Well hit the deer, but lost him....what happened?

Hi all, I am in my 1st year of bowhunting and unfortunately lost a deer today.

I am shooting a Matthews Solocam Creed w/ 50 lb draw weight.Was using a whacker mechanical broached, I think 100 grain.

My shot placement was not the best, but looked to be right above the ribs or lower saddle area. She bled fairly well and I was able to track her and saw where she bed. My arrow penetrated maybe 3-4" and she snapped the tip off when she ran, keeping only the broadhead and the very tip of the shaft in her. WHY DO YOU THINK THE ARROW PENETRATED ONLY 3"-4"?

The reason I lost her is b/c I came back in an hour and went to where she was bed and she bolted. I was able to track her a little, but the blood must have slowed b/c I lost the trail...so unfortunately lost my 1st deer I shot with my bow.

Did I shoot and hot a bone? Do you think my mechanical blade may have popped open and didn't penetrate?

 

well, first off...welcome to the club. (both the bowhunting.com club and the "I lost a deer cuz I don't know what I'm doing club". Many of us on here used to be in that club.)
Second - you didn't say how many yards she was, so there's no way to comment as to why the lack of penetration.
Thirdly- do not give up after one afternoon. Keep looking. Call more experienced friends. Look into dog services. Just keep looking.
Last...if you never learn anything else from this site: when in doubt (of the lethality of your shot) back out! Wait at least 4 hours. More if weather permits. If you know it was a bad hit, never go after a deer under 4 hours. Even if you think it MIGHT have been an iffy shot- wait 4 hours. Unless you're sure you "smoked" it or if you heard it crash, wait. I've seen single-lunged deer go for 2-3 hours after being hit. I've heard of it single-lungers living overnight or even longer. You owe it to the animal to be as patient in its death as you were for it to walk by.

 

probably 20'. I'll bring my dog out tomorrow and see if she can find it.

 

Mechanical at 50# + poor shot = lost deer.

 

It really has nothing to do with the poundage of the bow or type of broadhead, that deer is lost simply because of a premature tracking job. Good luck.

 

It really does have everything to do with all the above. 50# isn't enough to overcome the energy loss of opening a big expandable. To make matters worse the shot was bad and in bone or the arrow wouldn't have snapped at the broadhead. Odds are against that deer ever being found in any case.

 

Don't give up after 1 time looking, if you do that than you shouldn't be in the woods, if it was a monster buck would you try an find it harder? You need to get back out their at least 3 more times and try and find it. Look in water sources they tend to go towards them when injured. Is your dog trained to sniff out blood trails? If so it isn't going to be much help to try and find her. And yes I think your mechanical broadhead was a poor choice to use on a low poundage bow because mechanical take some energy to open and that takes away from penetration power. And where did you think you hit her? Did you look on the arrow for blood if so what color blood was on it? You really need to get back out their with some friends and start looking a lot harder for a deer you owe it to her to find her if not than you should really not be hunting. Good luck

 

Well, good news this morning. My dog was able to find the deer about 200 yds from where we spooked her. She must have bled out/gone into shock sometime last night. I checked the wound and the mechanical did not penetrate as much as I would have thought. Doesn't seem like I hit bone.

Looks like some above believe a mechanical is not a good broadhead for a 50# bow? Is a fixed better? The reason I went mechanical is b/c it would shoot like my field points....

 

good job finding your deer! I shoot mechanicals because of the way they fly, but im also shooting 73#. It would probably be a good idea to try a good dependable fixed blade like a muzzy with the lower draw weight that you are shooting. Chances are, they will fly pretty good anyways.

 

I agree. Shoot a fixed blade. They work great. Really great. To be honest to me I don't care what poundage/speed you're working with. Too many penetration issues with mechanical. A hole in the lungs is a hole in the lungs.

 

Check out g5 Montecs
Or nap hellrazor
Or any other one piece fixed blades. They shoot great.

 

Great job finding the deer. Too many times this ends bad. Stoked for you!

 

Good job, sticking with it and finding your deer! I'm curious as to what your total arrow weight is? IMO you should shoot, not just a fixed blade, but a Cut On Contact fixed blade, or COC broadhead, like a Viper Trick, Razor Trick, Dirt Nap DRT or Magnus Stinger. Again...congratulations.
If your fixed broadheads, don't fly with your field points, it can be a form issue or a bow slightly out of tune. Broadhead tuning a bow, is not as tough as some people think. Here's a link, how a fellow broadhead tuned his bow, step by step.

Broadhead Tuning Day Today

 

Congrats on finding her, way to stick with it! Ya shoot a fixed blade from now on or just up your poundage.

 

I agree with that. Even at 50 a mechanical is going to work fine in all soft tissue, problem is cartilage and bone are going to hurt performance for it as an iffy setup. I shoot 75# and still don't like the mechanicals function.

Congrats on finding that doe bud, super happy it worked out for you! I'd look into arrows...don't know what you're shooting but if it didn't hit bone it seems odd that a shaft would break the head off that easily.

 

Absoutly awesome job finding that deer! Congrats to you and your dog! And like other said above for a light pound bow a fixed blade is a way better idea than a mechanical for your set up. I would look into the G5 Montec's, NAP hellrazor, muzzy trocar, magnus snuffer ss, Dirt Nap DRT double bevel.

 

COngratulations for hanging in there and finding the deer. Like several have said you should look into shooting a fixed blade since you are only shooting 50 lbs. Try a few out and see what works for you. By tuning to a broadhead you will get better penetration than not as you arrow should be flying true. I used to shoot expandables but this year switched back to fixed blade because I only have a 26.5" draw at 70# and just wanted to be safe. Good luck for the rest of the season and let us know how you do.

 

I am shooting a Maxima Red 350 carbon express

 

Thoughts on the arrow I am using?

 

well, I believe you are a bit over spined (depending on shaft length.) But honestly I think the Carbon Express Maximas are just brittle arrows. I can't tell you how many I've busted right at the flex zone lines both front and back. If you stuck her not very deep, when she took off she probably banged the arrow into a tree as she passed and I'm guessing it snapped right about here, right?



Where the "flex zones" meet the non-flex zones there is an inherent weak spot.

Anyway, congrats on keeping at it and finding that deer! And give your dog a nice chunk of her liver for helping out.