oops. I'm sorry,I have just looked back in on this thread, and it appears I hijacked Tippit's thread a little with my statement about shooting scapulas.
Sorry Doc.
SteveB,
I hunt in Georgia. Deer in GA when they get big, like say a 6 year old buck, weigh 130 -150 lbs. I shoot LOTS OF DOES, which average 90 lbs- we get 12 tags a year- I never shoot bucks unless they are monsters (for us) and those I do not shoot in the scapula.
My context is I hunt in an urban deer hunting program in metro Atlanta that I started in 1999, and in South Carolina where I hunt pigs that get to 450 and 500 lbs with shields 2 and 3 inches thick, but the deer may get to 100 lbs. Not your average bowhunter in that I take probably 50 hogs a year, and between 10 and 20 deer a year (South Carolina is no limit hunting)and guide others to almost that many kills.
In Atlanta we have 45 to 50 hunters in our program, and operate inside housing developments, golf courses, etc...where stealth, as much as taking deer is generally required by the landowner. They don't want anyone to know we are doing the job.
So deer running around with arrows in them is a no-no. Most of our hunters are compounders- I do not have any of them taking shots as I do.
My setup is the same as it has been the last 25 years, since I read the Natal Study Ed did back in the mid eighties I think...heavy recurves and longbows shooting heavy arrows...tipped wih grizzly 190 and grizzly 160 heads. total arrow weight is well over 10 grains per lb of draw...example....one bow is 64 lbs at 28, FF string recurve...and arrows are 725 grains. In carbons nearly half the weight is in the tip end...they're high FOC
I shoot through the scapula, NOT the shoulder knuckle. If I am on the ground I don't take that shot, because there's too great a chance you wouldn't get lungs- if in a treestand, obviously you can only shoot through ONE scapula but that is my target..I don't shoot out to 40 yards and beyond like you see on TV...I get the deer in close...10 yards from the tree or less- and if you want a LOW exit wound its one of the best places to hit a deer because the arrow will exit very low. Low equals good bloodtrails, and if the deer is broadside I have a decent chance of hitting the OPPOSITE leg bone,which is my 'point of aim' for the exit...I don't actually aim AT the scapula..I am through it to the point I want my arrow to LEAVE the animal..and that is the offside leg bone and I often break that as well.
If you are using replaceable blade broadheads, or don't know how to sharpen a broadhead, or use double bevel heads for that matter, you probably ought not to try what I do. As a matter of fact, I don't recommend this to anyone- I'm just telling you what I do.