Ive killed about 20 in archery, all but one with a xbow. Only clean missed once. Clipped belly hairs of two. The rest have found the freeze, all through the lung and a couple clipped heats. Never yet gut shot one with either. Only gut shot one with a gun....

Someone mentioned the Shuttle T…that little joker is deadly on hogs! Used all three I had on pigs and recovered all three pigs.

My main issue with mechanicals is hitting solid bone. And yes, I’ve lost deer in the past and don’t want to ever do it again. I will say I’ve learned a lot with age, probably all my deer were recoverable “IF” I’d waited on tracking them. I’ve had deer recovery guys tell me if it’s a Booner, aim dead center of that deer and just watch the way it runs off. They said don’t even go to the spot, climb down go to the truck and give them a call. They’ll meet up in about 8hrs and find my deer dead. This dog guy said he is 100% on gut shot deer.
He sorta has a point, if there’s blood everywhere anyone can follow it. His favorite broadhead is a mechanical, it guarantees him and his dogs plenty of work.

I will say I saw a G5 MegaMeat go through the shoulder bone and even got an exit. What was the crazy part, it only slightly bent one blade and we assume it was the bone and not the root the arrow was buried in. I’m now just partial to fixed blades just incase I hit a bone. None of us plan on it, but it does happen. We watched all our deer fall within sight the last couple of years and I used the Montecs/Exodus and my son used the MegaMeats…about 8 deer total. We skin every archery shot deer to see the damage and what organs are hit. Hit lungs, heart, liver or any combo and it’s a dead deer regardless of whether it’s a 1” hole or 2” hole. And even though we watch the drop, we still give them at least 15-20 minutes before climbing down and tracking them.

Heavy arrow guys..^^^^

My arrow with bh attached weigh 430 grains.

Their's work....Mine works. They get pass thrus....I get pass thrus.

My rig is shooting that 430 grain arrow at 290fps.....(68 lbs)

They consider 430gr lightweight, lol. If it’s not 700+gr then it’s “kid arrows”, lol.

It was the problems they ran into with mechanicals is why I posted that video. I hope it was the video where they address these issues. If not I posted the wrong one.

Annihilators
Tried about every type of broadhead there is since 1973.
Best performance on game of any I tried

For the record, recovery rates on deer shot with mechanical broadheads, whether out of a verticle bow or crossbow, are higher than they are on fixed blade broadheads. Im thinking there are a few folks that need to put their 'training wheels' back on [/quote]

I don't believe that for one second.[/quote]

Well Wi Outdoors, we are all welcome to our beliefs, just yours dont appear to be backed by anything except opinion. If thats incorrect, please expound for us so we can all learn something here tonight. I didnt post the link to that study to stir the pot, just thought it was interesting information and certainly provided some interesting data that Ive not seen before. Maybe you have something that contradicts the data...?

Fun watching bowhunting videos from 30 years ago.
Guys shooting fat aluminum arrows, 220f.p.s. arrows and mostly complete pass through using plain old Muzzy,ThunderHeads.
Fast forwards 30 years, the latest n greatest bows,arrows. 50% of the deer shown being shot, 1/2 the arrow sticking out.
Sickens me.

I've bloodtrailed 100s of bear,deer. Mech heads have accounted for the vast majority of lost critters.
Mech heads were intended for accuracy when they first came out.
Anyone now days that can't get a fixed blade head to fly great at " typical" 30 yards and under should quite bowhunting and take up golf.
2 holes are better then one.



Edited to add:, full penetration is much easier to get with arrows fletched with feathers over stiff vanes.
Apples to apples, deer will freak out and run farther if they have an arrow sticking out of the instead of a clean pass thru.
Chew on That!!

JByrd and Texas T will chime in shortly with their worldly "No"ledge.

5 yrs ago I'd have been the guy saying this is the absolute way to go.. Pretty happy I'm adaptable...

I have the boys shooting 125 gr 3 blade muzzys out of their compounds becuse they are shooting low poundage and carbon arrows are much lighter than the old aluminum arrows I was shooting back when I was 14 and shooting low lb and slow bows. I want to be sure they get exits. have 100g inserts in the youngest arrows as well.

I was impressed with wash jack hammers when I started using them at 17. I thinning have a few around and would uses them in a heart beat. I have been very happy with grimreepers the last several years. the 8 point my 14 year old shot last year made it about 30 yards and had a 3' wide blood trail you could see 20' up in the tree.


I have lost 5 deer in my life not sure out of how many. kids ask me years ago how many deer I had killed and I made it over 130 and gave up. just guessing I would add probably at least 30 more but can't be sure. now I have not shot any deer the last probably 5 years maybe longer having the kids do all the.shooting.

