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The Unexpected

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    The Unexpected

    I know there has been lots of talk on here about draw weight, arrow weight, broadhead design, FOC, Extreme FOC, single bevel v. double bevel etc etc....

    But this Saturday evening at 534 PM I confirmed for me the reason that I shoot what a lot of people consider to be over kill.

    The set up:
    Dry Creek Recurve 73.5 lbs @ 28"
    Quest Thumper Tapered shaft carbon arrows
    Single Bevel 190 gr Meathead broadheads with 200 grain steel adapter and 100 grain insert. Total arrow weight of 780 gr. FOC over 30%
    2.5" A&A fletchings

    So heres the story. My target buck for the last 3 years comes into my setup and after a few tense moments presents me with a quartering away head down feeding shot opportunity. He was a little nervous as he was only 16 yds from my blind and I had also (like an idiot) just walked down to the gravity feeder and raked a little extra corn out onto the ground in a better shot location.

    At the shot the deer, as expected, jumped the string spun/barrel rolled away from the shot and disappeared out of sight. I watched what appeared to be the arrow disappear into what looked like about the 4th rib behind the shoulder. I sat in the blind for about 10 minutes just soaking in what had happened and messaging a couple of the lease members to let them know what had just happened.

    I notice the arrow is stuck in the ground a few yards beyond where the buck was standing, and based on the angle, location and the orange fletchings that are now bright red I am reassured that the shot was as good as I thought it was. So I decide to stand up and record the arrow and do a little video documenting.

    This is where it gets crazy while filming the broadhead and doing my little recap of the hunt I look to my right and there stands my target buck at 30 yards, broadside (exit side) and absolutely no blood or visible exit wound. Now I'm confused, stunned and starting to freak out. Did I miss? No the fletchings are red. Why is there no exit hole? No Blood? Should I finish him with my pistol? No can't do that, because now I'm not even sure I've hit him at all. Then he turns and trots off like he's not concerned with me at all. I watch him trot about 80 yds and then start to walk again. As he turns I notice his tail is twitching in that familiar death quiver way and he seems to be wobbling.


    I wait for my lease partner to get there and we decide to do a quick search to see what kind of blood we have and decide how long to wait before we bring out Lola to take up the track. Find 2 small spots of blood where he was standing and thanks to the rain his tracks are very distinguished in the mud. Long story shortened a little, we find him about 40 yds from where I had last seen him turn.


    Upon inspection I discover that my entry hole is literally an inch above the bottom fold of skin in the fold of his flank (I was holding a little low as always). The exit wound was above his shoulder on the off side approximately 10 inches higher than the entry. During the "Autopsy" we found the liver cut in half, one lung destroyed, the second lung had one lobe cut in half, three off side ribs cut in half and the top of the shoulder was busted.


    So based on the angle of the arrow stuck in the ground and the image I saw as the arrow entered into the buck, he apparently jumped the string so quickly and barrel rolled so violently that the arrow entered on a downward angle, as I was just a little elevated as compared to the buck, into his flank as it raised in the air and exited above the front shoulder as he continued to drop his front end and spin away from the "threat".


    I don't know that a lighter weight set up (draw weight and arrow weight) would have failed in this situation, but I do know that the heavy head, shaving sharp single bevel, and heavier draw weight performed flawlessly and confirmed that I wont be changing anything soon.

    The shot placement wasn't perfect obviously, but I honestly believe that had he not spun so quickly that it would have been a perfect 10 ring shot. But deer do some crazy things and thankfully because he was quartering away I believe it provided me with enough positive room for error that even though turned o drastically my arrow was able to continue on a good angle through the bucks vitals.


    Here are pics of the entry and exit wounds. Sorry if the write up got a little wordy.
    Attached Files

    #2
    Very nice buck, glad it worked out well for you!

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      #3
      Congrats, nice buck

      Comment


        #4
        I have always been a fan of heavy bows.
        As long as you shoot them well, why not?
        For 20 years my go to bow was 74#
        Now that I am old with 3 shoulder surgeries I have dropped down to 65#

        Congrats on the buck

        Comment


          #5
          Great buck! Congrats, and glad it all worked out! I shot a broadside doe last week, watched the arrow hit right about where I was looking, and then shoot straight out the top of her back! Unrecovered, of course! 🤬🤬🤬 I don’t know if she ducked and rolled, or the broadhead bounced off a rib or what???? But, I’m pretty sure I did everything right, and I guess that’s all I can expect of myself!!!! Still tears me up though!!!

          Congrats again on a great buck!

          Bisch


          Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Buff View Post
            I have always been a fan of heavy bows.
            As long as you shoot them well, why not?
            For 20 years my go to bow was 74#
            Now that I am old with 3 shoulder surgeries I have dropped down to 65#

            Congrats on the buck
            Thank you, and I agree. Not just with the heavy bow but with using equipment that allows for when things don't go right. Ive always leaned towards the side of overcompensation I guess. My long bow is only 55 lbs but I shoot as much weight as I can tune out of it, and have always had great results wit it as well.

            Comment


              #7
              Their amazing fast
              Congrats on a great buck

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                #8
                Congrats! Great Deer!

                Comment


                  #9
                  Congrats on a good buck!

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Congratulations on a nice buck! They can do some amazing acrobatics at times.

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                      #11
                      Great buck! Congrats!


                      Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Congrats of the awesome buck!

                        Just FYI, I'm pretty sure its illegal to finish off a deer with a pistol during archery season, good call on not doing that.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Dave_ View Post
                          Congrats of the awesome buck!

                          Just FYI, I'm pretty sure its illegal to finish off a deer with a pistol during archery season, good call on not doing that.
                          Unless you are MLD

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Awesome buck!! That is a wild story!

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by Dave_ View Post
                              Congrats of the awesome buck!

                              Just FYI, I'm pretty sure its illegal to finish off a deer with a pistol during archery season, good call on not doing that.
                              Yeah. I wasn't actually gonna try and shoot the buck from 30 yds with my sub compact 9mm. That's just what started running through my head, along with about a million other things

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