Shot placement

[GMMAT]

In a recent conversation with some other bowhunters.....I listened to a lot of guys stating they get double lung and heart (all 3) shots with their deer kills.  I'm not disputing this.  I just don't think I've probably EVER done it (30 or so kills).

So, is this double-lung AND heart shot pretty common?  Is it a rarity....but, not unheard of?  Do I just suck?   :D

[Kevin L.]

I had it happen a couple of times, but those were shots that hit lower than I was looking. I prefer to go for center of the lung and give myself the most leeway possible for error.

30 kills means you're doing something right.

[Zradix]

Originally posted by Kevin L.:
I had it happen a couple of times, but those were shots that hit lower than I was looking. I prefer to go for center of the lung and give myself the most leeway possible for error.

30 kills means you're doing something right.

Couldn't have said it better

[GMMAT]

I'm not really looking (not saying you guys were, AT ALL) to get a debate on lungs or heart shot selection.  That's all personal pref, and it gets beat to death.

Just wondering how prevalent the "all 3" shot is....whether you're aiming for it, or not???

I don't think I've ever had one!

[xtrema312]

I shot most of them from the trees so I don't think I could do that.  If I did it would have to be really light in the off lung.

[heartshoth]

IMHO...if you get a heart shot the lung shot is irrelevant  

now as a Veterinarian i can tell you that the lungs surround the heart in most species...so if you shoot through the heart you inevitably got the lungs too...MOST OF THE TIME  

[Bill Carlsen]

Lots of guys really do not know anything about anatomy. It would be interesting to know if they really did autopsies to determine what damage they really did. Hitting in the heart/lung area is not the same as hitting the heart and lungs.  I have over 50 big game kills and the only animal I got both on was a moose that I shot from the ground. From any decent height I don't know how you would get heart and both lungs since the heart basically sits very low and almost under the lungs. One lung and heart makes sense...but two lungs...I just don't know.???????

[GMMAT]

For the sake of this discussion, I'm interested in shots that were taken from an elevated perch.

I'm interested in them all.  But, the shots that were taken from stands (and the like) are more indicative of how I hunt.  And, like I said....I might just suck!...lol

[Chisler]

I agree with Bill Carlsen - well said.  Hard to get both lungs and the heart with a level shot, even harder from a tree.
Also, as another veterinarian, I always examine the wound closely and I have had a lot of double lungers that also hit the aorta as it arches upwards and backwards away from the heart.

[Kevin L.]

Bill and Chiseler have it right. I've gotten the aorta a good bit of the time, but that heart sits lower than many would think.

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Without looking through my notes, I can recall four whitetails that I killed with one-shot double-lung/heart hits. I shot all of them from treestands, and yes, I always examine the internal organs to determine damage.

[TroutGuide]

I was going to say the same thing.  Heart damage but not heart hit nescessarily.  Either way they dies!

[Jmatt1957]

I think Bill has the correct answer>

[Bonebuster]

It may actually be better to get the main cluster of arteries on TOP of the heart, and if you are low in a tree, or level with a broadside deer, it means you get the front lobes of the lungs as well. It`s almost like the heart leaks worse out the top than it does with a direct hit. As a bonus, there are some really big blood vessels in the front part of the lungs. gotta love that!  :D  

I ALWAYS investigate what my broadhead did. Even if it is just to confirm what I already knew.

[lpcjon2]

On a head on shot I whistle and say "UP boy UP" and they stand on the hind legs and it's a lot easier to get a triple hit.      Never had a triple it has to be in the angle of entry.

[South MS Bowhunter]

This year I shot a doe (in the avatar) from a treestand 15' and approx. 13 yard from the tree. I got both lungs and cut the top off of the heart that is the plumbing. The shot was a qrt away shot that enter the back edge of the left lung angled through the plumbing of the heart and exited through the front edge of the right lung (low).

[amar911]

It certainly is possible to get all three, but the last deer I shot through the center of the heart from a tree stand was standing slightly quartered away. The arrow entered her chest behind the left shoulder, went through her left lung, center punched her heart, went low and in front of the right lung, exited her chest, and hit her right front leg. As she ran off at breakneck speed, she broke the arrow in half with one half going out her right side and the other half coming back out of her left side. With that classic quartering away shot, I don't think there is any way an arrow could take out the heart and both lungs unless you just clipped the edge of the heart. The downward angle of a shot from a treestand makes a three organ penetration even more improbable.

Allan

[Hot Hap]

I have done it once. I was sitting on a 5 gal. bucket in a ditch about 3 foot deep. It was the best set-up I have ever had. Hap

[illwhttail]

I have killed well over a 100 deer and I can't recall hitting all three. You might hit the vents in the top.
unless the deer drops some weird angle just right.
good topic.

[Skipmaster1]

I think i did it once with my longbow from a treestand. i know I have done it dozens of times with the wheel bow, because they were longer shots and gave a better angle for it to happen and pin point accuracy. Usually it;s the very top of the heart and both lungs

I just don't see it happening very often from a treestand of any real heaight(20+ feet) at shots 25yds or under.