Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Arrow penetration?

OK, here's the scene. Guy is up 20' in his treestand, shoots a deer 22yds. away, says he shot it through the ribs and it exited through th neck, shooting a Hoyt VTEC set at 58#, muzzy blades, 22 series arrows. Does that seem like a too much penetration for any arrow? Wouldn't that arrow have to go through part of the front shoulder to get through the neck. What are your thoughts? JAG

Could very easily do that and stick 6 inches into the dirt on the other side.

magic arrow theory?

I'd think you'd hit ribs or neck, not both. Unless the deer was licking its flank. Arrow would go thru chest then thru the neck and possibly into the ground provide no bones hit.

If the deer was quartering away you could get from the ribs to the lower part of the neck, maybe. But could a 58lb Vtec do that? Without a doubt.

I use a couple of Cam & 1/2's in that range, a Razortec and a Vipertec. I have put Terminators and CX200's through 8 different deer in the last three years, all mature animals. One, a 171lb buck, was the only one that didn't completely pass through, but it did exit the far side after breaking the off side leg.

If the deer was quartering away, no problem. A couple of years ago, I shot a 6 pointer at 30 yds quartering away. He jumped the string an the arrow hit him in the rump. It exited the center of his chest. Here's the good part. The Spitfite never opened. I also had an arrow stopped cold by the shoulder bone of a 90 pound doe. Arrow penetration's a funny thing.

On the spitfire never opening-- thats why I'll never shoot a mechanical again. Now and again they fail miserably. Mine cost me an 8 hour trailing job with a lung shot.
Jeff

If you use mechanicals sooner or later you will have a failure, when they work they are awesome but i wont use em ever again.

I have shoot spitfires for over 5 years and now switched to grim reaper mechcanicals there blades are set back farther for better penatration. I never had a problem with them not opening. I have read in a few bow hunting magazines that peope like to blame the bow or the arrow a stick got in the way, when realy its a poor shot being taken. Even broad side don't mean any thing if you shoot him in the ass of shoulder bone or gut shoot him. Early in Nov my friend I was hunting with, on the way to his stand walked up on a nice buck and a doe. He tried to get in the best position he could at twenty yards, broadside, released, said he thinks he hit a little behind the lungs. What he did wrong was, while standing there, there was a tree in the way and he had to lean backwords to get the shot which caused him to pull his shot. I told him this and he said ya know I think your right. We found the buck 2 1/2 days later about 400 yds from where he shot him. The little blood there was, was gone in less than 100 yds. He never did find him by blood, but by sure luck. I have had missed shoots, not the best shots, my worst and only bad shot was at a 140 class buck, there was very little shooting light I took the shot, it sounded like I hit a tree. Found the arrow 20 yds later, with a little fat a hair on it, it was open with no blood. My sport shop owner said I hit it in the shoulder bone by the joint which is tough as nails I asked if it was my broadhead, he said no I know guys have did the same thing with fixed blades. Well in order to confirm this, a neighbor shot the same buck 3 days later and we found the entrance wound, well not really a wound but a mild hole in his fur and shoulder. After he skined the deer he said it hit exactly in the area we had thaught. I have no one to blame but myself. How can I blame my broad head, I had no high speed cameras to see if my spitfires failed or not, they have always been deadly before and have been deadly after that. I am by far no expert and am not telling anyone what to do, only my opinion. Practice, Practice,Practice.

i have used all the mechanicls above and none compare to the snypers from barrie,they are awsome and there is no way they can fail,i have used the same one on 5 deer,all have penetrated,and none have every went more than 30 yards.and they are field tip accurate.