Poor Blood Trail

[Buckeye Trad Hunter]

I should add that I shot a doe in 2007 that was a great hit.  She went down 25 yds from where I shot her.  bottom of both lungs and top of the heart.  I was using a 23/64 wooden arrow and the shot hit the opposite leg preventing passthrough.  No exit hole and the entrance was plugged by the "log" I was using for an arrow.  Hitting the heart there should have been buckets of blood everywhere but she never lost a drop.  Fortunatly I never lost sight of her.  Sometimes there are just circumstances that work against you regardless of how perfest your shot is.

[wapitimike1]

Two blade there's the answer!!

[Bowwild]

I shot Bear Razorheads without bleeders from about 1983-2000 or so. I had shot them with bleeders back to about 1970. I never noticed a difference in blood trails between the two. I killed a deer with a G5 B52 (2 blades) a few years ago, again no blood trail problem.

Because I aim for the top of the heart trying to hit the off-shoulder on exit, I have often exited through the shoulder and sometime with no exit if I hit the off shoulder bone.

Until this year I've been using 3-blade G5 Montecs, G5 Strikers, and even a Tekan II--again, no blood trail problems IF I get an exit wound (on 1 of 2 Tekan-killed deer I didn't get an exit and the blood trail was VERY sparse).

This year I'm using a more traditional head, the Helix. It is a 2-blade single bevel.  I've killed just one deer with it. The shot was high but double lung with pass through the chest cavity. The blood trail was immediate starting with lots of blood where the arrow laid on top of the ground (guess I need a 1/2 pound more draw weight to get the arrow to stick in dirt?). This deer went 52 yards and crashed - I saw it all.  Interestingly, she stopped running after just a couple of bounds then started staggering and tried to run again but the motor was shot (pun intended).

I'm not ready to say 2-blade is better than multiple or that single bevel is better than double edges. However, I saw Strickland's Archery Adventures a few weeks ago (Sportsman's Channel) and Tim's wife Shirely killed a doe with the Helix (she was shooting a compound). She double lunged a big doe. The doe turned instantly and I couldn't believe the water-hose like blood flow exiting that shot!  A lot of casual viewers probably didn't even notice the blood pumping out the exit but it was almost too graphic for me! The doe was down in sight about 30-40 yards.

Frankly, I was very skeptical of claims that single bevel broadheads would rotate the arrow at all once they've entered the deer. However, when I pull these heads from my foam targets I have to reverse rotate the arrow to pull them out of the target because they have turned their way in. I guess they do the same in deer tissue?

[joe ashton]

so here is my $0.02.  this season I shot 2 deer with sharp woodsmans.  One, the blood trail was profound.  I just walked the 75 yards to the dead deer.  The second ran 35 yards and I watched it fall 20 yards from my tree.  I blood trailed him even though I could see him from the tree and I found no blood anywhere.  So many uncontrollable variables.  But your set up and shot placement was fine good job. Joe

[getstonedprimitivebowhunt]

Heck ...you had a good hit..You found the buck not far away. Your set up worked... Blood isn't the only sign...I wouldn't change.   SWEET !

[joe ashton]

so here is my $0.02.  this season I shot 2 deer with sharp woodsmans.  One, the blood trail was profound.  I just walked the 75 yards to the dead deer.  The second ran 35 yards and I watched it fall 20 yards from my tree.  I blood trailed him even though I could see him from the tree and I found no blood anywhere.  So many uncontrollable variables.  But your set up and shot placement was fine good job. Joe

[the longbowkid]

ive had great success with 2 blades, could be a factor if your arrow stayed in the deer would plug the one bleeding hole, but ive had decent bloodtrails from deer with penetration to the fletches w/ 2blades. great tracking job!

[kennyb]

great job, lonnie! some good eatin'! mmm good!