"No Man's Land" Shots...
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Woody Williams
- Posts: 6440
- Joined: Wed Oct 09, 2002 5:07 pm
Ulmer, Dr. Randy
Bowhunter
October 01, 2000
YOU'VE PROBABLY heard about at least one bowhunter who has shot through the chest of a deer or elk and then, a few days or weeks later, has seen the same animal, apparently healthy and unaffected by the arrow. The hunter assumes his arrow passed through the "hollow place" between the spine and the lungs.
Do animals have such a hollow place? No, they do not. The lungs are passive, elastic organs that expand and contract only because they are within the sealed environment of the chest. They fill the entire chest cavity at all times.
The hollow-place myth probably has arisen because of the impossibility of seeing the lungs in their natural, sealed environment. To examine the lungs, you must open the chest, and when you do that the lungs instantly collapse to one-half their normal size, giving the impression that they occupy only a portion of the chest cavity.
If no hollow place exists, can an animal really survive an arrow through the chest.
He goes on to state that they can survive but the chances are not that good.
Bowhunter
October 01, 2000
YOU'VE PROBABLY heard about at least one bowhunter who has shot through the chest of a deer or elk and then, a few days or weeks later, has seen the same animal, apparently healthy and unaffected by the arrow. The hunter assumes his arrow passed through the "hollow place" between the spine and the lungs.
Do animals have such a hollow place? No, they do not. The lungs are passive, elastic organs that expand and contract only because they are within the sealed environment of the chest. They fill the entire chest cavity at all times.
The hollow-place myth probably has arisen because of the impossibility of seeing the lungs in their natural, sealed environment. To examine the lungs, you must open the chest, and when you do that the lungs instantly collapse to one-half their normal size, giving the impression that they occupy only a portion of the chest cavity.
If no hollow place exists, can an animal really survive an arrow through the chest.
He goes on to state that they can survive but the chances are not that good.
Woody Williams
We have met the enemy and he is us - Pogo Possum
Hunting in Indiana at [size=84][color=Red][b][url=http://huntingindiana.proboards52.com]HUNT-INDIANA[/url][/b][/color][/size]
We have met the enemy and he is us - Pogo Possum
Hunting in Indiana at [size=84][color=Red][b][url=http://huntingindiana.proboards52.com]HUNT-INDIANA[/url][/b][/color][/size]
subject
Who knows one expert says one thing another so called expert says something different. The best thing to do is just hit them in the right spot the first time by takeing carefull aim. Over the years I have self processed most all of my deer and have cut out and found a number of bullets from where a deer was shot by someone else in the passed. The worse I ever saw was a big 11pt that I found two 22cal rimfire bullets, a black power round ball and some shotgun pellets all in his lower neck. There I was all proud and thinking I was the only hunter to ever see than old sneaky buck.I guess at least I was the only hunter to make a good shot at him anyway. Deer are tough and have the will to survie no matter what it takes or how hard it is. I got a picture of a 3 legged buck last week on one of my cam sites and he looked great and healthy.
Woody..... I think that the debate over the "no man's land" question is just a lack of knowledge by some hunters.... Mark's explanation is correct.... most people don't realize that the spine is lower in the body cavity.... I have guided for some outfits a few times and have recovered deer that the shooter swore was hit right behind the shoulder only to find out later that it was a meat hit above anything fatal........ but those times were from the ground..... I don't think you could even do that from an elevated shooting position...... on the same topic.... I know that most members on here do there own gutting and such but part of the problem is that there are a lot of camps where there is a lot of people shooting year after year but a much smaller number doing the chores.... it's surprising how many people don't even do their own field dressing........ it's a skill that should be learned just like tracking and it's the best way I know of to learn shot placement.......
