Ed, the only thing those broadheads can really tell you is that bad hits and bad shot selection results in unrecovered animals. We don't know what bows shot those. We don't know what archers shot them. We don't know their bow weight or arrow weight. We don't know if the arrow was tuned or flying near sideways. But as you said, we do know that there weren't any deer that survived a broadhead to the heart/lungs.
Without even going into the KE vs. Momentum arguments, which have yet to be satisfactorily resolved in any hunting sport yet, there's no question that regardless of KE/ME, it MUST be delivered where it belongs in order to do any good at all. And that's where the penalty comes in when you assume that heavier arrows will provide extra insurance. You end up with an arrow that's harder to deliver where it's supposed to go and will only deliver "extra" penetration if the model that promotes ME over KE is actually correct. Ultimately, what's ideal is enough/adequate KE and the good shot placement.
The very people you quoted in your previous post were among the longest range shooters of all time and though times have changed, I still thik they would consider what they did "bowhunting" even though many today feel that any shot over 20 yards isn't what bowhunting is about. I think the 20 yards and under line of thought came with tree stands, blinds and unprecedented numbers of deer, not just because that's what the essence of bowhunting; albeit I can understand anyone who feels that's what it is all about for themselves.
400 grains is PLENTY of arrow weight for deer, particularly when you're approaching 50 pounds or more of bow. The archer who gears his equipment to shoot the very best for him at unmarked yardage will invariably have a higher shot to kill ratio than a hunter who goes for the most arrow weight his bow can launch when it comes to deer hunting. The latter is so unforgiving of distance estimation that it's guaranteed to cause unexpected low and high misses.
I feel that preaching for the use of the heaviest arrows a bow can launch for hunting may have caused more wounded and unrecovered animals than anything else that has happened recently in this sport.
Using a reasonable weight is... well, reasonable.
Perhaps we just disagree on the definition of "reasonable", because a 400 grain arrow going 190 fps or better packs an incredible punch and is perfectly reasonable for deer since more often than not, you'll end up with two holes in any hapless deer that is between that arrow and the ground it will end buried in after passing through.
Those are my thoughts but I have one question remaining....
Among the bowhunters we guided in Africa (none of which can be called bad shots, in fact, most were WAY above average – at least on targets); on hunts were multiple animal taken were the norm; I can not think of A SINGLE ONE who did not make at least one poor hit ... but CAN think of a few who didn't make a single perfect hit, and some who didn't even make a single 'well-placed' hit. Virtually every ‘non-recovered’ animal was a result of poor arrow penetration.
I have to say I'm flabbergasted to hear that with all the animals you've examined, virtually all were unrecovered due to inadequate penetration meaning virtually none went unrecovered due to poor shot placement. With all those bad shots, I'd think you'd have seen a few that didn't result in recoverable animals simply because they went into meat or bone or intestines or stomach instead of vitals. There's a lot of area on an animal that we don't want to hit.
Show me someone that does everything they can to improve their chances of putting the arrow into the small part of an animal that you DO want to hit and I'll show you someone who will increase his shot to kill ration.
I've lost a few deer, myself and I can assure you that 100% of those losses were due to poor shot placement because they were complete passthroughs. More penetration couldn't have helped because more penetration was impossible. Better shooting fixed the unrecovered problem that great penetration in the wrong part of the animal caused.
Topic: Light arrows and deer? (Read 2374 times)
