Shot placement

[sram9102]

I'm skeptical of that shot getting into the chest cavity. Unless your shooting 40" arrows.

 

[4doutfitter]

over the hip kills but lots of things can go wrong at 55. pretty fortunate

 

[Laramie]

Shot a deer with my bow at 55 yds and didnt run 100 yds. I hit where I wanted It to. However had different responses on if it was luck or skill.
Just curious on thoughts. I’ve shot a lot of deer with my bow Just never tried this shot.

I hit a deer very similarly at closer range. It took a step forward as I released. My results were similar as the deer was down in less than 100 yards. I shoot 31" arrows. My broadhead cut up the liver really bad and the end of one lung as he ran. I wouldn't do it again intentionally but it did result in a quick kill ... and a messy cleaning job. I also lost some pounds of meat in the impact area.

 

[Rich M]

I have no problem with criticism. That is why I asked. I see people do it on shows etc. doesn’t mean it’s right but thats what made me think its the only shot I’m going to get. I know I let frustration set in which may Or may not have built my confidence on I can do it. I am proud I stuck it right where I wanted it and it worked out better then I expected. Not saying I’d do it again

You intentionally did that? I figured deer jumped string and took the arrow with him.

Not judging, just not what I was taught to do.

 

[MattB]

Seems like a lot of guys are looking at the POI and ignoring the arrow path. The shot was quartering away and the arrow made it into the guts and maybe to the diaphragm. Quartering away shots into the guts/chest cavity on deer-sized game are generally pretty devastating. A good friend who was an archery hunting guide for 20+ years prefers that angle to broadside in part for that reason (longer distance of good stuff to hit, not to mention more leeway around bone).

To the OP., you ultimately want to get both lungs which I do not think you did (shot placement too far back), so I would say there was a bit of luck involved in retrieving that animal as you did.

Edit: I should add that taking that hard a quartering shot at that distance actually brings the femur and potentially pelvis into play, so is a harder quarter than I would be comfortable at 55 yards.

 

[Zak406]

They will die and die quick with a femoral hit. But the shot probability is pretty low.

Years ago I double lunged a deer on a archery push on one of the last days of the season. It was a perfect shot and it took 80 yards down over a hill to die.

The next push my brother made a terrible shot (accidental) and hit the deer in the rear end. He hit the femoral and that thing died about were it stood.

I had to drag my perfect shot up hill while his dropped about next to him lol

 

[BigCountry49]

Just shoot them through the ear hole next time. They will go down even faster.

 

[Geewhiz]

Bold of you to post this on the inter web

 

[Where's Bruce?]

That's not a Texas heart shot...this is.

 

[MattB]

Have you guys who mentioned a femoral hit even looked at the pictures? Guessing not.

 

[Green Bullet]

It’s a bad shot with a bow imo. I won’t sugar coat it. You need to have high confidence of a clean kill when you execute a shot. This one doesn’t pass muster. Even for a skilled archer.

 

[Billy Goat]

Have you guys who mentioned a femoral hit even looked at the pictures? Guessing not.

Yes.

 

[Yoder]

I wouldn't have even thought to take that shot. It seemed to work well. My biggest concerns would have been penetration, the deer moving and having no blood trail. If it just made it into the guts it could have ran for miles. I really worry about them moving. I had one at 30 yards spin completely around before the arrow hit. Started out quartering away. I wound up hitting him quartering to. Arrow went in the front of his chest and came out just in front of the hind quarter on the opposite side. He only ran about 30 yards. When I got to the deer I almost thought it wasn't mine when I seen where the arrow hit.

 

[MattB]

Yes.

Huh, our deer's asses aren't on their sides. Chalk it up to regional differences I guess,

 

[Billy Goat]

Huh, our deer's asses aren't on their sides. Chalk it up to regional differences I guess,

That impact, on a steep quarter away that puts the broadhead to the inside of the femur will hit the femoral.

Without knowing the position/angle of the shot, I can't be certain that it is a femoral shot, but I have seen deer hit exactly there with a moderate sized broadhead clip the artery.


The impact looked to me to be almost where the line designating the artery is.


I think anyone using any type of archery tackle shouldn't be aiming for any of those red lines tho, heck, I don't with any weapon.

 

[Jethro]

Huh, our deer's asses aren't on their sides. Chalk it up to regional differences I guess,

In this region, if a POI is in the hind quarter, we call that shooting them in the ass.

 

[MattB]

That impact, on a steep quarter away that puts the broadhead to the inside of the femur will hit the femoral.

Perhaps the OP can chime in, but I don’t think a hit that far forward on the hindquarter and at that steep of a quartering angle could be inside the femur. At that angle, you’d have to hit the back of the leg for that to be the case IMO, as the femur is neither just under the hide or along the front edge of the leg. That hit is just over a palm’s width in front of the flank and angling forward.

Either way, have a happy Thanksgiving.

 

[Billy Goat]

Perhaps the OP can chime in, but I don’t think a hit that far forward on the hindquarter and at that steep of a quartering angle could be inside the femur. At that angle, you’d have to hit the back of the leg for that to be the case IMO, as the femur is neither just under the hide or along the front edge of the leg. That hit is just over a palm’s width in front of the flank and angling forward.

Either way, have a happy Thanksgiving.

So we will agree, without a doubt, it's a poor shot choice, no matter the angle.

 

[Otter86]

To each their own. If you are confident take the shot. If not, get closer.

 

[wind gypsy]

Aron Snyder taught me that texas heart shots and quartering to shots are deadly, so I'm going to take them. YOLO.