I Have a Question......a few to follow(more ?? pgs. 4,6,7)and final question pg. 9

[ron w]

I would have to say a step forward 90% of the time.

[Charlie Lamb]

You think a lot like me bud... be afraid! Be very afraid!!
   :D  

I've only gut shot two animals in my life (that I remember). One of those stepped forward just as I released and turned the sure thing double lung into a not so nice solid gut shot.

I found it still alive and very sick some 4 hours later.

Can't begin to remember how many critters I've poked through the liver. At least in my experience, the ones hit with a big multiblade expired much quicker than those I hit with a big two blade.

I don't count on my bows being bone busters and sure ain't gonna base my set up on a few square inches of bone when theres square feet of other parts.

Now Killy knows what I was smirkin about.      

[swampbuck]

I personally like a big BH but big doesn't always mean blood on the ground,most times yea but I shot a 2"er just behind the last rib kinda high since I was in a stand and it took out nearly everything with the buck only going 30 yrds into the cattail type stuff.He never left a drop of blood and while I didn't get an exit the entrance was big enuff to put your hand thru.

Now as for the narrow 2blade single bevel I'm sure it has helped on bone hits but have a hard time thinking that most folks have a setup capable of busting the knuckle and getting thru

I say that because most of us shoot under 60#lbs and under 600grs of arrow...yea yea I know there's a bunch shooting heavier both bows and arrows but most aren't and most likely will not break the knuckle in the shoulder...I've seen it stop an 80# compound,yea it broke that bad boy and turned it right around but the BH didn't enter the chest cavity and I killed it a month after my nieghbor knocked him to the ground with the shoulder break.

HAs anybody ever seen a video of a shot deer that didn't react before the arrow got there??

They drop out of reflex and high hits from that and not picking a spot are common and most often the deer is unrecovered...I pulled a BH tipped arrow from the back of the buck I killed this yr that had obviuosly been there for some time.

[Bonebuster]

If you have EVER used a dog to recover a wounded deer, you would simply HAVE to agree with what Molson said on page three.

Follow up...follow up...follow up.

Two blades or a 30.06. If you push them when you shouldn`t your gonna lose them.

Keep them sharp as hell, strive to shoot your best, with as MUCH DRAW WEIGHT as you can, use bright fletching so you know where you hit, and take it from there.

"When in doubt...back out".  

Follow up...follow up...follow up.

[Terry Green]

I've used a dog before, and seen dogs used many times....I agree...follow up follow up...but its best when there's more on the ground to follow up dog or no dog....so I agree with Charlie, and my own experiences and witnesses as well.

Happy Holidays!!!  

[joe skipp]

Always walking forward....especially from the ground blinds I have setup specifically for the quartering away shot.

Every animal I've seen backup...knew something was wrong and was thinking about the quickest exit they can make.

[Pruneemac]

Hope this helps.

[novahunterpa]

Ive shot game with both 2 blade and mulit blade heads,  but I have not shot enough game with either to say wich might be a better choice.  All the game I shot with a 2 blade or multi blade I think would have beeen just as dead if I was using the other.  So far the only really bad HIT as far as placement ive had was pretty far back and high but I hit the main artery running along the back and the deer was dead real fast.  So I have not personaly takein enough game to come to any conclusions.  I like this thread and what other's who have more expereance taking game have to say on this subject.

[pitbull]

Awesome thread, I base my 2 cents solely on my experience and the records I keep on each deer that I have taken. I have taken 68 deer with a bow over the years and all have been with a 2 blade broadhead except 10 (4-blade). 6 were paunch shots and all were recovered, only 1 of those did I not have enough blood trail to follow and I got lucky doing a body search the next day. However I hunt high 18-25 ft. and most of my shots are under 20 yards which gives me an exit hole coming out of the bottom 1/4 of the animal that lets the blood out better. Any deer that I have not recovered has been due to a high shot that did not get the vitals and had no trail to follow. With that said I just tried out some W/W heads and they fly so awesome that I can't wait till next year to try them out. Bottom line to me is that on a marginal hit I don't think it is which head you are using, it is your tracking skills that determine the outcome, and a little luck.

[overbo]

Foward
Shoot 4 the crease,as shown above.If we are talking deer only.I only use snuffers and I know this isn't a snuffer thread but I've killed enough deer w/ other heads to know whay I have confidence in.As for elk,I like a big and heavy 2 blade.Bigger bones and more tissue to go thru.This is based on the 3 elk I shot w/ trad gear.2 w/ snuffers and the final w/ 160gr 2 blade.

