I am a poor archer and so I almost never take shots farther then about 25 yards. 15 is better for me. I must also say I have not got a lot of arrow kills under my belt, with only 9 in all the years I have hunted. 1 antelope, 1 elk and 7 deer.
So what I say next is based only on my limited experience, but also the many kills I have witnessed as a guide over the last 4 decades. I don't know the exact number of kills I have seen with arrows, but I am going to guess it's somewhere around 30-35.

My limited ranges means I have no disadvantage shooting a VERY heavy arrow, (can't shoot far anyway) so the ones I used in the past were compressed cedar, thick, with 4 fletchings and a 190 grain 2 blade broadhead. I try to get them up close to 1000 grains. I am the odd-man out, in that only a few other archers I know use similar arrows for hunting. BUT...All the kills I have made, and all seen made with the super heavy arrows with 2 blade broadheads have been excellent. Even shooting recurves and long bows, in every case the broadheads have exited, and in about 1/3 the cases the whole shafts have exited. And these from bows with draw weights as light as 45 pounds on deer and as light as 50 pound on elk.
My weirdest kill was made with a 50 pound Bear recurve, shooting a light weight aluminum shaft with a Ben Person head at a smallish 3 point buck mule deer. The arrow hit the broad side on the deer and nicked the shoulder blade on the bottom edge, but somehow turned the arrow about 45 degrees to the rear and about 30-35 degrees downward. The shot was from about 15 yards. The tip of the arrow only went into the deer about 8-9 inches but got both lungs. It took me about 1/2 hour to find the deer and tracking was a bit difficult. I got good penetration in straw bales and styrofoam targets, but when the broadhead only got into the 2nd lung (not through it) and never even made it to the ribs on the off side. Why? I have no idea.

I have seen arrows turn in game and a few times I have seen some of the light arrows just stop far short of the penetration you think you should get. Yet the same arrow from the same bow on the next kill will go clear through and be found on the ground. How come this happens?

In the times in archery hunting, as the hunter or as the guide or packer, all the "weird results" have been with light fast arrows. In some cases they are excellent and in others they break off blades, bend shafts and sometimes just do things I have no way to explain.
Now ...what do I think about all this? well, I do think about it.............but can't explain it.

Maybe some other archers here can shed more light on the subject then I can.
But what I am saying here is what I have seen myself, from the early 1970s until today. As with many things in life, those that are witnesses are not always those that understand what was witnessed.
If I had to make a category for highest success I would say it's from 2 blade broadheads or those with small bleeders (like the one you shot,) but always mounted on "spear shafts" or "telephone poles". Again I emphasis, I don't know why the lighter ones do some of the strange things I have seen. But the heavy one just don't do those weird thing. At least I have not seen any do them so far.

As someone speaking about archery kills I am "in 4th grade". Maybe some "collage graduates" can shed more light on this for us all.
I hope so.

Last edited by szihn; 09/10/19.