Penetration issue on squirrels!

[dragonheart]

Originally posted by Birdbow:
I've had enough squirrels take solid hits with all kinds of blunts/small game heads from my whitetail setup and then escape unrecovered that I won't shoot them with anything but old, ground down broadheads. Hate to lose any animal I shoot. If they were deer sized, we'ld have to hunt them with elephant calibers!

X2

[Bernie B.]

frassettor - that made my day!!    

Bernie Bjorklund

NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin

[bendotwood]

Thanks for all the ideas guys!  I'm gonna take your advice and try out a 6 fletch design with 3.5'' feathers.  They definitly go higher and farther than my spirals, so in theory that'll do the trick.

[Jerry Gille]

I've bowhunted them religiously for years and wouldn't think of using anything but standard fletch and some kind of cutting head.  Based on a few hundred squirrel kills, that is the most effective set up.  And you're going to lose plenty of squirrels with cutting heads too, just not as many in my experience as with blunted stuff. Shots in the chest, head and neck are not normally the issue.  Front leg, gut and back leg shots are almost hopeless with blunts but you still have a chance with a cutting tip, especially if the arrow stays in the squirrel.  However, I've still seen more than my share of squirrels drag arrows into holes with them way up in some tree.

I personally do not believe shock does squat to a squirrel regardless of bow weight, arrow weight or fletch choice.  You'll be the most consistent in terms of recovering them with cutting heads in my experience and that's why it's all I'll use.

[Bowjunkie]

For me, it's only Magnus small game heads... blunts with a razor sharp bleeder inserted. And NEVER a flu flu... only regularly fletched arrows... hickory... 650 gr. Kills squirrels dead.

squirrels are used to blunt force trauma, they fall from treetops all the time.

[Danny Roberts]

Judos.

[cahaba]

I started using broadheads on squirrels since the last one I shot at 15 yards with a hex head hit the ground then took off running. They are some tough critters.

[Bud B.]

Where was the squirrel when shot? On a tree trunk?

[Fattony77]

I decided last year to only use a cutting head when attempting to bow shoot squirrels.

I was out hunting them with my daughter's little pink .22 (no laughter, it's a great shooting gun!) and shot one off of a limb about 30' up. It fell, and thumped the ground, HARD. I thought that was a dead squirrel. I was proven wrong when it got up and ran away from me.

I still swear that I saw it pause, look back at me and raise it's middle squirrel-finger, laugh at me and disappear forever.    :eek:  

Seriously, when that happened I realized that when I was trying to shoot one with a bow, a cutting style head would be the only way I had any hope of killing one with an arrow (short of hitting one in the eye).

I still haven't connected with an arrow YET, but I will only attempt it with broadheads or an edged small game head from now on.
-Tony

[Fattony77]

And as far as the fletching goes, I will try the 6 fletch shield or parabolic myself, also. I will otherwise probably not try to use any flu-flu's, and just use arrows that I wouldn't mind too much if I lost it.

[VA Bowbender]

I can't believe nobody said anything about "nutters".