[Shawn Leonard]

Did not say I did not recover them, maybe I missed that part of the question. I have recovered all but one or two deer I hit forward. Now that I shoot around 52-54#s,  I try and stay off of it but still have a tendency to shoot forward. As I have aged and learned, I recover most all my bow hit deer as I know when to wait them out or on the rare occasion to push them. Shawn

[Huntrdfk]

Good thread Curt......my tendency has been to shoot back and high, and the last few years I have found myself more comfortable with shooting three blade heads, either Woodsmans or Snuffer 125's......I'm also with Joe and RC on the step forward or back part, every deer I've seen that was stepping backwards was nervous and looking to leave.....

David

[jimmerc]

I would have to say stepping forward,as the shots i have made, that were back of where i wanted to hit were caused by two mistakes i made, not leading the deer and or not stopping the deer, sometimes caught up in the excitement, we react to quickly! just my .02$ worth! i don't have the bow kills that most have on here or the experience,but I have kept logs of every hunt for 36 years and after looking thru them the past couple days since curt started this thread i have viewed a patteren here for me! thanks curt!!I'm sure this is not where your going with this thread but I like that it got me thinking! I've only lost one deer to a to far back hit, this was when i first started out as a kid, my first trad hunt ever, bear 4 blade head, shot while the deer was moving,no leading, I looked for that deer for seven months,and finially found her in the spring after snow melt!I learned alot from that one deer,she went 150yards,and i walked past her 100s of times in that seven months!!

[maineac]

I agree with to far back.  I won't weigh in on the bh issue as I am enjoying the comments and do not have enough experience to add anything of value.  I do think that 3d targets represent the vitals to far back, leading people to picture a good lung heart shot a little to far back, and then add the forward movement of the animal and you get a liver or paunch shot.

[Guru]

Good stuff here guys.....

We all agree time and patience is your best friend when recovering poor hit deer. Some of the best hunters I've hunted with are some of the most impatient trackers I've ever hunted with too. Some guys naturally have a hard time controlling the adrenalin, and talk themselves into things that they know they shouldn't do....I see it over and over again....I've learned this myself through experience...


But how can you guys think that a big BH that will leave more sign and do more damage, won't help in recovery??


So we all agree that a relaxed animal(which is what we should be shooting at anyway,but not always obviously), is way more than likely going to step forward. Critters do step back, but we all know the majority of natural movement is forward a lot more than backward...OK

So wouldn't this be another good reason to shoot a big cutting BH? If this happens, you're gonna hit back in the soft tissue right?

[tradtusker]

i think it is a good reason.
there are many variables iv been know to carry 3 or 4 different BHs in my quiver and will pick which  one i shoot depending on the animal and circumstances, sometimes a big multi blade is no good sometimes a small 2 blade is no good. i guess if you where hunting say whitetail all the time you could stick to a big head if your shooting enough draw and arrow weight all the time. but when your game could range from a small Steenbuck to a massive Eland its nice to have a bit of both

[JoeM]

Very good thread!!  Point well taken, thanks GURU.  Joe

[Steve O]

I've only read the questions...but that is why I like the 3 blade is the answer to all three for me.  I am pretty sure that is the EXACT reason Roger made the Snuffer like he did.

[overbo]

That all sounds great Curt,but w/ big wide broadheads a archer has to have his or her equiptment tuned very well to shoot them.Those narrow cutting heads are more forgiving to equiptment that's not matched properly,which makes them user freindly.

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

This is one of those discussions where there really are no right or wrong answers. It’s a lot like art: two people can look at the same painting, see different things and come away with two completely different reactions.

A very good hunting partner of mine is a huge advocate of large, multi-blade heads. His thinking is that they put animals down faster, leave better blood trails and turn accidental marginal hits into quick, lethal kills. After six bears, two moose and over a hundred whitetails, I don’t question his judgment. He knows what gives him the most confidence. Several years ago I switched from large multi-blade heads to 2-blade heads. After all the animals I’ve killed with them, he doesn’t question my judgment either.

He and I have killed a lot of game together, and ironically enough, our recovery distance are about the same. His blood trails may be slightly heavier than mine on average (2” cut 3-blade heads leave a heck of a hole), but they’re generally more than good enough to easily get the job done. I say “generally” because both he and I have had hits that left very little blood, even with those flying meat cleavers on the ends of his arrows.

I agree with whoever said it’s about recovery. The reason my friend and I very rarely lose deer is because we don’t get on trails too soon. On marginal hits we always give the animal plenty of time and then track slowly. Another thing neither of us does is rely on our equipment to bail us out of a bad hit. We spend a lot of time practicing our shooting year round, know our effective ranges and stay well within them.

Either way, folks should use what personally gives them the most confidence. The last thing that should go through your mind at the moment of truth is doubt about your equipment. A narrow 2-blade or a huge multi-blade head will get the job done just fine.