Lost big bull, possible broadhead/equipment issue?

[307_timberstalker]

Last Thursday I was calling for a close friend. Late morning got a gnarly bugle in response to a loud cow mew locate. Within minutes this bull was coming in. I filmed from 30 yards away and my buddy got his shot off at a short 4 yards from the bull. At first I knew it was a dead bull because who could possible not crush one at that close right? The shot placement was money. Slight quartering to, but perfect placement. No leg, not high to be shoulder. Quite frankly no where near shoulder. Bull turned and ran. Quick cow calls had him stopped again for a second. I noticed then the penetration was weak. The bull caught my friend moving to re arrow and took off. I hit him with some bugles and he came to a stop. At that point for the next 60 seconds he slowly walked out of view. Knowing the placement of the shot and not seeing him fall, even after slowly walking away, we elected to give him 6 hours. I figured If double lung, he should’ve fallen in view, especially after 1.5 minutes with an arrow in him in on camera. I thought, Ok, liver or 1 lung if he was quartering.

Went back in after 6 hours, blood wasn’t far from the hit. Not much but blood none the less. It continued sparsely every 20 yards until a total of 70 yards out and that was it. Even after he slowly walked away there was no blood to be seen. We looked till dark crawling around looking for track or blood. Came back at first light walked a total of 8 miles each searching. 3/4 mile straight out and grid from that distance in. Nothing. Had to leave the following morning. Going back this week for three days.

Knowing now the story, my friends setup was as so:

Mathews Z9 28.5”@60lb
Axis 340 29” standard insert no wrap 3 blazers
Rage 3 blade chisel tip
4 yards away. Slight slight quarter to.

I will attach the video along with a still screen shot of shot placement. Any ideas would be welcomed. I’m at a loss and I can’t come up with anything other than a rage broadhead issue.

I am not able to
Upload the video. But the oddest part is that at the time of impact, even can hear it on video, no arrow is seen anywhere on the bull. I added two photos after impact where you cannot see any arrow and that was after the arrow made contact. I can email the video file to those who might want to better pick it apart

 

[Coach529]

Following along. I would suggest uploading the video to Youtube or Vimeo.

 

[rodney482]

I see the arrow in all those pics

 

[Texasbuckeye]

Looks to me like the arrow stuck in a rib and just didn’t break through it.
The good news is it doesn’t look fatal and that bull should be fine

 

[mavinwa2]

I think I see arrow & fletching in couple pics
But at 4 yards that is horrible penetration
Rage broadheads,,,,feeling the rage now?!

 

[Ratbeetle]

Rage in the cage...

 

[307_timberstalker]

I see the arrow in all those pics

I thought I loaded two pictures where I couldn’t see arrow I’ll try again

 

[307_timberstalker]

I do not shoot these heads. This will be the second Rage horror story I had to experience first hand in one season. Had another guy stick a bull at 40 yards two weeks prior and only got 6” deep. High below spine. No recovery. I just want people to see for themselves. Now the flip side, my actually hunting partner shoots these rage heads and has taken 3 elk back to back. He shoots a Mathews monster at 73lbs 29.5” though.

 

[cnelk]

What is the total arrow weight?

 

[Riplip]

Hate to jump into the broad head debate, but I had a friend that put a good shot on an elk at beginning of season which he did not recover. Coincidentally he was also using a rage. I am sure there are many people who have had success with expandable's but I have heard too many similar stories to be a fan. Sorry you didn't find the elk, terrible feeling.

 

[307_timberstalker]

What is the total arrow weight?

418-420

 

[Clarence]

There is a thread in the archery section with a few guys ripping that broadhead apart. Never found much love for the rage 3 blade. 2 blades can be a effective tool on medium sized game in my experience. Feel bad for your buddy. Rough situation to contend with. Looks and sounds like you guys gave it all you had after the shot. Rough way to learn, but many of us have been there ( tried inferior equipment, failed, vowed to do better ) Learn and come back stronger and better next time. My. 02.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[CJF]

I've seen guys with poorly tuned bows have horrible penetration at close range (10yards and under) on targets but manage great penetration at normal distance. If the bow is not tuned well the arrow has not had a chance to straighten the arrow out. Impossible for the arrow to penetrate at 4 yards if this is the case. Not saying this happened but its possible.

 

[307_timberstalker]

Cannot see arrow anywhere! Right after impact, just slowed way down. Could be sunlight though hiding it.

 

[spike camp]

WIth a 29” arrow plus Bh length, that bull is dead.
As far as the penetration issue, I’d bet money it’s due to the Rage...especially considering the bow/arrow specs and doubly especially considering the distance.

You screw on a 2 or 3 blade fixed and the arrow would most likely be 30 yards beyond and stuck in a log.

Can’t even count the amount of videos I’ve watched of guys shooting elk dead broadside at 10 yards or so with a rage and penetration is severely lacking.

 

[chops24]

i would agree with the rib theory. it looks like the penetration you get when you hit shoulder blade. I'd say that bull is just fine.

 

[bigsky2]

Rib would be my guess. Two years ago my dad decided to switch to a Rage two blade hoping to get better blood trails. He ended up shooting a big bull right behind the shoulder, maybe 1/3 of the way up. The bull went about 100 yards and laid down. He kept acting like he was going to put his dead down and die. We watched the bull for about an hour, it was wide open between us and him so we couldn't get closer for a follow up shot. Right as the sun is going down the bull stands up and walks off like nothing is wrong. We back out and go back in the morning. Found the arrow, the blades were open and it had passed completely through the bull. Gridded the whole area all day and never found him. Two days later we are out just hoping to see some birds and coyotes. Another hunter gets a hold of us and tells us he is watching the bull fight and breed cows. We were able to slip in on the herd later that morning and get another shot in him (this time a terrible shot way far back). Gave him quite a bit of time and found him dead in his tracks. When we skinned him out you couldn't have placed the arrow in a better spot on that first shot. Only thing we could think of was the arrow somehow passed between the heart and lungs.

 

[jmez]

How long are his seconds? 15 inches, give or take. That is how much arrrow is sticking out. Means he has about 15 inches inside of him. Single lung. He's dead somewhere. Big mechanical head, light arrow, light draw weight, recipe for what you got here.

 

[chops24]

i think more than 15 inches of arrow is sticking out of that bull. keep in mind that you are looking at his tines from the side and the arrow from almost directly behind it.

also, the more i think of it, if that blade was open when nocked, which has happened to me plenty it might be the cause of lack of penetration. usualy that results in shitty arrow flight and a miss but at 4 yards, it would be harder to miss and if the arrow was not flying straight due to essentially having a blade on the front acting like a control surface etc etc.

 

[Dakota Dude]

I shot a Rage Trypan through a cow at 2 yards this weekend and it was a full pass through with similar specs. 60 lb, 28". I think that hit a rib, and it just slowed it down. Maybe even broke the rib. IMO, that's a dead bull just based on penetration.