I’m a new hunter, so I’m looking for opinions here. Tonight I shot my first buck with a bow (I’ve only shot 1 other deer before and it was a spike horn during rifle season 5 years ago.) The buck that I shot tonight was trailing the same spike horn that I took a shot at last night from 14 yards away, broadside, and missed because of hitting a tree branch - that was honestly not very close to the kill box (I had a good shooting lane.) tonight the buck that I shot was a 6 pointer, in the same spot except for 2 yards closer. I Didn’t have my bow ready or anything, but I Calmly got my bow and took a long breath to take the shot, and ended up hearing a loud wack, and from what I’ve heard before from other bow hunters . is that that’s like a guaranteed shoulder blade shot. So after hearing that, I watched the buck run back the way he came - and plowed face first into a thicket of trees 35 yards away. The arrow did not pass through, so as I watched him run away with it in his shoulder I was super worried. The arrow dropped off of his body about 20 yards into his sprint to his death bed with the broad head still in his body. His broad head needed up being in his opposite shoulder, and I hit one of his lungs and his heart. was this pure luck? That it got that much penetration? Or did I actually place my shot well? I was aiming for lower center right behind his shoulder blade
If you hit his opposite shoulder sounds like he may have been quartering away from you a little bit? Going through lung, heart, then opposite shoulder is a good shot in my opinion. If I understand the post right you recovered him pretty quickly. Any pics?
Sounds about right to me. Deer tend to duck at the sound of the bow going off more times then not. Most likely you were on point for your shot, but the buck ducked and made it seem that you shot high. Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
Not to be the advice guy but since it's the Internet here we go. I always tell newer hunters that aiming tight to the shoulder and for the heart is just silly. Double lung is a way bigger target keeps you away from the shoulder. It's a great learning experience. Keep us in the loop and show pics when you get him. Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk
I'm not sure I understand the question. You shot a buck, holding a quarter of the way up just behind the shoulder line. Sounds like the deer was quartered away a bit from how you hit. Arrow hit near side lung, then heart, but missed the far side lung and stopped somewhere in the opposite side leg joint. The "whack" was the arrow hitting the far side bone. The only reason the arrow stopped was because of the quartering away angle, so the arrow hit the far leg joint. No surprise that it stopped. When people say they don't like to hear a loud whack when they shoot, they are talking about the NEAR side "shoulder" they're worried about hitting. I think all of us would've felt the same concern. Hearing that whack noise and the arrow stopping in the far side shoulder makes us think we might have hit near side bone, because a deer just isn't that wide and it leaves a lot of arrow sticking out. But thankfully that wasn't what happened for you. I'm with Fix, I am a center lung shooter vs. the "vital-v" all day long. It's where I hold on elk and on deer. Sounds like that's where you hold too, a bit lower on the lungs so you hit center lungs if they drop at the shot. Vital-v is a very lethal hit, but if the hit is low it is in the near side leg bone and if high it is in the scapula. Not for me when throwing an arrow at them. I will argue all day long that both lungs results in just as short of a recovery as a heart hit does. I think your aiming point is just fine.
If you've ever had a tracking dog being needed...those guys will say the exact same thing.center mass slight quartering away. Now how you aim to get there is really something only you can tell . Deer drop less with head is up.and the closer the shot the less impact of a drop with a fast bow.
I have a super hard time fathoming how an arrow can go through heart,lungs and end up lodging in the scapula? Was he damn near straight oboe you when you shot?
On shots out of treestands, I agree. But I believe it absolutely plausible off the ground. Deer move, drop, etc at the shot for one. I think we all assume the arrow always takes a straight path through the animal after impact which isn't the case. I shot a doe many years ago off the ground as I was walking out of the woods. The shot entered heart high and exited out the top of the opposite side lung. I think it was a combination of the deer dropping at impact as well as deflecting upwards. It looked like a treestand shot except backwards... lol.
I think he is saying "shoulder" just meaning the bulge where the front leg comes up and then V's forward. A lot of folks just call the bulge/line above the leg the "shoulder". I believe he shot it through one lung and heart and the whack was hitting the offside leg bone or the "V" joint, rather than way up in the scapula. Just my best internet guess anyway.
I agree with this. The "shoulder" is commonly used for pretty much the entire area above the front leg where the front quarter resides. Not just the actual scupala itself. In fact, I think a lot of people don't realize just how far forward and high the scapula sits.