3 I lost were all with a bow all the same shot. high in the back steep downward ange deer at 5 to 10 yards and 16 to 20' in a tree. battery.blood for a.short time then none. one was 40 yards she dropped at the shot floped 10 yards and played still. after 10 min I started to get down she got up walked 12 yards and laid down head up now about 60 yards away and well out of range for 16 year old me shooting aluminum arrows out of an under 200fps bow. I sat ther tell long after dark. there was blood at the hit the flop and a little where she laid. none leaving. arrow was covered in fat and bent like a u. 125gr fixed blade guessing my shot hit high by the spine.

I lost one withna357 carbine longer shot aimed a little high. was closer than I thought hit where I aimed above lungs below spine battery blood very quickly stopped.

loosing 5 out of the # I have shot over the years is not bad but it's a horrible feeling I never want to have happen again.

been very fortunate neither of the boys have lost one yet. the 12 year old had shot 16 and 14 year old 18 I think. bows x bows carbines and rifles.

Your deer are tiny in Florida.

WIOutdoors,
If you would go back and read my posts you'd see I've punched thru 250plus lb bucks in north Missouri.

With the Triax and Wasps since 2018...about 4 big bodied north Missouri bucks.

My deep South Ga bucks average about 135 to 140 for a 3.5 to 4.5 year old buck deer.

Midlander, it all depends on who does the survey. We all know that. Bucksnbears is correct 100%.

Punch m perfect, probably don't matter. Double lung/ heart shot it's a dead deer.
An exit hole while sitting in a tree should be a gimme with bows,arrows now days.
Watching videos of seeing a deer shot center lungs and seeing it run off with 1/2 the arrow sticking out sucks.
I've yet to have a Muzzy not " deploy".

Oh well, let's call in a dog tracker inn the morning, us hunters don't care bout the meat anyway.

I love muzzys, but also have never once lost a single deer shot with a jackhammers or Grimreapers. can't say the same about fixed blades. infact I can't prove it but the 4 deer I have lost with a bow likely would have been recovered had I had the 1 3/4 cut instead of the 11/8."

That's speculation. I've seen broadheads found lodged in deer that should have killed them but didn't. They were found a year or two later after another hunter killed it. Lots of strange things happen in this game if you've been in it long enough. We all know that.

https://youtu.be/O11e4WsvcqQ?si=62AnsHAKAKpby3Qh

This is the video I meant to post earlier

I’ve been having excellent success with Qad Exodus the last few years, 1.25” cutting diameter out of a great flying fixed blade is pretty impressive IMO. I also killed a bunch with Slick Tricks, great heads as well but I have a totally unproven theory that a 3 blade cut may be superior to a 4 blade of similar diameter.

These are the latest 2 bucks I've killed with arrows. Both in 2022. Biggest is north Missouri. 8 pt is less than a mile from my home near the Ga-Fl state line.

Both pass thrus with the Wasp mechanical and 430 grain Black Eagle arrows. A blind man could've followed the blood trails by feel.

Killed only a doe last season with the bow.

It's all fun!!!

wi outdoors what's not speculation is the fact I have never lost a deer with the two expanding heads I listed above out of dozens. but I have lost them with fixed blades. it's not tow hard to understand an extra 3/4" cut ya almost double the size hole would have increased the chance of cutting up the lungs and important thing more than the smaller hole it got.. like I clearly stated I can't prove it but think it is likely they would have been recovered. Even in what I wrote I clearly say I can't prove it but believe. so it's my opinion based on years of experience. Yet you feel the need to post talking about speculation.

your right it can't be proven. had a friend hit a nice buck high in the back with an expanding head. He was on the ground so flat shot angle actually angering slightly up becus the deer was on a small hill. He didn't find it . 2 weeks later it was back on Camara with big hole in his back that was healing nicely. it was the same shot location of every deer I have lost so yes its possible it may not have made a difference on a few of them mainly the ones that were longer shots with little to no downward angle. But I believe the Close shots with steep angles it would have made all the difference. But like I said It can't be proven. yet I have never lost a single deer shooting an expanding head personally but I can't say the same for fixed blades. there are some real junk expanding heads with week bladed that break off. I will never shoot a rage at a deer again once was enough Gave the rest of them away..

fixed blades are better on heavy bone mechanicals are less likely to have a blade hit a twig and deflect and leave a bigger blood trail. shot a squirrel once I would not have killed had I been shooting an expanding head at the time. a single blade cut its throat would have missed with an expanding head most likely.

there are pros and cons to everything. I have killed a lot of deer with a bow . Killed my first several deer with a bow at about 13. Several years I bow hunted all gun season never taking a gun hunting. any head will work some better than others. some guys say they like here I wouldn't hunt with becuse the tend to wind plane and loose blades easily. But it's what they like and works for them and I don't say a thing about it to them..

But lots of experts sure chime in their opinion and the best part is they state they got their opinions about them based on what they see on tv NOT personal experience. let that sink in.