Whitetail ribs

[sfh761]

Has anyone ever had a whitetail rib substantially affect penetration? I've heard of elk ribs stopping arrows cold but not whitetail. Probably rare but just curious.

[Stumpkiller]

Sure.  Frequently.

No ribs - the arrow is on the ground beyond the deer and can be reused.

Rib - the arrow stops at about the cresting or fletching and the deer snaps it off as it runs.

Much prefer not to have to split a rib going in or out . . . but you should figure it's gonna happen.

[Scott Barr]

Hit rib last month on white tail.  Did not stop arrow from pass through, but dramatically deflected it upward so that arrow only hit one lung.  Fortunately it also hit kidney and so a short blood trail.

[Shinnecockfly]

Had my carbon tipped with Simmons shark break thought in on entry side and stop on exit side, as stump killer said , went up to fletching and found broken on bloodtrail

[Pete McMiller]

Cleaved through a buck's rib going in on Weds. and between ribs coming out the other side.  Didn't stop a pass through.  The rib did deflect the arrow up and forward slightly - still a double lung.  Shot was 11 yards.

[Charlie Lamb]

I don't have any real experience with lighter weight bows and deer ribs but with my 55# plus bows and Magnus I 4 blades (1 1/2"x 1 1/4"), it's not uncommon to cut 2 ribs going in and 2 on exit. Typically the arrow is stuck in the ground.

If you are concerned it might be an issue I'd recommend either increasing your bow weight or picking a broadhead design that will maximize penetration.
Anything along the lines of the STOS or Grizzly or even the Woodsman.

[ChuckC]

Yeah, I don't think whitetail ribs present the issue as much as the deer movement.  If the deer moves a lot, it deflects the arrows path and dumps energy.  Same is if the arrow was wobbling badly ( not tuned well) at the time it hit ( not straight on).


There are other things that deserve more worry than ribs, at least on deer type game.  Now if you are shooting a cape Buffalo.... different game.
ChuckC

[Terry Green]

What Charlie said.....if your set up if right...good arrow flight, decent weight.....deer ribs are just tinker toys.

[Onions]

Shot a buck last month with my 43lb ACS bow. 500gr arrow and a Simmons Tree
shark. 7 yard shot from a tree stand, I broke two ribs on the entrance, and cut two ribs on the exit.
I didn't get a complete pass through. Arrow was buried to the feathers, with the broad head sticking out the bottom

chris <><

[sfh761]

I realize that deer ribs are virtually a non-issue on most shots. It's certainly nothing I've ever worried about. Just wondered though as strange events happen. I'm searching for an explanation for something I just experienced. Here is my sad tale.  The other day I shot a nice buck from 20 yards on the ground. (552 grain Beman MFX carbon with Grizzly 2-blade out of a 57# Blacktail.) I have consistently had full pass throughs with this bow. Arrow placement looked very good; 1/3-1/2 way up the body and a few inches behind the shoulder. When he ran off, I was expecting to see him fall except I noticed most of the arrow hanging out and angled down but not flopping. Height matchd the height I thought I saw at impact. I watched him run full bore for about 150 yards. No blood, no arrow, no deer. He never slowed down. Not a single drop! Lots of fencerows and open fields beyond so I expanded my search there the next morning and afternoon. I'm sure I was nowhere near the shoulder. I think my arrow must have deflected off a corn leaf or something. Replaying the events in my mind, I don't know how I didn't get this deer. Maybe I deflected both off the corn leaf and  off a rib. Anyway, nothing makes sense as I've never experienced anything like this before. This arrow flies extremely well out of my bow by the way. I know that it's possible I didn't hit where I thought, but I don't think I'm wrong on this as I watched him run so far with my arrow and saw impact. And I'm not suggesting this deer's ribs stopped my arrow either unless it was already deflected. At this point, I can only speculate what went wrong.
   As for the elk rib...it didn't happen to me, but I know the story. Someone I know shot an elk with a 54# Thunderhorn bow, Beman MFX carbon arrow and 125 grain G-5 broadhead. Overall arrow weight was obviously pretty light. Arrow the shot, the elk ran and stopped, and he got a real good look at placement and (lack of) penetration. He concluded that he smacked the rib dead center as the arrow was perfectly positiond behind the shoulder. No blood, no penetration, no elk. Since then he has upgraded to about 650 grains and Grizzly 2-blade. The shot he had on an elk this year turned out much better!

[longbowman]

Like Charlie said, I've never shot light bows but can't imagine a rib slowing down an arrow much.  I've shot through elk ribs, bear ribs etc...but deer bones never even cross my mind.  I'd imagine with what you described was most likely the knuckle part of the leg came back and you nailed it, can't think of much else that would stop the arrow.

[Dave Lay]

ive never had a rib even slow a arrow down that I could tell

[Bob Morrison]

43# 300 grain BH, Never a problem breaking ribs in and out on deer. Arrow not always laying on the ground at the shot, but a few feet away.

[zezdy]

Shot a mule deer buck a few years back with a 60 lb Sequoia longbow.  The three blade broke right through a rib entering, then cracked another on the exit side.  6 inches of fletching still stuck out, and this was a double lunch shot at 9 yards.  The deer and I were on the same elevation.

[Terry Green]

AGAIN.....If you have a problem with deer ribs....then you have a problem with your arrow flight/set up.

Not sure why this conversation turned to elk!!!!!

LOCKED!