Pass through or not?

[longbowman]

I prefer a pass thru any time.  You really can't judge the advantages vs disadvantages based on a single kill.  I shot a doe once that I have a picture of me holding it's heart with a perfect "X" through the middle from my broadhead.  I hit the animal at 7:45 A.M.  Waited 2 hrs. and heard it drop at 2:30 P.M. after going up and down a mountain 3 times bleeding the whole way.  I have shot many more that went down in sight.

[vermonster13]

The only animal I don't want complete pass-through on is a turkey. I don't mind keeping the arrow in them. Lot less chance of a fly off then and seems to stun them more.

[Terry Green]

Yeah.....what Orion said.  Every TRUE double lung with a SHARP Bhead I've experienced never went very far, and most times not even out of site.

Not saying that it never would happen, but I'd have to actually SEE it to believe a deer going 300 yards that was a TRUE double lung shot with a SHARP Bhead.

[Jerry Jeffer]

A double lung, or even one lung should give you a fine spray of a blood trail fromt the animal breathing. Sure it may be hard to see at times, but there will be a blood trail. A double lung will put a deer down quick. Some have mentioned what sounds to me the exception in a few cases as far as distances travled by a lunged deer. I used to think a heart shot was best. Until the day I shot a huge buck through the heart. I could see the blood spraying like an open fire hydrant. The blood trail was a foot and a half wide for a long way till no blood was left. That deer still managed to swimm across a river and go about 80 yards beyond that. I would say that is an exception, but it happens. All in all, you want to put in as much vital as you can to take you prize home. Also, never give up on a tracking job until there is absolutely nothing left to be done. I have made recoveries the next day after hours of tracking the day before.

[nock hunter]

Thanks for your opinioms guys.I do love a pass through as well.It was my 2nd deer ever taken and the blood trail was good(a blind man could find it).But it still covered a fairly good distance after the shot.It just made me think that if the arrow would have stayed in would it have done more damage and gone down faster.It was definetly still very easy to recover(5 min from camp).I've sen bears go with arrows in them that went just as far.Just one of those things that makes you want to hear from someone else.

[Biggie Hoffman]

The "it's good that the arrow is still in him, it'll keep cutting" scenario is what guys say to each other to make themselves feel better about a weak blood trail.

[ShinneryOak]

This is one of those endlessly debated topics which will never be really resolved because there are just too many variables from shot to shot. However, the one thing that can be said is that what happens BETWEEN the entry and exit wounds is far more important than the wounds themselves, or how many there are. If the arrow hits vital structures, the animal dies quickly,period.

[randy grider]

a deer should expire within 8 seconds of a good double lung hit. its just a matterof how much ground they cover in 8 seconds. if that same deer has an arrow hanging out of its side it will be frightened and pour on the steam. my experience with pass throughs is they are not near as scared.2 years ago i got a pass through on one and it just flinched a little, took three steps, looked around, and fell over dead.

[Shawn Leonard]

Yup, what Terry said. I also have doubts of a double lunged animal going 300-400 yards. I f ya center punch both lungs it is a scientific fact a deer will go no more than 200 yards and that would be a long long ways. I have double lunged at least 50 deer over my years and none has gone more than 80 yards. Shawn

[Terry Green]

I'll take a double lung over a straight heart shot every time.  This doe ran about 100 yards wiht a straight heart shot, and I've never had a double lung go more than 80 yards, and that one 80 yarder was quartering away and I jabbed the off leg.

   

The one's I've double lunged and the off shoulder wasn't hit never went past 40 yards, one spike only made it a mere 8 yards....and I've had a few just make a couple of bounds and stop to figure out what happened, started staggering and fell over not even knowing that they were hit.  

I had a 32-34 yard recovery rate for YEARS with the Zwickey Delta 4 blade...then I had to blow that average with a liver shot TX buck this year     :mad:  

So, its pretty much resolved for me as to what I want, no need in debating from my perspective.

