Simmons Tree Shark Question on Shot Deer

[bkbk12]

Just seeing if anyone has ever had this happen before. I shot my first Deer last night with a Tree Shark I am shooting 52# with a 590 grain arrow. I shot the deer standing broadside, and as soon as I shot I heard a loud crack. AS soon as I heard it I though crap I hammered his shoulder. I got down got the arrow, and at most I got was 1" of penetration past the broadhead. When I found the deer it was a good broadside hit but it looks like it has a probably 6" long gash and when I cleaned it the broadhead tried to wedge inbetween tow ribs and never even penetrated through the ribs. Do you think that maybe the deer turned during the shot causing the long gash and that slowed the arrow down enough to where it would not at least break the ribs going in. just wondering dead is dead but its one of the craziest things I have seen or maybe the deer turned and how that broadhead sweeps out it hit at a angle and just whipped and snapped the head.

[bkbk12]

P.S I have pics if someone wants to post them I can get them on here from my phone.

[KAZ]

I'll be interested in following this one... Based on the penetration you got, I'm curious to understand the lethality of the wound/hit? Perplexing and disturbing @best.... Glad to hear you recovered the animal!  

[Will Cocke 2]

Did it break the shaft an 1" back from the head around the end of the insert or was the arrow intact.  Almost sounds like the deer spun and wheeled at the same speed or faster than the arrow and moved out of the way and or was gone before it had a chance to get into his cage.   If the arrow broke I would think the head hit and the shaft snapped taking all the energy out of the arrow.

[bkbk12]

I am shooting Axis .400 and it broke part of the actual HIT insert. and KAZ Me too I guess when the head tried to go through the ribs it poked one lung it was bright red bubble blood and a pretty good blood trail on top of that is was on of the craziest things I have seen. The butcher said I am not sure what killed your deer....

[Will Cocke 2]

I think when shaft broke it robbed all the energy from arrow in combination with the deer wheeling.  Do you foot your shafts?

[Iowabowhunter]

I had problems with HIT inserts myself....I took some great advice from SteveO and used JB Weld on the insert, and also footed my shafts using JB Weld, I actually broke a STEEL field point after I sunk the arrow into a fencepost (woops!) But the insert and shaft were perfectly intact, the male threads of the field point snapped. JB Weld is the way to go along w/footing your arrows-cheap insurance        glad you found your deer, any pics?

[bkbk12]

I guess so... I reckon when he wheeled areound real quick it just snapped it its crazy though. I don't foot my shafts, and this is the first one I have ever had break on me this is my first deer with a  treeshark too though. Tigersharks, and VPA  have killed several with no problems, who knows crazy stuff happens some times.

[Will Cocke 2]

Might have been a defect in the shaft who knows.  But that is crazy.

[ChuckC]

Think this thru.  

Any really wide head will strike with the edge, not the tip, on an oblique shot.  Yes, either the deer spun or was never actually straight broadside when you shot.  

When you hit the deer obliquely, the head will travel along the body, causing a long cut wound, until the tip catches on something enough to cause it to dig in.  

The only way this doesn't occur is if the arrow is spinning just exactly right on impact so that the head is mostly straight up and down, allowing the tip to work.

Hold one of your arrows with Simmons (or any other  wide) head straight against a flat surface, then move it to the side and see what I am talking about.

I have had this happen to me several times using wide heads on hard quartering shots.  Narrower heads don't do this near as much.

BK. .  where did you hit it where you "didn't get but 1" penetration" "didn't go thru the ribs", but you still killed the deer ?


ChuckC

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

I'm gonna guess it's a combination of the deer wheeling at the shot, and a possible defect in the shaft. You still found the deer, and that is one reason I am so drawn to those treesharks. So many guys find deer on seemingly marginal shots that turned out to be deadly.

[swampdrummer]

I had one last year do something close to this. Big doe spun at the shot and the arrow traveled along the rib cage, under the shoulder and severed an artery in the neck. Blood everywhere! Tree shark as well.....

[bkbk12]

Yeah the 1" penetration was how far the broadhead went until the width that 2" head wedged between the two ribs and just bounced off you could see just a the tiny hole that made it between the ribs before that width slowed it down I guess. It was the craziest thing I have ever seen it sounded liked I hit a rock,and the arrow just bounced off the deer.

[bkbk12]

I mean it didn't even break either of the two ribs it tried to go through,

[Cmane07]

That is interesting. bkbk12 if you want to email me the pics i'll put em up for ya.  [email protected]

[KentuckyTJ]

The wider the blades the more energy it takes to sink them in a deer. I assume since you are using HIT inserts you also have skinny shafts. Larger diameter shafts are also stiffer. Change heads change shafts or I would suggest both.

Thats the reason you see time after time these guys on TV when they shoot a "RAGE in the cage" they only get 4" of penetration out of a compound bow on a broadside deer. Wide blades keep the arrow from going in very far when a deer muscles tense in its attempt to escape.

I shoot the same poundage as you and years ago I shot a wider head and shot a bunch of critters with them. As soon as I went to a thinner diameter head I noticed a big penetration improvement. Wide heads are great as long as everything goes just perfectly from light weight bows. I like to plan for the unexpected though.

I'd say the cut is horizontal instead of vertical in the hide? If the head would have hit vertical I'd say the arrow would have penetrated much more as it slipped through the ribs. Those things have almost wing like protrusions that sweep outward creating drag as well.

[RedShaft]

That's crazy. Maybe you just poked a hole in the one lung and a combination of that penetration and the gash caused both lungs to collapse. From what I have heard medically if you have an open chest wound that is the biggest worry your lungs collapsing and you can't breath and suffocate.

[Will Cocke 2]

I personally don't think that there is any comparison in a rage with a total arrow weight of 350 gr (gotta be as fast as it can get HA) and an arrow that is 600 with a 2 "head as far as penetration is concerned.  I have seen many arrows snap on ball and socket or a shoulder with an expandable head and get no penetration at all.    If this was to happen again I would change but the arrow failure and wheel is what caused it I think.  I killed 18 with a treesharks last year all but 2 were pass throughs(sticking in the dirt) from 15 -31 yards bows from 53-57lbs.

[RedShaft]

Widow did you say you killed 18 deer last year alone! Holly rip! That's some slayin. You must be into em! Sorry to get off topic

[Cmane07]

Ha I was thinking the same thing, puttin em down for sure