Help with penetration

[Ladams]

My set up is...Mohawk LB 64" 57# @ 28" Easton 2018 29" long Zwickey no mercy 165 grn single bevel. total arrow weight is about 530 grains.
Target of choice was west texas whitails.
Impact was a little bit foward hitting the mature buck in the right shoulder,distance was aprox. 18 yards. After a long search the deer was spotted a few days later with the arrow still impacted in the shoulder but otherwise no worse for wear. I changed my set up to this because this very thing happened to me three years ago,and i hate to wound an animal,I agree this was a poor shot but shouldnt this set up penetrate the shoulder of a white tail??

[Gordon martiniuk]

I would try a Carbon Express heritage 250s arrow with 100gr brass inserts , 100gr adapters in your No mercy broadheads cut you arrows to 30"  you will have one serious combo with very high foc and a very tough arrow      

[George D. Stout]

Nothing makes up for a bad shot....not even the single bevel heads.  Without standing beside you to watch what you did, it's hard to tell.  Angles of shot; not getting to full draw; poor arrow flight for some reason.  Too many variables to suggest what happened in your case.

Bad shots are bad shots.

[jhg]

I shoot the same weight longbow but with 625 grns /FOC.

 On the tests I did the arrow with 625 grns out penetrated another only 35grn lighter by 2 inches. The point I  want to make is how much MORE penetration a heavier shaft will deliver. To actually see it for oneself is worth the trouble trying different weight arrows.

Joshua

[Ragnarok Forge]

George is right, nothing makes up for a bad shot.  Without being there we can't know what caused the forward hit on the deer.

Poor bonde penetration on the other hand is fairly easily remedied.  Read thru the Ashby report on optimizing your arrows and follow all of the options as closely as possible.

Crank that arrow weight above 630 grains, use a brass or steel adapter / insert, utilize a razor sharp single bevel tanto tip broadhead, and you should be able to get shoulder penetration on broadside shots with enough force to take out one lung and most likely two.  Nothing guarantees heavy bone penetration.  Optimizing your arrow gives you a 300% better chance of it happening for a clean kill.  

Lots of guys like light arrows and get super close to make killing shots, others like to depend on their shooting skill and take longer shots with light set ups.  Reality is we all occasionally make bad shots, light arrows and light bows do no provide the optimum penetration when heavy bones are hit, simple physics there.

[Highlandwarrior]

I agree with the other guys, that seems a bit light for the poundage you are shooting. 10pp is my minimum usually higher. 570-627gr is about what you should be shooting.

[Bjorn]

Your lack of penetration has nothing to do with  equipment set up. Like George said "bad shots are bad shots". Firearm hunters have bad shots too.

[scottm]

It wont make up for a bad shot but im shooting a mohawk 56#@30".i shoot around a 680gr arrow.I also use Zwickey no mercy 165 grn single bevel broad heads.Maby try some thing heavier.When I bought my bow ne vence recommended a heavy arrow.But if it was a shoulder blade shot at 18 yards it probbly wouldent matter.

[TxAg]

Seems like your set up would've gotten through at least one shoulder no problem, however any number of things could've gone wrong. One possibility that jumps out at me is that you might have hit the ridge that runs up the scapula...bone gets pretty thick there.

[SteveB]

Now 530 gr is a light arrow for deer????

[elknutz]

Your arrow is fine if its flying good and your broadhead is sharp if you hit them in the right spot.  There is no good answer for bad shots.  Its a deer, not a water buffalo.

[Zach Mikita]

I had this exact thing happen to me also this year 55# kodiak mag with 545 gn arrow and I know I short drew due to my limb hitting the tree limb....simple as that this deer was close enough to spit on 5 yards maybe....o and I wouldve mounted him.....same scenario tho I fortunetly saw him a number of times later in the season so I know he lived. A bad shot is a bad shot we all make em. Don't lose too much sleep over it

[Jack Whitmire Jr]

The setup you are using will shoot longways thru a deer if the shot placement is good - read that last part again.

