer to the arrow. Once I went to about 550 grains, seemed to help tame the bow down. Just a thought of mine. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
and that has me wondering as well... mathews rep told me I was fine at 390 grs and 72 lbs. But I can't help but think a heavier arrow would be better for longevity...he said something about my short 26.5' draw actually allows me to not do damage to the limbs, said a 30" draw would be morer likely to do that
Initial shot footage starts at about 7:30 mark, slo-mo breakdown starts at about 16:30. The whole episode is worth a watch though. Also shows why when I see more than half an arrow sticking out of a deer as it runs away I get a sinking feeling in my stomach.
think it was THP a couple years back, they were hunting Cous out in Arizona and they shot at one that literally wheeled 180* out of the way for a complete miss; it looked like a freaking cutting horse at a rodeo.
possibly added to the stress, sounds reasonable. But BowTech did have a really crappy reputation for that, and I doubt they were all on guys shooting 65+lbs. You know your limbs are bad where there's an aftermarket company that literally lived off producing replacement parts specific to your product line.
the learning process and mistakes could be taking 40 yd shots, no? I mean some guys can do it all day, but I certainly would not be able to make that shot.
I actually had a set of his limbs blow up also. He blamed it on a bad batch of glue. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
I also think I saw a Infalt video a few years ago were he actually hit the opposite side of a doe and it killed it. And think it shocked him because he didn't even realize it happened until he looked back at his video. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
The 3 deer I have shot with my current 525gr set up were as follows- 2018 (my infamous Pincushion buck) - 3.5yo 8 point, first shot spined and dropped him at 18 yards, arrow stuck in the spine about halfway down the shaft. Was using a Muzzy HB. My next 2 follow ups that hit him was a complete pass through with a Rage Hypodermic and another near-pass through with another Muzzy HB that the vanes hung up in the exit hole. The Rage follow up hit ribs on entry and exit, the Muzzy hit and broke the humerus on entry and a rib on exit. 2020- Nice 3.5 yo 8 point - 28 yards, full pass through broadside/slight quarter-to using a NAP Spitfire. Arrow stuck about 2" into the dirt on the other side. Arrow sliced through near side rib and exited just back of the ribs on the other side. Lung and liver. He crow hopped a couple times, then slow walked about 50 yards, went stiff legged and sat down like a dog, then slowly lay down and expired. He was dead in less than a minute and had no idea what hit him. He was right on a hot doe so his mind was elsewhere anyway. 2020- Very small doe at 25 yards, full pass through using a G5 Deadmeat. Arrow was lying on the grass about 5 yards past her. She was hard quarter away, arrow entered in just in front of her near side hip and exited in front of her offside shoulder/chest area, clipping one small rib on exit. Liver, lungs, and clipped heart. She ran about 75-80 yards and piled up. I am kind of a broadhead whore, I like to try a lot out as you can see. But even with big 3 blade over-the-top mechs (or in the case of Muzzy HBs, 4 blades) I have had very good penetration with this combo even when hitting the heaviest of bone.
I get that, but depends on the specifics- I've had deer that initially ducked hard and were already on the way back up when my arrow makes impact. I'd take that shot in the video all day every day. Deer was not particularly alert, was preoccupied on the licking branch, no wind issues, wide open shot with no limbs to worry about, and perfectly slight quartering away. That's a lot better scenario than an alert/alarmed deer at 20 yards in a thicket where you are trying to thread a needle through an 8" gap between leaves and branches.
