[BarnesX.308]

Shot a buck right behind the shoulder today with a 1 inch fixed broadhead. Blood was OK for 100 yards and then really bad. Tracked the buck in the snow for 2 miles and lost the track with other deer. Is this cutting diameter pushing it or did I just have really bad luck? Shot was about 23 yards from a 15 foot tree stand so the exit was a little low. But, entrance was in the text book spot. My guess is I got the first lung and clipped the other.

 

[burk313]

It probably clotted up..I do not like shooting deer from treestands..If you are on the ground you can get a double lung shot...You will have to keep tracking but snow is forecast tonight..

 

[RayRay]

It's not the BH diameter. I have been using 7/8" diameter fixed blades for years with no problems.

 

[Borden811]

If you tracked it for two miles, it wasn't a very good hit...

 

[RayRay]

If you tracked it for two miles, it wasn't a very good hit...

My thoughts also. If you hit it in the lungs, it would have went down in 50-60 yards.

 

[SnoodStretcher]

Sounds to me like it wasn't the broadhead......

 

[mus42tang]

Well every broadhead is a little small object which requires practice, accuracy and a good calm shot.
Many a deer is bled out dead in fifty yards. And a deer that goes for one or two miles, without recovery, is always a perfect shot.

And in the end, those little broadheads, whatever width, put all the pressure on the archer.

 

[anobody]

by the sounds of your situation you may have clipped possibly one lung, didnt get both though, if you hit both lungs they will be dead before a two mile track for sure!

 

[WexfordBowhunter]

If you tracked it for two miles, it wasn't a very good hit...

My thoughts also. If you hit it in the lungs, it would have went down in 50-60 yards.

Yep. I'd need a little more info to be more helpful. Did you recover the arrow? If so, what was on it?

Did you look at the hair on the ground at the hit site? What color was it?

How did the deer react at the shot? How long did you wait before tracking?

Did the deer bed down at some point? If so, what did you see?

For a deer to travel that far (2 miles) it could not have been double lung hit. If the exit wound was low and right behind the shoulder, I've have suspected a heart hit. That could not be the case either. I'm suspecting this was either a flesh wound or a gut hit. Flesh wounds will clot relatively quickly. Gut hits will show some good blood at the hit site and then the blood will dissipate quickly as the flesh wound clots and the stomach contents clog up the wound channel. A single lung hit... I dunno about that either. I'd have to know a little more about the shot angle to offer an opinion.

 

[RayRay]

You said that the hit looked good. If you hit at the bottom of what would be the 10 ring, when shooting from a elevated stand, you are too low to get both lungs. You need your exit hole in the middle of that 10 ring, which means you need to aim at the top of the 8 ring. I shoot a lot of 3-d & most of the 12 rings would not be good on real deer because of angles & elevated stands.

 

[pappybear]

A lot of good questions have been brought up by the hunters who answered your post.

I've never found a 1" hole in the vitals of a deer to be inadequate.

 

[yellodog]

this buck went a mile. got both lungs a little high, and we had to pull the broadhead out of the opposite shoulder blade with pliers. he didn't bed down, he just walked, then bedded where he could watch his backtrack. sometimes you just cannot explain things. he was shot with a slick trick mag, 1 1/4" i think?

 

[pappybear]

No doubt strange things do happen.
I'm surprised that the arrow wasn't broken after traveling a mile. The broadhead lodging in the shoulder bone prevented the slick trick from doing more damage.
I never seen a solid double lung hit deer stay on it's feet for more than about 30 seconds.

 

[yellodog]

the arrow was angled back, and after a really short sprint the deer walked the whole way. both holes were in the upper third of the lungs. i was convinced the shot was probably above the spine cuz the little bit of blood we did find was high. and while we wouldn't have quit till we just couldn't find more blood, for the last half mile i was pretty sure we were not going to find that deer. we found him about 6 hrs after the shot, and he was stiff, but it was obvious by his position that he'd laid down watching his backtrail. coyotes howling all around, they'd probably have been happier if we hadn't found him.

reminds me of the old saying...hit 'em hi, wave goodbye. hit 'em low, down they go.

 

[REdgar7mm]

Every deer I have shot with a 100gr ST standard has expired in no time at all (both lung and heart shot deer). With that being said, I do not get the blood trails that I do with my Grim Reapers. I love the ST's though!

 

[big cow down 80]

no not to small..one of my favorite is the 4 blade 100 grain muzzy

 

[blitzinstripes]

Nothing inadequate about your broadhead. Something happened with the shot placement. If you had punched through both lungs you'd have a tag on him. A one lung hit deer can travel a long ways, even possible to recover. As far as adequate goes, consider this. A friend of mine arrowed a buck a few yrs back. Shot placement looked great. Double lung. Blood trail looked a little spotty, though, so he called me over to help. When I got there we started at the shot location and I picked up his arrow still stuck in the ground after the pass thru. Coated in bright frothy lung blood. Then I saw his broadhead, or should I say lack of. He accidentally shot it with a field tip! (Note: it's a bad idea to even have one in your quiver just because Murphy's law says it's gonna happen if you do.) Luckily, we recovered a very dead, double lung shot buck a hundred yards further. The blood trail was just weaker than it would've been. If a tiny, no bladed field point can kill a deer quickly (very luckily) in the right spot, a razor sharp 1" broadhead has a definite advantage!

 

[Born2Hunt]

Not sure what happen there. In the 80's I used 7/8" fixed blades ...shot several bucks never lost a deer...all were complete pass through. They traveled from 15-50 yds. I gave them 25-30 minutes typically even if I could see them on the ground.

A hit that exits low and passes through the second lung should leave an excellent blood trail. With a
higher exit wound the cavity has to fill with blood before spilling out and often does not drop much blood for a few yards.

I would guess only one lung hit if bright red blood, perhaps too quick of a follow up and not a complete pass trough....

No offense, but I have have retrieve or trailed several wounded deer and often they are not hit just exactly how the shooter has visualized.

A sharp straight flying broad head is most adequate for a sure kill with proper arrow placement.