OK... what are features that affect...

[ChuckC]

It is cabin fever time.   How about a discussion....  a nice one.   What are things.. physical or metaphysical,  real or perceived, that can affect the ability of an arrow, equipped with a broadhead, to penetrate an animal,   lets say .... a deer.

Any takers ?   Please, let everyone have a "shot " at this.

ChuckC  

[Focusource]

Arrow weight, percentage of front of center balance, sharpness of the broadhead, broadhead retaining it's structural integrity on impact, tuning of the arrow, quality of the release, placement of the shot and poundage of the bow.  I'll leave the metaphysical stuff for the more philosophical members.  

[vtmtnman]

Not hitting the shoulder blade...

[Whip]

I think the number one thing influencing penetration is arrow tuning.  Without excellent arrow flight just about everything else won't make much difference.

[Old York]

Well gosh-n-by-golly the deer has to be at One with The Harmonious Universe so that it's Inner Animal-Self is calm and centred about the Arrow which is fast approaching its vital zone (in an existential Hail Mary Sort of Way) thus aligning the various concentricities of the ascending aorta, the Tanto-Tipped Tusker, various sundry adjacent air molecules, and of course, the gasping, buck-fevered wood-tick riddled Cerebral Cortex & Limbic Ganglia of the Hunter, in a metaphysical sort of way and it's really only mid-January?

[Earl E. Nov...mber]

So if front of center improves penetration? Why?
And does a small diameter shaft really penetrate better in flesh? Target media I can see, but blood and flesh, I doubt if you can measure the difference in drag of a 1/4" shaft or a 11/32 shaft going thru a well lubricated hole that is 5 or 6 times larger.

[Orion]

Tim:  Funny stuff.
Earl:  Read Ashby's stuff on this site.  His research has measured both of the things you're asking about.  High FOC penetrates better because they're less arrow whip behind the shaft when the arrow strikes, which would rob the arrow of some of its energy.  Something about the head pulling the arrow through as opposed to the arrow pushing the head through.  Less surface on a thin shaft, thus better penetration, as long as the broadhead ferrule is at least as large or larger than the shaft diameter.  A shaft diameter larger than the ferrule diameter also reduces penetration.
Whip:  I agree.
vtmt:  As one who's done it, I agree with that, too.

[Jake]

Ditto what Joe said.  If this was addressed more the BH and FOC discussions wouldn't be needed.  Good answer Joe.

[Focusource]

Old York, you are a master of the metaphysical.  By the time the next deer season opens, I will believe everything you wrote!

[ChuckC]

In some universes, and times,  this is all true.  The alignment of the stars,  or at least the muscles, ligaments, organs and such can greatly aid in the endeavor.  

What if a butterfly flaps its wings in Indonesia, or... at least a twig impacts that finely tuned arrow, causing an imbalance of the force..... or at least arrow flight ?

What if the earth moves,  or at least the deer does.  Impacting a location you didn't originally have in mind is one obvious result, but another is that no matter how straight, how forceful, how perfect your arrow is flying, a moving target can cause the plane of flight to alter dramatically.

What if  "C A T" really spells..... "dog"?

More more.....
(no   i'm not drunk, just having fun)
ChuckC

[Earl E. Nov...mber]

FOC doesn't prove anything. It is mass and rigidity that do it.. FOC is just one way of getting it.
I still contend that the difference in drag on a shaft is most game will be unmeasurable. In cardboard, yes, In plastic foam, yes, through an inner tube, side wall of a tire or a chunk of thick and possibly dried hide.. yes.
In flesh and blood, on "most" game, you'll never see the difference.
any penetration past "Two Holes" is a testament of wasted energy.
Most of us can get that on whitetail with a 40# bow and four bladed heads and a wooden shaft.

[Killdeer]

Tim, I thought I had at least some grasp of the physics of the metaphysical world.
Oh Well!      

Killdeer

[Shaun]

If your mind is completely free of anything but the arrow and the deer - then the arrow must go to the deer. Since this state of mind seldom occurs, we must rely on clean arrow flight and sharp broadheads. Nothing wrong with FOC, heavy arrows, momentum, etc. but all these factors only contribute once the arrow finds the deer. I believe the deer "gives" itself to the hunter when the hunter gives himself to the hunt.

In other words, I agree with Old York.

[Focusource]

Cool Shaun.  I like that.

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Like Whip said: tuning comes first.

[Landshark160]

Broadhead design.

[BRONZ]

Confidence:

Confidence that you've chosen the right equipment for the job.

Confidence that you know how to use that equipment with lethal efficiency.

Confidence that "The Fever" isn't going to cloud your ability to make sound decisions.

Confidence that the pre-determined destiny of any animal that you come to full draw on...
is the Highlights Forum.