Changing where I aim on a deer.

[Mister B]

In the past fifty years I have harvested over a hundred deer with arrows. Most with vertical bows, the last fifteen or so with Excals. I have always pictured in my mind that kill zone on a life sized target and aimed behind the shoulder. With an Excal the arrow is flying so fast most of the time it zips through the deer (ribs and all) and goes either into the rocks or skips away sometimes as far as fifty yards before it stops. Well, I occasioned to get a shot angling away slightly on one of my last bucks so I aimed by coming up the opposite front leg with my crosshairs to the normal mid-lung location and pulled the trigger. The rage tipped arrow flew true, entered behind the ribs and buried up in the shoulder blade on the opposite side. The deer absorbed all 90 plus ft pounds of energy and dropped like a rock. After I studied that shot, I decided to try it again on another buck. Bingo. The arrow and broadhead buried up in the opposite shoulder bone and it too dropped in its tracks, tried to get up and plowed a few yards without its front wheels and died right there in sight. Had another chance at another buck last weekend. Bingo again. Waited for that angling away shot and it too dropped right there. Hmmmm.

[halfbreed]

I could be dead wrong on this but isn't there a big nerve cluster somewhere in both shoulders? Maybe your hitting it or disrupting it when the bolt slams into the opposite shoulder with that much force. ..again i could be dead wrong. Could be the massive trama that shot causes.

[Crazy Horse]

Thanks for the tip (and sharing your wisdom). That's something to try to keep in mind.

[DeathMerchant]

Makes a lot of sense. I've made shots like that on deer with rifles and they dropped immediately whatever the reason is. Maybe as you mentioned, it has to do with the delivery of much more energy because of the involvement of heavier shoulder bone. I envy you Texas guys and your multiple deer bag limits. Here in the non crossbow friendly great state of Oregon, we are allowed one deer per year, all mandatory bucks with the exception of a few controlled doe hunts.

[GRUNDY]

Wreck the front end gears and they ain't gonna go far. I think is more of a coincidence that both dropped. Even if they all don't drop, deer hit like that just don't go far.
Btw: Nice work on the deer.


Regards,

B

[paulaboutform]

That's a shot I love, especially on hogs. The only issue I've had is the horrible amount of damage, i.e. bloodshot resulting in lost meat.

Paul

[Horizontal Hunter]

I could be dead wrong on this but isn't there a big nerve cluster somewhere in both shoulders? Maybe your hitting it or disrupting it when the bolt slams into the opposite shoulder with that much force. ..again i could be dead wrong. Could be the massive trama that shot causes.

You are right. It is called the brachial plexus.

http://www.theoutdoorforum.net/features ... 7d8b1.html

Bob

[Drew]

The shot I took last wknd on my buck was very similar. My arrow went in behind the last rib on the left side and poked out the skin just in front of the right front shoulder joint. Deer went 30yds and stopped thrashing within seconds.

[Drew]

The shot I took last wknd on my buck was very similar. My arrow went in behind the last rib on the left side and poked out the skin just in front of the right front shoulder joint. Deer went 30yds and stopped thrashing within seconds.

[DuckHunt]

When I don't feel like tracking or light is limited, that is my favorite shot with my .30-06. I hut a very small plot so I can't afford to track a long way. More often than not the first thing that hits the ground is their back with feet up quivering. The first time I did it was on accident. Now I know there is a anchor point if you hit it. Dead right there.

DuckHunt

[galamb]

In 2014 the Natural Resources guys in South Carolina undertook a study to answer some common deer hunting questions.

All of the hunters that participated in a private access (club) had to record a bunch of information such as distance of the shot, where the deer was hit, how far it traveled (if) recovered, what caliber and bullet type they used.

Now ok, it was gun hunting, but what it did show was that deer shot in the Neck or the Spine dropped right where they were - none made it even one yard from the spot they were shot.

A shoulder shot resulted in a mean distance traveled of 3 yards.

The average Heart Shot deer traveled 39 yards, Lung Shot - 50 yards and Abdomen (but vital organ - liver etc) traveled an average of 69 yards.

And this was with a bullet that also provides some hydro-static shock.

If your bow/bolt combination is capable of enough impact energy to penetrate a near side shoulder then that is the shot that "should" result in Bambi dropping in his tracks. If you miss by a little at worst you end up with a lung shot or at best a neck or spine shot.

But I did specify having enough energy and I personally don't know what that is. Since my Vix II is packing barely 60 lbs KE even at 15 yards I don't know that I personally want to try the experiment.

The OP notes that he shot through the lungs to the far side shoulder and I would try that if I had a perfect quartering away shot, but otherwise I would be too worried about hitting the near shoulder and only wounding the deer.

(PS - if anyone is interested in the study I quoted, some other results were - and remember these were gun hunters - hunters were successful 82% of the time (number of shots vs confirmed hit deer) - every shot taken at a deer at a distance greater than 137 yards either missed or resulted in a non-recovered deer - about half (51%) dropped within 3 yards of being shot, the other 49% ran varying distances - 20% of those that ran left no sign of being shot, no blood trail etc and were considered un-recoverable without the use of a tracking dog. The study looked at about 490 deer total.
Last note - there was no noted advantage between different calibers from 6mm through 30 cal. In fact the caliber that had the lowest "traveled" distance (averaged) was 25 caliber - so you don't need a Magnum for Bambi - be it rifle or bow)

[diesel]

That's a shot I love, especially on hogs. The only issue I've had is the horrible amount of damage, i.e. bloodshot resulting in lost meat.

Paul

X2 on the amount of meat damage .

I always aim for the exit point and have taught my kids the same thing . want the arrow to come out right behind the shoulder on the opposite side of the deer we want two holes for the deer to leak blood and we use a large blade to make big holes most go less than 40yards and most we get to see fall.

[nyexhunter]

Galamb makes a good point. If you hit a deer in the far side shoulder and do not have enough power to go through, there is a possibility that you will not have a pass through and the deer may go a long way without a blood trail after the hit.
In any event there are no absolutes in deer hunting, except that you never know exactly what will happen after you take the shot. That's why you need to make sure on the shot placement and making sure you are close enough to make a good shot, to put the odds in your favor of a good clean kill.

[bobcat]

i will chance a lost arrow over a lost deer. two low holes makes them leak. not saying what the op said is wrong. i just dont personally have the confidence to try it.