The void = proof

[maxfit]

I stalked and shot a nice buck the other day.  :D   While skinning last nite my finger stopped on something that didnt feel right.  :(  ( lesson,  wear gloves    ) Upon inspection we found a 100 grain  thunderhead broadhead /8 inches of aluminum arrow inside the deer. The arrow had passed into the backstrap,went under the spine and came out just under the other side and barely broke the hide.  :eek:    The deer was just starting to get infected  :mad:   Its amazing that he showed no signs of being hurt. When i shot him he was sparing with another buck.  I have pics on my phone and will try to figure out how to get them into my email and post. The void... its for real.Even though this deer was shot with a different weapon, i think this can benefit all of us. Hopefully this wont get deleted

[always89]

I shot one with a thunderhead and 3 inches of arrow in its neck. No signs of injury on the hove though. They are amazing animals

[Cherokee Scout]

Suggestion, please take no offense.
I suggest you keep this sort of info off the internet.
The antis collect this info and use it against bow hunters every chance they get.
We all know it happens from time to time, but let's not give the antis any "ammo".

[Whip]

A friend of mine that we camp next to at Compton has two different rib cages taken from deer that have arrows completely through them.  The arrows are completely calcified so the deer obviously lived at least a year after being shot.  I would have never believed it if I hadn't seen it.  I have a picture of one of them.  You can clearly see the nock of the arrow above the rib cage and the calcified arrow going through the chest cavity below the spine and out mid body on the other side.  Amazing animals indeed!
 

[Whip]

John, you and I were posting at the same time.  You do make a good point - I'll let the mods decide if this should be pulled or not.  I think it is good for bowhunters to know, but certainly understand your concerns.  Thanks!

[SteveB]

No void - just the rare but real case of a deer surviving a high hit. Also you gave the vertical spot of the shoot, but not where it was horizontaly.

Steve

[maxfit]

John
I dont want this to turn into a debate. Just some helful info for bowhunters.

[maxfit]

Sorry.  Deer was hit 6 inches behind shoulder blade.  If it didnt hit the spine,artery or lung or any thing in between  and had 2 holes i call it a void. I talked with a dog tracking service and he also believes there is a "void" in that area. Wouldnt have believed it until i saw it.

[jgbennett6]

Probably still hit the lungs just on the outter lobes, where the least amount of 02 absorption takes place, that and most likely did not create a big enough hole to cause a pneumothorax, so the archer most likly hit lungs just not enough.

[maxfit]

Whip
By the way that 64# t/d i got from you was the fastest bow that i have ever seen. I never should have sold it. Another Trad member here chronoed it against alot of other bows. The results were not even close. If i remember right all thing being equal it was 15-20 fps faster. Sorry went off topic.

[JC]

I think the pic is fine, good reminder on where "not" to shoot one.

[KSdan]

I also think "void" is a myth.  Too many deer are hit high or in the liver and people say "void."  I think better education of anatomy and physiology would put it to rest.

[trapperDave]

I agree, it does not exist...what does exist is the whitetails amazing ability to recover!  Their was a very interesting article in Deer & Deer Hunting awhile back about the properties of deer blood, very interesting read.

[SteveB]

6" behind shoulder blade and below the spine means it hit either liver, lungs or both.
Simply demonstrates what Trapperdave said - the deers ability to recover.

Steve

[Bill Carlsen]

I remember many years ago Pete Shepley of PSE bows was reported to have shot an elk thru both lungs and never recovered it or the arrow. The next season a gun hunter shot the elk and the arrow was apparently in the same state as the arrow in the pic above. Most of us who have been at this a while have made shots and not recovered animals the "should" have gone right down. The real "void" is our lack of ability to fully understand how much things happen.

[Izzy]

Well said Bill.

[Bard1]

I don't know if there is a void or not, but I do believe that people use broadheads that are not sharp enough to start with and get dulled even more so that they only push things aside when they go through instead of cutting. Add to that the deer's amazing ability to heal and you get what we have seen.
D-

[Trad Man 25]

Its allways a very interesting subject and incredable storys and impresses me every time.

[swampbuck]

I killed a buck a week ago that had an arrow in him pretty much just like you described.However it was just and I mean just behind that membrain wall what ever it is that keeps the lungs/heart seperated from the rest of the inards.It's almost centered on the body cavity which is about 6" behind the shoulder blade.Deflection could make it worse or better I don't buy the void idea if your in the lung area it just ain't there.....

Not everything is exactly as we think either...the deer WILL move at the shot and arrows do deflect of ribs to some degree...I've had it happen with a 12guage slug it can and does happen.

The so called void is behind the lung area above the stomach and intestion keep them in tight up front and low since it'll hit higher than expected when the deer reacts

[Whip]

Now here is a dumb question I'm sure, but a biology major I'm not.    

How exactly do lungs work anyway?  I know when I dress out an animal the lungs are "deflated" and there is a lot of empty space when I reach into the chest cavity.  So are the lungs like a balloon and fill up that space?  And when they inhale the diaphram pushes against the other organs?

Anybody have a layman's explaination of how this stuff works?   :confused: