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I have a permit to archery hunt city deer, but it is surrounded by residential property and I would rather not have to retrieve a deer out of someone's back yard. I suppose a neck, head or spine shot would do it, but those are small targets compared to a shoulder. I know a rifle bullet to the shoulder would put a deer down quickly with a shoulder shot, but what about with a strong cross bow and 2" mechanical?


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A behind the shoulder shot, which is where you should aim, will not drop them on the spot. They generally run up to 100 yards.
Head neck shots are terrible. Miss by an inch and you’ll have a wounded deer or worse, a wounded deer with a bolt sticking out for all the anti hunters to see.


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It's possible just as it is with a rifle, but you'll need to penetrate bone enough to hit the brain, or hit not just the spine, but the spinal cord. That's like hitting a string of yarn. Miss the cord by 1/4" and you may not drop them. and the tip of your broadhead must be almost exactly "point on" because bone will deflect an arrow, and you do not have even 1/4 the trauma effect you get from shattering/exploding bone, as you would get with even a low velocity bullet.

Archers are often enthralled with 300 FPS from an arrow, but to point out the facts here, that just about 1/3 the speed of a slow pistol bullet like a 45 auto. SUPER fast arrows are almost "in 1st gear" compared to even a slow pistol round. A standard 9MM from a 3" barrel is almost 4X faster. A 30-30 is 7-1/2 X faster.

So overall I'd think it's not a good idea for you to try ----------- unless you can hit a dine 100% of the time, and NO exceptions ever.....at the range you will shoot from.

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Yes, it's possible, but not common. I dropped a small buck by a spine shot, and had to finish it off with my knife.it wasn't going anywhere, but severed the front from the back.
And as stated above, the arrow goes just behind the shoulder, not through it.


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It is certainly possible, but it is not predictable short of a head shot. I have had one that dropped where I shot it with a recurve. I have had two drop where I shot them with a crossbow. All three were heart shots. I have had a lot more heart shots the were better (IMO) and the deer ran as far as 230 yards.

Generally speaking, A good double lung shot or a heart shot will see Bambi down inside of 100 yards. If you are going to hunt deer in a neighborhood, like I do, Get them as close as possible and place the arrow as well as you can. Shooting for the head is more or less unpredictable as to what the arrow will do even if it hits exactly where you want it to. Tips can bend or fold up and not penetrate at all, much less straightly. Shooting them at the end of legal shooting hours and recovering them after dark has merit.

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I like to shoot them from ground level and broadside(not quartering). If you get both lungs and low shot they will usually only go 35-50 yrds. If you get both lungs and high shot they will run farther like maybe 100 yrds because it takes a little longer for lungs to fill up with blood. If you take a quartering shot and only get one lung you might not find your deer. Good luck!

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no

especially with a mechanical.

Id ditch a pos mechanical and take the typical heart lung shot

never, ever take a head shot with a bow

Last edited by ribka; 09/10/19.
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Only had it happen once.....And it was an accident. Big doe at 10 yards. I was up about 20 feet in a stand and She was darn near broadside. I figured on driving the arrow from the upper part of the rib cage on entry down and out the armpit on exit. That shot had always worked before.

For whatever reason, just as I released the arrow, she swung her head around to look behind her. The arrow flew true but her head was in the way by the time it traveled those ten yards.

Hit her right behind the ear where the spine and skull connect......I disconnected it. Had to finish her off with the knife.

Not a shot I have ever thought about taking. And not a shot I will ever intentionally take again.

I like to ventilate both lungs. In the thick stuff I hunt, I sometimes don't see them fall.....But I almost always hear them fall.


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I’ve had a couple drop with spine shots, wasn’t on purpose.

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Just did it this very morning. DRT with a big doe @ 20 yds. High shoulder hit complete pass thru with 2blade Rage/Wicked Ridge xbow...no tracking needed

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Among my souvenirs is a mechanical crossbow head I found while butchering a deer. It had gone high through one shoulder and lodged in the other one with the point just poking through enough to cut into the hide from inside; a constant irritation I'm sure. It looked like the shot was either from above or had arced in, since the exit was lower that the entrance (which had healed over). I know it was a crossbow because a short section of shaft was found, separate from the head, on the entrance side.

