lack of penatration

[Ron 1]

im shooting a single cam bow it is a fred bear  made by bear set at 72#. the arrows are 27" long carbons the broad heads are 3 blade mechanical 100 gr. 1.5 " cut spiders  flying at 295 fps.
i hit a buck in the shoulder. no blood i found the arrow 50 yrds out it had blood and hair on the broad head only. latter in the week i shot a doe at 12-15 yrds and the arrow did not break the vertebral but stuck in it the chisel tip cut the spinal cord. im thinking the mechanical broad head takes too much of the arrows energy to open up.  im going back to the old fixed blades.  could there be another explanation for the lack of penetration? the bucks are chasen does heavy i dont wont to miss out but i also dont want to wound another one.
       rw

i boiled the vertebrae and will get a pic posted latter today.

[omegahunter]

I really like my Slick Trick Magnums.  I also have a set of Grizz Tricks that I have yet to use.  If I was going to shoot a mechanical, I would probably try out the Meatseeker first.  It looks to be a very dependable opener from the rear as to not rob a lot of energy deploying the blades.

[dxtsniper]

You are going to lose a lot of energy with a mechanical head. The best ones are the ones that open as they slide back not the over the top openers. I would just go with a good cut on contact head and not worry about it. I am shootin 55lbs with 26"draw on a DXT and am using slicktrick "razortricks" this year but also have a set of grizztrick heads as a back up. I have total confidence that with these heads I can get a pass through on any animal I shoot at. I just didn't have the confidence in the mechanicals I had used for several years after dropping from 70lbs to 55. I had about a 50/50 pass through rate at 70lbs with them,Good luck with the rest of your season. Larry

[Empty Quiver]

No fan of the gimmick heads. But...


 One thought though. Have you paper tuned your arrows? If they have not quit whipping before they hit the target lots of energy is wasted sideways rather than used to penetrate. Proper spine, bow tuning, and enough fletch all contribute. 


Don't worship at the alter of arrow speed. As you have learned there is more to killing a deer than just striking it. Speed is fine just don't pay for it with a finicky hunting set-up.

[kansasj]

You have hit the nail on the head.......mechanicals (most of them) use too much energy almost stopping to open yet continue to penetrate. I have seen countless rage hunters be happy to get half arrow penetration.  Believe me they do fly good but so do slick tricks, most muzzys, and do not overlook the Magnus fixed blade.  Everyone used to get complete pass throughs 20 years ago with slower speeds and heavy arrows and now on TV all the mechanical sponsors have the guys shooting mechanicals and half the arrow is sticking out of the critter when he runs off.  A angled shot only increases the risk this issue.  Good luck!

[Ron 1]

i did go back to a fixed blade broad heads and am still on target with my arrows. i went out teusday night and had a pass thru at 20 yrds  on a good size doe  meat for the freezer.   oh yea the bucks here in southern mi. are chasen the does ...ill be goin back out this morning. 
my bow is paper tuned. the arrows are for draw weight of 55-70 #
  thanks for the replys happy hunting and good luck....

         rw

[OldSchoolRanger]

im shooting a single cam bow it is a fred bear  made by bear set at 72#. the arrows are 27" long carbons the broad heads are 3 blade mechanical 100 gr. 1.5 " cut spiders  flying at 295 fps.
i hit a buck in the shoulder. no blood i found the arrow 50 yrds out it had blood and hair on the broad head only. latter in the week i shot a doe at 12-15 yrds and the arrow did not break the vertebral but stuck in it the chisel tip cut the spinal cord. im thinking the mechanical broad head takes too much of the arrows energy to open up.  im going back to the old fixed blades.  could there be another explanation for the lack of penetration? the bucks are chasen does heavy i dont wont to miss out but i also dont want to wound another one.
       rw

i boiled the vertebrae and will get a pic posted latter today.

I also use an older Bear bow, set at 55#, shooting a 100gr, 3 blade Thunderhead, using aluminum arrows (2114's).  Last Tuesday, I also shot a doe in the shoulder, approx. 20 - 25 yards out, it was a nice solid hit (I heard the thunk).  She ran off across a stream.  I tracked her until I lost her, where her tracks mixed in with other tracks.  There was no blood to speak of, I spent another hour trying to find the doe or the arrow.  I even went back the next day hoping to find her, no luck.  I felt bad about it, trying to figure out if it was the equipments fault for the lack of penetration, I finally came to the conclusion, that it was a bad shot on my part (she was angling away).  The arrow probably hit the shoulder bone, and that stopped the penetration.  I just hope the arrow falls out and she recovers, or somebody else takes her.

[Ron 1]

i got a new crossbow it is a carbon express at a 175#   model 400 that should go on thru even on a big deer
  rw

[OldSchoolRanger]

i got a new crossbow it is a carbon express at a 175#   model 400 that should go on thru even on a big deer
  rw

175#? Yeah, that ought to do it.

[OldSchoolRanger]

[quote author=OldSchoolRanger link=topic=244022.msg1099413660#msg1099413660

" ....  Last Tuesday, I ... shot a doe in the shoulder, approx. 20 - 25 yards out, it was a nice solid hit (I heard the thunk).  She ran off across a stream.  I tracked her until I lost her, where her tracks mixed in with other tracks.  There was no blood to speak of, I spent another hour trying to find the doe or the arrow.  I even went back the next day hoping to find her, no luck.  I felt bad about it, ... The arrow probably hit the shoulder bone, and that stopped the penetration.  I just hope the arrow falls out and she recovers, or somebody else takes her."


Good news, I was out today, and spotted the same doe (or at least I hope it was the same doe), walking with a limp, favoring the left front leg, where I hit her.  The arrow was either knocked out or fell out.
The bad news, she wouldn't come anywhere near where I was.  Guess she learned where my stand is, or associates that area with "hurt".  I hope she fully recovers, I feel a lot better, that she didn't die somewhere, and become food for the coyotes.

[XD40SC]

I shoot 53 lbs. in my Bear compound. I have 400gr carbon arrows with fixed 100gr wasp broadheads.3 deer, all pass through. One glanced off the shoulder, severed the spine and kept on going. This was at 19 yds. Used a rangefinder. No problems . I follow the KISS rule.