Hotspotoutdoors

Well it was a great night for my one hunting buddie and probable a sleepless night for the other. My buddie shot a real nice 9 pointer last night no giant by any means but it is his very first deer and it was with a bow. The deer probaly will score some where around the 115 inch mark. I had passed the deer earlier in the year. This deer would of been a stud in a year but our rule is if its your first deer with a bow shoot what ever you want. There was no track job needed for this guy. On the other hand my other hunting buddie had a giant come in at seven yards. He hit him but we are pretty sure he hit shoulder. He got about 6 inches of penetration(rage broadhead) and the broadhead snapped off in the deer. So we dont know what to think we let him sit for about 3 hours last night and tried to pick up blood but it was very spotty. we went about fifty yards and backed out for the night. He is out this morning looking again. We are hoping he got through the shoulder and that broadhead is inside him tearing him apart when he moves. What do you guys think about it i dont know what to think i am hoping he is bleeding inside and because he went through the shoulder there is not much blood coming out. What are your guys thoughts on what happened or what we might find. I will try and get a pic of my friends deer up if i can figure out how.

No real way of knowing. These darn deer are a tough animal. The deer could survive and live as I have seen and heard of deer with broadheads in thier body that healed and they lived for another day.

All one can do is do the best tracking job you can and hope for the best.

I lost a buck I shot in the front shoulder last weekend with my 7mm and it was pumping blood out both sides. We found 3 bone chips from its shoulder.

This deer went 300 yards and then jumped down a 22ft bank into the river, There was blood all over the dirt on the rivers edge and a pool of blood in an eddy in the river. The next day in daylight we looked on the other side of the river bank and found where he cam across in the current and tried to get up the bank but could not so he jumped back in.

Long story short, they can and do have an amazing will to live.

Look hard and hope for the best, thats all one can do.

Harvey,

So your buck was swept away by the river?

I don't know. It could have crawled up a bank a mile down the river or just died. We did all we could and could not find it. My buddy flew his plane over the river low looking for anything maybe hung up in a log jam but he saw nothing.

We talked with some other hunters hunting that area and they said they would call me if they found it. No call. The deer there only last a couple nights at the most as the coyotes typically find them pretty fast.

I lost a buck to a rage this year. Didn't get the penetration I'd even hope for and lost it after a mile and a half.

From what I have seen of the Rage two blade, they are awesome. My son has shot 4-5 deer with them and all but one cleared the deer.

Could be he is shooting a higher poundage than you.

It sure leaves gaping holes.

If a Rage is in his internal area, lets say between the ribs, it will not continue to cut, like it does on impact, so you dont have that going for you.
Harvy said it best we all have seen these big dudes just never say never and it really hurts when you go through it....

Let us know

Last yeat I found mine 6 months after I shot him.......

Dont give up!

Hope he finds it. Might be a tough tracking job and he might have to make some assumptions on where the deer headed.

If I were to pick a broadhead with the idea that I shot a deer in the shoulder, an expandable broadhead with a 2 inch cut would be at the bottom of my list. That head would be good if I missed to far back, bad if I missed to far in front.

Expand your killzone is a poor marketing slogan designed to push product. IMHO.

I try very hard not to shoot a deer in the front shoulder as that is typically a recipe for disaster.

I would have to disagree with this. I shot my deer with the three blade rage, and happened to hit it too high. The three blade rage cut the bottom of the spine, and still had a three blade exit hole. Still had the pass threw even after hitting the spine.

bbb
You missed my point, on a two blade rage upon impact and as a pass through, the blades remain deployed.
The head at rest will not hold the blades deployed.
Correct?

I understand your frustration and honestly, you may never find him but I hope you do. I was in a similar scenario with my first deer. I hit the middle of the shoulder with the 2 blade expandable at 8 yards with 50# bow. I watched her run with the arrow sticking out her side and gave her an hour. Blood was found 20 yards from the point of impact and she bled very well for another 40 yards. I thought to myself, "Wow, she shouldn't be too far. These broadheads are awesome. This is easy." Then the trail started getting spottier. I was obvious that her blood started clotting. It was on branches and grass, not so much on the ground and eventually disappeared after 100 yards. Just then, it rained and soon there was no blood. I searched out to another 100 yards and she was no where to be found. I shook my head, went home, and laid in bed that night thinking "How the *bleep* did this happen?" And to this day, I blame the broadheads. Switch to a quality fixed blade.

I'd blame the shot placement.

i would have to agree with the above post. Hit um in the right spot, they aint gonna make it far.
Been on both sides of the fence.
Had a doe this year not one drop of blood with a complete pass through, lighted knock so I knew she was dead. I ALWAYS follow the blood even if i see it go down. Picked up my arrow, and tried to follow blood, NONE!!! I didnt see her go down, but i knew where I last lost sight of her (early season), I went to the spot and she was within site. You never know with these critters

My bad. I misread your post. I thought you meant that it wouldn't cut as it was going through between the ribs.

So, what you are saying is that if it were to penetrate, but not far enough, and with the broad head sitting in the vitals area just wobbling around as the deer runs, it won't do much good. I think I get your point.

Sorry.

i do question the rages penetration. my other buddie just shot a buck last night with the rage two blade first shot was at 15 yards and it was a spine shot about 8 inches of penetration. then he put a finishing shot off right behind the shoulder in the soft area and still only got eight inches of penetration.i would say with these rages you better be able to pull 70lbs on your bow.

after i saw that i got my muzzys back out last night and will be shooting them again.

I have to agree with stick. Forget the broadheads, arrows, bows, and all that other stuff. Shot placement and operator error lose the deer amost 100% of the time. Your eyes can decieve you, especially when things are happening fast, if you don't find the deer blame yourself, not the equipment.

My cousin's boy shot a big 10 a little high through the chest cavity, but right behind the shoulder with a 2 blade rage. I don't think it passed through, but there was an entrance & an exit, the arrow broke. The deer barely bled at all, didn't bed until it probably would have anyway & was spotted three weeks later looking completely healthy. They figured if there'd have been a third blade at a different angle it's probably a dead deer. Who knows, but where it hit the deer it sure seems like it should have been dead.

I think that is the problem, most people think they hit the chest cavity. Usually if someone thinks they hit a little high and never recovers the deer they blame the broadhead or the dead zone. I would guess in your case the arrow hit above the spine or possibly grazed the chest cavity not inflicting much damage to the lungs. One lung is another possibility, those deer are tough so I can see a big buck surviving a one lung hit. If he really sent a rage through two lungs that deer wouldn't have made it far at all.

Clearly he didn't hit both lungs. I'd venture to guess a field tip through both lungs is a dead deer. I'm not saying I think he even hit one, but a lot more blood vessels run horizontal in a deer's body, than they do vertical. If a 2 blade is turned horizontal it has much less chance of cutting those. No argument the shot wasn't perfect, but lots of shots that kill deer are not perfect. I've double lunged plenty, but I've not double lunged just as many if not more.