Welcome to the forum!!
As previously stated you have already received a ton of great advise, so i will keep mine simple.
I hunt in south georgia...Savannah area, public land that's very thick and a lot of swamps & gator's and rednecks so i want them down quick and with plenty of blood.
Mechanical...Spitfire's hand's down.
Fixed...Slick trick's
That simple!
What part of south cackalacky you hail from
Bulldog m380 blackout
Micro 355
Matrix 350LE
Vixen II
Proud member of the Georgia Meat Hunter's Association
"Shooting tomorrow's trophy's...today"
Blood Trail, it happens some times, and I think the placement of the shot is the most important part when it comes to bow hunting. This is to date my best recovery distance, I shot this Buck with a Vortex at 29 yards using NAP Thunderheads in 100 grains. Do not fixate on what will happen, but rather what you plan to make happen! Many of us old farts have put deer in the truck shooting bows that were under 250 FPS. I think the hunter that is concerned about their prey makes the most precise shot, however things happen in the field that can prevent quick recoveries beyond our control. The Excalibur bow will provide the most consistent accuracy shot, after shot, year after year, and know you made the right choice there. Add in the FACT that YOU can maintain your bow to utmost level of precision, and hunt with confidence. Right under my right tip you'll see my buck.
Last year was my first year hunting with arrows and I had the same concerns about blood trails.
Using diablos and the bolt cutters my first deers blood trail started within a couple of feet of impact. And ran only 20 yards, if that before dropping. I had a great shot hitting the heart.
The second deer I took last year I double lunged. It's blood trail started about 10 yards from point of impact and was spotty at first then progressively bigger to where she laid about 40 yards away.
As everyone has said here.....shot placement is king and watch where it runs.
Phil,
This thread will tell just about all you need to know. When hit right, the deer will run. How far it makes it depends on the hit. The area I hunt is about 10 acres so I can't afford to have one run a long distance else it will be on others property. A properly hit deer will not go far at all. If you don't see it fall, you certainly should hear it. When well hit, they are normally on the ground within 10 seconds and occasionally quicker. Watching the direction it departed is key.
Also, getting a complete pass through is the key to having a great blood trail. If you are hunting from a stand and do not get a pass through, the blood trail can be sparse even on a killing shot. I just shot my Micro at 50 yards and got 10" of penetration into a Block Crossbow. At 30 yards it gets about 15" of penetration. Getting a pass through is possible at 50 yards, but it is almost certain at 30 yards and under.
Good luck and welcome to the forum.
DuckHunt
Micro Wolverine/Matrix 350 SE
Recovering Excalaholic
Over the past 5 years I have recorded the recovery distance on 19 deer that I have taken and 6 that my brother-in-law has taken via crossbow. Out of 25 deer all hit in the vitals (double lung, heart or the odd double lung and heart) the recovery distance has varied greatly.
The variation, in my opinion, depends on the state of the deer at impact and the deer's individual personality (just like people - some are tough and others just give up). On those 25 deer the distance varied from 0 to 202 yards. Yes 202 yards on a double lung hit. The one that went 202 yards was highly agitated when hit and ran like a race horse until he face planted in the mud dead. He had mud pushed into his nostrils and to the back of his mouth.
Most were taken with Montec G5s and most recoveries were under 60 yards (the 0 and the 202 were the outliers) blood trails varied greatly. A few were taken with NAP FOC's 170 grain mechanical. The NAP's have a 3 inch cut and the blood trails on these seemed better but because only 4 of the 25 were taken with these I don't have enough evidence to conclusively say they consistently produce better trails.
Good luck.
Never violate a woman, nor harm a child. Do not lie, cheat or steal. These things are for lesser men. Protect the weak against the evil strong. And never allow thoughts of gain to lead you into the pursuit of evil.
This fall is my first hunting experience ever in life. So I was in the same decision your about arrow and tip grain weights. I am not going to talk bad about the diablo bolts, I am sure the work great with recommended grain weight of 150 . But they dont fly well with the 125 gr on them. I tried them with the 125 and got bad arrow flight. But I did listen to the people here and backup my order with BEE .003 and 125 grain field points. This combo shoots so well that last weekend I put 12 arrow within dead on hits.
As for the broadheads I looked around for a while. Watching a bunch of reviews on U-tube. And I choose the Grim Reaper Razor Tip. I have not yet practice with them yet, when I do I'll let ya know.
For turkeys bh, I choose the Nap Spitfires. Again have not shot them yet.
Hope this helps ya with your decision .
Matrix 405 Mega ( Sledgehammer )
Black Eagle Executioners
125 gr Grim Reaper Razor Cut.
Going from rifle to x-bow is a pretty easy learning curve which is why you never have to shoot a Xbow to pass the course unlike a vertical bow. I think the biggest thing to learn compared to a rifle and this was already mentioned is the distance you should shoot to make a good kill and making sure the deer does not jump the string. Others will and have shot further but I keep it inside 35 yards and much closer if the deer is nervous.
so i want them down quick and with plenty of blood. 
