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Post by joelmoney on Feb 13, 2017 3:42:06 GMT -5
What are equipment factors that make short blood trails of big game animals? These are some of the factors I feel aid in that end. 1 a quiet bow 2 entrance and exit wound 3 a SHARP broad head
These are in no particular order but all three I feel play large factors in quick easy recovery of your animal.
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Post by bowhunter836 on Feb 13, 2017 6:20:12 GMT -5
Proper arrow placement, momentum,sharp broadheads, complete pass throughs
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2017 8:15:14 GMT -5
I found that high behind the shoulder shots tend to be shorter recovery. Not in the shoulder buy high lung shots.
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Post by joelmoney on Feb 13, 2017 20:33:39 GMT -5
I found that high behind the shoulder shots tend to be shorter recovery. Not in the shoulder buy high lung shots. Ok you have my interest Riverrat. High lung? I find that interesting. I normally shoot for the top of heart but I I hit on high this year it only went 15 feet. I attributed that to dorsal aortas being hit and nearly 4" lacerations in both lungs. Yes placement is crucial I consider it a skill but yes placement makes a world of difference.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2017 21:52:39 GMT -5
I've shot quite a few with a bow and couple were low hits. Ones with low hits took longer to die and I believe it's because lungs didn't fill up with blood and it didn't drown itself out. If you draw a line in the middle of the deer horizontally I'd aim there or higher just behind the shoulder.
I tried to get a super fast bow but then watched a video where they tested the idea of fast verses quiet. They had a guy who sat behind a corner of house and held a target and tried to drop it out of the way simulating a deer dropping. The quiet bow won every time.
I set my bow up for kinetic energy and try to get it as quiet as I can now. No more speed for me. Busting bones and filling lungs! 😁
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Post by joelmoney on Feb 13, 2017 22:19:52 GMT -5
Thanks for explaining. I noticed the same thing when I had to switch to a crossbow. I was having deer run crazy distances with good hits. Started shooting 700 he arrows it got better. Now shooting 1000 gr arrow I have seen deer simply walk away after being shot. I will be making more efforts to quiet my arrow launcher further this off season.
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Post by bowhunter836 on Feb 14, 2017 6:41:56 GMT -5
I always try to shoot for lungs they can run alot further with heart shots! I also believe in super sharp fixed broadheads and lots of momentum,k.e.
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Post by deadeye on Feb 14, 2017 10:32:12 GMT -5
Proper arrow placement, momentum,sharp broadheads, complete pass throughs can't say it any better than this,thats why I still hunt w/ aluminum=weight retention.
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Post by hillbill on Feb 14, 2017 13:16:44 GMT -5
I would agree that heart shots almost always go at least 75 yards, lung shots? low lung I have experienced longer blood trails, mid to upper lung = shorter blood trails. I still always hold for the top of the heart, just because that's the way I have trained my brain over the years.
I have shot carbon arrows for a LONG time, back when Carbon Express was called Game Tracker I bought some when they first hit the market. I had one particular arrow that I killed 11 deer with,they were tough! in the past 30 years I can only remember 3 deer that i didn't get pass throughs on and the broadhead lodged in the off side shoulder and broke the arrow off. good placement is crucial for quick kills but I have witnessed some very poorly placed arrows that kill quickly, on the other hand I have seen what seemed to be good shots that the deer went a far stretch.
sharp cutting edges definately help the whole process along for sure.
another thing I have learned as far as sound/noise goes and this I learned by standing off to the side of the target (safe distance of course) a deer hears the arrow coming LONG before it hears the bow go off, noisy fletching can be very detrimental to the process, along with broadheads that make wind noise. the whole reason I shoot what I shoot these days. If you dont believe me try standing a safe distance to the side of the target and see what your ears tell you, some heads and some fletchings are very noisy, choose wisely...
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gar
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Post by gar on Feb 17, 2017 17:21:18 GMT -5
Two holes, two lungs, sharp big heads, quiet bow, and a calm deer equals short bloody trail.
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Post by bowhunter836 on Feb 17, 2017 19:12:39 GMT -5
I agree 100%! I shot a nice black bear last spring perfect double lung It went 20yards! My buddy also shot a nice bear hit a hair forward center punching the heart and the bear travelled 100+ yards left a great blood trail but definitely travelled further and lived longer! I used to always shoot for the heart although over the years I have retrained myself to shoot for center of lungs I believe it's a quicker kill and more room for error on arrow placement
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Post by joelmoney on Feb 18, 2017 0:08:00 GMT -5
I had always felt I would get both lungs if I shot top of heart. I also felt if animal did jump the string and dropped I would stay in the lungs. Never had I heard of lung location making a difference. I am going to have to try some higher lung shots this year. I hope more insight will brought up on how to make shorter recoveries.
