Richie, I do respect your exuberance for the sport of bowhunting, and I know you have a desire to do the best you possibly can to make good shots and use good equipment.
You stated: "Or do you think, "Well, I know that is going to happen. I know the deer is going to move on shots. I am going to do some things to beef up my ammo, tune it well, put the same scary sharp broadhead on it and greatly increase my chances of killing a deer even with a "bad" shot."
Personally, I have already thought that out. I know, and have seen, what my equipment will do..in good and bad conditions, on good and bad shots. The last bad shot I made was in the 1970's. Here is why: I learned not to shoot under certain circumstances; deer looking at me; deer tense from extraneous activity; deer not broadside and almost no possibility of hitting entrance shoulder.
Now...anything can happen, of course, but most things occur because the shooter makes an error in judgement...not because a deer jumps the string. The archer has complete control over the situation and is the one choosing when to loose an arrow. So, the onus is on the guy behind the bow to make, or not make a shot...good or bad.
As for my equipment....average arrow is between 470 and 550 grains, depending on what bow I'm shooting. I have seen these arrows cut through a deer's spine (when I hunted from trees), pass through a lung...into the heart, and be imbedded in the brisket with the point starting to exit the body completely. That was with a 470 grain arrow, Bear Razorhead, 53 pound bow....shot distance seven steps.
I have also had a 540 grain aluminum arrow penetrate both hams....a very bad shot on my part, and luckily caught the femoral artery.
I have never hit a scapula in all my years...except on one occasion, and that was on the exit.
Now I don't pile up deer numbers since in Pa. we can only take one buck per year, but I have taken over twenty-couple in forty-couple years.
I never lost a deer due to poor penetration, but I have lost a couple to to bad shot placement.
So yes...we are deeply concerned with how our equipment performs in the field, even in less than perfect conditions: however, I have the most affect on what those conditions will be, and act accordingly. I also have the experience and examples to know that what I am doing is best for me and the game I hunt.
I would never tell you or anyone else that your equipment isn't good equipment. The bottom line is how it performs and I am more than comfortable with my equipment, and I know it's not detrimental to the sport, because it is very adequate, and quite efficient. I'm sure what you use is every bit as good. 8^).
Topic: Help with penetration (Read 1881 times)