The same hit with a rifle would likely have dumped him on the spot, a classic high shoulder shot.

Last year was my first season using a crossbow, and both deer died quickly, but travelled 50 to 75 yards, just like ones hit with a rifle in the same spot might have.

On the bright side, the residents around your hunting area may be fed up with deer damage in their yards. Just make sure you follow the rules about recovery. You likely have to ask before entering private property. Also, use your head a bit about when you hunt. Nobody wants a bleeding deer stumbling into their kid's birthday party.


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Originally Posted by Windfall
I have a permit to archery hunt city deer, but it is surrounded by residential property and I would rather not have to retrieve a deer out of someone's back yard. I suppose a neck, head or spine shot would do it, but those are small targets compared to a shoulder. I know a rifle bullet to the shoulder would put a deer down quickly with a shoulder shot, but what about with a strong cross bow and 2" mechanical?


I would not try for a shot for the nervous system as they are a high risk low percentage shot. Best bet IMHO is a double lung like a earlier post mentions. Well placed double lung often results in a less than 70 yard exsanguination distance. 1.5 in Nap spitfire has been a preference for me. With the exception of an accidental spine shot all of my deer taken with the spitfire expired inside of 60 yards. the spine shot required a follow up yet she wend down right there. Never would recommend that shot for sure. My heavy arrow is why I feel the accidental spine shot was so successful. Heavier is better IMHO.

Last edited by Hunterapp; 09/24/19.

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A friend of mine spine shot a doe and humane it wasn't from what I heard from about a hundred yards away. I don't think that he bow hunted much after that. Yes, if you hit them right they don't go far with a heart/lung shot. I remember needing to walk beside the trail on my last one to keep my boots clean. Forget the spine shot, but what about a shoulder blade shot? complete penetration comes into question then I suppose. I went through one shoulder blade once, but I don't think the arrow had much left going out the back side because he broke the arrow and the head was only a few feet away from where he stood. That one did go a hundred yards or so and didn't bleed like a double lung shot. Lower in the body bleeds to the ground faster from what I've seen.


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Originally Posted by Windfall
I have a permit to archery hunt city deer, but it is surrounded by residential property and I would rather not have to retrieve a deer out of someone's back yard. I suppose a neck, head or spine shot would do it, but those are small targets compared to a shoulder. I know a rifle bullet to the shoulder would put a deer down quickly with a shoulder shot, but what about with a strong cross bow and 2" mechanical?



with respect,just shoot the deer in the right spot > lung - heart area,get over not wanting to go ask permission to retrieve a dead deer. you are doing these people a favor most understand wants going on. good luck be safe,Pete53


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Yeah, I'm probably over thinking the mind set of all the non-hunting neighbors. There is a piece on Anti-Avoidance in the October issue of Petersen's Hunting this month. I ran into one of the neighbors at a yard sale who was getting pissed that a 10 pointer was eating her flowers. I think I could help her with that issue. I wonder how a geranium fed 10 pointer would taste? Probably the same buck that screwed up my pine tree in the back yard. Maybe all the neighbors aren't all bunny huggers and I don't need to go creeping around like a camo clad terrorist. I do have all the necessary paperwork that legally allows me to be in there archery hunting.


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Originally Posted by Hectortwsp
Just did it this very morning. DRT with a big doe @ 20 yds. High shoulder hit complete pass thru with 2blade Rage/Wicked Ridge xbow...no tracking needed


**** Here is an add on to my original reply... I did it again this morning on a buck from same treestand. !! 5point high double shoulder hit DRT though I did shoot him again behind the shoulder cause he was thrashing around some.
2 shots 2 deer DRT in 5days.

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I like to wait tell they are facing me with their head down and aim for the spot were the neck shoulders and spine come together .from 0 to 50 yards I like that shot better than broadside . I shoot my Excalibur a lot . I will shoot it every afternoon before I hunt with it

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I would talk to the neighbors before hand to see if it is ok just to retrieve the deer from their property. They may like that better than having a rotting deer in their back yard.


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