Arrow deflection on impact

[TwoHighways]

Who all has experienced a crazy exit that you can’t really explain? Or an entry that rode along ribs, but never penetrated the chest cavity. Is poor arrow flight/tuning to blame? Expandable heads? Too big of a head? Too much of a quartering away angle?

[Sika]

Or an entry that rode along ribs, but never penetrated the chest cavity.

This happened to me earlier this year. The doe was quartering away, more extreme than I like, and I was off my mark a bit hitting her in the crease behind the shoulder. Arrow went through her shoulder and exited the lower neck area, cutting her jugular and that’s what killed her. She didn’t go 40 yards but arrow never got in the chest cavity.
Unintentionally poor shot placement was the cause, not equipment.

[JSAPP]

Shot a big buck on Junebug's place a few years ago. It was at 42 yards and a hard quarter away. The arrow hit about mid ribs. It looked like a 12 ring shot. The buck hit the ground then sprung up and in the brush. We tracked that deer half the night with the dogs, but they couldn't stop him. About a month later Junebug sent me a picture from the stand of my buck eating corn in the road. I loaded my stuff and headed down there the next day. He's now on my wall.. The arrow had gone along the ribs. Behind the shoulder and Out the front of the shoulder. Then into the neck and out the top of the neck without hitting anything but meat. That was onr tough deer. I'll find a picture.

[JSAPP]

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[TacticalCowboy]

Shot a doe at about 28 yards with a PSE Academy special and a magnus 2 blade. She jumped the string a bit, arrow hit about where it should have, and instead of penetrating, it turned and went straight up in the air. I’m not sure if she rolled when she ducked or what. No blood, no hair, and I never found the arrow.

I shot a javelina in the forehead with a longbow at 12 yards. It skipped right off. That one was caused by shooting a javelina in the head with a longbow.

[bloodstick]

Happened just this season on the last weekend of archery. My Brother came from Louisiana to hunt with me so i stuck him in my favorite tree stand for the week. It was during the start of the rut and he had a very nice 4 year old 8 point (actually 9 with a kicker on his left side) come straight under him. The deer caught him by surprise so thats why he was so close. Buck didn't like something and turned around giving a broadside shot at 10 yards. The stand was about 15 feet up. He tried to hit higher straight up the front leg leaving the exit in the armpit. The impact sounded funny and the deer ran off with the arrow still in him, but looked sideways instead of a steep angle. We looked and looked and never found him.

Neighboring lease saw him almost two weeks later still cruising. Our best guess was the broadhead hit few inches too high and deflected off the spine instead of crushing/cutting it. The arrow followed under the skin as it ran on the outside the ribs and poked out giving it a horizontal look as the deer ran off. Crazy circumstances. An couple inches lower would have taken out the spine or gone under it cutting lung and possibly top of heart with the steep angle. This was with a brand new G5 Stryker

[Txsurveyor2014]

I shot a buck from a ground blind, while the buck was standing on top of a small berm, roughly 20 yards away. The shot actually ended up being an uphill shot. Arrow hit slightly low (as intended) and traveled upward through the deer to far side ribs and then curved with the ribs and ended up clipping the spine and partially exiting the deer's backstrap and would have been pointing straight back towards me. Deer dropped in his tracks (due to spine hit). It seems like the tip of the broadhead curled up some when it hit the near side rib on entering and this curl helped the arrow follow the offside rib all the way up to the spine.

[eastxhunter]

Doesn’t happen if your bow is fast enough and you have heavy arrows

[bloodstick]

Doesn’t happen if your bow is fast enough and you have heavy arrows

My post above was with a PSE DNA shooting 70# with 440 grain arrow and fixed blade. I assure you, it happens

[Txsurveyor2014]

Doesn’t happen if your bow is fast enough and you have heavy arrows

yeah, I think you are wrong on that one.

[GarGuy]

In 2013 I hunted a 154 inch 8 point here in east tx. On Dec 2nd I shot him quartering away at 22yds. Shot looked perfect but only flecks of blood. I pulled out and called bboswell to bring ol blue the next morning.

While he was driving my way at daybreak I pulled the card and to my amazement the deer was back in my corn pile at 1am with a small bleeding hole on the base of his neck.
I called Brent off. I killed that deer standing in the same spot on Dec 16th. The arrow slid along the ribs and exited the base of neck on opposite side. Blades never opened.

[Tex_Cattleman]

Craziest one I ever had was a doe (video below). Slightly quarter away. Hit her where I hope I hit every deer for the rest of my life. No idea what happened, but NOTHING. I will agree with what you're thinking - dead deer. Four serious/savvy bow hunters looked for her for hours. Not one drop of blood. Not one sign. Nada.

I've got another where I hit a buck eight in the crease. No recovery. Month later my buddy killed him. He had a perfect Mercedes logo right on the sweet spot. Jokester euroed him with a plaque that read "Trey's Catch & Release".

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[Bisch]

I shot s doe last year. I hit her right about where I wanted too. Don’t have a clue what happened, but the arrow came straight out of the top of her back. I don’t know if it went in and up, or just skidded up the ribs??? Either way, I did not recover her. Equipment/tuning was not the issue here!!!

Bisch


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[canny]

Hit a buck at 10 yrds a few years back and clipped just the edge of the shoulder and the arrow just stopped instantly. Wasn't the best placement especially at that short of a distance, but I still expected it to enter the chest cavity, nope. Also the last time I shot a mechanical head. I'm now shooting 495g arrows with a solid fixed head, that wont happen to me again.

[TwoHighways]

I’ll post up a photo of a buck you’d swear should be dead in a bit from Halloween night. I’m contemplating picking up handgun hunting TBH, especially knowing that apparently it isn’t isolated to just me. A doe I shot yesterday even had a wonky exit as well with shot placed in the armpit left side and vertical exit through sternum. She ran a good 200-250 yards before expiring. Had it been closer to dark, I doubt I would have been able to stay on the trail.