What to expect? Before, during and after the shot

[txtrophy85]

Season is getting close and I’m dialed in.


I’ve shot somewhere around 20 animals with a compound bow and it’s always been challenging but I’ve not had to deal with animals jumping the string. Shooting a big 3 blade expandable animals normally expire within 60 or so yards.

This year with the recurve I’m not expecting things to go exactly the same way and want to enter this with an open mind not preconceived notions.

Therefor I want to ask a few more questions:

1. Before the shot - I have some concerns about penetration as my 500 grain arrow is only flying 152 FPS. However, I hope to mitigate this with a good cut on contact broadhead and a good FOC. Hitting the vitals is not an issue for me at 20 yards however I am going to set a 17 yard maximum and hope to get a shot at 12-15 yards. Is there anything I should prepare for once the animal is in range?

2. During the shot- Drawn back, anchor point found and arrow is release....what should I account for at this point? I plan on aiming lower in the heart/lung area than I would with a compound bow, but on an unaware feeding animal, should I account for them ducking the arrow? I don’t want them to duck and I hit high, but I don’t want to hit them in the brisket or shoot under them. What is the normal rule of thumb for shooting at a deer with trad equipment?

3. After the shot- assuming I hit where I’m aiming, deer takes the arrow and runs off. I’m used to a big 3 blade mechanical which leaves a big hole on both sides. With a 2 blade single bevel head, I don’t expect much in the way of blood trails. Is there anything out of the ordinary I need to do besides the standard 1/2 hour wait time to start tracking?

[SJP51]

1. Your set up will kill if you hit them in the heart/lung.

2. If your rig is quiet, they won't hear it. Quiet is more improtant than FPS. You cannot guess which way a deer will move if it is startled. I've not killed buy 1 deer with my recurve, but I aimed where I alwasy aim: At both lungs. It's the biggest target that'll get a kill and harder to miss. As with a compound: Don't shoot at a deer that is on high alert. 175fps is a tad slow and deer are (as you know) crazy quick.

3. Really? A sharp 2-blade thru the heart or lungs should leave some good blood. But you never know. 1/2 hour is about right. Problem is near dark, of course, that 1/2 hour could make it hard to see blood. Be sure you have a colman lantern or one of those blood trailing lights.

Good Luck!!

[jerp]

I think you are wise to plan on aiming lower than you did when shooting over 100 FPS faster. When I first switched to trad I felt like I had time to eat a sandwich before the arrow got there. Even though trad bows are relatively quiet that sound still gets to their ears a lot quicker than your arrow gets to their lungs. IMO there is no downside to aiming at the bottom of the kill zone.

[Briar Friar]

Check your limb clearance in the blind…top and bottom. Im supposing youll be in a ground blind. Even if in a tree…check limb clearances. My Barronetts ground blind has plenty of clearance whereas my smaller Bone Collector does not. I dug holes for my chair legs and got the 1-2” limb clearance I needed in the Bone Collector.

If the shot is a bit back…wait 4-6 hours before tracking. Minimum. I wait 45 min to an hour on any shot…before leaving thr blind and backing out for another hour…unless I see the critter drop.

Being closer…black light your gear and identify any gear components that have a UV signature. Mask them somehow.

Good luck Mr85.

[DRT]

Expect it to not go as you expect. Expect it to be fun regardless.

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[Bisch]

Sounds like you are mentally ready!!!!!

Get them close!

Make your move slowly.

Aim low! I would always rather miss under one than hit one high!!! If you miss 3” high, and the deer ducks 3”, your point of impact on the deer will be 6” higher than your aim point. That usually does not end well! FWIW, I aim no higher than 1/3 up from the bottom of the chest when on the ground. No more than 1/2 way up when elevated.

Good luck this weekend!

Bisch


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[txtrophy85]

If the shot is a bit back…wait 4-6 hours before tracking. Minimum. I wait 45 min to an hour on any shot…before leaving the blind and backing out for another hour…unless I see the critter drop.

So you wait 1:45hr before you go look for a double lung shot deer?

I always waited about 20 min to go find the arrow then maybe another 10 assessing the scene and then on to find the animal. They have all been very dead when i walked up to them.

[RickBarbee]

My personal opinion:

Until you've killed a whole lot of them, seldom are any two shots going to be the same. So, prepare yourself for the worst outcome imaginable, and anything less than that will be gravy.