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Post by joelmoney on Feb 18, 2017 0:16:49 GMT -5
Never really thought of fletch if noise. I will however be experimenting this summer.
I will strongly agree on a calm animal helping.
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Post by hillbill on Feb 18, 2017 19:31:47 GMT -5
I know for a fact the animal hears the arrow coming, I've been dealing with deer and arrows for 42 years and have killed my fair share with stick and string, (well over 100 ), several with a stick bow in the 70s and with a black widow recurve in the 90s, all of those with feathers which brings me to my point. when a feather gets worn or has a damaged area I noticed deer were much more prone to jump the string, made sense to me because I could hear the noise it made myself. after talking it over with my hunting buddy we started listening at each others arrows near the target. it amaized me how much noise certain fletching and broadhead combos made.
These days one of the major deciding factors as to what fletch and broadhead I shoot is how much noise it makes, yes it has to do the job effectively and accurately but noise figures into the mix as well.
Yes I like a quiet bow as much as anyone, all I'm saying is a quiet arrow is just as important as a quiet bow.
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gar
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Post by gar on Feb 19, 2017 7:08:29 GMT -5
Bill, you're exactly right on fletch noise, you can definitely hear the fletching coming and you know deer hear it better than we do. Short stiff fletch like blazers and such seem to be quiet whereas feathers are worst for noise. I like to be able to shoot any broadhead I choose at any time and I do opt for four 5 inch helical feathers which does generate noise but boy are they stable. For the rainy conditions I do use vanes.
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Post by dennis on Feb 19, 2017 7:08:57 GMT -5
I know for a fact the animal hears the arrow coming, I've been dealing with deer and arrows for 42 years and have killed my fair share with stick and string, (well over 100 ), several with a stick bow in the 70s and with a black widow recurve in the 90s, all of those with feathers which brings me to my point. when a feather gets worn or has a damaged area I noticed deer were much more prone to jump the string, made sense to me because I could hear the noise it made myself. after talking it over with my hunting buddy we started listening at each others arrows near the target. it amaized me how much noise certain fletching and broadhead combos made. These days one of the major deciding factors as to what fletch and broadhead I shoot is how much noise it makes, yes it has to do the job effectively and accurately but noise figures into the mix as well. Yes I like a quiet bow as much as anyone, all I'm saying is a quiet arrow is just as important as a quiet bow. I have bow hunted for a long time also but never thought about the arrow noise, glad you brought that up Bill.
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Post by gd357 on Feb 21, 2017 23:11:59 GMT -5
I experimented for a while with FOBs, or air foils that slid over the back of the arrow and were held in place by the nock. After standing behind the corner of a house, and having a friend shoot several arrows at a target the noise level of the FOBs was much greater than blazer vanes. Also, the quickspin vanes seemed to be substantially noisier than regular blazers. As far as shot placement, I've had really good luck with shooting just above the top of the heart. You get the major arteries coming off the heart and double lungs. In most cases this seems to give a 30-40 yard trail. Most times they go down in sight. JMHO
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Post by joelmoney on Sept 26, 2018 1:40:56 GMT -5
I deliberately held a little higher last year and I do think it makes a difference. I have not been able to get myself to aim any higher than halfway up on the chest cavity. It seems center punching lungs is better than hitting bottom quarter.
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Post by bowhunter836 on Sept 26, 2018 18:35:29 GMT -5
There was a guy in our elk camp in Wyoming 2years ago that was using f.o.b I had never seen them and was interested in them until the 1st afternoon when they rode back into camp and apparently the horse ride through the thick pines had knocked them all off! Also just my opinion but I believe aiming any higher then half way is giving the deer a better chance of ducking the arrow! Also a mid lung aim point gives you more margin for error!! Good luck everyone the rut is rite around the corner and my favorite the late season!
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Post by dirt40 on Dec 4, 2018 21:54:54 GMT -5
I bought some new Axis arrows this year with Blazers on them. Man were them things noisy. I refletched them with AAE max stealth. They are much quieter. I figure if I can hear the arrows then why won't deer react to that.
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