No matter what you are told shooting through heavy bone will not happen with that poundage on a adult deer , I will have nay sayers here . You would be at 10 grains  per pound with a 53# bow and  some people would say you are perfect, well if it will penetrate with 53# it will at your 57#.

The bottom line is about shot palcement.

Something someone said above is about not reaching full draw. When a deer is close to your tree with the heavy poundage you cannot reach full draw as easily, thus making your arrows out of tune ( not perfect arrow flight), impeding pentration. Just something to think about .

I have lowered my poundage to 50# @ my 27" draw with a 9.5 grain/ pound arrow. Now I shoot thru everthing as long as I stay off the heavy bone .

Good luck
Jack

[Apex Predator]

Don't shoot the next one in the shoulder blade, or go up to around 85# bow and 850 grain arrow.

[Guru]

Originally posted by Jack Whitmire Jr:
The setup you are using will shoot longways thru a deer if the shot placement is good - read that last part again.

No matter what you are told shooting through heavy bone will not happen with that poundage on a adult deer , I will have nay sayers here . You would be at 10 grains  per pound with a 53# bow and  some people would say you are perfect, well if it will penetrate with 53# it will at your 57#.

The bottom line is about shot palcement.

Something someone said above is about not reaching full draw. When a deer is close to your tree with the heavy poundage you cannot reach full draw as easily, thus making your arrows out of tune ( not perfect arrow flight), impeding pentration. Just something to think about .

I have lowered my poundage to 50# @ my 27" draw with a 9.5 grain/ pound arrow. Now I shoot thru everthing as long as I stay off the heavy bone .

Good luck
Jack

Good post Jack, I couldn't agree more    

Simply changing to a single bevel BH is not the answer to changing the outcome of bad shots.  

That arrow isn't light, especially for Texas Whitetails....

You could bump your arrow weight up....a couple hundred grains...it will help penetration...but will it guarantee "good enough" penetration thru bone???

I tell ya what it will lead to shooting at those WIRED deer.....a lot of bad hits!  

By the time that slow arrow gets there who knows where or what position the deer will be in!!

I bet anyone that's shot at those jumpy critters will know where I'm coming from....

[James Wrenn]

10 more lbs or 300gns more arrow weight would not have changed anything.

You missed and arrow weight is not going to put the arrow back where it needed to be to kill him.Sometimes we screw up but blaming the equipment is not the answer.Your setup is overkill for whitetail deer so that is not the problem. jmo

[Richie Nell]

According to some darn good research that many of you just can seem to stomach...there is a remedy for bad shots.  Whether you make the bad shot or the animal moves.

That was the reason for the research Dr. Ashby has done.  

So Ladams my answer is bad shots are bad shots but a heavier arrow with high FOC will make bad shots dead and recovered animals.  There is a lot you can do to your ammo to make them more lethal.  Read the research.

[Richie Nell]

"Your setup is overkill for whitetail deer so that is not the problem. jmo"

Overkill....is finding the deer.

[Highlandwarrior]

I guess I should have been more clear on my post, a bad shot is a bad shot as everyone has said, but for the longevity of the bow and for better results on marginal hits (ie clipping bone or they quarter hard at the shot) 10gr/pp is a better bet. 530 grain arrows are plenty for deer and even Elk on good shot placement, it would be perfect from a 53# bow- still a little light for 57#. Just my opinion. If you can't change setups or just don't want to, you will still be fine-dont lose any sleep  over it, just try to make a better shot next time. Everyone messes up, I just did it myself in Ohio shooting 11gr/pp. It obviously didnt help me any, but it might on another and its much better for the '57 I was shooting than 8-9gr/pp

[LCH]

I shot through both shoulders of a 120lbs. doe this year. 540 grain arrow 56# @ 28 simmons tigershark broadhead. 30 1/2" 5575 gt arrow at 25 yards. I'm shooting 9.4 grains per pound. LCH