Was very fortunate this past week and took my first deer with crossbow. It was a 5 point buck that weighed in at 155lbs live weight. I shot him at 25 yards with a nice broadside shot from about 30 feet up in my tree stand. I actually thought that I had missed the deer due to his reaction after the shot. I waited on stand about 1.5 hours and went to retreive the bolt. I found it right away and it was covered with blood. I went to where I had last seen the deer (about 30 yards) and he was piled up about 20 yards from that point.
Here's the strange part. The bolt penetrated the left side rib cage and passed through directly opposite through the right side rib cage. But, the bolt exited far back on the right side back haunch. I'm still trying to figure out how that could happen. I retrieved the bolt which was stuck firmly in the ground.
I was shooting an Excalibur Phoenix with Firebolts and 100 grain Magnus Stingers. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera for a picture.
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"Team DryFire"
Vixen, Micro 315, HHA Optimizer, Boo & VixenMaster strings, Munch Mounts, Dr. Stirrup accessories.
Nice tasty deer that is. It could be a deflection, or it could be the deer changed position between the time you shot and the time the bolt got there. String jumping. I've had deer turn to run at the sound of the bow, and had impact other than where I was aiming. It happens quicker than the eye can see. This is why we keep our shots close.
Not sure I understand what happened with the arrow. As I read it you're saying the arrow hit the ribs and passed throuth the ribs on the other side, but cut the haunch? It could be the deer reacted quickly and moved it's leg forward so it was cut as the arrow exited.
I shot one through the heart last year that was quartering away from me. The arrow passed through, but was badly bent and several yards off to the side of where it should have been when I found it. I figured the deer moved his front leg forward and hit the arrow as it was exiting to cause it to bend and go off course.
Actually, it appeared that the arrow went thru the rib cage without actually hitting rib on either side. There was an entrance hole on the left side thru the hide and between the ribs and an exit hole thru the right side between the ribs but not thru the hide. The only exit hole we could find thru the hide was in the right rear haunch. At first, we thought the arrow had deflected off a rib as it was entering the rib cage but it did not. And how it went completely thru the rib cage on both sides and then turned without exiting at that point, I can't explain. The bolt showed no sign of deflection as it was stuck firmly in the ground directly behind where the deer was shot and straight out from where I took the shot.
I shot him at 25 yards with a nice broadside shot from about 30 feet up in my tree stand. I actually thought that I had missed the deer due to his reaction after the shot. I waited on stand about 1.5 hours and went to retreive the bolt. I found it right away and it was covered with blood. I went to where I had last seen the deer (about 30 yards) and he was piled up about 20 yards from that point.
The bolt penetrated the left side rib cage and passed through directly opposite through the right side rib cage. But, the bolt exited far back on the right side back haunch. I'm still trying to figure out how that could happen. I retrieved the bolt which was stuck firmly in the ground.
