Which is harder to penetrate.. Moose Prep

[Caleb Andes]

Alright guys, As you could imagine I have been doing some... experiments.. I will be going on a moose hunt this October and I have been testing my arrow setup on objects that I think would be similar to a moose rib. My arrows have already smoked through a 1x but faulted on an inch thick ply wood. My broadhead penetrated to the point where the tip was just showing through the other side. So my question is..

What would be a good thing to shoot at that is the most similar to a moose rib?

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Don't over-think it. I have no idea what kind of lumber my arrows will penetrate, but I watched two of them zip through a mature bull moose a few years ago. What are the specs on your setup (bow, arrows, etc.)?

[ChrisM]

Plywood is way too tough.  It has alternating grains with glue so it will not split like bone and normal wood will.  Just ask my friend that tried out his karate skills on some plywood.  

[Caleb Andes]

Jason, I definitely am over thinking it, which leads to posts such as this.

Im shootin a 650grain arrow, perfectly paper and bareshaft tuned, with a 200 grain muzzy phantom two blade. For bow I am shooting a 56" 52lb life ender longbow by lost creek bows.

I am glad to hear that plywood is too thick by the way =)

[steadman]

Caleb your fine! My set up blew through a moose at 30 yards, 59# Mohawk with a 680 grain arrow with a 3 blade RFA Phoenix. You'll be fine, you need to find something else to nitpick because your set up will work!! Good luck! Moose are fun til their down, then it's work, A lot of it  

[saltwatertom]

Hey,..... My question is,..... how do you get the head back out of the wood when it is that stuck in there????     I've busted arrows and heads doing same.  

[JamesKerr]

Your setup sounds fine. If I ever get to hunt a larger animal like moose I know I would be confident with my 55# longbow and 600-650 grain arrows with a razor sharp 2 blade.

[Gun]

As said, Your set up will do fine. My last Bull was taken with a 52# longbow, 620 gr. arrow and woodsman broadhead. To the fletch, hit opposite shoulder. Down in 50 yds.
Just aim for the lower third. Too many people forget about the hump. Good Luck!

[Caleb Andes]

i thank you gentlemen for putting my worried mind at ease.

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

dont sweat it dude Your set up will work just fine

[The Whittler]

If your setup will kill a deer then you won't have any problem with a moose. Moose aren't that tough they are just big deer lol.

[el_kirk]

The heck with worrying about your arrow penetrating, make sure your back and legs can carry the beast!  Have a great trip and be sure to take more pictures than you think you should.  Then post them for us!    

[AkDan]

I've shot them with ash and cedar...using 2 blade eskimo's.  Hit ribs both times.  The ash (barrel tapered) did much better than the cedar (single taper) but both did the job well.  

Stay way from the shoulder, nothing you shoot is going to bust through it.  

Three blades will spread the rib more than a 2 imho....a narrower woodsman vs a wider snuffer imho would be better...stay away from heads with higher angled heads if you do go with a 3.   Thats my thoughts anyways, I still refuse to use them though I know plenty that do.  

I do know guys who failed to penetrate so to say they are a big deer is true to a degree...depending on where you're hunting them, they can vary in size from a very big elk to almost the size of an eland.  Even within the Alaska borders, this remains true...lower koy/yuk drainages they are HUGE compared to interior bulls body mass wise.

We've also opened up moose that had multiple arrow wounds (heads and portions of shafts still inside), one managed to hit the top of the chest cavity..the other two were non killing shots, one hit the spine and failed to penetrate past the portion that juts out (3 blade) the other was high above the lungs way forward, nothing but flesh and failed to exit (also a 3).   We know one of the heads, he happened to be on the butchering crew.  

THat said, they do die much easier than most big game when you poke a hole in their lungs....stay 1/3rd up and 1/3rd back (not tight to the shoulder) and you'll be eating moose burger/steaks for the next 2 years   .

[CRS]

I punched completely through my Wyoming Shiras with a 60# longbow shooting 630gr doug fir with a 145gr Eclipse broadhead.

I think you will be just fine.