[Brian Krebs]

I have no doubts about a double lung hit going 200 to 300 yards.
 I from experience think that if you get a double lung shot the deer will drop at about 60 yards; and bears - where shot placement is I think a better probability because of time to set up shots over a bait...will go from 40 to 60 on a double lung shot.
 I base that on seeing statistics; and seeing for myself guiding bear hunts and helping trail other peoples animals; my own kills; blood trail competitions online... etc etc.
 So- why do I say that 200 to 300 yards is totally believable? Because SO MANY people are shooting arrows with broadheads that are not sharp.
  BROADHEADS NEED TO BE SHARPENED AFTER EACH SHOT; AND AFTER BEING IN THE QUIVER FOR A WHILE.
   That is a rule of thumb for experts; some will disagree - and they most probably are putting a water-proofer on their broadheads- but taking arrows out and walking with them on the bow; and dragging the broadhead through weeds and brush- dulls them.
 So does shooting them into a foam target!!!@!!
  I have seen many times when a dull broadhead created a long blood trail (In 35 years of following blood trails). I have found dead deer in a controlled hunt - where I gutted the deer carefully and then backtracked it- sometimes to the shooter; sometimes to the shooters tracks where he gave up- and I was lucky enough to have found those guys...
  And if it was a double lung shot that went a long way- every single time the person says he had shot the arrow and knew it was flying OK; and yet did NOT re-sharpen the head.
  That is why I really get vocal about it. Broadheads kill by cutting. Yep you hit in the spine and you can kill them; or in the head.
  But if you shoot an animal with a dull head- and that means its not shaving sharp- your probably going to face a long blood trail.
 I have shot deer that kicked their back legs and started feeding again and dropped over. I shot one through the heart that was chasing a hot doe and it kept following the doe and jumped on - then fell over dead.
  Deer get wounded by branches and antlers and fences and all kinds of things - and they always run off when in danger and then everything is ok.
  A sharp head will get their attention; they run a distance; stop; look back and will most often die right there unless they see or smell or hear you.
  But with a dull head; its more of an punch than a shaving cut; and they will run accordingly.
  Having the arrow stick out can not only scare them into running further- it can hit trees etc; and the added shock will keep them going faster.
  A pass throuh is the best thing- and no its a lie to say the arrow should ideally go in part way and then work around and cut up the deer more- that is just a blackeye to bowhunting.
 Shooting a sharp head causes less pain ( I have talked to people shot with bows in the chest- they were frightened because they knew what the situation was- but pain was minimal- now of course a shot in the bone- will instantly bring more pain).
 I am not out bowhunting to make animals hurt. I am out there to kill them in a quick humane way- and a sharp broadhead on a well placed arrow does that.
  To say or think that the arrow works best by going in a short way and then working around is the statement of a person that is not familiar with how an arrow works- and it is a black eye to bowhunting
 SHAME SHAME SHAME!!!!!      

[Numitokayo]

Excellent reply Brian, I agree 100 percent with you on that one    

Daniel

[Wudstix]

Only had two the stayed in the critter.  Once in 1977 and again in 2004.  I have to agree two holes are better than one.

[Shawn Leonard]

Although I agree about the sharpness of heads, a double lung complete pass thru with a dull hoe, takes the air out and no they will not go 200-300 yards, one in a hundred maybe, but it is very rare. Shawn

[Shawn Leonard]

Although I agree about the sharpness of heads, a double lung complete pass thru with a dull hoe, takes the air out and no they will not go 200-300 yards, one in a hundred maybe, but it is very rare. Shawn

[Kindred Mark]

I heart shot is great but I'd rather shoot double lungs.  Less chance of flirting with larger bones.  I'd prefer a pass through for blood tracking purposes, but punching through through ensures the same wound channel and usually and short recovery.  My longest traditional recovery was a non pass-through hog that went 140 yards,  most deer I have shot made it no more than 70 yards.

[Ray Hammond]

if you heart shoot an animal its still breathing...a deer that is still breathing can go a long way.

A hole through both sides, and the lungs in between produces a pneumothorax- a negative pressure in the chest cavity- the lungs cannot be filled with oxygen- the brain gets oxygen starved- and the animal passes out - often you recover a deer and say " he died running"- that is what you see when the deer passes out- its in mid stride.

There is no debate- lungs punched with a pencil will kill any animal more quickly than a heart shot with the world's sharpest broadhead- every single time.

[Biggie Hoffman]

Ray, that's ACUTE pneumothoax.

NOTHING runs 300 yards if it's double lunged.

[Ray Hammond]

you got that right, Bigster!!  

[Shawn Leonard]

See, I was so sure I said it 3 times! Shawn