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Death By Broadhead

3K views 33 replies 19 participants last post by  Six-Gun 
#1 ·
Always amazed at the lethality of a well placed broadhead. I'd opt for a broadhead over a bullet 10 out of 10 times. Here's a 300 pound bear I arrowed in New Brunswick several years ago. In less than 2 seconds he was leaking & blowing blood everywhere. He piled up within 40 yards. This particular broadhead was an NAP Spitfire expandable.

 
#4 ·
I remember the first deer I ever killed with an arrow and how shocked I was with how fast the deer died.I was a young teenager sneaking along some laurel with my Bear pronghorn hunter when I caught a bunch of deer inside the laurel staring at me.I released the old autumn orange 2216 and heard a thud as the flimsy wasp cam lock smacked the big doe.She spun around,darted out of the laurel and dropped about 20 yards behind me in the open woods.My father and uncle were both anti-bowhunters to a certain extent and I was amazed that the deer didn't make it to the next county before going down.I back tracked the deer to find my arrow and was utterly shocked at how much blood was on the ground.I killed at least one deer a year for the next several years but started using 130gr muzzies with identical results.
 
#5 ·
That is a great video.I shot a doe this year with a 4 blade SlickTrick. She was on the ground in about 10 seconds. Where she went through the cornfield, it looked like you cut the head off a chicken.. it’s amazing just how lethal a broadhead can be..congrats
 
#10 ·
Bullets and broadheads both kill very effectively BUT they both do it in different ways. A broadhead cuts its way through causing clean slices through the heart and lungs to cause the animal to bleed out very quickly and effectively. A bullet its designed to unload its energy into the animal causing shock damage along with the puncture hole to kill the animal. Typically with an arrow and broadhead the animal expires before it really knows what happens (Think of a sharp knife slice on you), Where a bullet hits hard and when they are hit they feel it which can make them run farther and harder to get away (Think fight or flight, Deer dont stay to fight).
 
#13 ·
I'll take a broad head any day. Track jobs are far easier than with a bullet. I am a huge fan of rage broad heads. Shot a deer quartering away and the arrow made a complete pass through. Blasted through a shoulder with a rage as well complete pass through. You can even make a half bad shot and come out smelling like a rose. They are very forgiving. Unless you put a perfect shot on one with the rifle expect at least a 100yd track job with half the blood splatter as compared to a broad head.
 
#17 ·
. You can even make a half bad shot and come out smelling like a rose. They are very forgiving. Unless you put a perfect shot on one with the rifle expect at least a 100yd track job with half the blood splatter as compared to a broad head.

zjheeter are you really telling us that a "half bad shot" your words, not mine, would still be better than a less than perfect hit by your average deer rifle. So if a hunter puts his arrow 4 or 5 inches to far back toward the guts he'll be better off than if he hit that same spot with a high power?

If that is what your saying you are wrong.
 
#15 ·
This thread is surprising because how many times on this forum has a bow hunter assured me that "most" of the deer hit with a broad head but never recovered survive because broad heads don't do much damage unless its a good lethal hit.

Now I'm reading that they are devastating immediate killers. Huh.


Guess it depends on the conversation we are having at the moment which they really are.

Are broad heads lethal and can they kill? Of course. To say otherwise would be ridiculous. To say that a well placed broad head is more lethal or more effective than a well placed bullet of sufficient power and size is even more ridiculous.
 
#20 ·
Yes sir I think most experienced bow hunters would have seen similar results. Broad head kill by blood loss. If a major organ or major artery is hit and cut the deer will bleed out however fast it does depending on many factors. If that blood loss is slow death comes later and not sooner. That's how it works. Or in some cases fails to.


My .50 cal patched round balls are quite lethal on deer. But even loaded to the max charge safe to fire in the rifle they are not as effective as a modern expanding type bullet from your average PA deer rifle. And I don't load half that heavy a charge. I am aware of this and have no illusions. You just hunt with these facts in mind. I think most bow hunters do the same. Or ought to.
 
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#19 ·
I think I've been amazed many more times how far a deer can go with some pretty well placed shots from both bullet and broadhead. I've been lucky to find some very well shot deer with 50 cal roundballs and 20 gauge Remington Accutips. Much poorer blood trail than the same shot with a good broadhead.
 
#22 ·
Patched round balls are well known for poor blood trails. There are exceptions of course but its best to keep in mind there ain't much room for error. That's why I try hard to hunt like a bow hunter does. Close is good. Closer is better. I have killed many deer with patched round balls. I have never had to track one and the farthest one has ever gone was a double lung hit that ran almost 60 yards. I heard it go down. But there was no blood trail at all.


Many years ago I was a bow hunter. I tracked many deer for hours and twice for days. That's why I gave it up. Since I quit I have helped on many tracking jobs for arrow hit deer. The phone usually rings about an hour and a half after dark and I know what it will be. I have never been called to help track a rifle hit buck. Not once.
 
#25 ·
I'm referring to chest shot animals (Lungs & Heart). My experience has been they will travel less distance when hit with a broadhead as opposed to a bullet. Often times they don't even know they're hit and continue about their business and then just fall over dead. Other times they'll mule kick run a few yards, stop, look back, and then fall over. Of course occasionally they run like ******* but for the most part that's not the case. Not disputing they're all lethal. I'm referencing blood loss and recovery distance. I still prefer a broadhead every time over a bullet for a bloodier closer recovery when shot through the chest.
 
#30 ·
Every deer is different, that's a fact.

A chunk of metal flying thru a deers lungs=dead deer, or bear, elk, ect. My experience has been that it doesn't matter if it's a bullet or broadhead, the deer is dead when he decides it's time to be dead and that can vary greatly, irregardless of weapon. Iv'e seen them barely move out of their tracks, and iv'e seen them run 200 yds. FWIW, most of the drt ones iv'e seen were shot with rifles, even shot thru the lungs with a rifle seems to impart some shock to the cns in many cases.

If you want massive instant blood loss, shoot one in the back of the ham. If I had it to do over again, I'd have shot several bucks there cus that's the only shot I had. As it was, I let them all walk away, thinking it was a "bad shot". After hitting a couple there by accident, and seeing the almost instant results, I won't pass on that shot again. Ymmv.
 
#31 ·
Every deer is different, that's a fact.

If you want massive instant blood loss, shoot one in the back of the ham. If I had it to do over again, I'd have shot several bucks there cus that's the only shot I had. As it was, I let them all walk away, thinking it was a "bad shot". After hitting a couple there by accident, and seeing the almost instant results, I won't pass on that shot again. Ymmv.
I've killed a couple with bad shots to the hams and hitting the femoral. Yes it is quick and massive blood loss but I would never try it intentionally. You are talking about a 1/4'' wide blood vessel. Your going to aim for that? I think you would be better off with the Texas heart shot going away but I wouldn't take that either.
 
#33 ·
A perfectly placed shot with a broadhead is indeed devastating, but being slightly off can be a bad thing. When hit with a high-powered rifle, the hydrostatic shock might be enough itself to kill the deer. Each do the job well when perfect. A bullet might have a little more "forgiveness" in it.


But I completely agree, they are all different.
 
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