Long story short I had a doe come in at 40 exactly and I let the arrow fly. I watched it hit the front of the shoulder and instantly I knew it wasn't a good shot but I thought it could have been worse. I saw the arrow go flying out of the deer as it was running away and I knew it was a shoulder shot. I gave the deer over and hour and a half before I went looking for it. The broad head penitrated just about 6 inches but I couldn't find any blood. After a good 2 hours I gave up looking for it. Question 1: I am using the rage hypodermic broad head and everything worked as far as expanding but could I have gotten more penetration using a different broad head. (About 6 inches total) or was it just the shot placement of hitting bone/cartilage. Question 2: what is your opinion on the deer living through the wound? Thanks for your answers. I've been hunting all my life but this is the first time with a bow and honestly it's sucked so far. Either I get busted trying to draw, I don't have a clear shot (and yes I made sure to clear shooting lanes) or they are just out of bow range.
No one said bow hunting is easy which is why it attracts a different breed of hunters. What poundage are you shooting with your bow? If you don't feel confident at that yardage you also shouldnt take the shot. You may have felt confident though, but a suggestion.
Typically expandables don't penetrate at far as a fixed blade when the hit bone. The deer will prolly live as long as it doesn't die from infection. I think almost every bow hunter has had a bad shot, learn from the mistakes. The key to a dead deer is shot placement , not so much what type of broad head.
Im not sure how heavy of an arrow you are shooting but a good heavy arrow can contribute a good deal to penetration. But any arrow is going to have trouble penetrating into a bone.