You know your distance limitations. I don't, so do what feels comfortable/right to you.

Something that has worked very well for me:
Rather than trying to shoot low, I just shoot for the heart.
If they duck, I get lungs. If they don't I get heart.
And, sometimes I get some of both heart & lungs.
In any case - they are done for shortly.

Rick

[Briar Friar]

So you wait 1:45hr before you go look for a double lung shot deer?

I always waited about 20 min to go find the arrow then maybe another 10 assessing the scene and then on to find the animal. They have all been very dead when i walked up to them.

Yes. Ive pushed and lost more animals after a shot than I care to admit. Ive seemingly doubled lunged and got pass throughs with lots of blood, and the critters still run and lost them. Let the broadhead do its job. Single bevels are awesome but only make a fine slit coming and going. The multiple internal organ sacks of a pressured animal that is shot will quickly zip up (overlap) the wound channel, stop the hemorraging and they will run with no trail. Time is your friend not your enemy.

[DRT]

Rick is correct. Aim for the heart.
The hard part can be knowing where the arrow actually impacts vs where you think it did.
If I think I got a good boiler room shot I'm out looking for blood within 30 minutes. I usually looking through my binoculars at the ground, the arrow if a complete pass through, for blood. If there is significant blood right there where I shot and animal ran through, I am out in 20 minutes confirming.
If not I climb back in the blind or go back to camp for a while.
A shot I know is back is a 4 hour wait minimum.
That said, I've killed a lot of deer with a bow and although I'm not perfect I can usually tell if ive got a good hit or not.
Some things only experience, and too often bad experience, can teach you.

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[Trumpkin]

I've only shot two big game animals with my bow, and they were obviously dead on their feet. (i.e. stumbling as they ran). But I've killed a lot of critters in the mountains with a rifle, where things can happen really quickly. So take this for what it's worth.

For me, I make sure to talk to myself every step of the way from first contact, through last spot I saw the animal. Once I confirm an animal is one to shoot, I stop looking at horns, pick a spot, and start looking for my draw opportunity. When I go to draw, I talk myself through every step of my shot process. Sounds stupid, but it helps me not just yip one out there. After the shot, my job is not done. I need to log as much info as possible before I let myself freak out.

1. Where did I last hear them?
2. Where (EXACTLY) was the deer standing when I shot?
3. Where was the last spot I saw them?

only after logging those, and double checking them do I move on to things that are going to determine my next course of action:

4. Was the arrow still in them?
5. Where was the entry/exit?
6. How did they react to the shot?

Once I know all those things I can relax/freak out and text my buddies, then come up with a tracking and recovery strategy. But it's important to make note of those details first.

[txtrophy85]

Yes. Ive pushed and lost more animals after a shot than I care to admit. Ive seemingly doubled lunged and got pass throughs with lots of blood, and the critters still run and lost them. Let the broadhead do its job. Single bevels are awesome but only make a fine slit coming and going. The multiple internal organ sacks of a pressured animal that is shot will quickly zip up (overlap) the wound channel, stop the hemorraging and they will run with no trail. Time is your friend not your enemy.

Do you prefer a 3-blade head?

[Briar Friar]

I do. I shoot 2 blade double bevel (current go to and virgin run this season), 2 blade single bevel, and 3 blade. I havent got the hang and made time to get a 3 blade stupid sharp like either of the 2 blades.

If time is critical you may consider a string tracker. Ive shot deer in situations where an exact bead on a wounded critter was needed, with time constraints and space limitations. A string can help expedite tracking and keep the wound channel open to promote critter expiration.

The arrow hanging out both sides (full passthru) of the critter (on a lethal shot) or even one side is a best case scenario IMO to keep the single bevel wound channel open. Dont think that you need complete passthrough (entire arrow) …its mo betta not.

Youll be fine.

[Trumpkin]

The arrow hanging out both sides (full passthru) of the critter (on a lethal shot) or even one side is a best case scenario IMO to keep the single bevel wound channel open. Dont think that you need complete passthrough (entire arrow) …its mo betta not.

Youll be fine.

In that case, why not shoot a wide 3 blade or 4 blade and get more blood? Narrow two blades will go clean through a deer with a 30 lb bow and a heavy arrow.

[jerp]

Put another way, the length of the wound channel is more important than the width of the entry wound. All things being equal a two blade should give you a better chance at two leaking holes.